Biobank of Living Cells (Funders Only)

The biobanking of living cells offers exciting opportunities to preserve biodiversity. In addition to acting as a safeguard against extinction, these living collections can support diverse goals such as assisted reproduction, scientific research, human health, carbon dioxide removal and biofuels.

In this one-hour session, hosted by Geoff Burt, CEO of the Consecon Foundation, we will hear from Dr. Mastromonaco of the Toronto Zoo, who will introduce attendees to three key applications of biobanking. These include the Toronto Zoo’s National Wildlife Cryobank, a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to the cryogenic preservation of genetic material from threatened species; the University of Toronto’s Centre for Global Microfungal Biodiversity, one of the world’s leading repositories of biomedically and environmentally significant fungi; and the University of Waterloo’s Canadian Phycological Culture Centre, the largest public collection of freshwater algae in Canada.

If you would like to attend, kindly email Laura, Program Manager, at lhache@environmentfunders.ca