Backgrounder

August 17, 2009

Early Researcher Awards

Ontario is providing $11.5 million to support 82 emerging researchers and their teams at 21 institutions across Ontario. Each lead researcher will receive $140,000 through the Early Researcher Awards program.

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

New Radioactive Probes to Image the Living Human Brain
Lead researcher: Dr. Neil  Vasdev
Number of researchers benefiting: 3

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health has created radioactive molecules used around the world to assess people who have psychiatric illnesses. Dr. Vasdev and his team will assess individuals using a medical technique known as Positron Emission Tomography (PET). A person undergoing a PET scan is injected with the radioactive molecules. A special camera then measures the distribution of these molecules, and creates an image of the biochemical processes in the living person. Dr. Vasdev is training students in radiochemistry, a field critically short of qualified personnel. They will join the growing ranks of Ontario’s highly trained workforce.

Mount Sinai Hospital

Regulation of Centrosome Maturation in Mammalian Cells
Lead researcher: Dr. Laurence  Pelletier
Number of researchers benefiting: 3

All of our cells contain structures called centrosomes. Among other functions, centrosomes play an important role in making sure our chromosomes separate accurately during cell division. Defects in centrosome function are linked to cancer progression and disorders such is polycystic kidney disease and Down Syndrome. Dr. Pelletier will probe the sequenced human genome to identify novel regulators of centrosome function. He will use cutting-edge microscopy techniques to study the most promising candidates in living cells. This work will help us more fully understand their roles in the myriad of functions associated with centrosomes and how, if mutated, these genes affect disease.

Ryerson University

Improving Depression Outcomes Through Better Sleep
Lead researcher: Dr. Colleen Elizabeth Carney
Number of researchers benefiting: 6

At any given time, almost three million Canadians are suffering from serious depression which is often also associated with insomnia. Dr. Carney’s research is aimed at finding out whether treating both insomnia and depression improves treatment outcomes for those with depression. This work will help her establish the first Cognitive Behavioural Sleep Medicine training program in Ontario.

Cognition Throughout the Lifespan: Examining the Aging and Expert Brain
Lead researcher: Dr. Ben James Dyson
Number of researchers benefiting: 2

As we get older, our physical and mental systems mature and it becomes important to accommodate these changes so that we continue to understand and appreciate the world. However, with maturity often comes expertise. The positive effects of expertise often offset the negative effects of aging. Dr. Dyson’s research seeks to investigate the extent to which expertise inhibits or facilitates the natural reconfiguration of cognitive processes as a result of aging, using both behavioural and event-related brain recordings.

Performance Enhancement of Artificial Muscle Actuated Catheter for Biomedical Applications
Lead researcher: Dr. Victor X.D. Yang
Number of researchers benefiting: 4

Dr. Yang and his research team will utilize advanced laser micro-machining, fibre optical sensing and close-loop control schemes to manufacture and control a new generation of active catheters with improved performance. Such micro-catheters can be inserted into the human body and controlled by physicians to diagnose and treat a wide variety of diseases such as strokes and heart attacks in a minimally invasive manner. This could decrease procedural time, reduce complications, and lower treatment cost.

St. Michael's Hospital

An Integrated Approach for Tumor Marker Discovery for Kidney Cancer
Lead researcher: Dr. George M. Yousef
Number of researchers benefiting: 2

Tests for early detection of kidney cancer are needed. Dr. Yousef is using highly advanced techniques and computer bioinformatic programs to compare the thousands of genes produced in kidney cancer to normal kidney genes. This research could identify new tumour markers that will help detect this disease and predict its aggressiveness and also help more accurately plan treatment and follow up for recurrence of kidney cancer. It will also help us better understand how other types of cancer develop and create new treatments.

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Novel Ultrasound Methods for the Treatment of Cancer Therapy
Lead researcher: Dr. Gregory J. Czarnota
Number of researchers benefiting: 4

Radiation is a common method for treating many kinds of cancer. Dr. Czarnota’s team recently discovered that radiation can be far more effective when combined with ultrasound. It found that the use of ultrasound is able to perturb the blood vessels in tumours, making them 10 times more sensitive to treatment. Now the team is using cell death detection methods developed in Dr. Czarnota’s laboratory to monitor the effects of this type of treatment. These research findings could replace standard radiation treatments around the world with an innovative, more potent cancer treatment.

