1. Biotechnology
School of Health Sciences
Biotech office & labs
are located on the
2nd Floor
Building SW9
Burnaby Campus

2. Infrastructure
• BCIT Biotechnology Teaching Labs
– BCIT-UBC Joint B.Sc Honour’s Degree Program
• *CFI & BCKDF Funding for the Integrated Molecular Biology Lab
• Genome BC & Western Economic Diversification Funding for their Technology
Development Platform & Establishment of Satellite Sites
*Principle Investigators:
• Paula Brown (NRG)
• Joan Shellard
• Sarah McLeod

3. Diverse Expertise & Capabilities
Main Biotech Lab
• Molecular Biology
• Immunology
• Protein
Biochemistry
• Biofuel Production
(Fatty Acid
Biochemistry)
• Animal Cell Culture
• Bioprocessing
(Fermentation)
• Plant
Biotechnology

4. Things we’re particularly good at…

5. Cell Line Engineering
Dedicated Animal Cell
Culture Lab containing:
• 5 Level II Biological
Safety Cabinets
• 3 Laminar Flow
Hoods
• 4 CO2 Incubators
• 3 Inverted
Microscopes
• 2 Epifluorescence
Microscopes &
Imaging System

6. Gene & Protein Analyses
Specialized Instruments:
• Multilabel Plate Reader (Envision)
– used for a variety of fluorescence or
absorbance-based bioassays
• Real-Time PCR Machine
– quantitative analysis of gene expression
• Genetic Analyzer
– Sanger DNA Sequencing
– gene marker analysis (STRs)
• Bioanalyzer
– nucleic acid & protein quantification and
analysis
• Microarray Scanner
– gene expression analysis, clinical genetics,
genotyping
• Microbeta Counter
– used for a variety of bioassays measuring
luminescence or beta-isotopes
• 2D SDS-PAGE System
– Proteomics

7. Plant Propagation
• Plant cell culture
• Seedling cultivation in
dedicated growth room
Greenhouse on
campus…for
the grown-ups!

8. Resources
Dedicated Research Faculty:
• Robert Forsyth: Biodiesel Production
• Sarah McLeod: Cancer Immunology
• Joan Shellard: Health Proteomics & Genomics
Faculty Interested in (or accidentally doing) Applied
Research:
• Navkiran Gill : Host – Pathogen Interactions
• Keith Turner: Plant Biotechnology

9. High Energy Resources
Our Biotech Students!
Funded by:
• BCIT Student Employment
Program
• PI-funded summer Co-ops
• NSERC Undergrad Student
Research Awards
Role:
To assist Faculty in their
applied research projects

10. Sample of Research Projects
PI: Rob Forsyth
Project: Production of biodiesel that is
compatible with conventional engines &
cold weather climates
Funding: BCIT Professional Development
(PD) Funds
Status:
• Pilot experiments complete
• Patent application submitted to ARLO
for review
• Scale-up & validation underway

11. Accidental Fame!
Plant Man: Keith Turner
Project: Restoration of
cherry trees from rare
cultivars (cuttings)
Collaborator: Douglas
Justice, UBC Botanical
Gardens
Students: entire 1st Year
Biotech class, as part of
their plant lab
Status: Baby trees growing
in test tubes …

12. PI-Led Research Projects
PI: Sarah McLeod
Project: Role of the proteins YKL-40 and YKL-39 in
interactions between cancer cells and tumourassociated macrophage cells
Funding: BCIT Institutional Research Fund (awarded
by peer review) & PD funds
Students: Jordan McGarry (BSEP), Aisha Ghani
(Summer Co-op)
Status: Preliminary data have been obtained and are
informing ongoing experiments. A manuscript and
grant application will be submitted in 2014

13. Collaborative Research Projects
PI: Joan Shellard
Project : Generation of antibodies for the selective capture of serum biomarkers and
identification by Mass Spectrometry
Funding: BC Proteomics Network Small Projects Grant/Michael Smith Health
Research Fund
Collaborators: Suzanne Perry, Michael Smith Labs (CHiBi), UBC and Prostate
Centre, VGH
Status: Antibodies have been generated and used in immunoprecipitations of high
versus low PSA plasma samples. Mass Spec analysis underway.
Project: Identification of disease susceptibility markers by comparing whole
genomes from selected human subpopulations
Funding: CFI (computer workstation), PD funds
Collaborators: Karen Mooder (BCIT MedLab), David Holloway (BCIT Mathematics)
Student: Elizabeth Dai (BSEP)
Status: Ongoing

14. Industry Projects
Company: iProgen Biotech, Richmond BC
PIs: Joan Shellard & Sarah McLeod
Research Associate: Lindsay Gung
Project: Generation of cell lines for the production of protein transduction mediator (PTM)tagged fusion proteins
Funding: NSERC Engage Grant
Status: Completed
Company: Novation Pharma, Burnaby BC
PIs: Sarah McLeod & Joan Shellard
Project: Investigation into the pathway(s) regulating targeted mRNA instability
Funding: NSERC Engage grant app contemplated
Status: Planning phase

15. Model For Research In the Schools
A Work in Progress….
School of Health has a great talent pool and a diversity of expertise, which
allows for innovative cross-disciplanary research
Challenges:
• Lack of critical mass in any ‘’one”’ area
• Small # of faculty pursuing applied research….and we teach!
Best Approach? Collaboration and involvement of student “hands”
$ Funding:
Curriculum: Tie applied research projects to student curricula
Challenges: Research must fit into a tidy student project
Grants: BCIT has “university” status wrt Tri-Cuncil funding (NSERC, CIHR)
Challenges: We are small fish in a big competitive pond and don’t have
grad students

16. Industry Collaborations
Strengths:
•
BCIT has a great track record of working with industry
•
Collaborations with industry seem much more flexible than universities,
particularly wrt IP policy and NDAs
Funding Challenges:
•
Biotechnology companies typically operate without cash flow and do not fund
external research (they will hire CROs)
•
Pharma has money but you have to pitch “what you can do for them”, which
means having preliminary data to approach them
Best Approach?
•
Industry-Academic Grants (govt susidizes THEIR research ; )
•
PI-Led projects using small project grants and/or BCIT seed funds

17. www.bcit.ca/health/research/biotech/