On May 6, 2024, the Government of Canada announced a $140 million investment to support Canada’s Immuno-Engineering and Biomanufacturing Hub (CIEBH). Led by the University of British Columbia, this initiative includes over 50 partners from academia, industry, non-profits, and the health sector.

This funding will drive four crucial projects to speed up the development and production of life-saving medicines for British Columbia and Canada. These initiatives aim to help Canada respond quickly to future pandemic threats and address significant health challenges.

The CIEBH projects are part of a broader strategy by the Government of Canada to strengthen the domestic biomanufacturing and life sciences sector. This effort ensures the country is ready for future health emergencies.

The Pantophlet Lab is thrilled to be part of the PROGENITER (Pathogen Response Optimization by GENeratIng ThErapeutics Rationally) project. PROGENITER received $14.46 million in research funds from the Canada Biomedical Research Fund Award and $16.40 million in infrastructure funds from the Biosciences Research Infrastructure Fund Award.

Read the Government of Canada announcement here [PDF]

Read the full CBRF-BRIF results (stage 2) here [PDF]

 

Quiana Ang, a Master’s graduate student in the Pantophlet Lab, has won a coveted Paraza Travel Award ($500) to attend the 34th Annual Canadian Society for Immunology Conference, to be held from June 17 – 20, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Quiana will be presenting her latest research on the development of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) spike protein derivatives as vaccine candidates for the elicitation of HCMV-neutralizing antibodies.

2022 CSI Travel Awards (PDF)

Further steps to understanding conditions for eliciting HIV-neutralizing antibodies with specificity for oligomannose published in @Scientific Reports [article] and highlighted in SFU’s Scholarly Impact of the Week [PDF]

Ralph Pantophlet has won the 2021 CAHR-CANFAR Excellence in Research Award in the Basic Science category. This recognition, awarded by the Canadian Association for HIV Research (CAHR) and the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR),  is “intended to highlight and celebrate the contributions of Canadian researchers in HIV/AIDS research in Canada and internationally”. The award was bestowed at the 30th CAHR conference in May 2021, which was held remotely due to COVID-19.

A warm welcome to Hajar Chihab, the Pantophlet’s Lab’s newest postdoc. Hajar obtained her PhD in Immunovirology from the Chouaib Doukkali University in El Jadida, Morocco, under the primary supervision of Dr. Soumaya Benjelloun. Her doctoral research encompassed many aspects of host-virus interaction in the context of hepatitis B and C infections, from the study of viral genome mutations or variations and their influence on the persistence and clearance of viral infection to the study of hepatitis B and C host biomarkers involved in immune responses.