The Hospital for Sick Children

Understanding the Genes Involved in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Lead researcher: Dr. Aleixo Michael Muise
Number of researchers benefiting: 3

About 10,000 new cases of inflammatory bowel disease are diagnosed each year in Canada. The heavy burden of this disease includes education and work interruptions and lifelong medication as well as psychological and hospitalization expenses. While its cause is unknown, Dr. Muise has identified proteins involved in maintaining the barrier of the intestine. Dr. Muise’s research on these proteins in the gastrointestinal tract will determine their role in the development of this debilitating disease and could lead to new diagnostic tests and therapies for patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Using Non-Standard Statistical Techniques to Map Genes for Rolandic Epilepsy
Lead researcher: Dr. Lisa J. Strug
Number of researchers benefiting: 3

Rolandic epilepsy, a complex brain disorder of unknown genetic cause, is the most common form of human epilepsy, affecting as many as a quarter of school-age children who have epilepsy. It usually causes brief partial seizures that involve the face and mouth, at night or during the early morning. These children are at increased risk of reading, speech, and attention disorders. Dr. Strug’s non-standard statistical methodology to identify genes related to Rolandic Epilepsy traits has had excellent initial success. Her team is extending the development of this statistical work to identify genes for Rolandic epilepsy-associated seizures, speech sound disorder, reading disability and migraine. This work could lay the groundwork for prevention or treatment of these disorders.

Structural Analysis of a Molecular Proton Pump
Lead researcher: Dr. John Lennard Rubinstein
Number of researchers benefiting: 1

Vacuolar ATPases (V-ATPases) – molecules that control the acidity inside and outside cells – are involved in many disease processes, including osteoporosis, renal tubule acidosis, and cancer. Dr. Rubinstein’s team’s research into the structure, mechanisms and functions of V-ATPase will help us move closer toward designing drugs that can inhibit the activity of these molecules. The drugs developed as a result of this research will affect the lives of the many Ontario citizens who are living with these diseases.

Restoring Function to the Auditory Cortex in Children who are Deaf
Lead researcher: Dr. Karen Ann Gordon
Number of researchers benefiting: 3

The auditory parts of the brain are virtually silent in children who are deaf. These areas are vulnerable to take-over by active brain regions. A cochlear implant surgically implanted into only one inner ear may ward off abnormal effects of deafness. Dr. Gordon’s proposed studies will use measures of brain activity in children to find effects of childhood deafness, track changes promoted by unilateral cochlear implant use, and determine whether bilateral implants improve brain development more effectively than unilateral implants. These results will help Ontario determine whether one, or two, cochlear implants should be the standard of care for children in Ontario who are deaf in both ears.

University Health Network

Central Nervous System and Cholesterol Metabolism
Lead researcher: Dr. Tony K.T. Lam
Number of researchers benefiting: 3

People with cardiovascular disease, diabetes or obesity often benefit from lowering their blood cholesterol levels. Dr. Lam and his team plan to determine whether the Central Nervous System (CNS) plays a role in lowering cholesterol production in the liver, which would, in turn, lower blood cholesterol levels. Their research into the physiological and molecular components of CNS sensing may result in new treatments that target molecules in the brain to help lower the blood cholesterol levels in people who have cardiovascular disease, diabetes or obesity.

University of Toronto

Eating ‘off the grid’:  Understanding Consumer Motivation in the Alternative Food Sector
Lead researcher: Dr. Josee  Johnston
Number of researchers benefiting: 7

Alternative food options, such as organic food stores, farmer’s markets and community supported agriculture, are an expanding way for people to obtain their groceries and express their politics. Dr. Johnston’s research will untangle the web of motivations that guide consumers in the alternative food sector. Her team will use surveys to document the demographic profile of consumers engaging in the alternative food sector in the Greater Toronto Area, along with focus group research and interviews to explore the meaning consumers attribute to these shopping venues. This research will further our understanding of why consumers look for alternatives to mainstream grocery shopping.

Stigma and Decision-making: Does Coping with Prejudice Lead to Bad Decisions?
Lead researcher: Dr. Michael  Inzlicht
Number of researchers benefiting: 4

Does prejudice affect the ability of stigmatized groups to make effective decisions? If so, what are the specific economic and health consequences for these groups, stereotyped on the basis of their ethnicity, race, gender, or religion? While it is clear that prejudice affects many visible minorities in Canada directly, it is unclear how chronically coping with prejudice can indirectly affect the everyday decisions people make. Dr. Inzlicht’s research examines these questions and has the potential to improve economic and health outcomes around the world.

