Zovoilis Lab

03/19/2025

03/07/2025

A groundbreaking research initiative, PrairieGen, is set to redefine how chronic and genetic diseases – such as cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, metabolic disorders, and pediatric disorders – are detected and treated.

Genome Prairie has announced a $7.2 million investment through Genome Canada and partners to improve healthcare delivery and patient outcomes in the Prairie provinces. Over the next four years, researchers will conduct the largest genomics study ever undertaken in the region, analyzing the DNA of more than 3,000 individuals from Manitoba and Saskatchewan. This ambitious project will place the Prairies at the forefront of cutting-edge medical research and innovation, uncovering life-changing insights into genetic and molecular drivers of disease.

Read more: https://brnw.ch/21wR9Bl

11/08/2024

https://news.umanitoba.ca/um-researchers-using-ai-to-improve-cancer-research-and-early-detection-of-genetic-diseases/

UM researchers recently developed a new genomics method with the potential to reveal the genetic mechanisms behind human health and disease. The recent publication in the journal Genome Biology offers

09/22/2022

Certificate in Bioinformatics will combine excellence in teaching with cutting-edge research.

Please join instructors, Drs. Athanasios Zovoilis and Angeliki Pantazi as they walk you through the exciting present and
future of bioinformatics. Learn more about the Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics, including the courses, learning
outcomes and career pathways.

September 29 5-6 p.m. (MDT)
Join us on Zoom: go.uleth.ca/gc-bioinformatics-session

Bioinformatics combines computer programming, data analysis, and biology. This program will provide you with an
understanding of basic and advanced bioinformatics concepts and the wide range of possible applications in the health services sector and the agriculture industry.

Students should have an academic background in either life sciences (biological sciences, biochemistry, neuroscience,
genetics, microbiology, biotechnology, or a related field), or mathematics, computer sciences, or engineering (or a related field).

To learn more about the Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics and to apply to the program before December 1, 2022, please visit: go.uleth.ca/gcbioinformatics

07/14/2022

Research scientists from ULethbridge's Southern Alberta Genome Science Centre and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are collaborating to find ways to mitigate Bovine Respiratory Disease, the most prominent feedlot cattle disease in North America. The disease costs producers an estimated $3 billion every year.

“To date, no tool exists for the identification of BRD pathogens on a broad scale for Alberta cattle producers and there is a need for province-wide architecture to detect and characterize pathogens of interest in BRD — both in terms of virulence and antimicrobial resistance."
-Dr. Athan Zovoilis
Associate professor, chemistry & biochemistry
Canada Research Chair in RNA Bioinformatics and Genomics

Read more on UNews: http://ow.ly/G83W50JW6bq

06/06/2022

https://www.ulethbridge.ca/unews/article/dr-athan-zovoilis-has-canada-research-chair-renewed-five-year-term #.YpkdJpPMLAM

Dr. Athan Zovoilis, professor in the University of Lethbridge’s Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, will continue his cutting-edge research with the renewal of his Tier 2 Canada Research Chair funding.Zovoilis, a Canada Research Chair in RNA Bioinformatics and Genomics, will receive $500,000 o...

02/08/2022

With the help of a CIHR funding boost, an Alzheimer's research lab at the University of Lethbridge is making strides to uncover an explanation for Alzheimer's disease.

02/04/2022

https://www.ulethbridge.ca/unews/article/alzheimer%E2%80%99s-research-u-l-gets-significant-funding-boost #.YfyNDeqp40O

Dr. Athan Zovoilis, Canada Research Chair in RNA Bioinformatics and Genomics at the University of Lethbridge, will continue his groundbreaking research into the molecular mechanisms involved in Alzheimer’s disease thanks to a grant of $918,000 over five years from the Canadian Institutes of Health...

11/03/2021

https://stories.ulethbridge.ca/bioinformatics-unravelling-complex-biological-data/

The uLethbridge Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics at aims to demystify bioinformatics and help students harness the power of analysis and interpretation for a wide range of applications, combining computer programming, data analysis and biology.

10/12/2021

Come to learn with us at the University of Lethbridge!

The University of Lethbridge’s new Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics will combine excellence in teaching with cutting-edge research.

Please join instructors, Drs. Athanasios Zovoilis and Angeliki Pantazi as they walk you through the exciting present and
future of bioinformatics. Learn more about the Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics, including the courses, learning
outcomes and career pathways.

October 27 12-1:30 p.m. (MDT) OR November 5 5-6:30 p.m. (MST)
Join us on Zoom: uleth.zoom.us/j/94901173872

Bioinformatics combines computer programming, data analysis, and biology. This program will provide you with an
understanding of basic and advanced bioinformatics concepts and the wide range of possible applications in the health services sector and the agriculture industry.

Students should have an academic background in either life sciences (biological sciences, biochemistry, neuroscience,
genetics, microbiology, biotechnology, or a related field), or mathematics, computer sciences, or engineering (or a related field).

To learn more about the Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics and to apply to the program before December 1, 2021, please visit: go.uleth.ca/gcbioinformatics

03/15/2021

Dr. Athan Zovoilis is among the recipients of the 2020 Cozzarelli Prize for his 2020 work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on the role of SINE RNAs as epigenetic ribozymes. Zovoilis’ work was selected by the PNAS editorial board as the winner under the Biolog...

03/01/2021

Our paper in EMBO Reports is out! - Increased Alu RNA processing in Alzheimer brains is linked to gene expression changes https://www.embopress.org/doi/full/10.15252/embr.202052255

Featured by University of Lethbridge:
https://www.uleth.ca/unews/article/u-l-scientists-add-knowledge-rna-based-mechanisms-underlying-alzheimer%E2%80%99s-disease

University of Lethbridge researchers who found a new molecular mechanism involved in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in mice have confirmed the same mechanism is at work in patients with the disease. In both cases, the use of high throughput sequencing techniques that study the DNA readout of brain cells...