Ontario Institute of Cancer Research Plans to Double Staff in Two Years.

Augmenting its bioinformatics horsepower, OICR has added Francis Oulette, formerly director of UBC’s Bioinformatics Centre, and SAB member for Blueprint. as part of an overall increase in bioinformatics staff :

The Ontario Institute of Cancer Research
plans to nearly double its research staff over the next two years as it
gears up to create a bioinformatics infrastructure to accommodate
planned sequencing research, according to an institute official.

 

Last year, the Government of Ontario funneled the equivalent of
$350 million into the Toronto-based institute, which, having grown out
of the Ontario Cancer Research Network, aims to translate cancer
research into drugs and new technologies…

…That impact has attracted almost 40 others
since the institute opened last year. It currently employs 57 people,
according to Hudson, who said that number will grow to more than 100
over the next two years with slots filled for biology, epidemiology,
bioinformatics, and computer science.

 

So far, there are eight spots filled in the center’s Informatics
and BioComputing department, which Stein oversees. Six more have been
hired, including four sequencing technicians who start Aug. 27, Hudson
said.

 

The cancer center is set up to accommodate a 16-node cluster, with
tools provided by IBM, and has a 300-square-foot room set aside to
house its server, according to Hudson. He said the facility spent
around CA$1 million dollars on computer equipment.