Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre (GSC) is expanding its mandate and governance to drive innovation across genomics, health, and environmental stewardship — extending its world-leading expertise beyond medicine to address challenges in climate resilience, agriculture, biodiversity, and sustainable resource management.
The GSC is proud to announce its collaboration on five groundbreaking projects as part of the Canadian Precision Health Initiative (CPHI). This ambitious national effort, launched today in Ottawa by the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, represents an $81-million investment from the Government of Canada through Genome Canada.
UBC has announced the appointment of Dr. Marco Marra as one of three new University Killam Professors. The University Killam Professorship—the highest honour UBC can confer on a faculty member—recognizes exceptional teachers and researchers who are leaders in their fields, and who have received international recognition for their achievements.
Marco Marra
Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine & Michael Smith Laboratories
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada, announced today the appointment of Dr. Marco Marra as an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Congratulations to Dr. Laura Evgin for being selected as one of the 2025 Canada Gairdner Early Career Investigators for her work in CAR T-cell therapy.
Dr. Nadine Caron has been inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in recognition of her transformative leadership in Indigenous health and surgical practice.
Dr. Caron is a senior scientist with BC Cancer’s Genome Sciences Centre, co-director of the UBC Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health and a professor in UBC’s department of surgery and Northern Medical Program, which is delivered in partnership with the University of Northern British Columbia.
Congratulations to the recipients of the BC Cancer Foundation (BCCF) 2024 Rising Stars Award competition!
This year’s awardees are:
BC Cancer’s 2024 Cancer Emerging Multidisciplinary Research Programs supports research teams to initiate novel multidisciplinary research projects that aim to tackle well-defined issues or problems that affect patients living with cancer or at risk of developing cancer. Funding for the programs is provided through the BC Ministry of Health in collaboration with the BC Cancer Foundation.
2024 Emerging Multidisciplinary Research Programs Recipients:
Since our founding in 1999, the GSC has sequenced over 6,000,000,000,000,000 bases, sequenced the genomes of more than 350 species, and facilitated ground-breaking discoveries in cancer research. On October 22, 2024, we hosted our inaugural Collaborator Forum, bringing together a vibrant mix of researchers, industry experts, and both old and new colleagues to celebrate decades of collaboration and to foster new scientific partnerships.
The GSC is excited to partner with Genome BC (GBC)’s Geneskool to bring real-world genomics into the classroom as we re-open our doors to students and their teachers for educational tours.
Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre respectfully acknowledges that we operate on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) nations who have cared and nurtured this land for all time. We give thanks, as uninvited guests, to be able to live and work on these lands.