On Tuesday, the university announced the latest US$12.5-million grant from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had brought in more than $450 million in research dollars since the foundation’s first grant to it 22 years ago.

“We’ve had a lot of different projects with the Gates Foundation,” said Dr. James Blanchard, director of the Institute for Global Public Health and the Canada Research Chair in epidemiology and global health.

To read the full article, it can be found here on the Winnipeg Free Press site.

Dr. Keith Fowke and Dr. Mario Pinto with patient cohort at Nairobi research clinic.

Today, UM research in Kenya includes two major inter-related Rady Faculty of Health Sciences programs led by Keith Fowke, Department Head of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and James Blanchard, Executive Director of the Institute for Global Public Health. Responding to a need for public health advocacy from UM research partners in Kenya, Global Public Health programs expanded to Kenya in 2008 as an extension of successful projects originally started in India.

“Our programs in Kenya are a unique example of how laboratory-based researchers interested in molecules and cells are collaborating with researchers studying issues of stigmatization and together they make meaningful impacts for marginalized people,” said Keith Fowke.

As researchers began working with marginalized patient cohorts, increased need for community-based supports emerged, informing new programs developed by UM researchers Dr. Souradet Shaw Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Program Sciences & Global Public Health, Dr. Marissa Becker, Dr. Lisa Lazarus, Dr. Lisa Avery, Dr. Joshua Kimani, Dr. Larry Gelmon, Dr. Lyle McKinnon, Dr. Julie Lajoie, Dr. Leigh McClarty, Dr. Jason Kindrachuk CRC in Molecular Pathogenesis of Emerging and Re-Emerging Viruses and Dr. Rob Lorway, CRC in Global Intervention Politics and Social Transformation,. 

“When I first came to Kenya in 2009 there was a group of young men who were starting to attend clinics established for female sex workers, many of whom identified as gay and bisexual, which is criminalized in Kenya,” said Rob Lorway. “Some were young students, and some were older or married, but what was important is that they had a high HIV prevalence. They came to us because we provided safe spaces from Kenya’s public healthcare system that can be, at times, quite judgmental.”

A legacy of evidence-based support & patient directed research

Four decades ago in the early 1980s, after eradicating an outbreak of the sexually transmitted infection Chancroid in Manitoba, Dr. Allan Ronald was recruited to lead a similar program with the Department of Medical Microbiology at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Francis Plummer, then an infectious disease fellow on Ronald’s team studying with a group of sex-workers, would gain global renown for the discovery of a link between the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and the emerging HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Among the patient cohort exposed to HIV/AIDS, Plummer and his team identified a group of women with a natural immunity to HIV-1, the virus that leads to AIDS. Over the following 17 years UM researchers, including Fowke, studied the immune system of these women leading to new approaches to HIV prevention. The women participating in the study had contributed to saving and improving the lives of tens of millions of people living with HIV around the world but continued to live a criminalized lifestyle at the fringes of society.

Dr Elizabeth Ngugi, a local public health nurse working with Plummer in managing the patient cohort in the 1980s and ‘90s, recognized the adversity these women and others like them endured each day. Through advocacy, a new patient-directed research model was developed to foreground the needs and voices of patients as fully recognized research partners, rather than research subjects.

Keith Fowke, who was a graduate student at UM labs in Kenya at that time, recalls of Dr. Ngugi, “she was a very direct and clear-thinking woman. Beginning in 1984, Dr. Ngugi developed a peer educator model to train sex workers and support them as informed and educated leaders within the community. Dr. Ngugi’s influence has been global and has resulted in a deep 40-year relationship with this community which has now evolved into the Sex Worker Outreach Program (SWOP) which has been adopted as a best-practice model by the World Health Organization, UN AIDS and countless others.”

Dr. Julie Lajoie (second from left), Dr. Mario Pinto, Joyce Adhiambo (pictured in SWOP t-shirt) and Dr. Keith Fowke pictured here.

Now in 2024, UM infectious disease research in Nairobi encompasses 10 SWOP clinics providing HIV prevention and care services to more than 30,000 female sex workers, about 9000 men who have sex with men and close to 1500 transgender individuals. Supported by Joshua Kimani and Larry Gelman who follows in the legacy left by Dr. Ngugi, some patient partners are now respected community organizers like Joyce Odhiambo with SWOP Ambassadors, who presented to EU Parliament in Brussels in 2018.

