“I congratulate these successful Rady Faculty researchers and their partner networks whose work is contributing to the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental right here in Manitoba and around the world,” said Dr. Mario Pinto, UM’s vice-president (research and international). 

“It is wonderful to see Manitoba leading the nation with the highest average and median grant values, a testament to the outstanding quality of research conducted at the University of Manitoba.”  

Dr. Peter Nickerson, vice-provost (health sciences) and dean of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, said that the funded projects in the Spring 2024 competition show the diversity of health research taking place across the faculty.  

“The researchers are examining a wide range of topics – from new drug combinations to treat blood cancer to determining how the communication between astrocytes and neurons occurs. This CIHR funding is crucial for advancing science and will inevitably have an impact on the health of patients both locally and globally,” Nickerson said.  

One of the 11 Rady Faculty grant recipients is Dr. Jude Uzonna, professor of immunology at the Max Rady College of Medicine and vice-dean (research) at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. He and his team received $1,005,976 over five years to study what could one day lead to new treatments for leishmaniasis.  

Leishmaniasis is an understudied parasitic disease spread by sand flies that can cause skin sores and even fatal damage to internal organs. The disease affects more than 12 million people worldwide, Uzonna said, and it’s starting to spread to non-endemic countries like Canada.  

“It’s coming,” he said. “It’s really coming because of global warming, increased immigration from endemic countries to Canada and soldiers coming back from peacekeeping duties. The numbers are growing, but if we can develop a vaccine for it, then it becomes a magic bullet used to prevent it.”  

The team has found that leishmaniasis triggers the production of a molecule called pentraxin 3 (PTX3) in infected people. PTX3 weakens a specific part of the immune system that normally helps fight the parasite, so Uzonna suggests that targeting PTX3 might be a good way to develop new treatments for the disease.  

This study aims to better understand the role of PTX3 in the disease. It will also look at whether the level of PTX3 can predict if someone will benefit from treatment or not, which is important because the current drugs used can be toxic.  

“If we can show that PTX3 is causing a problem, then we can develop a molecule that can target and block PTX3 production. We can combine the molecule with a drug to make treatment more efficient and better. That will have a significant impact,” Uzonna said.  

Rady Faculty of Health Sciences CIHR project funding recipients 

Dr. Marissa Becker, professor of community health sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine 

Grant: $100,000 (one year)  

Using a program science approach, Becker and the team will develop a deeper understanding of how physical, organizational, social and relational dimensions of place shape ecologies of risk and safety for adolescent girls and young women, female sex workers and their male sexual partners in Nairobi County, Kenya. This work will generate contextualized knowledge for prioritizing place-based strategies to optimize sexually transmitted and blood-borne infection prevention program coverage and address unmet needs. 

Dr. Sanjiv Dhingra, professor of physiology and pathophysiology, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St. Boniface Hospital Research Centre 

Grant: $1,067,176 (five years)  

Dhingra will lead a study focused on understanding the reasons for rejecting transplanted donor-derived mesenchymal stem cells in the heart. This research will help to develop strategies to prevent rejection and improve the survival of implanted stem cells in the heart. 

Dr. Jody Haigh, professor of pharmacology and therapeutics, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher, Research Institute in Oncology and hematology, CancerCare Manitoba 

Grant: $1,071,000 (five years) 

Haigh aims to identify new drug combinations to treat aggressive forms of blood cancer and to determine ways to avoid drug resistance to these treatments that can sometimes occur during cancer therapy. This project will be important in identifying and confirming new drug approaches that can be used in personalized medical care for childhood and adult blood cancer patients in Canada. 

Dr. Julie Lajoie, assistant professor of medical microbiology and infectious diseases, and Francis A. Plummer Professorship in Global Infectious Diseases, Max Rady College of Medicine 

Grant: $1,132,200 (five years)  

Lajoie and the team will follow female sex workers from Nairobi, Kenya, who are using an injectable contraception called depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) for six months and determine the immune activation and inflammatory profile in the blood and at the female genital tract. They will also examine whether using DMPA impacts the capacity to respond to previously exposed viruses and affects the cells’ capacity to respond to the stress hormone cortisol. 

