Reza Moridi, Ontario minister of research and innovation, is visiting the University of Guelph today. He will tour the Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre (BDDC), the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario (BIO), and PlantForm.

At BDDC, Moridi will meet with director Amar Mohanty, a professor in the Department of Plant Agriculture and the School of Engineering, and holder of the Premier’s Research Chair in Biomaterials and Transportation. BDDC scientists use plant materials to make bio-based plastics and bioproducts.

During a BIO tour, director Prof. Paul Hebert, Integrative Biology, will discuss commercializing of technologies developed at the facility to improve food security, environmental monitoring and climate change research. The BIO houses the world’s largest bioinformatics collection and uses DNA barcoding to detect meat and seafood fraud and alleviate consumer fears.

At PlantForm, Moridi will meet with environmental sciences professor Chris Hall and Kevin Hall, vice-president (research).  Chris Hall developed recombinant antibody technology to make antibodies from plants. PlantForm is licensing this technology to use tobacco plants to make therapeutic antibodies, including for use in cancer treatment.