Current clinical programs funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) deliver HIV care and prevention services. However, due to the criminal status of sex work and homosexuality in Kenya, the mere presence of HIV medications or even condoms could provoke harassment or police response.

Members of the patient cohort meet at a Nairobi health clinic.

“In Kenya 4% of the general population is infected with HIV, and in sex workers it’s about 28%,” said Fowke. “Despite these high risks, many women in our cohort choose not to take anti-HIV drugs to prevent infection because of the stigma resulting from their association with being used to treat HIV infection. We are working on providing new approaches to HIV prevention that would be acceptable to these women, including the anti-inflammatory drug, aspirin, which may prevent the immune cell HIV infects from entering the vaginal mucosal environment thereby preventing infection.”

Community empowerment through global public health research

Members of the male patient cohort meet with Dr. Keith Fowke and Dr. Mario Pinto.

“We’re talking about marginalized and stigmatized people, whose lives and livelihoods are criminalized,” said Lorway. “Within the first year of our program 12% of men who have sex with men who originally tested negative for HIV were testing positive. So, despite clinicians doing everything they could at the time – providing risk reduction counseling, supplying condoms and lubricant – HIV infection was growing among these men in our cohort.”

Tourism in Kenya has influenced hotspots where gay and bisexual men can congregate and celebrate themselves. By mapping these hotspots, the Global Public Health team have provided local clinicians and community organizations the ability to establish program catchments and generate their own accurate community health data to inform program coverage targets that guide the funding priorities of donors and the Government of Kenya. Furthermore, by providing training to community leaders so that they can cultivate their own research agenda, now community leaders are coming to Lorway and the team for support with their own investigations.

These expanding partnerships have paved the way for organizations like SWOP Ambassadors, who provides legal aid training and support to sex workers and engages with police to ensure that the right to access healthcare services is respected. The internationally-funded community based organization, HOYMAS (Health Options for Young Men on HIV, AIDS, and Sexually transmitted infections) has now established a clinic in Nairobi which guarantees non-discriminatory care and runs anti-stigma campaigns focused on sexual health and human rights advocacy.

“The shifting scope of Global Public Health research in Kenya is a strong sign of transformational success,” said Mario Pinto, Vice-President (Research and International). “The work of these dedicated researchers and clinicians to advance health as a human right has empowered these underserved communities, not just in self-advocacy, but as entrepreneurs and leaders in their field on the international stage. We know that when people of sexual minorities live free of harassment and stigmatization, they are more likely to access life-saving medical care and be their authentic selves.”

CFI-Funded laboratory provides much-needed sex worker outreach programs

Dr. Keith Fowke and Dr. Mario Pinto pictured with Dr. Julius Oyugi, Director of the University of Nairobi Institute for Tropical and Infectious Diseases

In Kenya, UM has partnered with the University of Nairobi to build a Canada Foundation for Innovation funded lab on their campus and has now developed 10 different SWOP clinics across the city as part of ongoing sex worker outreach programs. “When we first started this program, there wasn’t much medical research infrastructure in Kenya, now I’m supervising Kenyan PhD students doing cutting edge research projects without having to leave their country and we are able to hire all staff locally through with grants available to African institutions,” said Keith Fowke.

Decades of results in overcoming epidemics and securing international funding from partners including Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS has helped to foster good relationships with government. health officials have signaled a willingness to collaborate on efforts to prevent an emerging epidemic of anal cancer among men who have sex with other men resulting from the sexually transmitted infection HPV.

“We have begun addressing an epidemic of cervical cancer resulting from HPV among female sex workers, but a different approach is needed to provide care for men who have sex with men,” said Lorway. “Hate speech almost constantly enters the political theatre during times of economic disruption like the COVID-19 pandemic, so it’s often about quiet negotiations with health official — which can be frustrating because of the urgent need for care. Working with our local partners we’ve established new provisions for anal health care for men who have sex with men. Although working in such a prohibitive political climate can be challenging, these partnerships provide the room we need to discretely develop programs without provoking a negative public reaction.”