Dr. Aaron Marshall, department head and professor of immunology, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher, Research Institute in Oncology and Hematology, CancerCare Manitoba 

Grant: $1,151,326 (five years) 

Marshall’s project deals primarily with B lymphocytes, the immune system cells responsible for producing antibodies. The research aims to define the cellular reprogramming signals that either switch on or switch off B lymphocytes and how these networks are altered in chronic autoimmune disease. 

Dr. James Nagy, professor of physiology and pathophysiology, Max Rady College of Medicine 

Grant: $898,876 (five years)  

Using experimental mouse models, Nagy and the team will determine how spinal neurons, called V0c neurons, contribute to force level control in the limbs. He expects the results will challenge current textbook knowledge on force generation during movement and reveal new concepts on how command signals to motoneurons are converted to desired levels of muscle activity. 

Dr. Zulma Rueda, associate professor of medical microbiology and infectious diseases, Max Rady College of Medicine; Canada Research Chair in Sexually Transmitted Infection – Resistance and Control 

Grant: $688,501 (four years)  

Rueda will lead a study that will generate a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the knowledge, attitudes and practices about HIV and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI) among people living with HIV and people who face disproportionate risk of acquiring HIV/STBBI (people experiencing houselessness, people who inject drugs) and health and service providers in Manitoba. 

Dr. Tabrez Siddiqui, associate professor of physiology and pathophysiology, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher, Kleysen Institute for Advanced Medicine, Health Sciences Centre; researcher, Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba 

Grant: $1,143,676 (five years)  

Neurexins are essential proteins that help nerve cells in the brain communicate with each other, and changes in the genes for these proteins can increase the risk of developing autism. Siddiqui’s research highlights the possibility of fixing certain brain communication issues by targeting specific proteins, offering hope for new treatments. 

Dr. Jillian Stobart, assistant professor, College of Pharmacy 

Grant: $944,776 (five years)  

Stobart’s project aims to determine how the communication between astrocytes and neurons occurs. This will be the first evidence that astrocytes can change brain circuits responsible for the sense of touch and is important because astrocyte-neuron communication changes in disease. Problems with astrocytes and their communication with neurons could be the missing link in these disorders. 

Dr. Geoffrey Tranmer, associate professor, College of Pharmacy  

Grant: $730,576 (five years)  

Tranmer and the team plan to create new and improved versions of the ALS drug edaravone and test the drug-like properties of these molecules in test tubes and ALS animal models. This will allow the team to determine and optimize the drug properties of the new ALS drug and will enable them to develop an optimized drug candidate ready for advanced clinical trials. 

Unless you have rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune condition that causes the body to attack its own tissue, destroying the synovial lining inside of joints.

That eventually leads to erosion of cartilage and bone, a painful and often debilitating condition that can make the simplest tasks – like opening a jar or buttoning a shirt – challenging if not impossible.

So far, science has a clear picture of what it looks like to live with rheumatoid arthritis. But researchers still don’t know what sparks the autoimmune disorder at the heart of it.

“Growing evidence indicates that metabolic dysfunction in lymphocytes may be an important factor,” said Dr. Aaron Marshall, professor and head of immunology at the Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. “But this has not been studied in B cells from rheumatoid arthritis patients.”

With a recent grant of $100,000 ($50,000 per year for two years) from the Arthritis Society Canada, Marshall and his Rady Faculty coinvestigators Dr. Hani El-Gabalawy and Dr. Liam O’Neil now have the initial funds they need to launch a project that could help change the lives of hundreds of thousands of Canadians.

Their project, “Understanding how sugar fuels autoimmune disease,” involves exploring how autoantibody-producing B cells promote the cycle of inflammation that leads to joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

“This is innovative research that could open a new area of research and identify new approaches to treat and prevent worsening of rheumatoid arthritis,” said Marshall.

The funds are from the Arthritis Society Canada through an Ignite Innovation Grant, a unique program that encourages people to take bold chances by testing out new ideas or theories, especially those that are considered risky, but have the potential for significant rewards if successful.

