Management team

Core Directors & Staff

This node includes
This node includes
This node includes
The COVF Non-Human Primates (marmoset) testing site is located at the Montreal General Hospital (McGill). The objective of this platform is to enable access to advanced animal modeling for understanding and decoding neural circuit function in the primate brain.
(Université Laval, CERVO), The Viral Vector Core is composed of an extended team of experts specializing in molecular biology, tissue culture, in vivo validation, microscopy, flow cytometry and process optimization. Working closely with experts from across the globe, we offer the highest-quality vectors that can be custom-tailored to meet almost any vectorology-based research need. Our developers identify new specific promoters and AAV capsids, and collaborate with experts in optogenetics. We work synchronously with dedicated teams of researchers from the different COVF testing sites, covering a spectrum of animal models. This constant communication ensures the continuous improvement of molecular throughout their development.
(Laval University, University of Tokyo) The mission of the Protein Engineering Core is to create customized, high-performance, and well-characterized optogenetic tools that are optimized for end-user applications. We aim to make these tools widely available for the global research community to advance neuroscience research, accelerate therapeutic development, and enable biological discoveries. We leverage our knowledge, expertise, and experience in protein engineering, to design, develop, distribute, and democratize optogenetic tools for neuroscience, cell biology, and across all areas of biological research. The Protein Engineering Core seamlessly integrates with the Viral Vector Core to make all of the viral vectors that encode our optogenetics tools available worldwide. We also closely engage the COVF testing nodes for the testing, characterization, and evaluation of optogenetic molecular tools in the development pipeline. We strive to provide an inclusive and synergistic service platform for all researchers and promote two-way education and communication between tool developers and the end-user community.
(Sunnybrook Research Institute, CeRIGT) The Focused Ultrasound (FUS) Core is built on unique expertise, resources, infrastructure, and governance within the only Centre of Excellence in Focused Ultrasound in Canada. This team of experts offers services in FUS applications related to gene delivery. Their leaders specialize in FUS device conception, development, and applications to the brain and spinal cord that are adapted to user needs. They focus on optimizing gene delivery, specifically for AAV, to the central nervous system using FUS. We engage with experts, in academia and industry, to identify and customize tools that are compatible with FUS and optogenetics technologies. We design, plan, and execute FUS experiments, and provide outstanding quality control in tissue processing and high throughput imaging. They collaborate with teams nationally and internationally to continue to improve the tools required for gene delivery applications with FUS.
Read more about this core (outside link – Sunnybrook)
(Laval University, COPL) The specialty fibre-optics core specializes in glass material synthesis, optical fiber manufacturing and photonic device development for a variety of technology markets. It is the only university laboratory in Canada that can design and manufacture a wide variety of specialty glass optical fibres and fibre devices. The core has been operating for 13 years during which time has developed partnerships with colleagues in academia and industry world-wide. These relationships have led to a consistent customer base with requests including customized specialty glass preforms and optical fibres for a variety of manufacturing and R&D needs. Within the COVF, the Specialty Fibre-optics core works very closely with the Optogenetics Engineering and Testing cores to deploy and optimize fibre-based optrodes for opto-electrical stimulation and sensing on very localized volumes of tissue. These unique optrodes allow for efficient neurochemical and ion sensing applicable to the wide variety of animal species covered by the COVF testing nodes.
Recent publications using COVF developed tools
Optogenetics is revolutionizing neuroscience and mental health from basic science to clinical applications. The Canadian Optogenetics and Vectorology Foundry (COVF) is a national facility at the heart of a worldwide effort to accelerate the development, production, dissemination, and use of genetically encoded light-activated tools.
Our biofoundry model responds to tool Design-Build-Test requests, accelerates translation across species, experimental paradigms and disease models, and aims to support porting optogenetics to clinical applications via gene transfer approaches. Our services also include consulting and training to democratize optogentics and viral vector technologies, especially Adeno-Associated Viral Vectors (AAVs) for neuroscience and beyond.
Read our EDI policy here (PDF)
COVF’s operations are based on four Production Cores that are coupled to Testing Nodes across the country involved in tool characterization and validation.
Researchers at Sunnybrook Research Institute are developing a non-invasive, reversible, and targeted procedure to breach the blood-brain barrier through the use of focused ultrasound and microbubbles. Watch the video on the left to learn more about this cutting-edge technique.