Research impacts at home in Manitoba

Joyce Adhiambo (left) and Victoria Were (right)

“There is a presumption that access to care and sex worker support programs are less advanced in the global south. However, in Canada, by criminalizing the clients, we push sex works even further underground,” said Lorway. “Criminalizing sex work makes it extremely difficult to deliver health services. In this case we have something to learn from our work in Kenya about how to provide services to those who are hardest to reach.”

Leading the way in sex work advocacy in Manitoba is the Sex Workers of Winnipeg Action Coalition (SWWAC)  who are partnering with UM infectious disease expert Julie Lajoie, to facilitate an ongoing information exchange between the sex worker communities in Nairobi and Winnipeg. Two community leaders came to Winnipeg in 2022 to discuss their role as grant co-applicants and to share strategies on getting organized in the face of criminalization and public stigma.

“In Canada, we have a parallel issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and tragically, there are commonalities in the experiences of marginalized people on both sides of the ocean,” said Keith Fowke. “In Manitoba we’re at least a decade behind African programs in HIV prevention approaches. There are more new cases of HIV in Manitoba this year than in epidemic of the 1980s and ‘90s, and it’s mainly among women in indigenous communities.  We need to adapt global best-practices to prevent infections in Manitoba.”

The Winnipeg-based community resource center Sunshine House is leading the way in Manitoba by offering HIV and sexually transmitted disease testing services and have held a Science + Supper, often featuring presentations from UM Faculty members.

“Programs like those offered at Sunshine House, SWWAC and SWOP Ambassadors are foundational,” said Lorway. “Something we as researchers can always work toward is the de-monopolization of science, to put the power to make change into the hands of those who most urgently need it.”

Dr. James Blanchard.

With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UM researchers are working in India to build partnerships and improve maternal and newborn health outcomes. Since 2014, the UM has championed this life-saving initiative through the Institute for Global Public Health (IGPH), with newly published results showing a significant reduction in neonatal mortality.

Led by Dr. James Blanchard, Canada Research Chair in Epidemiology and Global Public Health and Executive Director of the IGPH within the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, this unique partnership between the IGPH and the Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP) continues to help decrease maternal and neonatal mortality rates in the region. This project would not be possible without the leadership of GoUP and their commitment to implementing policies and programs to improve health outcomes in the region.

“By working collaboratively with local governments and other academic and development partners, we are able to strengthen health systems and develop healthcare policies to help improve outcomes for mothers and children across the state,” said Blanchard.

Dr. Marissa Becker.

Dr. Marissa Becker is a professor in the department of community health sciences and the department of medical microbiology and infectious diseases within the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. She is also director of technical collaboration for the IGPH.

“We are focused on improving public health programs in India and reaching those who are most vulnerable in our society,” said Becker. “We are there as partners to learn together and create better programs that will make an impact.”

The UM team began in 2014 by adopting the policy goals of the India government and responding to their needs to build capacity in their public healthcare system. The GoUP prioritized the reduction of neonatal mortality as a central goal, as more than 45 newborns out of every 1,000 were dying within their first month of life.

To achieve this goal, the UM team developed systems and digital infrastructure to improve the availability and functionality of existing healthcare services. The systems range from human resources planning to supply chain management, data management, training and mentorship and research and analysis. These improved systems have helped the government and front-line providers provide higher quality and more accessible patient care, especially for women living in rural or remote areas.

A hospital in Lucknow Premis where newborns receive life-saving care and medical interventions.

Family planning is also being prioritized in Uttar Pradesh, where the UM is supporting the government with research and technical collaboration to improve access to modern contraceptives, nutrition and child and maternal health outcomes.

A large staff team has been deployed to support the planning and implementation of these transformative initiatives. Over 1,100 healthcare staff is in place including doctors, specialists, nurses and administrators. The scale of this work is significant and complex, with specialists assigned at the state, district, and village level to ensure the consistent implementation of programs and strategies across all 30,000 health facilities in Uttar Pradesh.

Dr. Becker and Dr. Pinto pictured with healthcare facility staff.

Dr. Mario Pinto visits a community-level healthcare facility.

Transforming healthcare through data systems

A key outcome of the IGPH’s progress in India has been the development of digital support systems to collect and track valuable data across the healthcare system.

