Genomics conference to be held in Saskatoon

January 11, 2008

By Kirk Sibbald

Genomics is coming, and it is coming fast.

That is the message from Shankar Das. The former employee of the College of Medicine who is currently pursuing his MBA is organizing a conference in hopes of spurring more activity on the rapidly expanding genomics front here in Saskatchewan.

Das, a director of the local think-tank Biosens Technologies Network and a board member of Biotalent Canada, said experts believe that genomics – the study of an organism’s entire genome – will eventually help researchers understand what causes individual variation and susceptibility to diseases like diabetes, cancer and heart disease. Funded by the University of Saskatchewan, the conference is slated to be held in Saskatoon near the end of February, and will be used to both brainstorm and align strategies for the University, medical community and other stakeholders from various disciplines, he said.

“Genomics has huge implications on research and development, economics, policy matters, ethical issues and ultimately peoples’ health care. However, from the policy makers to the doctors to the patients and general people, we don’t know much about it,” he explained.

Because humans are incredibly diverse, Das said it is important to study the genetic differences in various populations and try to determine how other factors like the environment can influence overall human health. For example, he said genomics research could have wide-reaching implications in preventing side effects associated with medications, as some people may be more predisposed to experience issues with certain drugs than others.

“While one person might need two Tylenol, maybe another person only needs one-and-a-half,” he said. “When you buy a pair of shoes, you don’t buy shoes that don’t fit you. And it’s the same thing with medicine and what happens when you ingest it. So this is what we want to make people aware of, that this (body of research) is coming.”

The conference will also include speakers who are specialists in animal and plant genomics, as studying the genomics of our food sources could also have direct benefits for humans, said Das.

“It is especially important to hold this brainstorming session in Saskatoon because this city is a hub with a unique pool of activities and experts who are involved in genomics, agriculture, environment, human health and policy matters,” said Dr. Das.

For more information about the conference, contact Das at shankar.das@usask.ca.