inflammation

Allergic asthma is an incurable respiratory disease that affects more than 300 million people worldwide. Asthmatic patients first become sensitized by inhaled substances that trigger an allergic reaction (allergens). Repeated exposures to the same allergens cause allergic inflammation in the lung because allergen-specific cells of the immune system called lymphocytes acquire memory: they react when they re-encounter the same allergen.

This work will investigate three aspects of the role that the immune cells of the brain (microglia) play in stroke — a disease affecting more than 50,000 Canadians every year. First, it will characterize the acute reaction of microglia to low oxygen levels. Second, it will analyze the molecular mechanism by which microglia extend filopodia, thin actin-rich protrusions essential for their role in sensing brain damage.

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are characterized by chronic intestinal inflammation and tissue damage. There are trillions of bacteria found  within the human intestine and IBDs are thought to develop when mucus barriers that normally keep these  bacteria inside the gastrointestinal tract become impaired,  allowing bacteria to escape out of the gut lumen and causing  chronic inflammation. While the role of epithelial cells in promoting barrier function is well known, the protective actions of the mucus barrier are relatively understudied.

Preterm birth affects approximately 12 percent of all deliveries. Prematurity is the leading cause of neo-natal mortality in Canada and is a major risk factor for impaired growth and development. There is a pressing need for tests to predict the risk of premature delivery accurately enough to provide the best treatment to prevent pre-term delivery and avoid unnecessary interventions.

Pre-term babies, those born before week 37 weeks of gestation, are more susceptible to invasive infections than full-term babies. The smallest babies born “extremely” premature (those born before 32 weeks, or approximately 1,500 grams or less of birth weight) suffer the greatest burden of infection among all age patient age groups in BC and other developed countries in general. About one in four “extremely” pre-term babies suffers from an invasive infection, which adds up to more than 8,760 new invasive infections in North America each year.