“We hope to identify specific metabolic inhibitor drugs that can shut down disease-promoting B cells,” said Marshall. “And as many new medicines are being developed to target metabolic enzymes for treatment of cancer, our results may spark collaborations with industry to develop or repurpose such medicines to benefit rheumatoid arthritis patients.”

The Ignite Innovation Grant is awarded at the start of a project, which means that if the research is deemed feasible, preliminary data is not necessary and researchers like Marshall and his team can hit the ground running.

“It was great to be able to move very quickly from a new idea to a funded project to actually test it!” said Marshall. “I hope this will launch a new research direction in my lab and in the arthritis research field.”

Dr. Christine Zhang, manager of the Flow Cytometry Core Facility at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, was one of six scientists and administrators recently recognized by the Canadian Network of Scientific Platforms (CNSP).

Flow cytometry is a laser-based tool for rapid detection and characterization of cells and other microbial particles based on their light scatter and fluoresence properties, routinely used in basic research for disease immunity profiling and clinical diagnosis of conditions like blood leukemia. Zhang’s facility has five state-of-the-art flow cytometry machines available for researchers. It is the only facility of its kind in Manitoba.

“This means quite a lot because it’s an acknowledgement of the work I do as well as the guidance and support of my two directors, Dr. Keith Fowke and Dr. Aaron Marshall and the Max Rady College of Medicine,” Zhang said. “This award lets people across Canada know that we have very strong research and a good supporting team.”

Zhang joined the University of Manitoba in 2012 after completing her Ph.D. in the University of Toronto, and was heavily involved in the initial establishment of facility. In that time the facility grew from offering support to the departments of immunology and the medical microbiology and infectious diseases to a wide range of clients, including the St. Boniface Hospital Albrechsten Research Centre and CancerCare Manitoba.

In 2013, Zhang established the first symposium dedicated to flow cytometry in Manitoba. The event attracts a wide range of disciplines in biomedical research, clinical laboratories, biotechnological companies and government laboratories.

“We had three successful symposiums that attracted over 100 people. We also brought in people from across Canada and the United States to show researchers in Manitoba the latest techniques,” she said, noting the next edition of the symposium may need to be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Jude Uzonna, associate dean of research, Max Rady College of Medicine, said Zhang’s expertise is an important part of the facility’s success.

“Even if you don’t have the training, she will walk you through and help you analyze your results,” he said. “This award shows that not only do we have an outstanding core platform, but we have someone who is very capable of managing it. You can have all the technologies you want, but you need the right individual to be able to deliver the services. If not, it would be like someone who has an iPhone 11 but can only use it to make phone calls.”

The interdisciplinary team is one of only four research groups in Canada to receive funding from CIHR’s Human Immunology Research Teams grant, an initiative to study autoimmune diseases with the goal of improving the knowledge of the human immune system.

“We’re delighted to receive this CIHR funding, but we also recognize the challenges ahead in undertaking such an interdisciplinary project,” said Dr. Hani El-Gabalawy, professor of medicine and immunology and Endowed Rheumatology Research Chair, Max Rady College of Medicine.

The project, titled Prediction and prevention of rheumatoid arthritis in First Nations People, has three aims. The first aim is to improve biomarkers in predicting whether someone will develop rheumatoid arthritis.

El-Gabalawy, the project’s principal investigator, said that rheumatoid arthritis “starts before it starts.” Meaning that before someone develops sore, stiff or swollen joints, and a diagnosis can be made by a doctor, the person has biomarkers in their blood that show their immune system isn’t functioning properly, he said.

The biomarker could be present for up to 10 years before the person develops any symptoms, El-Gabalawy said. However, not everyone who has these biomarkers will develop rheumatoid arthritis. So part of what the research team is trying to do with this first aim is to find better ways of predicting who will develop rheumatoid arthritis.

The project builds on team members’ previous research that showed that rheumatoid arthritis is very common in some First Nations families. El-Gabalawy said that the disease can be particularly damaging and resistant in First Nations people.