There are 3 technologies at the very core of the COVF: Protein Engineering, Viral Vectors, and Specialty Fibre-Optics. Watch the video on the right to learn more about these amazing tools.
COPL’s optical fiber fabrication research teams have developed an unparalleled know-how: from glass design, to MCVD preform synthesis, to the drawing of specialty optical fibers. Discover our infrastructure and the different types of optical fibers drawn in our facilities. Fiber compositions, geometries and guiding properties can be customized to fit your needs and applications.
Contact us to discuss the feasibility of your project: copl@copl.ulaval.ca
MCVD process
Silica fiber drawing tower
Drawing tower – Other materials
Click here to order viral vectors
Viral vectors are the vehicles of choice to deliver genetically encoded tools to living cells in culture or in a live animal. They are modified viruses from which pathogenic sequences have been removed and replaced by genes of interest that the user wishes to introduce into cells. As many types of viruses exist, they have led to the development of various vectors with different characteristics (type of genome, genome length, enveloped or not, specific tropism etc.). Vectors based on Adeno Associated Viruses (AAVs) have been used extensively in neuroscience research and other fields as well as for human clinical applications. Their complete lack of pathogenicity associated with their ability to transduce non-dividing cells and relative ease of production have contributed to their success. Other viral vector types include Retroviruses, Human and Canine Adenoviruses, Rabies Viruses and Lentiviruses…
Located at the CERVO Brain Research Center (Université Laval), the group is led by Marie-Eve Paquet and composed of an extended team of experts in molecular biology, tissue culture, in vivo validation, microscopy, flow cytometry and process optimization. We strive to offer Canadian researchers the best quality vectors possible adapted to their needs. With that in mind, we work closely with a worldwide community of tools developers including those identifying new specific promoters, improved AAV capids, as well as experts in optogenetics such as our colleagues from the Protein Engineering Core.
The vectorology core has numerous distribution agreements with tool developers to disseminate optogenetic and viral tools.
The mission of the Vectorology Core is to make viral delivery tools widely available for the worldwide research community to catalyze advances in basic neuroscience and therapeutic development. With a focus on end-user needs, we are heavily involved in the development of custom tools and strategies. Together with the testing nodes of the COVF, we are also engaged in facilitating the validation of light sensitive and viral tools.
The viral vector core distributes molecular tools around the world.
Optogenetic molecular tools are light-responsive proteins that enable the manipulation and visualization of the intricate network of neuronal activities with precise spatiotemporal resolution. Optogenetic actuator proteins are used to activate or inhibit certain cell functions in response to light, while optogenetic indicator proteins change their fluorescent signal output in response to biochemical changes within live cells. Protein engineering is a key technique to convert naturally occurring fluorescent and other light-responsive proteins into useful optogenetic molecular tools for basic neuroscience research and translational therapeutic applications.
The Campbell laboratory at the University of Alberta is at the origin of the Protein Engineering Core of the Canadian Optogenetics and Vectorology Foundry. The laboratory has migrated to the CERVO Brain Research Centre under the form of the CERVO Optogenetic Tool Production Platform (Plateforme de Production d’Outils Optogénétique du Centre CERVO – PPOOCC) and is fully operational. The PPOOCC leverages our knowledge, expertise, and experience in protein engineering, to design and develop novel optogenetic tools with highly optimized performance. We also work closely with a Canada-wide community of neuroscience researchers to test, characterize, and evaluate the optogenetic molecular tools in the development pipeline.
Our diverse project portfolio includes:
We are strong believers in open and collaborative science. All the DNA plasmid reagents developed from the Protein Engineering Core will be available through the nonprofit plasmid repository Addgene Addgene: Robert Campbell Lab Plasmids.
The Protein Engineering Core vertically integrates with the Molecular Tools Platform of the Canadian Optogenetics and Vectorology Foundry, hence all viral vectors encoding our optogenetics tools will be available through the molecular tools platform Canadian Neurophotonics Platform – Viral Vector Core.
We strive to provide an inclusive and synergistic platform for all forms of collaborations and promote two-way education in the community of tool developers and end-users. If you wish to test new optogenetic tools or have any related questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at robert.e.campbell@ualberta.ca or yi.shen@ualberta.ca.
The mission of the Protein Engineering Core is to craft custom-designed, high-performance, and well-characterized optogenetic tools that are optimized for end-user applications, and make these tools widely available for the worldwide research community to catalyze advances in neuroscience research and therapeutic development.