Microfluidic Strategies for the Assembly of Tailored Materials
Lead researcher: Dr. Axel Guenther
Number of researchers benefiting: 4

Scientists can now shrink entire laboratories to portable, chip-based formats, and manipulate minute fluid volumes in complex microenvironments. Dr. Guenther’s research team is taking advantage of the unique flow behaviour associated with such small fluid-filled spaces to create microfluidic material processors (MMPs). Similar to the central processing unit that forms the heart of our personal computers and smartphones, MMPs are envisioned to become the Erlenmeyer flasks of the 21 century. They promise to eventually replace some of the tedious, empirical and decade-old procedures that we currently employ to discover and manufacture colloidal nanomaterials. MMPs will further enable the bottom-up assembly of organized soft materials and may fuel breakthroughs in medical diagnostics, renewable energy conversion, and regenerative medicine.

Using Magnetic Flux Spots to Probe Planetary Cores
Lead researcher: Dr. Sabine Stanley
Number of researchers benefiting: 5

Space is still the final frontier. Researchers can gain important information about the interior structures and dynamics of planets by studying the magnetic fields generated in their core. These magnetic fields extend beyond planetary surfaces. Dr. Stanley’s team will use numerical simulations and observational data analysis to investigate small-scale magnetic flux spots. They will use these features to determine solid inner core size, convective vigour and other key characteristics of planetary interiors, thereby furthering our studies of Earth, Mercury and Jupiter.

Training Young Talent for the Development of Novel Catalysts
Lead researcher: Dr. Datong Song
Number of researchers benefiting: 4

Enzymes are naturally occurring catalysts that speed up chemical reactions in living organisms. Dr. Song proposes to develop new types of highly efficient and selective catalysts that work like nature’s enzymes, but modify molecules according to his team’s specifications. By enabling the use of inexpensive and environmentally friendly materials and by improving the efficiency of the existing industrial processes, this research could transform Ontario’s chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

Environmental Risk Assessment Using Mathematical Modelling: A Bayesian Approach
Lead researcher: Dr. George B. Arhonditsis
Number of researchers benefiting: 7

Ontario borders on four of the five Great Lakes. We also have more than a quarter of a million lakes, rivers and streams and rich groundwater resources. These fresh water resources are the basis of our prosperity, our growth and our quality of life. Dr. Arhonditsis research will help us develop environmental management approaches to sustain them. This team is developing aquatic biogeochemical models for Lakes Ontario, Simcoe and Winnipeg – three of the most degraded lakes in Canada. He will investigate how well current models simulate the dynamics of freshwater ecosystems and how rigorously we assess what these models can or cannot predict. In addition, he will use novel statistical analysis techniques to project how the systems will respond if, for example, external nutrient loading or current climatic trends persist. His findings will assist in protecting our vulnerable fresh water ecosystems.

Developing Inexpensive Catalysts for Cleaner, Sulfur-free Gasoline and Oil.
Lead researcher: Dr. Ulrich Werner Fekl
Number of researchers benefiting: 4

The crude oil used to make gasoline contains sulfur. When burned with fuel, this sulfur contributes to formation of urban smog – a major cause of pollution, premature deaths, increased hospital admissions and other illnesses. The petrochemical industry relies on special catalysts to remove much of the sulfur from crude oil. But the industry is increasingly using lower quality oil that is richer in sulphur and current catalysts are not good enough to meet the stricter environmental regulations and standards of the future. Dr. Fekl’s research aims for a better catalyst, made of small molecules, for more efficient sulfur removal.

Value-added Products from Waste Biomass
Lead researcher: Dr. Edgar  Acosta
Number of researchers benefiting: 3

The water we use every day in our homes and businesses becomes wastewater. Dr. Acosta’s team is developing methods to separate out components in this waste water in an environmentally sustainable manner. He employs liquid-liquid extraction to extract lipids, which Ontario can use as a detergent-like product and biodiesel feedstock. He uses precipitation and filtration techniques to extract proteins, which Ontario can use as adhesive additives and high-grade fertilizers, and carbohydrates that can be used to produce ethanol. These innovative ways to put wastewater to work will reduce our solid waste disposal costs, help us develop wastewater bio-refineries, and provide Ontario-based biofuel companies with an abundant source of materials.

Application of Microbial Enzymes for the Development of High-value Materials from Lignocellulosic Biomass
Lead researcher: Dr. Emma R Master
Number of researchers benefiting: 3

Microorganisms and plants have the innate ability to capture and convert carbon dioxide into energy and useful biomaterials. Dr. Master is finding out how to harness this ability and thereby reduce our carbon footprint. Using today’s advances in computation and high throughput instrumentation, her research team is applying genomic and proteomic technologies to elucidate the biochemical activities that direct the synthesis and degradation of plant biomass.  The primary objective of her research is to develop enzymes and reaction conditions for plant fibre engineering and the production high-value materials from biomass. Their search for naturally occurring enzymes that produce renewable energy, plastic-displacing polymers and biocomposites could have tremendous economic implications for Ontario.

