Backgrounder
September 18, 2008
ADVANCED HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES AND PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH
LIFE SCIENCES, ADVANCED HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES
AND PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH PROJECTS
GREATER TORONTO AREA
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Dr. Shari Forbes
Helping law enforcement solve murder cases and food safety authorities develop better standards based on decomposition rates
Provincial Funding: $125,000
Decomposition chemistry is a unique area of research that focuses on the complex chemical reactions that occur as soft tissue degrades. It is important to both the forensic science community and the food science industry. In a new decomposition chemistry laboratory and geoforensic research facility at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Dr. Shari Forbes is studying the chemical processes of soft tissue degradation under variable environments. Her work will help law enforcement and human rights agencies estimate the time of death in forensic investigations, which will aid identification of the victim and potential suspects.
Ryerson University
Dr. Sridhar Krishnan
Developing non-invasive diagnostic tools
Provincial Funding: $100,654
Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is a wildly irregular heartbeat and it’s the leading cause of sudden cardiac arrest. If there was a way to accurately predict VF before it happened, better interventions could be developed. That’s just one of many areas Dr. Sridhar Krishnan is focused on at Ryerson University, using mathematical techniques known as biomedical signal analysis. Dr. Krishnan studies signals emitted by the human body to predict and prevent illness. His work may well change how injuries and diseases are diagnosed and treated in the future – and could lead to better designed diagnostic and screening tools and assistive devices.
Dr. Victor Yang
Developing an exciting emerging medical imaging technology
Provincial funding: $125,000
At a unique Bioengineering and Biophotonics Laboratory at Ryerson University, Dr. Victor Yang and his research team are using recent engineering advances in telecommunications to design, prototype and manufacture innovative fibre optical probes for an exciting emerging medical imaging technology. It’s called Doppler optical coherence tomography and the advantages of the device Dr. Yang proposes to develop are that they’re small, relatively inexpensive, minimally invasive and they allow doctors to see blood vessels in living patients in real-time. In addition to the obvious health benefits resulting from Dr. Yang’s work, he proposes to overcome current manufacturing limitations faced by research groups, which affect the size of clinical trials and the adoption of new technologies.
York University
Dr. Kari Hoffman
Determining the connection between perception and memory formation
Provincial Funding: $197,526
Brain and nervous system disorders are a leading cause of death and disability in Canada, costing taxpayers an estimated $22.7 billion a year. The incidence of these disorders will rise as the population ages, which makes improvements in prevention and treatment a priority. Research being conducted by Dr. Kari Hoffman at York University will look at perception and memory formation to provide a deeper understanding of the biological causes of these disorders. The ultimate goal of her research is to use this knowledge to improve diagnosis and treatment.
Dr. Dorota Crawford
Discovering what causes autism
Provincial Funding: $203,494
Autism is a severely incapacitating and lifelong disability that impairs an individual’s ability to communicate and interact with others. It costs the health care system millions of dollars a year, as well as taking its toll on the affected individuals and their families. Its incidence is on the rise; its cause unknown. Dr. Dorota Crawford at York University will use a multidisciplinary approach to investigate what goes wrong in the brain development of autistic individuals, specifically the role of genes and environmental factors. Her research may lead to the development of better and more effective treatments.
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Dr. Gerald Audette, Dr. Vivan Saridakis
Determining the biological function of proteins
Provincial Funding: $641,992
Proteins are essential parts of organisms and participate in every process within cells. Each protein’s function is governed by its three-dimensional structure and through its interactions with other biological molecules. At a new state-of-the-art protein X-ray crystallography facility at York University, Drs. Gerald Audette and Vivian Saridakis will determine the three-dimensional structures of proteins in an effort to understand their biological function. Dr. Audette will explore how bacteria spread genetic material, which can lead to multi-drug resistant bacteria. Dr. Vivian Saridakis will focus on tumor suppressor proteins. The goal of their research is to develop new, more effective preventions or therapies.
Dr. Derek Wilson
Uncovering how proteins function
Provincial Funding: $201,412
While we know that proteins are essential parts of organisms and participate in every process within the body’s cells, there is still a lot to learn about how they function. Using the latest in mass spectrometry and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Dr. Derek Wilson at York University’s Protein Biophysics Laboratory is investigating the connection between the structural motions of proteins and their biological function—with the goal of discovering new methods of drug design.