Aim two of the project will be a randomized clinical trial in First Nations communities to see whether the combination of turmeric, omega-3 and vitamin D can reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis based on biomarkers developed through the first aim. In support of this approach, team members’ previous research showed that this combination of supplements helped prevent inflammatory arthritis in mice.

Co-investigator Dr. Dylan Mackay, an assistant professor in the department of community health sciences and a clinical trialist with the George & Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation, said that if the results of the trial are favourable, it could mean that treatment costs could be reduced or avoided with the trio of affordable supplements.

“Some of the modern rheumatoid treatments are incredibly expensive,” said Mackay, who is a lead on the clinical trial. “Finding lower cost alternatives that maintain the health of people would be fantastic.”

Researchers will screen about 1,500 people to find under 200 people with biomarkers to be eligible for the study.

The third aim will look at the experience of First Nations people as they progress through the clinical trial from start to finish. Amanda Fowler-Woods, a PhD candidate in the department of community health sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine, said that there have been clinical trials done with Indigenous people before but this would be the first-ever study to gather their experiences.

“We want to know if Indigenous peoples are feeling like research is still not being done in a good way, because if you look at history, that makes perfect sense,” said Fowler-Woods, who is a lead on the third aim. “Our peoples weren’t treated well. Scientific experiments were done on Indigenous peoples, not with them. And the results of that have been traumatic, so this is an opportunity to actually get constant feedback on what we are doing good, and what we are not doing good on.”

Fowler-Woods said that this is also a chance to build a framework for how to combine Indigenous methodologies with quantitative research so scientists are not only doing research with First Nations people but they’re taking care of their spirits, and protecting and honouring who they are.

“It excites me that the communities will feel respected, and they’ll start to see that there’s a possibility that research is actually working to help,” Fowler-Woods said.

El-Gabalawy said that one of the things that thrills him about this project is that it brings seasoned scientists – like Dr. Aaron Marshall, head of the department of immunology, Dr. John Wilkins, professor of internal medicine and director of the Manitoba Centre for Proteomics and Systems Biology, and Dr. Neeloffer Mookherjee, associate professor within the departments of internal medicine and immunology – together with up-and-comers like Fowler-Woods, Mackay, Dr. Liam O’Neil, assistant professor of internal medicine, and Dr. Vidyanand Anaparti, a post-doctoral fellow in the Max Rady College of Medicine.

“I’m excited because this project leverages lots of different expertise at the University of Manitoba,” Mackay said. “I’m glad that CIHR recognized that and funded the project.”

The event attracted nearly 100 alumni, faculty, graduate students, trainees and researchers.

Events took place Sept 26-27, 2019 at Bannatyne Campus and included an opening reception, poster session, dinner at Ft. Gibraltar and a guided lab tour. Distinguished University of Manitoba immunology alumni from academia, clinical, industry, government and not-for-profit sectors presented a series of lectures reflecting their expertise and the broad reach of the department’s graduates.

Dr. Aaron Marshall, head of immunology, welcomes attendees to the department’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Aaron Marshall, head of immunology, noted how the field of immunology has evolved since the department’s founding in 1969.

“Immunology has really grown at an incredible pace over the past 50 years. It’s moved from being a minor offshoot of infectious disease research to being, in my mind, a central pillar of the biomedical sciences, and a leader in innovations in treatment of chronic diseases and cancer,” said Marshall.

“The department has received international recognition for major research involving fundamental biology of the immune system, translational immunology and collaboration with industry. After half a century, the impact of the Max Rady College of Medicine’s immunology department is felt world-wide,” said Dr. David Barnard, president and vice-chancellor, University of Manitoba.

Dr. Digvir Jayas, vice-president (research and international), University of Manitoba, added, “The reach of the Department of Immunology has been felt across Canada, in the US, the UK and beyond. Since 1995, $40 million in research has been garnered by immunology faculty. This is very impressive for a small department.”

The department of immunology was founded in 1969 by a group of 35 visionary scientists and trainees from McGill University who seized the initiative to spearhead something new in Winnipeg.