Established systems include the collection of data on the healthcare workforce to improve staffing management and identify gaps. A database has been developed to track equipment and essential drugs to ensure facilities are well-equipped to provide emergency care and reduce maternal and neonatal mortality, while data is also being collected from front-line staff to track the delivery of services across the system and ensure coverage across the entire state.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, data management at scale was taken to another level when the UM team was asked to track all COVID-19 tests across the healthcare system. This system was so successful that the government has now expanded it to collect data on twelve notifiable diseases, including malaria, Japanese encephalitis, and others. This system collects significant amounts of data to allow the government to track outbreaks in real time and develop timely responses to emerging public health threats.

Report signals significant reduction in neonatal mortality

A new report published by the Government of India in summer 2023, the Exemplars in Maternal and Newborn Health India study, has found transformative progress in reducing maternal and newborn mortality over the last two decades. The report highlights key strategies and programs have made life-saving medical care widely accessible to mothers and newborns.

Key findings on health outcomes in Uttar Pradesh over the past 15 years include:

• A decrease in home births from 80% to 11%
• The neonatal mortality rate has decreased by 40%. This reduction has resulted in approximately 99,000 deaths being averted annually.
• The percentage of women accessing healthcare services during pregnancy has risen to 98%, representing a 38% improvement.

“I congratulate the Institute for Global Public Health team for achieving this international recognition of their work in India to provide high-quality and accessible medical care at scale for mothers and newborns,” said Dr. Mario Pinto, Vice President (Research and International). “Through Drs Blanchard and Becker’s expertise and leadership, the region has taken bold steps to establish a highly efficient and integrated care system that saves lives and is there for everyone.”

On Nov. 18, UM alumni, partners, faculty members, students and friends of the college will celebrate the 140th anniversary at a gala at the RBC Convention Centre. The event will raise funds for MD and grad student bursaries.

While the medical college has educated generations of physicians and served the community, it has also been a thriving centre for the advancement of medical science.

“We’re known for punching above our weight in terms of our research achievements,” says Peter Nickerson [B.Sc.(Med.)/86, MD/86], vice-provost (health sciences) and dean of the Max Rady College of Medicine and the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

“Each year, the college brings in more than $100 million in external research funding. Our investigators, including master’s and PhD students, conduct multidisciplinary research that influences health policy, improves patient care and saves lives.”

From innovative disease research carried out in labs and at hospital bedsides, to studies that give a voice to under-represented patient groups, to findings gleaned from one of the world’s richest storehouses of health data – the Manitoba Population Research Data Repository – the Max Rady College of Medicine is constantly generating new knowledge.

“Our strengths include being exceptionally collaborative, forging effective external partnerships and reaping the benefits of intergenerational chains of research mentors and mentees,” says Nickerson, a kidney specialist who is himself a distinguished research scientist.

In addition to the acclaimed faculty members and alumni who are laureates of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame – we’re spotlighting them in a list on Nov. 16 – here are 10 Max Rady College of Medicine research highlights that have made an indelible impact.

Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum

• In 1948, a cardiologist convinced nearly 4,000 air force veterans to enrol in a study of their cardiovascular health. The extraordinary project, based at UM and known as the Manitoba Follow-up Study, is one of the world’s longest-running health studies of a specific cohort. One of its findings in the 1990s was that shorter men are at greater risk of dying of heart disease than taller men. The study, now led by Robert Tate [M.Sc./75, PhD/00] and marking 75 years, is still tracking a handful of surviving participants. Meanwhile, UM scientists like Lorrie Kirshenbaum [B.Sc./86, M.Sc./88, PhD/92], Canada Research Chair in molecular cardiology, are engaged in leading-edge cardiovascular research. Kirshenbaum has earned international recognition for his work on cardiac cell death and its impact on the development of heart failure.

Dr. Edward (Ted) Lyons

• In the mid-1960s, UM radiologist Edward (Ted) Lyons [B.Sc./63, B.Sc.(Med.)/68, MD/68] became one of the earliest pioneers of ultrasound. His groundbreaking research helped to establish ultrasound as safe for fetuses and mothers, and his findings influenced hospitals across the globe to adopt the technology. Lyons led the first lab in Canada to perform general ultrasound. For years, he worked with manufacturers to evolve the technology from a machine the size of a refrigerator to a portable device no larger than a cellphone. He has called himself “a traveller on a stream of new imaging technology.”

