Dr. Andrew Halayko is a research scientist and professor in the Max Rady College of Medicine and a Canada Research Chair in lung pathobiology and treatment. We spoke with Halayko about what exactly the harmful chemicals contained in wildfire smoke are and who is most at risk, along with some of the best ways to mitigate the danger when significant wildfire smoke is present. 

On March 13, the Government of Canada and Province of Manitoba announced funding of $2.4 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and $2.4 million from Research Manitoba through the CFI – Innovation Fund Matching Program, totaling $4.8 million in strategic research infrastructure support.

“Research labs and facilities, like those being funded today, provide the foundation upon which Canada’s research leaders can make discoveries and drive innovation that will contribute to a better future for all of us,” said Roseann O’Reilly Runte, president and CEO of the CFI.

“We are proud to provide funding support for this innovative new multi-disciplinary research centre, showcasing Manitoba at the forefront of cutting-edge research to address global challenges,” said Jennifer Cleary, CEO of Research Manitoba.

It’s been reported that more than 20 per cent of premature deaths are linked to the detrimental effects of air pollution. By bringing leaders from different disciplines together, the AirSAFE research centre will provide evidence to develop new policies for improving air quality and human health. Researchers will be recruited to Manitoba to investigate why and how bad air is leading to diseases and limiting the effectiveness of therapies for these diseases.

“Congratulations to these researchers for receiving this investment to improve air quality policy and make the air we breathe safer for all,” said UM Vice-President (Research & International) Dr. Mario Pinto. “Building on the success of fundamental research at UM, the new AirSAFE facility will be a centre of excellence for interdisciplinary research that will be a leader in Canada and globally.”

This project is also made possible by various partners, including the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, the department of internal medicine in the Max Rady College of Medicine, the Price Faculty of Engineering, CHRIM, SAFE Work Manitoba, the University of British Columbia, the Lung Association – Manitoba, and the Office of the Vice-President (Research and International) at UM.

CRCs are world leaders in their field funded by the Government of Canada in the areas of natural sciences and engineering, health sciences, and social sciences and humanities. “These symposia were a wonderful opportunity for researchers to get to know each other’s specialties, and to spark new collaborations with students and the wider community,” says Mario Pinto, Vice-President (Research and International). “I thank all the CRCs for their groundbreaking contributions to address the issues faced by society today.”

This thought-provoking look at current UM research is available to view online, each featuring a brief presentation from the gathered CRCs followed by a question-and-answer period with the audience.

CRC Symposium 1, February 2, 2023 – Fort Garry Campus

Featuring presentations from: Heather Armstrong, Chair in Integrative Bioscience; Guozhen Zhu, Chair in Mechanical and Functional Design of Nanostructured Materials; Trust Beta, Chair in Grain-Based Functional Foods; Eric Collins, Chair in Arctic Marine Microbial Ecosystem Services; Britt Drögemöller, Chair in Pharmacogenomics & Precision Medicine; Ned Budisa, Chair in Chemical Synthetic Biology and Xenobiology; Lori Wilkinson, Chair in Migration Futures; Jason Kindrachuk, Chair in Epidemiology and Global Public Health; Sabine Mai, Chair in Genomic Instability and Nuclear Architecture in Cancer; Jörg Stetefeld, Chair in Structural Biology and Biophysics; Carl Ho, Chair in Efficient Utilization of Electric Power; and Nandika Bandara, Chair in Food Proteins.

CRC Symposium 2, February 27, 2023 – Bannatyne Campus

Featuring presentations from: Tracie Afifi, Chair in Childhood Adversity and Resilience; Robert Lorway, Chair in Global Intervention Politics and Social Transformation; Janilyn Arsenio, Chair in Systems Biology of Chronic Inflammation; Puyan Mojabi, Chair in Electromagnetic Inversion for Characterization and Design; Annette Desmarais, Chair in Human Rights, Social Justice and Food Sovereignty; Zulma Rueda, Chair in Program Sciences & Global Public Health; and Kathryn Sibley, Chair in Integrated Knowledge Translation in Rehabilitation Sciences.

CRC Symposium 3, March 28, 2023 – Fort Garry Campus

Featuring presentations from: Ties Boerma, Chair in Population and Global Health; Kiera Ladner, Chair in Miyo we’citowin, Indigenous Governance & Digital Sovereignties; Rotimi Aluko, Chair in Bioactive Peptides; Zahra Moussavi, Chair in Biomedical Engineering; Terry Klassen, Chair in Clinical Trials; and Galen Wright, Chair in Neurogenomics.