University of Toronto
Dr. Dana Philpott
Developing new therapies for serious inflammatory diseases
Provincial Funding: $124,754
Serious inflammatory disorders such as asthma and Crohn’s disease affect millions of Canadians, but their cause remains a mystery. Research being conducted by Dr. Dana Philpott at a new state-of-the-art tissue culture, microbiological and bio-molecular facility in her lab at the University of Toronto will focus on understanding the molecular basis of these diseases. Her research will pave the way for the development of new therapeutics for the treatment and, ultimately, the prevention of these debilitating disorders.
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Dr. Jennifer Gommerman and Dr. Cindi Morshead
Developing regenerative medicine therapies for neurodegenerative diseases
Provincial Funding: $210,438
Regenerative medicine focuses on using the body’s own cells, tissues and DNA to heal itself. It holds the promise of transforming treatment for a host of conditions and diseases through innovative new therapies that offer a faster, more complete recovery with significantly fewer side effects or risk of complications. Drs. Jennifer Gommerman and Cindi Morshead at the University of Toronto, will use bone marrow transplantation to determine the therapeutic potential of specific genes and/or cell types. Their goal is to develop regenerative medicine therapies for neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis, stroke and lung disease which affect thousands of Ontarians every year.
Dr. Claudiu Gradinaru
An innovative microscope for studying biological molecules
Provincial Funding: $232,000
The nanotech revolution currently underway relies on sophisticated microscopy techniques capable of capturing the properties and behaviour of atoms and molecules. Dr. Claudiu Gradinaru of the University of Toronto is building an advanced ultrasensitive optical microscope capable of collecting many fluorescence perameters at the same time. The new microscope, which will be only the second of its kind in the world, will help place Ontario at the leading edge of single-molecule research. It will enable Dr. Gradinaru to gain a unique insight into the mechanisms of protein folding and the dynamics of protein-drug interactions, which will impact the development of strategies directed against misfolding diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and Alzheimer’s.
Dr. Axel Guenther
Revolutionizing drug discovery
Provincial Funding: $100,000
Coming up with new classes of nanomaterials (materials that exhibit different physical, chemical, electrical and magnetic properties than conventional materials) and integrating them into microdevices is the focus of research being conducted by Dr. Axel Guenther at the University of Toronto. Dr. Guenther and his research team will fabricate next-generation “microfluidic” devices with tailored properties for biomedical applications. His work has great potential to revolutionize drug discovery.
Dr. Jason Moffat
Identifying genes that promote adaptive evolution
Provincial Funding: $391,086
The future of medical research lies in understanding the functions of all the genes in the human genome. One way to approach this goal is to systematically turn off the gene expression for every gene and explore the changes that influence cell proliferation, growth, death, adhesion and other properties. That’s what Dr. Jason Moffat is doing at a new imaging facility at the University of Toronto. Dr Moffat aims to identify genes that promote adaptive evolution (an evolutionary process that is directed by natural selection, which makes a population better adapted to live in an environment) during the development of tumours – with the goal of producing new advances in the fight against cancer.
Dr. Gary Bader
Developing a public library of all known biological processes
Provincial Funding: $142,517
Led by Dr. Gary Bader, researchers at the University of Toronto will develop novel computational methods to construct the human “active cell map”, a set of snapshots of all known biological processes, under both normal and diseased circumstances. The human active cell map will be useful for diseases classification and the development of tests for diagnosis (determining the nature of a condition) and prognosis (forecasting the probable course). It will also help identify and prioritize new treatment targets and potentially uncover new treatment methods.
Dr. Hiroshi Suzuki
Developing better diagnostics and treatments for neurodegenerative diseases
Provincial Funding: $163,998
Developing better diagnostics and treatments for neurodegenerative diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases (conditions in which cells of the brain and spinal cord are lost) impose a great emotional burden on patients and caregivers – and an equally significant economic burden on society. Despite the urgent need for effective diagnostics and treatments, there are few. At a new facility at the University of Toronto, Dr. Hiroshi Suzuki will use a model organism, C. elegans (roundworm), to examine the genetic and environmental risk factors of neurodegenerative diseases. His novel approach is expected to make it possible to develop new diagnostics and therapeutics much more quickly than current methods.