Dr. Stephen Moses

• Frank Plummer [MD/76], who passed away in 2020, was a key member of a multigenerational chain of researchers who have worked for more than 40 years in partnership with the University of Nairobi, making high-impact discoveries in the area of sexually transmitted infections. In the late 1980s, Plummer led a UM team in discovering that some Kenyan women sex workers who had been exposed to HIV infection were naturally immune to it. This breakthrough provided vital new information for HIV vaccine and drug development. In 2007, UM’s Dr. Stephen Moses co-led a study showing that circumcision reduced the risk of HIV infection by 50 to 60 per cent in men who had heterosexual sex. This insight was named one of the biggest medical breakthroughs of the year by Time magazine.

Dr. Heather Dean

• In the late 1980s, when Type 2 diabetes was considered an adult-only disease, UM pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Heather Dean and her colleagues made the startling discovery that some First Nations children in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario had the disease. They published the first paper about these children in 1992. Dean went on to work closely with First Nations communities to better understand the disease. Today, UM researchers continue to study many aspects of youth-onset Type 2 diabetes, including following a cohort of offspring of First Nations individuals who were first diagnosed as children.

Dr. Ryan Zarychanski (Photo: Doctors Manitoba)

• In 2012, a breakthrough by UM and CancerCare Manitoba scientists made the cover of Blood, the world’s top medical journal on blood disorders. The study, led by Dr. Ryan Zarychanski [B.Sc./95, B.Sc.(Med.)/00], identified the genetic mutation responsible for the hereditary blood disorder xerocytosis. Groundwork for this discovery had been laid 40 years earlier by UM hematologist Lyonel Israels [MD/49, M.Sc./50], founding father of CancerCare Manitoba. Zarychanski now holds the Lyonel G. Israels Research Chair in Hematology. This year, he was named Physician of the Year by Doctors Manitoba for leading international clinical research to rapidly assess potential treatments for COVID-19.

Dr. Gary Kobinger

Dr. Jason Kindrachuk

• During the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, UM’s Dr. Gary Kobinger was chief of special pathogens at the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. His team of UM and PHAC researchers co-developed an experimental antibody cocktail called ZMapp. In 2014, it was used in saving the life of an American doctor with Ebola – a dramatic event that made international headlines. Today, Dr. Jason Kindrachuk, Canada Research Chair in the molecular pathogenesis of emerging viruses, is keeping UM on the map as a virus centre through his work on viruses such as Ebola, mpox and coronaviruses.

Dr. Marcia Anderson

• UM is a national leader in partnering with Indigenous communities in health research. In 2019, for example, a landmark joint study by the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba and the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy in the Max Rady College of Medicine illuminated the worsening health gap between First Nation people and all other Manitobans. This year, UM’s Marcia Anderson [MD/02] took a leadership role in making Manitoba the first province to systematically ask hospital patients to voluntarily declare their race, ethnicity or Indigenous identity. The purpose of collecting this data is to address racial inequities in health care.

Dr. James Blanchard

• In 2022, health research and programming in India led by James Blanchard [B.Sc.(Med.)/86, MD/86], executive director of the UM Institute for Global Public Health, received a major injection of support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The funding of US$87 million will support reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health in the state of Uttar Pradesh. In total, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has invested US$280 million in international UM projects. The Institute for Global Public Health has been a world leader in forming partnerships to strengthen health systems and influence health policy, particularly in countries in Asia and Africa, says Blanchard, who holds a Canada Research Chair in epidemiology and global public health.

Dr. Ruth Ann Marrie

• An internationally renowned multiple sclerosis (MS) researcher at UM, neurologist Dr. Ruth Ann Marrie, directs the MS Clinic at Health Sciences Centre. This year, Marrie received a prestigious U.S. prize for her trailblazing body of work. She and her team were the first to explore the implications of comorbidities such as high blood pressure and heart disease in people with MS. She has also shown that the disease may have a “prodromal phase” that precedes the onset of specific MS symptoms. Her ongoing research is laying important groundwork for both prevention and improved treatment of MS.

