Global Institute for Food Security at USask attracts top talent for engineering biology technology platform – News
GIFS is happy to announce two new customers who will guide the impressive engineering biology platform: Dr. Megha Bajaj (PhD) will direct the platform’s organization device and Dr. Ben Scott (PhD) will build the science team and develop the platform’s technological abilities.
Bajaj joins GIFS as the engineering biology small business guide. She not too long ago labored at Innovate Calgary, the know-how transfer business office and enterprise incubator of the College of Calgary. She retains a PhD in mobile and molecular biology from the University of Alberta and provides in depth experience creating mental property technique and the commercialization of new technologies.
“I glance forward to contributing to the expansion of this just one-of-a-sort technology platform, and supporting our purchasers speedily scale the discovery, development and supply of additional wholesome and sustainable crops and foodstuff merchandise,” mentioned Bajaj.
Scott will come to GIFS from the Concordia University Genome Foundry and is founder and president of SynBio Canada, a countrywide not-for-gain performing to encourage synthetic biology coaching and exploration. He joins GIFS as the engineering biology system guide and will be dependable for escalating and acquiring the completely agriculture and agri-meals focused engineering biology potential at the institute.
“GIFS has a growing standing for offering globe-class investigation companies, this kind of as details administration and assessment, gene sequencing, and plant resilience. I seem ahead to supporting expand GIFS technological innovation and talents to expand Canada’s engineering biology abilities,” explained Scott.
Engineering biology combines automation, biology and computational equipment to substantially speed up the design and style, create, exam, and learn cycle to lower the total of time it can take to learn and establish improvements working with biological purposes. This distinct mix of technologies is aiding fuel the believed $4 trillion world-wide biomanufacturing market, which, alongside a extensive range of health and fitness, elements, client products, and electricity relevant improvements, has the prospective to assist the production of crop wellness products, help make plants far more nutritious and resilient to biotic and abiotic stress, present new strategies of processing and preserving food stuff, and build completely new foods.
The agri-foods and agriculture-focused platform at GIFS is component of Canada’s escalating biomanufacturing capability, which has captivated talent from all over the earth and major government and business financial commitment. The mixture of these technologies and the institute’s agri-foodstuff and agriculture focus is a single-of-a-sort in Canada, and usually means GIFS is effectively-positioned to play a critical part in the country’s means to carry on to direct the earth in sustainable agriculture and world wide foodstuff protection.
“We are thrilled to have these two talented leaders be part of GIFS,” reported Dr. Steven Webb (PhD), chief government officer at GIFS. “Our engineering biology platform will make Saskatchewan the focal point in Canada for this variety of agri-food and agriculture innovation, escalating the province’s profile as the hub for offering biomanufacturing products and services to assistance the agri-foodstuff and biotechnology sectors. The experience and expertise Megha and Ben bring to GIFS will help create this capacity.”