Dr. Lidan You
Developing a way to regenerate bone
Provincial Funding: $100,000
With the incidence of osteoporosis on the rise, there’s a need for better prevention and treatment of this debilitating condition. At the Laboratory for Cellular and Molecular Biomechanics at the University of Toronto, Dr. Lidan You is focused on understanding bone metabolism with the goal of developing a method for mechanically stimulating bone regeneration. Her work could lead to the development of advanced artificial bone tissue replacement therapies. In the process it could help reduce the costs of treating osteoporosis and improve the quality of life for the millions of Canadians who suffer from it.
Dr. Jason Plaks
Learning more about how human personality works
Provincial Funding: $71,165
Why do some people persevere in the face of challenge while others withdraw? When do people focus their attention on information that confirms their prior beliefs about someone and when do they focus on novel, surprising information? Those are two questions Dr. Jason Plaks aims to answer at the new Motivational Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Toronto, the first of its kind in Canada. Dr. Plaks will combine state-of-the-art neurophysiological techniques with traditional methods of social and personality psychology. His work has important implications for educators (reduced drop-out rates), business (improved worker productivity) and health care workers (reduced relapse rates of addiction).
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Dr. Agnes Wong, Dr. Doug Cheyne, Dr. Margot Taylor
Developing treatments for lazy eye, the number one cause of monocular blindness
Provincial Funding: $399,988
Congenital and acquired disorders of the eyes affect millions of people worldwide. Central to them is the concept of neuroplasticity, the dynamic brain processes that allow us to adapt to growth, aging, injury and disease. Abnormal neuroplasticity underlies a number of disorders, including amblyopia (lazy eye), the number one cause of monocular blindness in the western world. At the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Drs. Agnes Wong, Doug Cheyne and Margot Taylor are investigating the mechanisms that underlie lazy eye using anatomic, behavioural, psychophysical and neuroimaging methods. Their work will lead to novel therapeutic and preventative strategies to forestall or reverse the condition, as well as many other eye disorders.
Dr. Yana Yunusova
Advancing early detection of ALS
Provincial Funding: $63,901
Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis, ALS, is a progressive, fatal disease caused by the degeneration of motor neurons, the nerve cells in the central nervous system that control voluntary muscle movement. It’s the most common form of motor neuron disease and among the most devastating to patients and their families. ALS is poorly understood and the absence of a diagnostic bio-marker, together with variations in presentation and progression across patients, makes it a challenge to detect in the early stages of the disease. Dr. Yana Yunusova at the University of Toronto aims to develop techniques that will aid early detection of ALS, particularly the most aggressive form, which begins in the brain stem and affects speech production and swallowing functions. Her work will have important ramifications for ALS and other conditions that affect speech motor control.
Dr. Bernard Le Foll
Creating new medications to treat tobacco addiction
Provincial Funding: $200,000
Despite the progress that’s been made in helping people stop smoking, nicotine addiction persists. Why do some people become addicted to nicotine while others don’t? Why can some stop smoking and others can’t? Dr. Bernard Le Foll aims to answer those questions by studying the neurobiological mechanisms underlying drug dependence. The goal of his research is to develop new medications to treat tobacco dependence.
Dr. Rüdiger von Harsdorf
Developing a non-invasive treatment for heart failure
Provincial Funding: $258,163
Heart failure occurs when the heart is unable to pump a sufficient amount of blood through the body. It’s the leading cause of death in developed countries. Current treatment focuses on drug intervention, but this is often not successful. When drug therapy fails, there are few alternatives – mainly heart transplants and mechanical assist devices – which pose their own set of challenges. Dr. Rüdiger von Harsdorf at the University Health Network is studying the mechanisms behind the regulation of heart muscle cells with the goal of developing a treatment that induces cell division of healthy heart muscle cells to compensate for the loss of cardiac muscle brought on by heart failure. His research promises new hope for the millions of patients suffering from heart failure.