Today the department is known and respected internationally as a unique centre for immunology research and teaching.

The attendees toured the department of immunology’s state-of-the-art laboratories in the Apotex Centre.

A major strength of the program is the excellent research environment, reflected in the strong research faculty, award-winning students, and high levels of external research funding and availability of leading-edge facilities.

Over the past 50 years, the department has produced 247 graduates. Department of Immunology faculty members include six Canada Research Chairs (two current), three endowed clinical chairs, three Manitoba Health Research Council chairs and one industry-partnered chair.

Strong scientific links exist with the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba, Research Institute of Oncology and Hematology, Manitoba Centre for Proteomics and Systems Biology, National Microbiology Laboratory and Health Sciences Centre, all located on or nearby the Bannatyne campus.

Dr. Kent HayGlass, professor and former department head, gave the audience a look back at the department through the years, sharing many anecdotes and old photos to the delight of the crowd. He talked about what the department could learn from its own success, when so many immunology departments at other institutions have disappeared or changed their focus.

“You need to be willing to take a chance, do different things, and be hungry for success,” he said, “You have to decide that you’re just going to give it a go, sometimes it doesn’t work as well and other times it leads you to places you wouldn’t have expected, which are far better than your goal.”

Immunology graduate student Ashley Ste-Croix, paid tribute to the gathered alumni and, like HayGlass, pointed toward a promising future for the department.

Ashley Ste-Croix

“Every day we are mentored by incredible individuals, much like all of you here today,” she said, “You teach us about the discoveries of the past and push us to somehow use that knowledge to dig even further so that we can push the boundaries of immunological studies and innovations.”

University of Manitoba alumnus Youhai Chen, MD, [PhD/93], professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, delivered the keynote lecture titled “New Immune checkpoints for cancer and inflammation: From c-Rel to TNFAIP8 family.” Chen was a student of the department founder, Dr. Alec Sehon, and is a recipient of the Colyton Prize for Autoimmune Research.

“These researchers are doing cutting-edge studies that will benefit individuals coping with disabilities, distress, and many serious life-threatening conditions,” says Dr. Digvir Jayas, vice-president (research and international) and Distinguished Professor, University of Manitoba. “Their work is testament to the outstanding calibre of transformational research conducted at the University of Manitoba and at our affiliated partner organizations.”

The researchers and their projects are:

Benedict Albensi

Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Max Rady College of Medicine; Investigator, St. Boniface Albrechtsen Research Centre, Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba
Project: Sex-based differences associated with mitochondrial dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease
Funding: $725,985

Women have a higher risk of acquiring Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and it’s not known why. Differences in cellular mechanisms (genetics, metabolism), hormonal changes, and/or lifestyle factors between men and women may be at the root cause, but no one knows for sure. This study aims to bring a clearer picture into view of the biological processes underway in the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Michael Czubryt

Physiology and Pathophysiology, Max Rady College of Medicine; Investigator, St. Boniface Albrechtsen Research Centre
Project: Targeting scleraxis to combat cardiac fibrosis
Funding: $1,017,450

Heart disease is the primary cause of death in the western world. Cardiac fibrosis is a stiffening of the heart caused by many forms of heart disease. Fibrosis dramatically increases the risk of death and disability independently of other risk factors (up to 17 times), yet no treatments for cardiac fibrosis are available to patients. Czubryt’s laboratory has identified a protein (scleraxis) as a powerful cause of fibrosis, and initial data indicates that interfering with scleraxis can reduce fibrosis. This study will further probe this relationship in the hop of finding new treatments for fibrosis.

