UBC professors co-lead Genome BC project

Genome B.C., Genome Canada and other partners are providing funding for a new research project titled “Applied Metagenomics of the Watershed Microbiome,” which aims to develop a better way to identify the presence of the fecal pollution in watersheds (indicated by the presence of E. coli bacteria), and provide new tools to track sources of water contamination.

“This funding will allow us to develop methods for more effective source water testing,” says Dr. Patrick Tang, project co-leader, and clinical assistant professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UBC Faculty of Medicine. “The next step will be implementation, and we are confident that the prototype we are developing will ensure that safe, rapid water supply testing becomes a reality.”

“The tools we currently have at our disposal are simply inadequate. Through the work of the multidisciplinary team, substantial improvements to current water protection approaches will be realized. These new tools will go a long way towards water quality improvements,” says Dr. Judith Isaac-Renton, project co-leader and professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UBC Faculty of Medicine.

For more information, visit http://www.genomebc.ca/media/news-releases/2012/better-water-for-better-health