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.

A total of more than $12 million was awarded in the form of project and bridge grants, with study durations ranging from one to five years.

“Congratulations to all the dedicated UM researchers who were successful in this Spring 2021 funding competition,” said UM Vice-President (Research and International) Dr. Digvir Jayas.

“These professors have shown leadership in their fields and are advancing knowledge in several important areas of Indigenous health, as well as in illnesses such as kidney disease, heart disease, HIV, diabetes, cancer and psychiatric disorders.”

The UM project that received the largest grant, more than $1.9 million over five years, is titled Qanuinngitsiarutiksait.2: Developing tools for the wellness and safety of Inuit.

DR. JOSEE LAVOIE

Led by Dr. Josée Lavoie, professor of community health sciences and director of Ongomiizwin Research, the project builds on a previous study of service use by the thousands of Inuit from Nunavut who come to Manitoba to access services.

The new study will focus on how Inuit concepts of wellness can be used to create healing programs in Winnipeg that reflect Inuit values. The researchers plan to develop and implement several programs, such as one tailored to the needs of Inuit families involved with Child and Family Services.

A five-year grant of more than $1.4 million was awarded to the project Oral microbiome and caries risk in young First Nations and Métis children in Manitoba.

DR. ROBERT SCHROTH

A team led by Dr. Robert Schroth, professor of preventive dental science in the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry and researcher with the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM), will examine the dental microbiome that is associated with the severe form of baby-tooth decay that affects many First Nations and Métis preschoolers.

The aim is to understand why only some dental microorganisms cause tooth decay, and the environmental factors that may influence this process.

Here’s a look at the other funded studies and lead investigators. More information on the studies and research teams is available here.

Dr. Marissa Becker, associate professor, medical microbiology & infectious diseases, Max Rady College of Medicine

Grant: $200,000 (two years)

Becker’s team will study sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI) among military personnel in Ukraine, examining how they contribute to broader STBBI epidemics amid the armed conflict in that country.

Dr. David Collister, assistant professor, internal medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine

Grant: $321,300 (three years)

Collister seeks to determine which uremic toxins are responsible for individual disease symptoms in advanced chronic kidney disease, and which symptoms respond to dialysis. The findings will inform dialysis decision-making.

Dr. Kevin Coombs, professor, medical microbiology & infectious diseases, Max Rady College of Medicine

Grant: $100,000 (one year)

Coombs will examine human cells’ susceptibility to the Zika virus, which is transmitted by a mosquito that is becoming known in Canada. He aims to understand how cellular genes and proteins work to allow or inhibit Zika growth.

Dr. Sanjiv Dhingra, associate professor, physiology & pathophysiology, Max Rady College of Medicine; principal investigator, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St. Boniface Hospital Research Centre

Grant: $960,076 (five years)

Dhingra’s study relates to the potential of using transplanted stem cells from healthy donors to treat heart disease. He will investigate why transplanted stem cells are ultimately rejected by the host’s immune system, and how to prevent this.

Dr. Vernon Dolinsky, associate professor, pharmacology & therapeutics, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher, CHRIM

Grant: $822,376 (five years)

Dolinsky’s team has found that the offspring of mothers who had gestational diabetes are at risk of later heart failure. His study will investigate the role of a cellular protein that could prevent damage to the heart and allow it to pump better.

Dr. Krista Hardy, assistant professor, surgery, Max Rady College of Medicine

Grant: $470,475 (four years)

Hardy aims to better understand the experiences of Indigenous patients who undergo bariatric surgery in Manitoba as a treatment for obesity. Her project will incorporate and assess Indigenous healing and wellness practices in bariatric surgery care.

Dr. Richard Keijzer, professor, surgery, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher, CHRIM

Grant: $233,324 (three years)

Keijzer’s team has created a database of more than 750 Manitobans who were born with a congenital anomaly that required surgery at birth. By linking this to population data, the team will conduct a follow-up study of the patients’ medical, educational and socio-economic outcomes.

Grant: $749,700 (five years)

Keijzer will also lead an international team of experts on congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) to determine the role of circular RNAs in these infants’ abnormal lung development. The results will help to better predict outcomes in babies with CDH.

Dr. Dylan MacKay, assistant professor, community health sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine

Grant: $100,000 (one year)

MacKay will enrol patients with chronic kidney disease in a one-year, randomized study comparing methods of reducing dietary acid. Half the patients will take baking soda pills, while the other half will have fruits and vegetables delivered to them to reduce acid through diet.

Dr. Lyle McKinnon, associate professor, medical microbiology & infectious diseases, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher, CHRIM

Grant: $300,000 (three years)

McKinnon’s team has previously found that vaginal inflammation increases a woman’s risk of becoming HIV-infected if exposed. His study focuses on regulatory T cells and their potential to control female genital inflammation as an HIV prevention strategy.

