Other Activities

Promoting the work of culture collections

  • Working to ensure the long-term sustainability of culture collections.
  • 2007: Under auspices of CRTI Research and Technology Initiative (CRTI BIO-021), worked with stakeholders and Sporometrics, Inc. on a feasibility study to establish a strong Canadian network of culture collections.
  • See report below entitled National Centres for Secure Biological Resources
  • Participated in International Conference of Culture Collections, Goslar, Germany.
  • Former Chair, Mycological Society of America Committee on Culture Collections
  • 2004: Helped to improve the procedures for shipping microbial cultures worldwide to bona fide researchers by obtaining changes in transport and quarantine regulations.
  • Represented World Federation of Culture Collections (WFCC) at UN Subcommittee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Geneva, Switzerland (July 2004).
  • See Padhye, A.A., J.E. Bennett, M.R. McGinnis, L.Sigler, A. Flis & I.F. Salkin. 1998. Biosafety considerations in handling medically important fungi. Medical Mycology 36(Suppl 1: 258-265.
  • Culture collections in Canada. See this and other articles published in Can J Plant Pathology.
  • Member (Collection number 73) of the WFCC-MIRCEN World Data Centre (WDC) for Microorganisms.
  • See Report of the World Federation of Culture Collections Committee on Postal, Safety and Quarantine.

click on image for full report

National Centres for Secure Biological Resources

Report produced for CRTI Research and Technology Initiative by Sporometrics, Inc.

The report proposes an infrastructure for linking Canadian microbiological resource centres to ensure the preservation of valuable microorganisms which are critical for research and development in both medical and environmental sciences. The proper maintenance of microorganisms requires secure facilities, equipment to facilitate long term storage and development of comprehensive information technology software for strain tracking.





Folio PublicationRead about us in Folio, the University of Alberta's official newspaper.


Read about Onychocola canadensis - a fungus causing nail and skin infections especially in elderly individuals.

 

 

 



Interested in wild mushrooms?

Want to learn more about the ecology, diversity and edibility of wild mushrooms in Alberta? Visit the Alberta Mycological Society webpage for information on forays and special events. For mushroom identification courses, consult the Devonian Botanic Garden Education Courses. In fall, the Garden's lawns are often home to spectacular displays of shaggy mane (inky cap) mushrooms Coprinus comatus. (images courtesy Dr. J. Herrera, Truman Univ.)

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