Dr. Meghan Azad

• Meghan Azad [PhD/10] is a worldwide expert on the science of breast milk. She holds a Canada Research Chair in developmental origins of chronic disease at UM and is also a researcher with the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba. This year, she and her team landed a grant of US$2.5 million from a prestigious U.S. funder, the National Institutes of Health. The project will include in-depth lab analyses of milk samples from 1,600 mother-child pairs, looking at breast milk in a way that is unique in the world. The data will then go to machine-learning experts at Stanford University, who will use artificial intelligence to explore it. The study is expected to generate the world’s largest and most detailed dataset of mothers, infants and breast milk.

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)

The Canadian Academy of Health Sciences brings together Canada’s top-ranked health and biomedical scientists and scholars who make a positive impact on the urgent health concerns of Canadians. Election to Fellowship in the Academy is considered one of the highest honours for individuals in the Canadian health sciences community.

“The innovative research programs of these outstanding clinician-scientists have made indelible impacts on the lives of so many around the world,” says Dr. Digvir Jayas, vice-president (research and international) and Distinguished Professor at UM. “We congratulate them on this most deserved recognition for their decades of research into Canada’s most complex health challenges.”

Dr. Peter Nickerson, vice-provost (health sciences) and dean, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, added, “We are honoured to congratulate our four faculty members on election to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Their extensive and impactful research into global public health, Indigenous health, clinical research and infectious diseases has not only improved health locally, nationally and globally, but rightfully earned them this prestigious distinction.”   

Dr. James Blanchard

Dr. James Blanchard

Professor, Community Health Sciences, and Executive Director, Institute for Global Public Health, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba

Dr. James Blanchard is an epidemiologist and public health specialist focusing on global health. His research focuses on how the characteristics of individuals, communities and large populations contribute to the local and global distribution of communicable and non-communicable diseases.

Over the past 25 years, he has also provided leadership globally to applying research to improve the design and implementation of large public health programs related to sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS and maternal, neonatal and child health focused in south Asia and Africa.

Dr. Blanchard has also contributed to the development of scientific knowledge about what creates epidemics of communicable and non-communicable diseases, and in the translation of that knowledge into effective programs and policies to improve health. Globally, he has advanced knowledge about the factors that generate HIV epidemics and translated that knowledge into high impact programs to control HIV in south Asia and Africa. In Canada, he has been a leader in developing methods to study the emerging epidemics of diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease.

He holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in epidemiology and global public health.

Dr. Josée G. Lavoie

Dr. Josée G. Lavoie

Professor, Community Health Sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine, and Director of Ongomiizwin -Research, Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba

Dr. Josée G. Lavoie, a Fulbright scholar, is an internationally-renowned researcher who, for the past 30 years, has been working in partnership with Indigenous communities and organizations to improve Indigenous peoples’ access to responsive health services.

Dr. Lavoie’s program of research is uniquely positioned in partnership with First Nations, Inuit and other Indigenous groups across Canada, in Alaska, Norway, Colombia, Australia, New Zealand and circumpolar countries.

Her research focuses on improved access to primary health care for underserved and marginalized populations, in rural, remote and inner-city environments; and on shifting health policy.

Dr. Lavoie’s program of research demonstrates leadership in engaged scholarship. She is particularly interested in how western and Indigenous knowledge systems interface in the provision of health services in Indigenous communities. She maintains on-going partnerships with the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba and with the Manitoba Inuit Association. She is actively engaged in collaborations in Australia and New Zealand, and in circumpolar health research.

Dr. Bram Ramjiawan

Dr. Bram Ramjiawan

Director of Clinical Research, Innovation and Regulatory Affairs and Director of Research, Asper Clinical Research Institute, St. Boniface Hospital and Research Centre

Dr. Bram Ramjiawan is responsible for the oversight of clinical research and to oversee and ensure that all clinical, regulatory and business issues are handled as required by national and international agencies. Dr. Ramjiawan is an International expert on clinical trials. He is resident internal reviewer for the European Union, various United States departments (FDA, NIH) and Canada.

