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Opened project
Contest: Commercialization Priming (in partnership with McGill D2R)
Sector: Health
Budget: 100 000,00 $

Start date: 01 November 2025 End date: 31 October 2026

Neuroinflammation is a major contributor to the pathogenesis of acute and chronic neurological diseases. This includes diseases such as cerebral malaria, Huntington’s diseases, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and common diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. USP15 is a protein that positively regulates neuroinflammation in the peripheral immune system and in the brain and spinal cord. We have generated potent antisense oligos (ASO) and siRNA that silence USP15 in cell-based assays. The current commercialization priming project aims(...)
Opened project
Project leader: Jo Anne Stratton
Contest: Commercialization Priming (in partnership with McGill D2R)
Sector: Health
Budget: 100 000,00 $

Start date: 01 November 2025 End date: 31 October 2026

Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) is a rare disorder caused by variants in NF2 gene. It results in growths that appear in nervous tissue across the body. It is critical we prioritize the development of therapeutics for NF2. This proposal aims to understand how RNA-based therapies can be optimized to target Schwann cells, the major cell type affected in NF2 using induced-pluripotent-stem-cell models derived from NF2-patients. We anticipate our work will provide proof-of-concept that NF2-patient-cells can(...)
Opened project
Project leader: Anne Gatignol
Contest: Commercialization Priming (in partnership with McGill D2R)
Sector: Health
Budget: 100 000,00 $

Start date: 01 September 2025 End date: 30 August 2026

Co-investigator: Jean-Pierre Routy (Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre) HIV infection has been cured using bone marrow cell transplantation in a few individuals who received transplants from HIV resistant donors. Due to risks of cell transplant between individuals this procedure cannot be widely used. However, a similar procedure could be effective, in which a person’s own cells are modified to make them resistant to HIV. We have identified six anti-HIV RNA-based genes that have(...)
Opened project
Project leader: Nancy Braverman
Contest: Commercialization Priming (in partnership with McGill D2R)
Sector: Health
Budget: 100 000,00 $

Start date: 01 September 2025 End date: 30 August 2026

Zellweger Spectrum Disorder (ZSD) is a rare genetic disorder causing multisystemic complications affecting growth, vision and hearing, brain and liver. Most patients harbor mutations in PEX1 gene and suffer from chronic liver disease which may progress to hepatic cancer. Therefore, restoring PEX1 function may improve disease outcome and benefit most patients. We hypothesize that liver disease in ZSD can be prevented or alleviated by PEX1 mRNA therapy. We will use lipid nanoparticles to deliver mRNA(...)
Opened project
Project leader: Nicholas Beaudreau
Contest: Genomics integration program – Agriculture and biofood, forestry and environment
Sector: Agrifood
Budget: 314 161,00 $

Start date: 01 July 2025 End date: 30 June 2027

User: Aquaboreal Fish farming, or pisciculture, is a fast-growing industry worldwide. Although Québec has a territory favourable to the development of this industry, it does not produce enough fish to meet demand. Fish farming, however, is gaining ground in Québec, particularly with the arrival of companies such as Aquaboreal. The company plans to set up the first land-based salmon farm, aiming for a production of 10,000 tonnes per year by 2028. To support the growth(...)
Opened project
Project leader: Pascale B. Beauregard
Contest: Genomics integration program – Agriculture and biofood, forestry and environment
Sector: Agrifood
Budget: 200 000,00 $

Start date: 01 July 2025 End date: 30 June 2027

User: Premier Tech Beneficial plant bacteria are extremely useful in agriculture, since they promote the growth of plants and their resistance to stress. To make the most of these benefits, however, the bacteria must form a strong association with plant roots, which does not always occur. In this project, we propose the use of laboratory evolution to optimize the colonization capacity of a plant-beneficial bacterial strain currently being studied at Premier Tech. The approach consists(...)
Opened project
Project leader: Jérôme Comte Roger C. Levesque
Contest: Genomics integration program – Agriculture and biofood, forestry and environment
Sector: Agrifood
Budget: 300 000,00 $

Start date: 01 July 2025 End date: 30 June 2027

User: Environment and Climate Change Canada and Ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, Québec (MELCC) Agricultural activities and climate change are having a significant impact on aquatic ecosystems, particularly an increase in harmful cyanobacteria blooms. These blooms thrive in warmer, nutrient-rich waters, displacing beneficial phytoplankton and producing cyanotoxins that compromise water quality, biodiversity, and human health. Though we know that excess nutrients are the cause of these blooms, we do(...)
Opened project
Project leader: Philippe Constant Caroline Duchaine Paul George Etienne Yergeau Geneviève Lajoie
Contest: Genomics integration program – Agriculture and biofood, forestry and environment
Sector: 321 389
Budget: 321 389,00 $

Start date: 01 July 2025 End date: 30 June 2027

User: Ville de Laval Green spaces are reservoirs of biodiversity that help maintain a balance between human, animal, and environmental health. Currently, it is challenging to predict the full scope of these benefits and to determine which types and sizes of green spaces provide the greatest returns. The objective of this project is to benchmark the urban microbiome of the City of Laval against that of the Carré Laval district and other cities worldwide. A(...)
Opened project
Project leader: Rodrigue Daassi Guillaume Théroux-Rancourt
Contest: Genomics integration program – Agriculture and biofood, forestry and environment
Sector: Environment
Budget: 300 000,00 $

Start date: 01 July 2025 End date: 30 June 2027

User: Nouveau Monde Graphite The restoration of mine sites represents a significant environmental challenge. This project seeks to improve the restoration of graphite mine sites by optimizing the quality of the soil used. To restore mine sites, forest residues and topsoil from mining operations are stored as windrows, which are large piles of soil and organic matter. Our research analyzes these windrows to determine the best combination of residues and topsoil that will generate more(...)
Opened project
Project leader: France Dufresne
Contest: Genomics integration program – Agriculture and biofood, forestry and environment
Sector: Environment
Budget: 114 680,00 $

Start date: 01 July 2025 End date: 30 June 2027

User: Montréal Biodôme The Montréal Biodôme is home to about 200 animal species, totaling over 2,500 individuals. Of these species, several dozen are at risk and appear on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. As a result, managing these species in a responsible manner, which entails maintaining demographically and genetically healthy populations, is extremely important. Using genetic tools, we can establish the relatedness of individuals and the genetic diversity of(...)