Dr. Lakshmi Kotra
Designing new drugs for infectious diseases
Provincial Funding: $396,580
Infectious diseases like SARS, influenza and malaria, and cancer represent an urgent challenge for Ontarians and our health care system. At a new medicinal chemistry facility at the University Health Network, researchers led by Dr. Lakshmi Kotra are focused on novel approaches to developing detection methods and treatments for these health problems. With the support of medicinal chemists who will design and optimize the potential drug candidates, this work could lead to improved detection as well as therapeutics saving lives and making better use of health-care dollars.
Dr. Subodh Verma
Bringing new treatments for cardiovascular disease to clinical trial faster
Provincial Funding: $129,455
Cardiometabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are at epidemic proportions, fuelled by escalating levels of obesity. Dr. Subodh Verma at the University of Toronto is focused on developing models of cardiometabolic diseases. The goal is to develop more avenues of treatment and bring them to clinical trial more quickly, with obvious benefits both to patients and Ontario’s life sciences industry.
Dr. David Haley
Exploring the link between stress and early brain development
Provincial Funding: $40,000
Dr. David Haley at the University of Toronto is investigating the impact of stress, parenting and sleep on early learning. This study of early brain development will help clinicians and educators develop tools to nurture and educate children and to optimize assistance for children with special needs. The ultimate goal is to help children realize their full potential.
Dr. Eli Sone
Developing treatments for periodontal disease
Provincial Funding: $180,000
Periodontal disease is an infection of the gums in which the connection between the tooth root and the ligament is destroyed, leading to the loss of the tooth. It’s the most common oral disease in adults in Canada and as the population ages, the numbers of people affected will rise. To date, there is no treatment that can re-establish the connection between the ligament and the tooth root. At a new Composite Biological Materials Laboratory at the University of Toronto, Dr. Eli Sone is investigating the organic-inorganic interface that is so vital to the function of teeth and bones – and also plays important roles in many other biological systems. His work will lead to treatments for periodontal disease, osteoporsis and calcification of cardiovascular tissues, all increasingly common medical challenges.
Dr. Marc Mengehini
Exploring how cells function
Provincial Funding: $179,999
Human cells can exist in either of two fundamental states: replicative (the state when cells are dividing) or quiescent (when they’re not). While scientists know that defects in the maintenance of quiescence are a common cause of cancer, they’re unclear on just how it works. Using two model organisms, C. elegans and the yeast S. cerevisae, Dr. Marc Mengehini at the University of Toronto is exploring the fundamental mechanisms that govern quiescence. His work has important ramifications for cancer treatment.
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Dr. Frank Sicheri, Dr. Helen McNeill, Dr. Jim Woodgett
Exploring a new growth and tissue organization pathway to develop better treatments for cancer
Provincial Funding: $369,840
Therapeutics used in the treatment of various cancers are designed with partial information available to scientists. The result is that they are very general in their ‘mode of action’ and not as effective as they could be. Understanding the mechanisms of key pathways is fundamental to developing more effective and tailored treatments. Drs. Frank Sicheri, Helen McNeill and Jim Woodgett at the University of Toronto are investigating a newly described growth and tissue organization pathway, called the fat signaling pathway. Recent studies have indicated that this pathway is disrupted in a variety of cancers and the researchers will explore the effect of the loss of fat signaling function on cancer incidence and metastasis.
Dr. Laura-Ann Petitto
Devising ways for educators to better teach immigrant children
Provincial Funding: $141,781
At a revolutionary new Brain, Behaviour, Genes Laboratory at the University of Toronto, Dr. Laura-Ann Petitto is studying the biological bases of language. The goal is to better understand how bilingual and monolingual children learn language and reading, what happens when this process breaks down, and when and how to remediate.
Dr. Jennifer Tackett
Preventing and treating antisocial behaviour in children
Provincial Funding: $75,263
Antisocial behaviour in children and adolescents – things like aggression, delinquency and hyperactivity – has severe and far-reaching consequences, not just for the individuals themselves, but for their parents, teachers, peers and society as a whole. These behaviours are very difficult to treat or prevent, in large part because the risk factors for them are poorly understood. Dr. Jennifer Tackett at the University of Toronto is conducting research into those risk factors. Her work will produce new insights into the problem, and how to develop targeted and effective prevention and intervention programs.
