To support the use of HostSeq data and contribute to the training of genomic data scientists, CGEn partnered with the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Genetics to fund four research projects proposing to use HostSeq data through the CGEn HostSeq/CIHR Joint Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.
CGEn has also partnered with the Canadian Statistical Sciences Institute (CANSSI)-Ontario node to fund five research projects through the CANSSI Ontario STAGE HostSeq Fellowship Program.
While focused on COVID-19 research, the skills and expertise developed through these programs will feed a talent pipeline that will be critical for advancing genomic medicine applications in Canada.
HostSeq-CIHR Fellows
Shu Li
Supervisors: Maja Tarailo-Graovac and Gerald Pfeffer, University of Calgary
Project title: Solving the genomics of unsolved rare life-threatening COVID-19 using genome sequencing
Marla Mendes de Aquino
Supervisor: Stephen Scherer, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)
Project title: Contribution of Predicted High-Impact Genetic Variants in Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome in Children & Adolescents (MIS-C)
Qian Liu
Supervisor: Pingzhao Hu, Western University
Project title: Knockoff statistics-driven interpretable deep learning models for uncovering potential biomarkers for COVID-19 risk prediction
Briallen Lobb
Supervisor: Andrew Doxey, University of Waterloo
Project title: Comprehensive RNA-seq profiling of COVID-19 patients: combining microbial diagnostics with host genetic determinants of disease severity
HostSeq-CANSSI Fellows
Ohanna Bezerra
Supervisor: France Gagnon, University of Toronto
Project title: In silico evaluation of the impact of pandemic-inherited study design biases with application to a thromboembolism-informed HD-GWAS of COVID-19 severe outcomes
Qian Liu
Supervisor: Pingzhao Hu, University of Manitoba
Project title: DeepHostSeverity: Deep learning and genomic-driven COVID-19 severity assessment tool
Tianyuan Lu
Supervisor: Celia Greenwood, McGill University
Project title: Dissecting the genetic architecture of COVID-19 comorbidities and identifying biomarkers for high-risk individuals
Diogo Pellegrina
Supervisor: Jüri Reimand, OICR
Project title: Effect of comorbidities, behaviour, and other clinical data on population polymorphisms that interfere with human phospho- signaling networks altered by SARS-CoV-2 infection, and its implication in survival and complications.
Xiaoke Qin
Supervisor: Sanjeena Dang, Carleton University
Project title: Cluster analysis of patients infected by COVID-19 and a risk forecast model based on clustering