Prior to joining the hospital, Dr. Ramjiawan worked with the Government of Canada (National Research Council) as an industrial technology advisor who specialized in life sciences and biomedical technologies. Dr. Ramjiawan is an adjunct professor of pharmacology and therapeutics, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba.

He serves on many national and international organizations. At the national level Dr. Ramjiawan is on the steering committee of the Canadian Standards Association on Medical Technology and Health Care. At the international level, he is a reviewer for the United States National Institutes of Health and for the European Union Commission on Health Science and Ethics.

Dr. George Zhanel

Dr. George Zhanel

Professor and Associate Head, Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba

Dr. George Zhanel is research director of the Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Alliance (CARA) and the founding and chief editor of the Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Alliance (CARA) website (www.can-r.com).

Dr. Zhanel has published over 1,100 papers, chapters and abstracts in the area of treatment and prevention of infectious diseases. He has presented over 1,100 lectures as an invited speaker at international, national, and local meetings speaking on the topics of antimicrobial resistant infections as well as treatment and prevention of infectious diseases.

Dr. Zhanel has been involved in treatment guideline development for a variety of infectious diseases and is also interested in antimicrobial usage/resistance in humans, animals and food (one health) and the impact of antimicrobial exposure on human and animal microbiomes.

In 2020, he received the Canadian Association for Medical Education merit award, and in 2021, he was 1 of 190 Canadian scientists recognized as a “highly cited researcher”, an honour received by 1 out of 1000 of the world’s scientists.

In collaboration with the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Canadian Student Health Research Forum (CSHRF) offers a one week programme aimed to network, showcase and recognize health research trainees through an adjudicated presentation of their research, participation in CIHR-led career development seminars and the presentation of a symposium by world renowned, leading–edge scientists.

The much-missed forum hosted by the Max Rady College of Medicine and Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, offers graduate students an opportunity that has been absent for the past two years: to meet, learn from established scientists and connect with their peers, the next generation of researchers.

“This is an unparalleled opportunity for graduate students from across Canada to network with one another, hear from leading international researchers and discover new opportunities for collaborations. We thank all partners for their support and participants for their scholarship and collegiality in making Research Days an exciting and stimulating event,” says Dean Brian Postl.

Once again, the Brodie Centre Atrium is filled with data, graphs and information on a wide variety of topics for the Manitoba Health Research Poster Competition. Visitors can read more about fetal lung anomalies or using microbiome data for disease classification as they walk through the atrium. The national research poster presentation will begin Wednesday and the prestigious Gairdner Symposium on Thursday.

The six day event will also feature a health sciences career fair and presentations from experts, including UM’s James Blanchard, who will be speaking on how to improve health outcomes to those who are socially and economically disadvantaged.

“We are thrilled to be able to present this opportunity in person this year and for the enthusiastic response by all our stakeholders in Manitoba and nationally.” Dr. Edwin Kroeger, professor of physiology and pathophysiology and chair of Canadian Student Health Research Forum.  “There is no replacement for in-person connection. We hope our students use this year’s forum to network with other Canadian researchers and grow professionally.”

Today, with a new transformational investment of $87 million USD over five years from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the partnership between the UM Institute for Global Public Health and the Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP) through the Uttar Pradesh Technical Support Unit (UP TSU) can continue to help GoUP drive down maternal and neonatal mortality rates in the region. This is achieved by working with local governments and other academic and development partners to strengthen health systems, to develop healthcare mentors and policies. All of which will continue to improve Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child Health and Nutrition (RMCHN).

Dr. James Blanchard, executive director of the Institute for Global Public Health in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at UM, believes all women and children deserve the same health opportunities that many in Canada take for granted.

“Each year there are over 5.5 million babies born in Uttar Pradesh, and so improving the outcomes for mothers and their newborns and children in that state is one of the most important public health initiatives in India and globally,” he says.

In order to improve survival rates, programs like nurse mentoring and home visits where new mothers learn ways to properly feed their newborns from UP TSU-trained nurses can be life-changing.

For Vandana Singh, a nurse at DCH Manjhanpur, the continuous mentoring support she received through the program helped ensure she and other staff nurses were able to manage maternal and neonatal issues at the facility.

“This has increased my confidence in managing maternity complications independently,” she says.

