Trainee Award

Airways disease is a hallmark finding in both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Although tobacco cigarette smoking is the largest known cause of COPD, recent studies have revealed that 10% of patients with life-long asthma may develop COPD later in life without ever smoking. The mechanisms underlying asthma transition to COPD are unknown.

Despite the overall improved diagnostics, standard of care and therapeutic options, most acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients suffer from severe therapy-related side effects and still only 28% of them reach 5-year overall survival. The hypothesis that drives my project is that mutations which affect DNA-modifying enzymes disrupt a methylation-based control mechanism that regulates gene expression in a way that halts the normal cellular differentiation process.

We are studying if strength training exercises can reduce myelin loss and preserve cognitive abilities in adults with cognitive impairment due to vascular risk factors (e.g., high blood pressure), also known as vascular cognitive impairment (VCI).

Mental health problems are estimated to be the most common disabling condition among adolescents worldwide, with children growing up in socially disadvantaged homes having up to three times the risk of mental health problems compared to children without such disadvantage. Studies show a high degree of intergenerational stability in these patterns, with social stressors putting particular subgroups of children at higher risk from the earliest stages of development.

New toxins for incorporation into treatments known as antibody-drug conjugates are urgently needed to ensure therapeutic action. These antibody-drug conjugates consist of an antibody, designed to target a specific group of cells, attached to an active drug that elicits a desired cell response. While most emergent payloads for clinical application target tubulin, making them redundant, the death cap mushroom contains a toxic peptide called alpha-amanitin with unique biological activity.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has a dismal prognosis in Canada with only every 5th patient surviving 5 years. To find novel treatment options, we explore the therapeutic potential of the tumor suppressor microRNA (miR)-193a in AML patients together with InteRNA, a company that developed a novel drug based on the liposomal encapsulation of miR-193a (1B3), which showed very promising preclinical results in solid tumors and provided the rational for a phase I trial starting in spring 2020.

Transplantation is a cure for end stage organ failure, but a successful transplant requires a life-long use of immunosuppressive drugs to prevent organ rejection. The resulting lower immunity leaves patients in a complex medical condition because increases the risk for infections and cancer.

Anxiety and depressive symptoms are the most common mental health problem in children born very preterm (24 – 32 weeks gestation).  Our previous work found pain-related stress of frequent daily procedures during hospitalization across a period of rapid brain development and programming of stress hormone (cortisol) expression to be associated with later anxiety/depressive symptoms. Longitudinal studies examining how this vulnerability develops across early childhood in this population are scant.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a virus that is present in 50-90% of adults globally, depending on the region. When a woman either becomes infected for the first time or reinfected during pregnancy, she may pass the infection to her fetus, which often causes hearing loss and intellectual disability in the child. CMV is the most common congenital infection worldwide. Women usually become (re)infected with CMV from virus shed by young children but a better understanding of how children transmit CMV to mothers is critical for designing strategies to prevent congenital CMV. 

One in eight Canadians suffers from osteoarthritis (OA), a debilitating joint disease that frequently includes bone bruises, known as BMLs. The question we want to answer is, do BMLs result from changes in muscle strength and coordination, or poor condition of ligaments (connecting tissues) or cartilage (smooth joint lining) that cause the cartilage loading to increase? This study investigates whether BMLs might be a result of the loading environment of the knee. Though the exact cause of these bruises is not known, they have been linked to increased pain and worsening of OA.

Osteoarthritis is a painful joint disease and leading cause of disability that affects over 6 million Canadians. The knee is one of the most commonly affected joints. Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) starts with mild joint pain and stiffness that worsens to extreme pain, often requiring surgery if left untreated.  Being able to identify people with KOA in primary care at an early stage of disease would help promote less invasive treatments. Yet, primary care clinicians report many barriers to identifying and treating KOA.

Many neurodegenerative disorders are characterized by the accumulation of proteins forming toxic aggregates inside neurons. Certain proteins contain regions with repeated amino acids that can favor the aggregation process. In the cell, the molecular chaperone system maintains a fully operational protein environment by helping proteins reach and retain their final structure, prerequisite for their functionality.

Youth will inherit the decisions that are made today. Yet, youth in rural and remote northern and Indigenous communities are not often engaged when decisions that will impact their futures are made. Youth, however, are knowledgeable members of communities whose health is intimately connected with community wellbeing; they also have distinct experiences with social, cultural, economic, and ecological determinants that impact health.

In the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin presented that species evolved to best suit their environments. Endurance exercise was central to the extensive hunting and gathering of early human ancestors. To support prolonged exercise in the heat, the cardiovascular system must work hard to keep the body cool and to provide blood to exercising muscles and the brain. Thus, having a cardiovascular system that supports endurance activity in the heat would have been beneficial to early humans.

Impaired arm and hand function after stroke (~85% of stroke survivors in Canada) is linked to altered brain activity and overactive brain areas. Practicing a task drives changes in brain areas important for function. Changes in these brain areas lead to recovery. But, overactive brain areas impede recovery. We can temporarily turn down overactive areas with brain stimulation to aid recovery. By targeting general brain areas important for movement, this non-invasive, painless approach shows promise. Yet, its response is varied.