Growth is happening in more than the petri dishes at the Veterinary Infectious Disease Organization in Saskatoon. It is occurring in the walls.
It’s not a virus that has escaped into the ventilation system. VIDO is expanding.
Lorne Babiuk, VIDO’s director, announced last week a $14.2 million expansion of the research facility. More laboratories, offices and “more room for new research,” said Babiuk.
Established in 1975 to meet Western Canada’s livestock industry disease concerns, VIDO, at the University of Saskatchewan campus, has had notable successes.
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It developed a vaccine 20 years ago that is still the most popular animal scours medication in Canada today, and created the world’s first genetically engineered vaccine for mammals.
“We had outgrown our current space. We outgrew it a long time ago. We used every square inch. Research is changing and we needed more labs. It has become very complex, very intensive and needs resources,” said Babiuk.
Those resources came through a variety of funding agencies. The governments of Saskatchewan and Canada each provided $5.1 million from science-based development programs, with an additional $2 million coming from each of the Alberta government and the federal Western Economic Diversification program.
“When (the expansion) is complete, VIDO will be ranked in the top three institutes (for animal disease in the world),” said Babiuk.
Expansion of staff from 85 to 145 and a doubling of floor space will result in more research and faster drug development. VIDO will also be using the new $174 million synchrotron located on the campus to study proteins, a major component of vaccine research.
Other new technologies being put to work include robotic automation of vaccine processing and DNA sequencers that allow DNA samples to be analyzed on-site. This reduces delays and the cost of having the work done elsewhere.
“We are putting these tools in the hands of people who can use them. That is where research takes place,” said Babiuk.
Research will continue to focus on animal health issues and delivery methods for immunization of livestock. It will also continue to advance in the areas of human health, a direction the organization has been travelling in recent years due to its crossover application for all mammals.
VIDO is working on vaccines that may benefit humans directly through study of E. coli H0157 and cryptosporidium.
