Research and Teaching Facilities
On-Campus Research and Teaching Facilities
College of Biological Science students and researchers can take advantage of a wide variety of on-campus state-of-the-art research and teaching institutes and facilities, offering cutting-edge technologies and interdisciplinary and collaborative research partnerships, as well as hands-on learning opportunities in student-centred environments.
Advanced Analysis Centre
The Advanced Analysis Centre (AAC) at the University of Guelph is a group of research laboratories housed in the university’s Summerlee Science Complex. The AAC provides modern, centralized and highly serviced space for large-scale advanced analytical laboratories including state-of-the-art Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Mass Spectrometry, Electron Microscopy, Advanced Light Microscopy, Genomics and a state-of-the-art plant growth facility. The AAC provides an unequalled range of capabilities for research and advanced education at the interface of the physical and biological sciences.
Biodiversity Institute for Conservation Synthesis
Biodiversity Institute for Conservation Synthesis (BICS) seeks to address the sustainability and conservation of diversity and biostructure, and aid in the development of strategies that mitigate and conserve planetary biodiversity in the face of multiple human stressors. Towards creating the scientific infrastructure that is needed to thwart massive anthropogenic impacts, the broad team that comprises BICS has expertise in conservation, biodiversity, ecology, evolution, and physiology scaling from genes to ecosystems.
Centre for Biodiversity Genomics
The Centre for Biodiversity Genomics is a global leader in developing and using DNA-based identification systems to discover, catalogue and monitor the diversity of multicellular life around the world. CBG employs sequence diversity in short, standardized gene regions (DNA barcodes) to enable fast, inexpensive, and accurate species discrimination. This approach and its derived technologies (eDNA, metabarcoding) are transforming humanity’s capacity to understand and protect biodiversity.
Centre for Ecosystem Management
The Centre for Ecosystem Management conducts world-leading research on ecological interactions and processes that sustain ecosystem composition, structure, and function in the Great Lakes Basin; integrates human social interactions and their dynamic socio-economic implications on the sustainability of Great Lakes fisheries and Basin ecosystems; develops and synthesizes quantitative infrastructure to effectively inform ecosystem management in the Great Lakes Basin; and enhances collaboration amongst researchers, managers and policy makers, both locally and globally through an annual research symposium, workshops and grants.
Guelph Family Health Study
The Guelph Family Health Study is a long-term study designed to follow families over many years. Researchers are learning new ways to help families set good routines for eating, activity, sleep and screen time at home. These habits can significantly lower children’s risk for disease now and in the future.
Hagen Aqualab
The Hagen Aqualab is a technologically advanced aquatic research facility operated primarily by the Department of Integrative Biology. The Aqualab utilizes recirculation systems to maintain water quality and is a state-of-the-art research facility that is designed with flexibility in mind. The systems were designed to accommodate research projects of moderate size, this facility was not designed for large-scale production experiments. The facility uses up to 70% re-circulated water in the experimental rooms and 95% re-circulated water in the general holding room. The Aqualab was designed for a wide variety of aquatic related activities such as embryology, physiology, behaviour, toxicology, parasitology, disease and genetics.
Herbarium
The University of Guelph Herbarium Collection (OAC) is a unique facility, underpinning historical and contemporary studies in plant biodiversity at the university. It was founded in 1880 as part of the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) 84 years before the University of Guelph was founded (in 1964). As a working repository of plant specimens, it supports plant biodiversity research across campus and globally, provides hands-on training for undergraduates and graduate students, and is a central hub for knowledge translation and engagement with industry and the public.
Human Anatomy
The Human Anatomy program offers multifaceted lecture and full-dissection laboratory courses for students to learn from body donors in a hands-on environment. Dissection not only gives students an excellent understanding of anatomy and the intricacies of the human body, the small-group experiential learning approach provides students with self-directed and inquiry-based learning skills that facilitate mentorship and collaboration in postgraduate studies, and establishes skills that are vital for meeting the demands of a career in an increasingly dynamic and multidisciplinary health care system.
Human Nutraceutical Research Unit
The Human Nutraceutical Research Unit is an educational and research facility within the Department of Human Health Sciences at the University of Guelph. We specialize in clinical trials of foods and natural health products for human health.
Institute for Lifestyle Integration of Food and Exercise (LIFE)
The University of Guelph’s Institute for Lifestyle Integration of Food and Exercise (LIFE) tackles one of the most urgent global health challenges: the rising epidemic of chronic diseases driven by sedentary lifestyles and poor nutrition. Conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative disorders are on the rise, affecting millions of people worldwide. LIFE is integrating exercise and nutrition research with community-driven programs to inspire healthier living. By translating cutting-edge science into practical, everyday actions, we aim to improve health outcomes and empower people to take charge of their well-being.
One Health Institute
One Health is the collaborative effort of multiple disciplines working together on our planet’s most complex animal, human and environmental health problems, such as infectious diseases, food safety and antimicrobial resistance. The One Health Institute enhances and promotes academic, research and outreach programs to propel the University of Guelph to the forefront of One Health scholarship internationally.
Phytotron
The Phytotron is a specialized plant growth facility located on the roof of the Summerlee Science Complex, supporting the research of faculty and students from Integrative Biology and Molecular and Cellular Biology.
Wild Ontario
Wild Ontario is an environmental and science education program in the College of Biological Science. Through educational activities both on-campus and in the community, they work to foster connections with nature and an interest in science. Wild Ontario uses permanently injured birds-of-prey to teach about biology, ecology and conservation across the province. The program also provides a unique, hands-on, experiential learning opportunity for University of Guelph students. These student volunteers learn about science communication, leadership, teamwork, animal welfare, training and more, all while contributing to environmental awareness and science literacy in Ontario.
Off-Campus Research and Teaching Facilities
Ontario Aquaculture Research Centre
The Ontario Aquaculture Research Centre (OARC) in Alma is a state-of-the-art aquaculture research and development facility that enhances the province’s capacity for research, innovation, and the development of new technology to benefit Ontario’s commercial fish farming industry. The facility is owned by the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario and managed by U of G through the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance.
Algonquin Wildlife Research Station
The Algonquin Wildlife Research Station is a non-profit field station in Algonquin Park, Ontario that hosts researchers, field courses, and workshops.
Huntsman Marine Science Centre
Every year students attending about a dozen university field courses offered by institutions in Ontario, Quebec and throughout the Maritimes make the pilgrimage to the Huntsman Marine Science Centre in St Andrews by-the-Sea to complete their all-inclusive field course activities. These courses are customized to meet the specific needs of the professor and course – presently covering a wide range of topics, including coastal and intertidal biology, marine management and policy, geology, marine mammals, aquaculture, oceanography, and seabed mapping.
About
The College of Biological Science is a globally recognized academic faculty with a mission to expand the understanding of life, from DNA to cells to complex ecosystems. It produces intrepid and interdisciplinary research in a student-centred learning environment that encourages and promotes comprehensive understanding of the systems that govern life.