CRC Symposium 4, April 24, 2023 – Bannatyne Campus

Featuring presentations from: Lisa Lix, Chair in Methods for Electronic Health Data Quality; John Ataguba, Chair in Health Economics; Nicole Wilson, Chair in Arctic Environmental Change and Governance; Lorrie Kirshenbaum, Chair in Molecular Cardiology; Meghan Azad, Chair in Developmental Origins of Chronic Disease; and Kristine Cowley, Chair in Function and Health after Spinal Cord Injury.

CRC Symposium 5, May 16, 2023 – Fort Garry Campus

Featuring presentations from: Kristina Brown, Chair in Arctic Marine Biogeochemistry; Nicole Rosen, Chair in Language Interactions; Robert Mizzi, Chair in Queer, Community & Diversity Education; Samar Safi-Harb, Chair in Extreme Astrophysics; and Susan Logue, Chair in Cell Stress and Inflammation.

CRC Symposium 6, June 19, 2023 – Bannatyne Campus

Featuring presentations from: Andrew Halayko, Chair in Chronic Lung Disease Pathobiology and Treatment; Colin Gilmore, Chair in Applied Electromagnetic Inversion; James Blanchard, Chair in Epidemiology and Global Public Health; Marcelo Urquia, Chair in Applied Population Health; and Souradet Shaw, Chair in Program Science & Global Public Health.

UM has an allocation of 50 CRCs funded by the Government of Canada in the areas of natural sciences and engineering, health sciences, and social sciences and humanities. CRCs are frequently recognized in Manitoba and around the world, for their leadership in wide-ranging fields, such as maternal and infant health, in Canada and the United States, and overseas in Uttar Pradesh, India.

“Researchers are motivated by the impacts of their work to improve lives of people in our communities, and around the world,” says Mario Pinto, Vice-President (Research and International). “These symposia are an opportunity to spark new and exciting collaborations across disciplines between researchers, students, and the wider community. I hope that everyone will join us for this thought-provoking look into the groundbreaking research taking place every day at UM.”

RSVP by June 15 to join the sixth CRC Symposium

Monday June 19, 2023, at 2pm

Theatre C / Buhler Atrium, Basic Medical Sciences Building, Bannatyne Campus

This is a hybrid event, with both in-person and online options to attend. All are welcome.

Presenters at the upcoming June 19 Symposium will include:

• Andrew Halayko, Tier 1 Chair in Chronic Lung Disease Pathobiology and Treatment, Max Rady College of Medicine (Physiology)
• Colin Gilmore, Tier 2 Chair in Applied Electromagnetic Inversion, Price Faculty of Engineering (Electrical & Computer Engineering)
• James Blanchard, Tier 1 Chair in Epidemiology and Global Public Health, Max Rady College of Medicine (Community Health Sciences)
• Marcelo Urquia, Tier 2 Chair in Applied Population Health, Max Rady College of Medicine (Community Health Sciences)
• Souradet Shaw, Tier 2 Chair in Program Science & Global Public Health, Max Rady College of Medicine (Community Health Sciences)

A ventilator, often used in the intensive care unit (ICU), is a bedside machine that mechanically pushes air into the lungs of a patient who needs help breathing. The COVID-19 pandemic has raised the public’s awareness of the machines’ lifesaving importance.

It’s known that being on a ventilator can injure the lungs because forcing air into them causes stretch and strain.

Dr. Asher Mendelson

But why the process – called mechanical ventilation – can damage organs outside the lungs is poorly understood and needs investigation, said the study’s leader, Dr. Asher Mendelson, assistant professor of internal medicine at the Max Rady College of Medicine.

The research project has received a one-year grant of $100,000 from The Winnipeg Foundation Innovation Fund, which supports cutting-edge, collaborative medical research in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

“I’m thrilled to receive this funding,” Mendelson said. “I think it demonstrates a huge commitment by The Winnipeg Foundation to scientific innovation. For me as an early-career investigator, this is meaningful support that will go a long way in establishing this research program.”

Mendelson’s previous research revealed that the effect of mechanical ventilation could be detected in the smallest blood vessels of the body, called the microcirculation. This was found by using imaging technology to monitor the quadriceps and bicep muscles in ICU patients.