Ian Dixon

Physiology and Pathophysiology, Max Rady College of Medicine; Investigator, St. Boniface Albrechtsen Research Centre
Project: Ski is a negative regulator of cardiac fibrosis
Funding: $684,675

Patients surviving a heart attack or those with hypertension develop chronic heart disease. These patients make too much collagen in their heart muscle, wherein non-muscle cells called myofibroblasts secrete excessive collagens, which stiffens the heart. Most of the “glue” (extracellular matrix) between muscle cells in healthy hearts is made of tough collagen proteins. Too much collagen leads to cardiac fibrosis, which results in weak muscle contraction and relaxation. Despite this, there is currently no treatment for cardiac fibrosis, nor are there any specific cardiac drugs approved to fix cardiac fibrosis. In recent years, we have found a new protein called Ski. Ski turns off this over-deposition of matrix, in diseased heart cells. Further, we have made progress of how Ski actually achieves this positive change. We are now poised to extend our understanding of how Ski corrects cardiac fibrosis and this study aims to bring about the design new Ski-based therapies to treat cardiac fibrosis, for the prevention of heart failure.

Paul Fernyhough

Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Max Rady College of Medicine; Investigator, St. Boniface Albrechtsen Research Centre
Project: Muscarinic receptor antagonism as a novel mechanism for sensory nerve repair
Funding: $1,090,125

Objective Diabetic sensory neuropathy and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) are neurodegenerative diseases characterized by loss of nerve fibers in the skin. Both diseases cause significant pain and eventually lead to sensory loss. The impact of these diseases on human health is enormously damaging and there are no therapies. Recent work in Fernyhough’s lab has uncovered an endogenous signaling pathway in neurons that negatively modulates nerve fiber growth of sensory neurons. This study will enable the lab to broaden in scope and permit this therapeutic approach to be performed in a wide range of distal dying back neurodegenerative diseases.

Edward Giesbrecht

College of Rehabilitation Sciences
Project: Evaluation of a peer-led eHealth wheelchair skills training program: Training to Enhance Adaptation and Management for Wheelchair users (TEAM Wheel)
Funding: $566,099

Mobility impairment is the third most common disability; nearly 300,000 Canadians use a wheelchair or scooter because their disability makes walking difficult. Many Canadians receive their wheelchair while in hospital and must learn to contend with the social and environmental challenges of use when they return home. Because of shorter hospital stays and reduced access to outpatient rehabilitation services, wheelchair users often receive little training in how to operate and manage their mobility device. Without the appropriate skills, wheelchair users can experience health declines, diminished physical activity, and restricted participation in activities of life. The impact of reduced independence can have social and financial costs for the individual, their caregivers, and the health care system. Training to Enhance Adaptation and Management for Wheelchair users (TEAM Wheel) is a novel intervention designed to address this important transition to wheelchair use.

Tiina Kauppinen

Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Max Rady College of Medicine; Investigator, Kleysen Institute for Advanced Medicine, Health Sciences Centre and Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba
Project: Microglia and cognitive impairments in offspring exposed to gestational diabetes mellitus
Funding: $1,051,875

Maternal diabetes is the most common complication in pregnancy affecting up to 18 per cent of pregnancies. Maternal diabetes increases offspring risk for developing various health problems. Population studies have demonstrated that maternal diabetes increases offspring risk to have learning and memory deficits, and behavioral issues. Maternal diabetes is associated with elevated inflammation status, which can be detrimental for the developing brain. This study will identify the role of brain immune cells and the mechanism by how they can impair brain cells function. It will also assess whether maternal gestational diabetes differentially affects male and female offspring. The ultimate goal is to identify targets for drug development and promote healthy brain development and, thus prevent cognitive impairments in children of mothers with gestational diabetes.

Alyson Mahar

Community Health Sciences, Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Max Rady College of Medicine
Project: Understanding cancer burden and outcomes for Canadians living with intellectual and developmental disabilities
Funding: $298,352

Not all Canadians have the same cancer risk, receive the same quality of healthcare after a cancer diagnosis, or have the same prognosis. This may be the result of many things including how much money someone has, their education, where they live, or discrimination within the healthcare system that causes people to be treated differently, regardless of how sick they are. Although cancer is a leading cause of death for Canadians living with intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities (IDD), they may be less likely to receive high quality cancer treatment compared to other Canadians. Because people living with IDD are more likely to live in vulnerable circumstances (such as those described above), this may impact how quickly their cancer is diagnosed, their access to life-saving treatment and result in worse outcomes. The goal of this project is to determine whether or not Canadians living with IDD are more likely than Canadians who do not have IDD to be 1) diagnosed with cancer; 2) diagnosed with incurable cancer; 3) not receive the right cancer treatment; and 4) to die of their cancer. This study will highlight ways to improve the quality of care provided. We will work with our policy partners to ensure this information is usable and informative to the care of underserved cancer populations.