Singh and other UP TSU-trained midwives and frontline workers are also able to support new mothers in their own homes by performing regular assessments and educating mothers on newborn care. The mentoring programs initially designed and supported through the partnership between the UM team and the Government of Uttar Pradesh is now being funded and managed by the government of Uttar Pradesh across the state. It has improved the overall quality of care in health care facilities and communities.

Long serving doctors are noting the difference as well, not only in the improvement of clinical care from the hospital staff, but also in the availability and quality of equipment and other resources within the health care facilities.

This “has led to optimum functioning of the facility, thus serving the community with the right kind of services at the right time, resulting in a positive and safe birthing experience,” says Dr. Ravindra Singh, Rtd., the chief medical superintendent at the District Women’s Hospital in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh.

All lives have equal value is the driving force behind the investment decisions of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Advanced programming, training and policies guided by GoUP through UP TSU and supported by UM researchers that prioritize the health of pregnant women and their children have led to the decrease of neonatal mortality rates to 36 per 1,000 live births in 2019. This forms the basis for this most recent investment in the ongoing partnership with the UM and the Government of Uttar Pradesh.

“With this new investment, we will be supporting the government in scaling up critical initiatives across the state and optimizing programs at the community level, within health facilities and through health systems strengthening,” says Dr. Marissa Becker, UM associate professor, Department of Community Health Sciences and director of technical collaborations at the Institute for Global Public Health.

View the video to see the women and children in Uttar Pradesh that are impacted by this partnership.

During her undergraduate studies, Blanchard considered majoring in biology, thinking she might pursue medicine but found herself drawn to social sciences too. In the end, she majored in international development studies at the University of Winnipeg,

“It allowed me to study global issues, often from a social justice lens, and helped me realize I was interested in big picture stuff,” she says of her undergrad degree.

Blanchard may not have always realized that she wanted to be a researcher, but she did know she wanted to understand why and how things worked.

“I always asked why, and I like that research can answer some of those whys and create positive change,” she says.

During a practicum at Mount Caramel Clinic, Blanchard says she was shown first-hand how social, political and economic issues affect the health of citizens. Seeing how some people didn’t have equal access to health care helped her decide what kind of work she wanted to focus on for her master’s.

“It was the interdisciplinary lens that drew me to a master of science in community health sciences in the Max Rady College of Medicine,” she says. “When I saw a sign in the hallway [at UM] that said public health is an art and a science, that was the cherry on top that said this was a good area for me to pursue.”

After earning her master’s degree at UM in 2015, Blanchard traveled to the United Kingdom to complete her PhD at the Institute for Global Health, University College London. She has now returned to her home city to work on her postdoctoral fellowship in community health sciences. Blanchard’s research focuses on how global public health programs can improve health equity for women and children.

“I always wanted to look at justice and fairness, what that means [in health care] and why people do not have equal access to it. In many contexts, women and children face disadvantages or challenges accessing care,” she says. “Many countries have invested in care during pregnancy and childbirth to reduce mortality rates and improve health outcomes especially for families experiencing socio-economic marginalization.”

Through her research, Blanchard is always trying to blend qualitative and quantitative approaches. She uses what she calls a “bifocal lens,” a mix of social science and statistical research methods to best understand health within communities.

“You can look at an issue from a broader lens on a population level and use statistics to see trends over time and also a magnified lens of insights by talking to people about their experiences or insights that are harder to quantify,” she says.

This has been something she continues to explore in her postdoc, working with partners in India, Zambia and elsewhere to research how health systems that bring healthcare providers and communities closer can have a broader impact.

First introduced to community-based health approaches from her father’s work in India, Blanchard has continued to research these approaches. During her PhD, she has found strong evidence suggesting that community health workers’ support played a substantive role in improving health outcomes for new mothers.

“In a community-based health approach, the voices of those who programs are meant to help are influencing the goals and processes, rather than what’s known as a top-down approach,” she says. “in the last 10 years, they’re being seen as increasingly valued as having been important in research in practice around the world.”

As for what her plans are for after her post-doc, Blanchard doesn’t have an exact plan yet.

“I haven’t thought too far ahead, but I hope to continue in collaborative global health research and support others. Whether that’s in academia or somewhere else. It’s my dream to continue in this area.”