The new study builds on that research. Mendelson’s team wants to know whether mechanical ventilation causes changes to microcirculation outside of the lungs, which could have negative consequences for skeletal muscle and other organs, such as the brain and kidneys.

To test this hypothesis, the team will image blood flow and vascular function in the skeletal muscle of mouse models. They will also look at biomarkers of vascular injury while monitoring the microcirculation of humans who are on ventilators during surgery.

“We’re hoping to identify the process of injury caused by mechanical ventilation, and by doing that, we might be able to devise new strategies that can prevent injuries from happening,” Mendelson said.

Mendelson, who is a critical care physician, said that because of the pandemic, more people must be put on ventilators and it’s more important than ever to understand the systemic effect of this treatment.

“We really have to understand how mechanical ventilation affects not just the lungs, but all organs in the body,” Mendelson said. “Gaining a better understanding of how mechanical ventilation impacts the organs in the body through the vascular system is going to lead to better outcomes for these patients.”

The research team includes Dr. Andrew Halayko, professor of physiology, Canada Research Chair in lung pathobiology and treatment, and research scientist at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM); Dr. Abdel Soussi Gounni, professor of immunology and scientist at CHRIM; and Dr. Thomas Murooka, professor of immunology.

“One of the things I’m very proud of is the interdisciplinary team that we’ve put together,” Mendelson said. “We’re all contributing our expertise to the project.”

It’s not necessary, say some UM COVID-19 experts.

In an interview with CBC, Drs. Kevin Coombs and Andrew Halayko said that the possibility of contracting COVID-19 from a passing encounter with others on a sidewalk or street is very small.

Halayko said the risk of contracting COVID-19 outdoors is minute, compared to the risk of exposure indoors. He said the virus would disperse in the breeze, while the tiny nanodroplets that hold the pathogen would quickly evaporate.

Coombs, a medical microbiologist and virology expert in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, said:

“If someone is exhaling once or twice while they’re passing you — that’s quite a bit different than if they’re sitting down next to you, having a discussion, and you’re breathing on each other for half an hour.”

Halayko is UM chair in Chronic Lung Disease Pathology and Treatment, and physiologist at the Max Rady College of Medicine and the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba.

He and Coombs both advise staying two metres apart from people you don’t live with, and when passing them on a sidewalk or path, don’t veer into traffic or pff the beaten track with the idea it will be better than just passing by.

The entire CBC story is here.

Halayko is an internationally recognized expert in understanding the biology and biophysics of airway smooth muscle in asthma and other chronic lung diseases.

Fellows are elected to the CAHS by their peers based on their demonstrated leadership, creativity, distinctive competencies and commitment to advancing academic health sciences.

Membership is considered one of the highest honours in the Canadian health sciences community. The objective of the CAHS is to provide advice on key issues relevant to the health of Canadians.

“Dr. Halayko has built Canada’s premier program examining the biology and biophysics of airway smooth muscle,” said Dr. Digvir Jayas, University of Manitoba vice-president (research and international) and Distinguished Professor.

“I and others around the world know well his work with the American Thoracic Society, where he has held multiple positions. He is an unfalteringly dedicated leader in his pursuit of research and educating future scientists.”

Halayko is a professor of in the departments of physiology and pathophysiology, internal medicine, and pediatrics and child health at Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences; and scientist at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba.

He holds a Canada Research Chair in Airway Cell and Muscle Biology.

Halayko is the president-elect of the Canadian Thoracic Society, a rare distinction for a PhD scientist in a national society for clinical professionals. He is an elected member of the American Thoracic Society board.

“Dr. Halayko is a natural leader and teacher who has mentored many graduate students and trainees to achieve their potential,” said Dr. Brian Postl, Dean, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences and vice-provost (Health Sciences). “His multidisciplinary approach to research and clinical care underscores our commitment as a faculty to interprofessional collaboration and team-based health care delivery.”

Halayko has successfully translated mechanistic studies from preclinical models of airway disease into understanding how human airway smooth muscle functions in disease states, particularly asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

He developed a unique repository of human lung tissue and cell cultures for normal and diseased donors, as well as protocols for creation of internationally unique cell lines, that support his research collaborations worldwide.

With the induction of Dr. Halayko, the University of Manitoba now has 24 Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.