Brian Mark

Microbiology, Faculty of Science
Project: Development of a therapeutic modality to treat GM2 gangliosidoses
Funding: $547,740

Tay-Sachs disease and Sandhoff Disease (also knows as the GM2 gangliosidoses) are inherited neurodegenerative diseases that result from genetic mutations that inactivate an enzyme known as HexA. HexA is a protein in our cells that degrades GM2-ganglioside (GM2), a molecule found primarily on neurons of the central and peripheral nervous system. HexA degrades GM2, and if it is not active, GM2 rapidly accumulates and causes severe neurological disease.The rate of GM2 accumulation depends on how severely the genetic mutations impact HexA activity. Mark’s lab has recently engineered HexA to markedly improve its stability and function for enzyme replacement therapy. This study will use the engineered enzyme, known as HexM, to develop an enzyme replacement therapy that will be evaluated in models of GM2 gangliosidosis in combination with a drug known to rescue residual HexA activity in cells. The approach holds promise to reduce GM2 accumulation and reverse the progression of this debilitating family of neurological diseases.

Aaron Marshall

Immunology, Max Rady College of Medicine
Project: Control of B cell metabolism by the PI3K pathway: applications for autoimmunity
Funding: $956,250

The immune system is critical to human health. In order to develop vaccines and treatments for diseases where the immune system malfunctions (such as autoimmunity, inflammatory diseases or immunodeficiency), we need to better understand the fundamental mechanisms governing immune responses. Our research deals with the arm of the immune system responsible for producing antibodies, which are specialized proteins that bind to microorganisms and target them for destruction by the immune system. Antibodies are secreted into the blood and mucosal surfaces by cells called B lymphocytes. This study aims to define the molecular signaling pathways that regulate the activities of B lymphocytes during normal immune responses or abnormal autoimmune responses. The work is identifying new molecular pathways that can be targeted to shut down B cells and treat autoimmune disease.

Kirk McManus

Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, Max Rady College of Medicine; Investigator, Research Institute of Oncology and Hematology, a joint institute of the University of Manitoba and CancerCare Manitoba
Project: Exploring and Exploiting Reduced USP22 Expression in Colorectal Cancer
Funding: $807,075

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Canada, and although advances in treatment options have improved the overall survival for early stage CRCs, about 50 per cent of individuals are still diagnosed with late stage disease that is often incurable. The development of highly specific, anti-cancer treatments is a significant research challenge; however, recent efforts suggest that exploiting the mutated genes and abnormal pathways that drive cancer development may hold tremendous clinical potential. Accordingly, greater insight into the mutated genes and abnormal pathways driving CRC formation is needed so that new treatment strategies and drug options can be developed that exploit them. McManus’s lab will build on its past discoveries to identify novel drug targets and lead chemotherapeutics that will be tested in pre-clinical studies to ideally and ultimately deliver new therapeutic options to individuals diagnosed with CRC.

Leslie L. Roos and Marni Brownell

Community Health Sciences, Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Max Rady College of Medicine; Investigator, Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba
Project: Health, Well-Being, and Disease-Birth to Adulthood in Manitoba
Funding: $244,799

Why are some children healthy and others not? Why do some children perform well in school and others drop out? Why are some youths arrested while others never come near the justice system? The population-based Manitoba data enable research on the consequences of birth, childhood, and adolescent experiences for health and well-being over the first 20 years. This study will explore the degree to which predictors of poor young adult outcomes occur early enough to allow the possibility of intervention. Roos’s lab will analyze Manitoba’s data on several government projects designed to improve children’s wellbeing.

