BC Premier John Horgan visits the GSC

We recently had the pleasure of hosting the Premier of British Columbia. The Honourable John Horgan received a hands-on, personal tour of the our DNA sequencing and bioinformatics technology platform from our director and distinguished scientist, Dr. Marco Marra. 

The Premier's visit comes on the cusp of the GSC's 20th anniversary. 

He was met by PHSA CEO, Carl Roy, and joined by PHSA executive VP for clinical service delivery, Susan Wannamaker, BC Cancer VP and chief medical officer, Dr. Kim Nguyen Chi, BC Cancer chief operations officer, Heather Findlay, BC Cancer VP of research, Dr. François Bénard, BC Cancer Foundation president and CEO, Sarah Roth, and others.

The Premier prepared DNA for extraction in a liquid handling robot, experienced different types of DNA sequencing technology, saw live normal and cancerous pancreas cells in culture, explored single-cell extraction and sequencing, toured through the GSC's computer server room (which with 31,000 computer cores and  24 petabytes of storage, is one of Canada's largest), and learned  of the different types data with which the GSC's bioinformaticians work. 

"Cancer touches us all. About half of us can expect to receive a cancer diagnosis in our lifetime. That's why the work of @BCCancer_GSC is so important," said the Premier in a Tweet following the tour. "What I saw yesterday, and the people I met, gives me confidence that we can beat this disease. Thank you for having me."  

From left to right: PHSA executive VP for clinical service delivery, Susan Wannamaker, BC Cancer VP and chief medical officer, Dr. Kim Nguyen Chi, BC Cancer chief operations officer, Heather Findlay,  BC Cancer Foundation president and CEO, Sarah Roth, Premier Horgan, GSC director, Dr. Marco Marra,  BC Cancer VP of research, Dr. François Bénard.	Dr. Marra helps the Premier put on a lab coat.
The Premier preparing DNA for extraction...	...and loading it into a centrifuge.
Learning about the GSC's newest sequencer, the PromethION.	Viewing the difference between normal and cancerous pancreas cells, in culture.
Dr. Marra explains the composition of a tumour and rationale for single-cell sequencing technology.	Exploring single cell extraction and sequencing technology.
Touring the server room.	Learning about the different types of data produced by bioinformaticians at the GSC.
Taking a look at the bioinformatics lab.	Dr. Marra gives the Premier a t-shirt, celebrating the GSC's 20th Anniversary.