High-speed Microring Sesonator Optical Modulators
Lead researcher: Dr. Joyce Kai See Poon
Number of researchers benefiting: 6

The average computer is packed with kilometres of copper wires. Dr. Poon’s team is designing, making and measuring a new type of high performance light switch that could replace these wires with tiny, cost-effective optical data communication systems. Her proposed switch relies on a phenomenon known as resonance, which drives large changes in light intensity from minute changes in a switch’s physical parameters. This innovative new switch is more than a thousand times smaller than a conventional optical switch, and runs on substantially less electrical power. It could pave the way for a new generation of data communication systems.

Cardiovascular Proteomics and Molecular Therapeutics in Heart Failure
Lead researcher: Dr. Anthony O. Gramolini
Number of researchers benefiting: 6

Cardiovascular disease kills 26,000 Ontarians annually, and accounts for 35 per cent of all the deaths in this province.  Dr. Gramolini’s team is meeting the global demand for innovative preventative and therapeutic measures to fight this disease by developing a more complete understanding of the molecular events around it. He is investigating the role of several critical calcium regulatory proteins, as several signaling pathways involved in cardiac disease are linked to intracellular cardiac calcium. This project will help the international research community better understand the events that lead to cardiac disease, and ultimately lead to more effective, targeted treatments.

Chemical Glycobiology and Human Disease
Lead researcher: Dr. Mark  Nitz
Number of researchers benefiting: 6

The cells in our body need to communicate to maintain a healthy balance.  Carbohydrates known as glycosaminoglycans mediate many of these intercellular communications. This internal “conversation” helps guide normal healthy tissue formation and prevents ailments such as cancer, arthritis and asthma. Dr. Nitz is researching new tools that will help us understand the roles that carbohydrates play in intercellular communication pathways. These findings will advance medical research, lead to new ways to treat disease and bacterial infections, and help grow Ontario’s biotechnology sector.

The Role of Innate Immunity in the Development of Asthma
Lead researcher: Dr. Dana Jean Philpott
Number of researchers benefiting: 7

Dr. Philpott is researching potential causes of and treatments for asthma, a respiratory disease that affects more than 2 million Canadians. Dr. Philpott is focusing on defects in a family of proteins known as Nod proteins. When activated by bacteria, Nod proteins trigger inflammation, which acts as an intracellular surveillance system, mediating innate immunity to infections. People who lack proper Nod protein function may be more prone to this disease. Recent genetic studies indicate that mutations in the human NOD1 gene are linked to asthma, as well as eczema and atopy. These studies do not, however, clarify how these mutations could contribute to the development of these diseases. Dr. Philpott’s work in understanding how defects in Nod protein function might contribute to asthmatic disease could lead to new treatments for this disease.

Computational Methods for Next Generation Sequencing Technologies
Lead researcher: Dr. Michael Brudno
Number of researchers benefiting: 3

Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies are revolutionizing the way biologists acquire genomic data. Current NSG machines can now sequence a full human genome in a week, and provide small stretches of DNA data from random areas of the genome, at a cost 200-fold lower than previous methods. Dr. Brudno’s research team will develop even more efficient and robust computational methods for the analysis of NGS datasets. These findings will play an important role in helping researchers better understand the reasons behind the tremendous variations of the human population.

Interplay of Mus81-Eme1 and Fanconi Anemia Signaling in the DNA Damage Response
Lead researcher: Dr. John Peter McPherson
Number of researchers benefiting: 3

An estimated 27,900 people will die of cancer in Ontario in 2009, and 65,100 new cases will be diagnosed. Research into a class of anticancer drugs known as crosslinking agents could help lower that number. Dr. McPherson’s team is focusing on two repair pathways known to fix DNA crosslink damage. One pathway involves a DNA repair enzyme known as Mus81-Eme1. The other involves proteins that are defective in patients with Fanconi Anemia. They will use mouse genetics to find out whether these pathways work together or independently to fix DNA damage. His team’s findings on how the body repairs these crosslinks will help us develop and improve drugs to fight cancer.