Frank Schweizer

Chemistry, Faculty of Science; Medical Microbiology, Max Rady College of Medicine
Project: Preclinical studies on aminoglycoside-derived antibiotic adjuvants (AGDAAs)
Funding: $646,425

According to the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization (WHO) antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one the largest threats to public health and economic growth. Recently, the WHO for the first time divided pathogens into three categories according to the urgency of need for new antibiotics: critical, high and medium priority. The most critical group of all includes multidrug resistant bacteria that pose a particular threat in hospitals, nursing homes, and among patients whose care requires devices such as ventilators and blood catheters. To overcome the bottleneck in antibacterial drug discovery, this study aims to develop helper molecules (adjuvants) designed to enhance membrane permeability, reduce efflux of antibiotics and prevent or delay resistance development against these pathogens. The overall goal of this proposal is to identify optimized helper molecules capable of rescuing antibiotics from resistance in animal models of infection against multidrug-resistant priority pathogens and to understand their mode of actions.

Kellie Thiessen and Katherine Whitecloud (Assembly of First Nations)

College of Nursing and Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba; and
Project: Welcoming the ‘Sacred Spirit’ (child): Connecting Indigenous and Western ‘ways of knowing’ to inform future policy partnerships to optimize maternal child health service delivery initiatives in remote Canadian regions
Funding: $810,901

Ongoing and historical colonial health practices have systematically diminished the health and well-being of Indigenous communities. One critically important primary healthcare service that shows the impact of colonial relations is maternal/child healthcare. There is the “absence of teachings regarding the ‘Sacred Spirit’ (child) along with the responsibilities and preparation for ‘life-giving’ across the childbearing continuum (preconception, pregnancy, birth and post-delivery). Strategies to embrace and include Indigenous knowledge, values, teachings, and stories are essential for a healthy life in Indigenous communities; the absence of these strategies disrupts the relations among youth, young parents, families, and communities. In this study, we explore maternal healthcare delivery systems and services across 4 remote Canadian jurisdictions. Our exploration includes Indigenous and Western world views and aims to improve the health of communities by bringing back the ‘Sacred Spirit’ [child]. The teaching tells us that achieving this equates to maintaining wellness. We have and will continue to actively engage Indigenous and non-Indigenous members in 4 remote Canadian jurisdictions each involved in delivering or receiving maternal care. Data sources include interviews, focus groups [story-telling], and document analysis. The outcome will be identification of maternity care delivery models that are integrated, cost-efficient, culturally appropriate, and effectively supporting persons to maintain health and wellness within their own community.

Roberta Woodgate

Canada Research Chair in Child and Family Engagement in Health Research and Healthcare, College of Nursing; Investigator, Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba and St. Boniface Albrechtsen Research Centre
Project 1: Designing a Responsive and Integrative Model of Respite Care for Families of Children with Complex Care Needs and Conditions (CCNC) through Patient-Oriented Research
Funding: $458,999

Children with complex care needs and conditions (CCNC) are those with chronic physical and developmental disabilities who require multiple services. Caring for children with CCNC is an immense undertaking for families that involves constantly coordinating multiple needs and services in a complex system with limited supports. As such, family well-being can be greatly impacted. The goal of this study is to provide evidence to inform the design of a new model of respite care that can respond to the diverse and changing needs of families of children with CCNC in Manitoba (MB).

Project 2: Non-suicidal self-injury among youth: Perspectives of youth who self-harm, their families and service providers
Funding: $539,324

Self-harm among youth is a major public health concern. Usually first occurring in early adolescence, it is estimated that 18 per cent of youth engage in self-harming behaviours at some point in their lives. These may include cutting, self-hitting, pinching, scratching, burning, minor overdosing and interfering with wound healing. Recent media reports reinforce that self-harming provokes a great deal of suffering among youth and their families, who struggle to access appropriate care. Likewise, service providers find it difficult to treat youth who self-harm. While self-harming can have a significant impact on a youth’s life, it is poorly understood. Before we can develop effective services and supports, we first need to gain an understanding of self-harm from the perspectives of youth who self-harm and their families as well as service providers who support them. The aim of this study is to increase our understanding of the experiences and needs of youth who self-harm and their families. This information is essential in order to design better services and supports for this population.