Launched in 1999 through the merger of the department of biochemistry & molecular biology (established in 1948) and the department of human genetics (established in 1985), the unit has since become a leader in groundbreaking scientific research. Including all iterations, over 350 graduate degrees have been awarded dating back to 1948.

In honour of the occasion, a special breakfast gathering at Brodie Centre atrium was held as part of Homecoming 2024. The event, which took place Saturday, September 14, featured presentations from distinguished former heads, Dr. Pat Choy,  Dr. Jane Evans and Dr. Louise Simard, alongside insights from alumni and current students.

With 95 guests in person and 40 more joining over Zoom, Dr. Barb Triggs-Raine, professor and department head of biochemistry & medical genetics (BMG), called the event a resounding success.

“People really valued their time here,” she said. “Something that I heard over and over again was that it wasn’t just the educational experience, it was the friendships and the support that they got during their time here. The department is very much like a family.”

Reflecting on the department’s journey, Triggs-Raine, who organized the event, highlighted the transformative changes that have occurred over its long history.

 “Initially, we were a very wet bench biochemistry lab,” she recalled. “Then it changed and we began using different kinds of approaches. They weren’t just biochemistry approaches anymore; they included genetics and physiology.”

This shift reflects the department’s commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration, which has become a priority throughout the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

The department has made significant strides in personalized medicine and data science, launching a genetic counseling program, a clinical training program and a computational biology stream that equips students to work with data and at the benchtop. This dual focus ensures graduates are well-prepared for the challenges of modern biomedical research.

She also underscored the critical importance of the basic research that has been the foundation of the program. “You can’t undervalue the basic research that’s taking place. The fundamental discoveries made in basic science are what lead to major changes in health care,” she said. “The advancements we see today are built on the foundation laid by countless researchers before us.”

The department maintains strong community ties, translating impactful research into clinical practice. BMG researchers are continually uncovering new insights into various diseases.

 “The connection to the clinic has always been very tight. There are people in our department who are identifying the basis of diseases in unique individuals right here in Manitoba and it goes back and forth between bench and bedside,” she said.

Looking toward the future, Triggs-Raine expressed optimism about the potential of emerging technologies, particularly gene therapy. “The biggest change for me has probably been the development of CRISPR-Cas9 technology,” she said. “The potential is there to cure many genetic diseases. We can change the genome so specifically that we can correct those little changes that can have dramatic impacts on people’s lives.”

The department has seen significant growth in recent years, expanding its faculty by 50 per cent with seven new hires in the last six years. Graduate enrollment has also risen, increasing from 30-34 students annually to 45 this fall.

 “The department is buzzing. It’s exciting!” Triggs-Raine said.

“This milestone is a testament to the vision and dedication of those who have built the department into what it is today,” said Dr. Peter Nickerson, vice-provost (health sciences) and dean of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. “BMG’s pioneering work and commitment to training future leaders in research and clinical practice are transforming health care both here in Manitoba and around the world. I am excited to see where their future contributions take us.”

She made a move to the Bannatyne campus to undertake the honours research project for her bachelor of science, supervised by Dr. Barbara Triggs-Raine, professor and department head of biochemistry and medical genetics.

After receiving the degree in 2021, Miao stayed on the Bannatyne campus, working as a lab technician.

She got so caught up in helping to plan a genetic study of hearing loss as a side effect of a cancer drug that she was inspired to pursue a master’s degree and become a researcher.

“I was involved in this project from the very beginning,” says the 24-year-old scientist, who is originally from the Philippines.

“It’s the perfect blend of wet lab and dry lab. The wet lab involves studying the effects of this drug on the inner ears of mice, so I have learned skills like cochlear dissection. The dry lab gives me a different kind of intellectual stimulation because it’s computer work, analyzing the datasets.”

Miao’s master’s supervisor is Dr. Britt Drögemöller, assistant professor of biochemistry and medical genetics and Canada Research Chair in pharmacogenomics and precision medicine in the Max Rady College of Medicine. Drögemöller is also a researcher with the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM) and the CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute.

Miao received combined one-year funding of $17,850 from Research Manitoba, CHRIM and CancerCare Manitoba for the study. We recently spoke with her about her research.

How would you explain what you’re investigating?

Cisplatin is a very effective chemotherapy drug that’s used to treat a number of kinds of cancer. Unfortunately, it can cause permanent hearing loss as a side effect, or adverse drug reaction. The term for the damage it can do to the cochlea – part of the inner ear – is “ototoxicity.” Child and geriatric cancer patients are at the highest risk for this.

Some studies have found genetic variants in humans that are significantly associated with cisplatin-induced ototoxicity. This means that depending on the expression of genes in a cancer patient’s inner ear cells, they may be more susceptible to this adverse effect. We want to better understand which genes, pathways and specific cells are involved.

We’re injecting mice with cisplatin and then examining the changes in gene expression in their ears. We’re using single-nuclei RNA sequencing and single-nuclei ATAC sequencing. We are the first to use these techniques together to investigate how cisplatin affects gene expression changes at the single-cell level in the inner ear.

What are some of the goals of this project?

If we can identify potential causal genes, that could potentially lead to finding drugs that can help prevent this hearing loss. Maybe a drug can be used in conjunction with cisplatin that won’t interfere with its chemotherapeutic abilities but will prevent the hearing damage.

With the information from our study, we are also developing and validating a polygenic risk score. This is a way of measuring how likely an individual is to develop ototoxicity when they take cisplatin, based on the presence of genetic biomarkers. For a patient with a higher risk score, other chemotherapy drugs could be considered as alternatives to cisplatin.

Are you interested in doing more in the area of precision medicine – this idea of tailoring drugs to the individual, based on their genetics?  

Yes. Dr. Drögemöller, my supervisor, has really been instrumental in my learning about precision medicine. Health care shouldn’t be “one size fits all.” As we know more about how genetics work, treatments are going to become more personalized and targeted to the individual.

I’m planning on transitioning to a PhD. Eventually I hope to have my own lab that will focus on finding out why certain people are more susceptible to adverse drug reactions. I also want to focus on equity, diversity and inclusion, because in research we need to consider that there are genetic differences between populations, and some populations have been understudied. 

This Q&A is part of a series on UM Today this summer featuring Rady Faculty of Health Sciences graduate students. You can find more grad student profiles here: #Radygradstudents