Dr. Ofer Levi
Designing miniaturized sensors to improve diagnosis of serious illnesses
Provincial Funding: $150,000
At the University of Toronto, Dr. Ofer Levi is focused on designing miniaturized sensors for portable, low-cost, rapid, bio-diagnosis systems. These systems will be able to be used in vivo (inside) in implantable imaging and sensing devices to monitor changes in tumours, for instance. They will also be used in vitro (outside) on lab-on-a-chip systems to perform portable, minimally invasive, rapid diagnosis. The goal of the research is to improve diagnosis and treatment of serious illnesses, including cancer.
Dr. Art Petronis
Developing ways to reverse disease
Provincial Funding: $217,373
Although an individual’s DNA is pretty well locked in at conception, exposure to external things such as toxins, can cause a chemical reaction within the body that can permanently alter the way genes react – without changing the DNA sequence. Scientific evidence suggests that this environmentally triggered gene expression, or epigenetic imprint, not only has repercussions for an individual, it could have effects on future generations stemming from that individual. There’s an urgent need to perform large scale epigenomic studies in human diseases such as schizophrenia, depression, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer – and that’s the focus of research being conducted by Dr. Art Petronis at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. His work could lead to ways to reverse disease.
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Dr. Lee Adamson, Dr. Isabella Caniggia, Dr. Robert Casper
Developing interventions to improve fertility rates and mother and neonatal survival
Provincial funding: $390,545
Minimizing pregnancy complications is the focus of research being conducted by Drs. Lee Adamson, Isabella Caniggia and Robert Casper at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute. Specifically, the researchers are aiming to improve embryo health in an effort to boost the success of in vitro fertilization, where the success rate is just 30 per cent. They’re also aiming to reduce the maternal and fetal risks associated with preeclampsia (a condition that occurs during pregnancy characterized by high blood pressure and can lead to death) and fetal growth restriction (where the fetus is unable to achieve its genetically determined potential size). The goal of this work is to develop interventions to significantly improve infertility rates and mother and neonatal survival.
Dr. Patrick Gunning
Beating cancer with a cutting-edge treatment
Provincial funding: $131,890
One in three Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. But despite improvements in detection and treatment, there’s still an urgent need for better therapies, ones that are innovative, efficient, less costly – and which result in fewer adverse side-effects. At his laboratory at the University of Toronto Mississauga, Dr. Patrick Gunning is focused on doing just that. His research is based on reversing a protein’s irregular role through the disruption of protein-protein interactions. It’s a field that is in its infancy, and Dr. Gunning is at the forefront of its exploitation.
Dr. Elizabeth Johnson
Discovering how language develops in infants
Provincial funding: $78,145
Long before infants begin to speak, they must first learn to hear speech as a string of discrete words. Then they must learn how adults put these words together to communicate. How infants meet this challenge so early in their development is the focus of research being conducted by Dr. Elizabeth Johnson in a new lab at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Dr. Johnson and her team are using a mix of traditional and innovative new methods to investigate how infants decode the speech signal and extract words from speech, how they first begin attaching meanings to words and how caregiver-infant interactions contribute to early word learning. This work will advance our knowledge of early perceptual and cognitive development and is of great interest to those involved in infant health, speech therapy, and preschool education.
Dr. Voula Kanelis
Uncovering the molecular basis of diseases
Provincial funding: $80,000
The proper regulation of biological processes in part depends on protein-protein interactions. Genetic mutations that disrupt essential interactions lead to disease. Understanding the molecular basis of diseases is necessary for designing therapies and it requires knowledge of protein-protein interactions. At a new facility at the University of Toronto Mississauga, Dr. Voula Kanelis is probing the interactions in protein complexes that are essential for human health. Her work is focused on the SUR family of proteins which are necessary for proper pancreatic and cardiovascular function. Dr. Kanelis’ research is of significant interest to the pharmaceutical sector (development of new drugs) and the public (potential cures for cardiovascular disease and diabetes).
