Strategic Opportunities Fund - Round Three

Previously referred to as the ‘Science’ Opportunities Fund, the program is now known as the Strategic Opportunities Fund (SOF).  SOF was initially launched on April 11, 2008 as a $2M pilot program. SOF is now an on-going program with four intakes planned over approximately two years, and fills a much needed funding gap with an additional investment of $8M, half of which is provided by Genome BC.

The program is expected to support modest endeavors typically in the range of $25,000-$200,000. Genome BC will provide no more than $200,000 with one-time funding which will catalyze or seed significant new programs and initiatives of key strategic importance to the BC life sciences community.

This program aims to support BC researchers by:

• Increasing access for BC researchers to emerging technologies that are based in genomics being developed nationally or internationally, in order to maintain their competitiveness;
• Fostering partnerships with national and international stakeholders in genomics or related social science or humanities disciplines; and,
• Facilitating new and innovative means of interactions with industry or other end-users of genomics or related social science or humanities disciplines.

12 research projects were awarded a combined total of $3.2 million from Genome BC and other co-funders. These projects include:

• Using methods of chemical genomics for developing potent androgen receptor inhibitors with a novel mode of action
• Population transcriptomics: harnessing next-generation sequencing technologies for adaptive genetic marker discovery to inform studies in ecology, evolution and conservation
• Development of a gene expression-based high-throughput screening platform for human T regulatory cell differentiation
• Poplar and cereal rust comparative genomics: identification of pathogen determinants to prevent and predict epidemics
• Development of a high-throughput proteomics platform for biomarker verification
• Linking cholesterol metabolism, callousness and conduct disorder
• Linking infectious agents and cancer – A metagenomics approach
• Optimization of pyruvate kinase inhibitor lead compounds as novel therapeutics for the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections
• Characterizing a bacterial recombinome
• Functional characterization of the transcriptional network driving mammalian brain development 
• Adaptive molecular evolution in a unique British Columbia community: Population genomics of Haida Gwaii
• Rapid evolution of a clinical high-throughput DNA sequencing pipeline to next-generation sequencing

The fourth round of funding, SOF 4, is now available. Click here for complete details and application information.