Mechanisms of Respiratory Motor Suppression in Sleep: Relevance to Sleep Apnea
Lead researcher: Dr. John Howard Peever
Number of researchers benefiting: 6

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a condition that makes the breathing of millions of North Americans stop up to 20 times per hour during their sleep. OSA can cause heart attacks, strokes or brain damage, or lead to impaired cognitive functioning.  It occurs when the brain fails to keep important breathing muscles in the airway active during sleep. Eventually, the airway collapses, making normal breathing impossible. Dr. Peever’s research team is trying to discover what brain chemicals control airway muscles during sleep so that they can develop a gene therapy treatment to prevent SA.

The Biological Foundations of Social and Moral Disgust
Lead researcher: Dr. Adam Keith Anderson
Number of researchers benefiting: 4

Some consider our capacity for moral reasoning the pinnacle of human evolution. But the biological underpinnings of this capacity in evolutionarily older emotional systems may also play a critical role in moral judgment. Dr. Anderson’s team is using multiple levels of analysis, including facial expression analysis and functional brain imaging, to find out whether social and moral disgust engage evolutionarily older biological systems involved with rejecting toxic or contaminated food. This research may advance our understanding and treatment of disorders of disgust, such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

York University

Outflows from Disks of Matter Orbiting Super-massive Black Holes
Lead researcher: Dr. Patrick Brian Hall
Number of researchers benefiting: 2

Matter spiralling into a super-massive black hole heats up and gives off the light called a quasar.  We understand only vaguely how observable quasar properties are determined by basic parameters like orientation, mass accretion rate, black hole mass and spin. Researchers believe that winds launched from disks around black holes can affect the evolution of massive galaxies.  Dr. Hall and his team will compare in detail the properties of thousands of quasars to wind model predictions.  Research results will guide theoretical modeling and improve our understanding of quasars and their role in galaxy evolution.

Hormonal Regulation of Feeding and Weight Gain in Fish and Rodents
Lead researcher: Dr. Suraj  Unniappan
Number of researchers benefiting: 4

Hormones regulate food intake, blood sugar levels, and body weight of animals. The overall objective and long-term goal of Dr. Unniappan’s research is to identify novel metabolic hormones and elucidate their biological actions. His studies are expected to provide new insights into the possible mechanisms by which novel hormones regulate energy balance in fish and rodents. The results of Dr. Unniappan’s research have the potential to be used to develop new therapies for metabolic diseases including obesity and diabetes, and also to induce growth and increased body weight in cultured fish.

An Immuno-Epidemiological Model for Influenza Vaccine Predictability
Lead researcher: Dr. Jane Marie Heffernan
Number of researchers benefiting: 6

Every year many Ontarians contract influenza.  While many recover easily, some become severely ill. As influenza viruses change, usually by mutation, their alterations also increase people’s lifetime susceptibility. The flu vaccine, freely distributed in Ontario, targets the dominant annual flu strain, reducing the number and severity of cases. Despite recent advances, prediction of the dominant strain is imperfect. Viral mutation is driven by viral/immune system/vaccine interactions within the body. Dr. Heffernan and her team propose to develop new mathematical models capturing this in-host viral evolution, and create epidemiological models to improve sensitivity to changes in key viral characteristics. Resulting improvements include better prediction of dominant strain and vaccine creation.

Suffer the Little Children:  Understanding the Development of Infant Pain Reactivity and the Impact of Parental Management
Lead researcher: Dr. Rebecca Rita Elizabeth Pillai Riddell
Number of researchers benefiting: 2

Infants do not have the ability to self-report or self-manage their pain and are dependent on their caregivers.  To date, however, infant pain research has largely ignored parent-infant interaction – an important framework in which to understand infant distress. Dr. Pillai Riddell’s innovative research follows parents and infants over the infants’ first immunization appointments and studies parents’ patterns of soothing the infant. It will contribute to the reduction of infant suffering by providing longitudinal evidence on how to optimally manage infant pain.

Regulation of metabolic Partitioning and Whole-body Energy Homeostasis by AMPK Activation in Adipose Tissue and Skeletal Muscle
Lead researcher: Dr. Rolando B. Ceddia
Number of researchers benefiting: 2

Dr. Ceddia’s research goal is to reverse or prevent obesity; a major metabolic disorder with rapidly increasing incidence in the Canadian population. Molecular biology, cell biology, and in vivo physiology/metabolism techniques are utilized to study the regulation of energy expenditure and storage under conditions of diet-induced obesity, food restriction, and exercise. Dr. Ceddia’s research may provide the foundation for the development of alternative therapeutic approaches to treat obesity that are safer and more efficient than the methods that are currently available.