where we are + what we’re doing
News + Publications
Maryam Mapar - Faculty of Graduate Studies Doctoral Scholarship, Bettina Bahlsen, Memorial Graduate Scholarship, and P. June Rock Memorial Graduate Scholarship
Rajni Pushpker - Faculty of Graduate Studies Doctoral Scholarship
Dimitri Desmonts de Lamache - Eyes High International Doctoral Scholarship
We were thrilled to host the Honorable Dan Vandal, who visited the Alberta Centre for Advanced Diagnostics and met with many of our SMEs that have grown out of the program. We are thrilled to have partnered with PrairiesCan to make these developments possible.
We are proud to have hosted our first diagnostic summit. Many thanks to our sponsors for making this possible: Thermo Fisher, bioMérieux, Calgary Economic Development, Innovate Calgary, Bennet Jones, Alberta Innovates, University of Calgary, University of Alberta, Parries Economic Development Canada, Edmonton Regional Innovation Network
The new ACAD centre. Photo: Soren Wacker
The Alberta Centre for Advanced Diagnostics (ACAD) is a new initiative dedicated to fast-tracking health technology implementation at the University of Calgary. ACAD builds on the previous successes of the Alberta Precision Exchange (APEX) and the Alberta Diagnostic Ecosystem Platform for Translation (ADEPT) and is funded by PrairiesCan, Genome Canada, DynaLIFE Medical Labs, Alberta Innovates, the University of Calgary, and the Canada Foundation for Innovation, with support from Thermo Fisher Scientific. ACAD will provide academic and industry diagnostic innovators with the resources needed to prototype, test, and evaluate new testing tools and bring them to market. Read about the launch of this exciting new facility in the links below.
The Lewis Research Group is proud to announce that PhD student Luis Ponce Alvarez was the recipient of a 2022 Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Scholarship. Luis’ work focusses on developing automated software tools for streamlining the analysis large-scale liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolomics experiments. Join us in congratulating Luis!
Congratulations to Lewis Research Group MITACS postdoctoral fellow Mehdi Mohammadi Asani for your “Best Poster” award at the 2022 Metabolomics Society for North America conference!
Lewis Research Group PhD candidate Mario Tresanco Valdez was awarded “Best Poster” presentation at the recent Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition. Well done, Mario!
For patients suffering from bacterial infections of the blood, identifying microbes and measuring their antibiotic susceptibility as quickly as possible is essential. The Lewis Research Group has developed a new metabolomics-based test that delivers this critical information 2.5 times faster than existing testing methods. Check out the article by UCalgary’s Mark Lowey featuring this revolutionary, life-saving technology, and read up on the approach in the recently published Nature Communications article.
Dr. Lewis and team’s Rapid Infection Diagnostics (RID) Inc. has launched its Hopper™ metabolomics-based platform for identifying bacteria and testing their susceptibility to antibiotics. The UCeed Health Opportunity Fund will provide key commercialization support for this life-saving innovation. Click here to read the article by UCalgary News’ Brennan Black.
Dr. Ian Lewis spoke with Don Hill for Genome Alberta’s Genomics Blog. They discussed the Lewis Research Group’s exciting efforts to develop a new high-throughput, proteomics-based COVID-19 diagnostic test. Listen to the conversation here.
The Lewis Research Groups’ efforts to develop a proteomics-based COVID-19 diagnostic test were recently covered in The Gauntlet newspaper. Read the article by Ava Zardynezhad here.
The Lewis Research Group has received $25,000 from Scotiabank to assist in developing its proteomics-based COVID-19 diagnostic test. Recently, Dr. Lewis spoke to Scotiabank about this important project. Click here to read the interview.
Dr. Ian Lewis was recently interviewed for the Genome Alberta Mikenomics podcast. Click here to listen to the conversation about diagnostic testing strategies in the age of COVID-19.
Dr. Ian Lewis and the Lewis Research Group were featured in a UToday article highlighting the lab’s COVID-19 research initiatives. Click to read the full article.
The Lewis Research Group’s unique engineering and prototyping facilities are being leveraged to develop nasopharyngeal swabs for use in point-of-care COVID-19 testing. Shortages in existing stocks of test swabs have been identified as a critical issue in the response to the pandemic. The LRG’s state-of-the-art 3D printers will be used to rapidly develop and test a suitable alternative swab. These will be produced in conjunction with a local manufacturing facility for rapid deployment at sites where they are most urgently needed.
In response to urgent calls from regional, provincial, and federal authorities, the Lewis Research Group is redirecting its expertise in rapid diagnostic testing and device development/fabrication to address critical needs in the fight against COVID-19. Our facilities include microbiology labs, engineering/prototyping facilities, and advanced mass spectrometry instrumentation. We will be using these resources to:
Fast-track the development of a 10 minute mass spectrometry assay to detect COVID-19
Develop a new virus culture system that can be used in labs without high-level biosecurity clearance to accelerate nation-wide research on COVID-19 antiviral drugs
Leverage our fabrication capabilities to develop and prototype nasopharyngeal swabs to help mitigate the critical shortage of these swabs.
Our facilities are in operation under the strictest adherence to social distancing guidelines and we are complying closely with all directives from the University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services.
Stay tuned for further updates!
On a recent visit to the University of British Columbia (Okanagan), Dr. Lewis sat down with the Chemistry Graduate Student Society to talk science, life, and success. Click on any of the links below to listen to the full interview.
During the first week of December 2019, the Lewis Research Group proudly hosted Dr. Rick Love, Professor of Art & Design from the University of Northwestern, St. Paul.
Throughout his visit, Dr. Love addressed the importance of both scientific and artistic creativity in understanding the world around us. Rather than being separate entities, these two disciplines are intrinsically linked and have a shared role in pushing the boundaries of human knowledge and understanding.
While in Calgary, Dr. Love spearheaded just such an opportunity for artists and scientists to work in unison, leading members of the Lewis Research Group and dozens of other participants from across the Faculty of Science in the creation of an art piece titled An Exploration in Scientific and Artistic Notations. Using the unconventional medium of adhesive tape, the multidisciplinary team spent four days creating the 4’ X 16’ mural, which is featured on the fourth floor of the Biological Sciences building.
Dr. Rick Love and participants in front of An Exploration in Scientific and Artistic Notations.
“Working on this piece was an exciting opportunity to explore my more creative side and really make me think about how I might integrate visual arts into my scientific work,” states 4th year undergraduate and Lewis Research Group member Katherine Heger.
Dr. Love has created tape-based art pieces around the world, and the Lewis Research Group is honored to be involved in the creation and subsequent display of this unique piece, a piece which is symbolic of the collaborative power of art and science.
An Exploration in Scientific and Artistic Notations will remain on display in the Lewis Research Group’s new collaborative work area in room BI 499. Members of the public are invited to view the piece during regular working hours, starting in January 2020.