Dr. Kenneth Croitoru
Getting to the bottom of what causes inflammatory bowel diseases
Provincial funding: $43,815
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), including Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, are debilitating conditions with huge human and health care costs. Their cause is unknown and there is no cure. Canada has one of the highest rates for IBD in the world. At a new lab at the University of Toronto, Dr. Kenneth Croitoru is studying both mice and humans to gain insight into the cause of IBD and its progression. His work may lead to identifying the “ trigger” of the abnormal intestinal immune responses that are thought to be the cause of IBD – and ultimately to the identification of new molecular targets for developing drugs or specifically targeted biological agents to treat these diseases.
Dr. Andrew Emili
Accelerating Biomarker Discovery to improve diagnosis and treatment for diseases
Provincial funding: $135,268
Proteins are recognized as key regulators of disease. Both their pattern of expression and abundance indicates particular diseases and so they can be used as “biomarkers” to identify which patients are likely to develop a particular disease or respond to certain therapies. But to date, only a limited number of protein biomarkers have been identified and validated clinically. Dr. Andrew Emili aims to accelerate the biomarker discovery process at a new advanced proteomic facility at the University of Toronto. Specifically, Dr. Emili is using breakthrough advances in mass spectrometry combined with innovative proteomic concepts and methods. The ultimate goal of his research is to improve diagnoses and treatments of diseases.
Dr. Alan Moses
Understanding the systems that regulate gene activity
Provincial funding: $88,000
In the past 10 years genome sequences have provided researchers with complete catalogues of all the genes for a number of organisms. But because most biological processes are the result of multiple genes working together at a precisely specified place and time, a critical missing component of modern molecular biology is an understanding of how gene activity is regulated – and how it evolves. Combining genome-scale computational analysis with molecular experiments, Dr. Alan Moses at the University of Toronto is focused on identifying sequences that control gene activity. His work will shed light on the mechanisms underlying diseases such as cancer, and how evolution generates biological diversity.
Dr. Carolyn Cummins
Identifying new drug targets for diabetes
Provincial funding: $176,169
Diabetes is a serious disease in which the body doesn’t properly control the amount of sugar in the blood. Diabetes robs its victims of quality of life and increases the likelihood of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, amputation and death. And it’s reaching epidemic levels in the many G7 countries. In Canada alone, over two million people have diabetes and that number is expected to rise to three million by the end of the decade. Better diagnoses and treatments are urgently needed. That’s the focus of Dr. Carolyn Cummins’ work. The University of Toronto researcher is combining the tools of molecular biology and biochemistry with cutting-edge analytical methodologies to examine the role of nuclear hormone receptors in sugar metabolism with the goal of identifying new drug targets.
Dr. Phillip Sherman
Developing an effective treatment for inflammatory bowel disease
Provincial Funding: $170,939
Canada has the highest rate in the world of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. These diseases are painful and debilitating, robbing people of their quality of life. They’re also expensive to treat and the treatments are largely ineffective. While the cause of IBD is unknown, increasing evidence points to altered microflora (bacterial colonies responsible for intestinal health) in the gut as the culprit. Dr. Phillip Sherman at the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute is studying the role of probiotics (dietary supplements containing beneficial bacteria or yeast) in preventing intestinal inflammation.
Dr. William Stanford
Advancing regenerative medicine to repair diseased or injured tissues
Provincial Funding: $100,000
In regenerative medicine stem cells are induced to differentiate into specific cell types to repair diseased or injured tissues. Regenerative medicine has the potential to transform the treatment of human diseases, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes and spinal cord injury. But before it can be fully realized, scientists need to have a much better understanding of how stem cells function in both healthy and diseased states. That’s the focus of research being conducted by Dr. William Stanford at The Stem Cell Bioengineering and Functional Genomics Laboratory at the University of Toronto. His research will result in development of new technologies to detect and treat human disease.
Dr. Belinda Chang
Discovering more about the molecular mechanisms underlying vision and visual disease
Provincial funding: $20,000
Vision is possible because of finely tuned molecular sensors in the eye called visual pigment proteins. Changes in the biochemical properties of visual pigments can have profound consequences on visual capabilities. Visual pigment function is the focus of research being done by Dr. Belinda Chang at the University of Toronto. Using a unique blend of bioinformatics, genomics and molecular evolution, Dr. Chang is reconstructing the evolutionary history of visual pigment proteins so that important changes in their function can be examined experimentally. The goal of her work is to better understand the basic molecular mechanisms underlying vision and eye diseases. In the process, Dr. Chang hopes to shed more light on a diverse super-family of G-protein coupled receptors known to play important roles in the body not only in vision, but learning and memory, depression, anxiety and substance abuse.
