BIOSCIENCE ON PEI

World-class researchers working in state of the art facilities, using the latest technologies . . . that's what you’ll find in Prince Edward Island.

Funding for research and development at the University of Prince Edward Island has increased in the past decade by more than 600 per cent. UPEI is home to more than a dozen funded research chairs. Research Info$ource ranks UPEI number one in research income growth among Canadian undergraduate universities.

The National Research Council Canada is located right on the University's Campus and plays a vital role in this equation. The $11.5 million, 55,531 square ft. facility has been designed to house leading-edge equipment and to maximize interaction and collaboration among teams of highly skilled research professionals.

A large-scale expansion and renovation project at UPEI’s Atlantic Veterinary College includes the development of a $20 million, 57,000 sq ft research complex. The new AVC Research Complex provides superb infrastructure and space for AVC's highly collaborative research agenda. Research centres such as the Atlantic Centre for Comparative Biomedical Research, the Center for Aquatic Health Sciences, and the AVC Lobster Science Centre are housed within the new research complex.

Situated in close proximity are several outstanding research and academic institutions including; the PEI Health Research Institute, Bio Food Tech, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Research Centre, and Canada’s Smartest Kitchen.

In 2011, the provincial government created the BioCommons Industrial park with centralized manufacturing space for companies. Plans are to expand the physical infrastructure to include accelerators and incubators to continue helping companies commercialize new products.

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The BioAlliance partners in business, research, and government share a common drive for discovery and innovation. Building on that vision, we are constructing state-of-the-art research, manufacturing and commercialization facilities, with lots more to come.

BUILDING

Infrastructure is a major part of our growth. In 2011, the Province of Prince Edward Island created the BioCommons – an Industrial park with centralized manufacturing space for companies. Moving forward, the PEI Bioscience Cluster would like to expand the physical infrastructure to include accelerators and incubators to help more companies commercialize new products.

PEI RESEARCH FACILITIES

Since opening it doors in 1986, the Atlantic Veterinary College has been one of North America’s leading Veterinary Colleges.  Researchers have recently moved into a new 57,000 sq. ft research complex that, in addition to 12,000 sq ft. of new laboratory space, provides additional space for AVC’s growing graduate studies and research program. It also contains a purpose-built SPF holding and lab area.

Located nearby in the Regis & Joan Duffy Research Centre at the University of PEI campus is the National Research Council Canada.This 55,000 sq. ft. research centre was opened in 2007 and is home to close to 100 scientists and support staff, including researchers from the NRC, Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food, visiting scientists, post-doctoral and graduate students, and industry partners.

Early stage private sector companies occupy the Industry Partnership Facility within, where they have access to critical infrastructure and tools, and benefit from proximity to top-notch research teams.

A $7.5 Million expansion has added a 5000 sq. ft natural products extraction facility to the Bio Food Tech Centre in Charlottetown. Funded by federal, provincial and private sector partners, the ISO-9001 certified facility provides the platform technology for extracting.

And in November 2009, Canada's Smartest Kitchen, a state-of-the-art facility that combines culinary arts with the science of food to create marketable food products opened in Charlottetown. The 12,000-sq. ft. facility is used for researching, developing and testing products for the company's expansive food product line.

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