Dr. Dina Brooks
Devising better rehabilitation therapies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Provincial Funding: $96,718
Devising better rehabilitation therapies for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is costly. Rehabilitation focuses on helping reduce symptoms and improve quality of life so individuals can carry out daily tasks, such as dressing, grocery shopping and walking. But questions remain about how effective rehabilitation programs are and the best way to go about them – questions Dr. Dina Brooks at the University of Toronto is focused on answering with the goal of developing new and more effective therapies.
Dr. Stuart Foster
Developing systems to see painlessly inside the body
Provincial Funding: $268,511
At a new state-of-the-art ultrasound Transducer Fabrication Facility at the University of Toronto, Dr. Stuart Foster is developing micro-imaging devices to study models of human disease in living mice. New high frequency transducer arrays will expand the functionality of ultrasound microimaging biology and speed the development of new drugs and therapies for conditions such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. They will also provide unique tools for image-guided bio research which will be commercialized for use in research labs around the world.
Dr. M. B. Sokolowski
Developing better treatments for people suffering from food disorders
Provincial Funding: $261,609
Food disorders like anorexia, bulimia, binge eating and obesity affect millions of Canadians. But while they’re prevalent and growing – and place a heavy burden on our health care system – food disorders are not well understood and that makes treating them very difficult. Dr. M.B. Sokolowski at the University of Toronto uses the fruit fly to discover the genes involved in regulating food intake, as well as the environmental factors at play, with the goal of developing new treatments and cures for these disorders.
Dr. David Barner
Exploring how language develops
Provincial Funding: $100,000
Is children’s understanding of counting and reasoning about numbers affected by the particular language they learn? That’s the question Dr. David Barner at the University of Toronto hopes to answer. By testing children and non-human primates, Dr. Barner will investigate how language interacts with mathematics education. His work has important implications for early childhood development and mathematics education in multicultural, multi-linguistic Ontario.
Dr. Anthony Gramolini
Understanding heart failure
Provincial Funding: $200,000
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Canada. The new challenge is the emerging epidemic of heart failure which claims the lives of one in five Canadians. The molecular basis of heart failure is complex and poorly understood. Dr. Anthony Gramolini at the University of Toronto is using advanced “protein-protein interaction mapping” to learn more about how cardiac muscle degenerates, with the ultimate goal of identifying cellular targets for therapeutic intervention.
Dr. Maydianne Andrade
Studying how the environment impacts on mating
Provincial Funding: $230,000
A phenotype is any detectable characteristic of an organism (structural, biochemical, physiological or behavioral) determined by an interaction between its genotype and the environment. While biologists know that phenotypic variation is a fundamental prerequisite for evolution by natural selection, they do not fully understand how selection shapes the evolution of phenotypes in nature. Concentrating on black widow spiders, Dr. Maydianne Andrade at the University of Toronto is examining phenotypic variation in critical reproductive traits. She hopes to increase our understanding of why some species, like some black widow spiders, show variable phenotypes and are invasive. Her research could lead to strategies for the control of insect pests.
Dr. Andrea Jurisicova
Improving fertility rates
Provincial Funding: $344,432
One in eight Canadian couples seek medical treatment for infertility, most often requiring the help of assisted reproductive technology (ART). Still, current pregnancy rates after ART average at best 30 per cent, a figure that’s improved only marginally over the past 20 years. One of the biggest hurdles affecting the outcome is poor embryo quality. Dr. Andrea Jurisicova at the University of Toronto is using new imaging techniques to explore embryo quality with the goal of improving the outcome for couples suffering from infertility.
Dr. Martin Post
Developing ways for immature lungs to cope
Provincial Funding: $93,103
One of the leading causes of disease and death in premature babies is respiratory problems. Helping immature lungs cope is a complex medical challenge – one that Dr. Martin Post is tackling at the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute. Dr Post’s focus is on understanding the fundamental biological and physiological mechanisms that direct lung development and the impact of pre-term birth on the process. What he uncovers will help to improve existing therapies – and develop new, more effective ones.
Dr. Elise Stanley
Laying the groundwork for more effective psychiatric treatments
Provincial Funding: $393,311
At the new Molecular and Behavioural Neurosciences Laboratory at the Toronto Western Research Institute, Dr. Elise Stanley is leading a team of researchers who are exploring how nerve cells communicate. It's a question that has potentially far-reaching implications for the understanding of all brain processing – and for understanding severe psychiatric diseases like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, the focus of her current research.
Dr. Tak Mak
Developing targeted therapies for breast cancer
Provincial funding: $379,702
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of premature death in women in Ontario. It causes great human suffering and places an enormous burden on the health care system. At the University of Toronto, Dr. Tak Mak is leading a team of researchers who are focused on developing new treatments for the disease based on the novel approach of targeting tumor cell metabolism. This research is building on an earlier discovery; with some cancers that resist conventional treatments, tumor cells adapt to thrive in a low glucose/oxygen environment. By targeting these altered metabolic processes, Dr. Mak aims to uncover new cellular principles on which to base focused therapies for breast cancer.
Dr. Barry Sessle
Understanding how people experience pain
Provincial Funding: $121,662
Acute and chronic pain robs people of their quality of life and costs the economy and the health care system billions of dollars a year. At the University of Toronto, Dr. Barry Sessle is studying the mechanisms of pain. He’s focused on the brain pathways and mechanisms involved in dental and facial pain, and has discovered that a person's experience of pain, and the brain mechanisms underlying this experience, can be influenced by a host of complex factors, physical and psychological. Dr. Sessle’s research will improve our understanding of pain and lead to new treatments.
Dr. Peter Newman
Developing successful ways to increase HIV vaccine trial recruitment
Provincial funding: $126,912
Developing successful ways to promote sustained community engagement in HIV vaccine development
Provincial funding: $126,912
Despite our best efforts at prevention, an estimated 2,300 to 4,500 new cases of HIV are diagnosed in Canada every year, 2.5 million worldwide. HIV/AIDS causes immense personal and family hardship and costs the health care system untold millions of dollars a year. While HIV vaccines are considered to be one of the greatest hopes for stopping the spread of the disease, but their development depends on the participation of tens of thousands of people in clinical trials for the foreseeable future. Yet, HIV vaccine trial recruitment and participation raise many social and behaviour challenges. So does the future dissemination of an effective, safe and affordable HIV vaccine. At a state-of-the-art computer-assisted survey research laboratory at the University of Toronto, Dr. Peter Newman is collecting and analyzing social and behavioural data with the goal of helping communities policy makers and public health officials develop strategies for addressing these challenges.
Dr. Laurence Pelletier
Using living cells to identify the proteins that regulate centrosome function
Provincial funding: $325,178
In cell biology, the centrosome is a specialized sub-unit within a cell. It serves as the main organizing centre of the cell, as well as a regulator of cell-cycle progression. Centrosomes are essential in regulating the life cycle of cells and when they don’t function properly, they can cause diseases like cancer and developmental defects like Down’s Syndrome. At the University of Toronto, Dr. Laurence Pelletier is using cutting-edge automated microscopy of live cells to investigate how centrosomes work. Specifically, he hopes to identify the proteins required for centrosome function – which may lead to better iterventions/treatments down the road.
Dr. Bryan Stewart
Unlocking the mysteries of the brain to better treat neurological diseases
Provincial Funding: $43,428
Neurons are the cells of the nervous system that sense, process and communicate information. Despite years of research into them, exactly how they function remains a mystery. At the University of Toronto, Dr. Bryan Stewart is studying the fruit fly to better understand molecular mechanisms of neuronal communication and how those mechanisms go awry. His basic research on nerve cell function could hold the key to developing new treatments for neurological disease.
See also:
- News Release:
Making Health Research Work For Patients - Backgrounder:
Ontario Research Fund - Backgrounder:
Inventing The Future Of Health Care - Backgrounder:
Lifes Sciences, Advanced Health Technologies And Pharmaceutical Research Projects - Recipients