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

Grant: $742,050 (five years)

Nagy’s study builds on his previous research on how nerve cells in the brain communicate at electrical synapses, how protein components function in this transmission, and how malfunctioning of these mechanisms contributes to neurological disorders.

Dr. Marcus Ng, associate professor, internal medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine

Grant: $548,890 (five years)

Ng will analyze data from patients with epilepsy to compare the brain zone of epileptic activity during rapid eye movement sleep, other stages of sleep, and wakefulness. Better mapping of where seizures arise could allow more patients to undergo life-changing neurosurgery.

Dr. Tabrez Siddiqui, associate professor, physiology & pathophysiology, Max Rady College of Medicine

Grant: $983,026 (five years)

Siddiqui will investigate, in mice, how a type of altered biochemical signaling affects the brain, producing deficits such as those in autism and schizophrenia. The goal is to increase understanding of neuropsychiatric disorders so that drug targets can be identified.

Dr. Jörg Stetefeld, professor, biochemistry, Faculty of Science; Canada Research Chair in structural biology and biophysics

Grant: $742,050 (five years)

Stetefeld will pursue a molecular study of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), a protein involved in cancerous tumor development and tissue fibrosis. He aims to develop new therapeutic targets based on understanding the role of CTGF.

Dr. Julia Uhanova, associate professor, internal medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine

Grant: $573,751 (two years)

Uhanova will explore whether adherence to a traditional First Nations land-based diet decreases the severity of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, an aggressive form of fatty liver disease. This inflammatory disease has a high prevalence among First Nations.

Dr. Jude Uzonna, professor, immunology, Max Rady College of Medicine

Grant: $990,676 (five years)

Uzonna’s study focuses on how the body maintains immunity after recovery from leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease. Understanding factors that regulate the antigen-specific memory response to the disease will aid progress toward a vaccine.

Dr. Kristy Wittmeier, associate professor, pediatrics & child health, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher, CHRIM

Grant: $240,976 (two years)

Building on her previous research, Wittmeier will study knowledge-sharing networks in child development and rehabilitation in Canada. Her team will make recommendations to improve these networks to better serve children’s needs.

Dr. Josée Lavoie, director of Ongomiizwin – Research and professor in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, said in her opening remarks that the symposium was about “elders, students and researchers coming together in a safe place to learn from each other, learn about new ideas and things happening in the community, and how research can support that and give that light so governments can see it.”

The theme, “Past, Present, Future: Telling Our Stories,” explored the importance of centring the Indigenous voices in health research and the critical role that language plays in disrupting colonial narratives.

Catherine Cook, vice-dean, Indigenous, spoke about the importance of taking a community engagement approach to doing research.

“I look at this agenda and for the most part we have Indigenous researchers with every presentation, questions that are being answered are questions that were raised by communities and are being answered with the support and engagement of Indigenous members of those communities,” she said.

Over the course of the two-day symposium, participants presented research findings and shared ideas about Indigenous health research.

A poster session featured university and community-based researchers, students and others engaged in research or knowledge translation projects relevant to the health of the region’s Indigenous communities. The posters explored topics such as incorporating Indigenous teachings into nursing and midwifery curriculums and an exploration of students’ views on reconciliation, trust, cultural identity and respect.

The Elders Tea, where Inuk, Métis, and First Nations elders gathered with participants to share stories, was so popular last year that the organizers brought it back again for this year’s symposium.

Several panels focused on issues affecting Indigenous youth.

One session gave the floor to a group of Indigenous youth to share their thoughts on how young people can become helpers in their communities. The panel was based on the department of community health sciences’ five-year CIHR-funded project, initiated by Dr. Andrew Hatala, which collaborated with community partners to build knowledge of effective approaches that improve resilience and health in Indigenous youth. The youth travelled from Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Halifax and Thunder Bay to attend the symposium.

“Use whatever talents that you’re given. I’m an academic and I use that in the best way that I know how to give back to my community,” said Ashley Carter, a participant from Halifax.

Others sessions explored how Indigenous students practice wellness through connecting to their culture, health care and health care access among Indigenous two-spirit, gay, bisexual and queer men in Manitoba; how to reclaim Indigenous birth knowledge; and the link between health and housing in Indigenous communities.

The symposium also hosted the premiere of the documentary “Pac-Ow-Tay: Our beating heart stories,” featuring five First Nations Wisdom Keepers who shared stories about Pac-Ow-Tay (which means ‘beating hearts’ in Cree.) The documentary highlighted teachings about the heart and traditional Indigenous practices and how traditional practices can be woven with biomedical treatment of heart disease.

“This material does not get filtered through a western lens. These are Indigenous people, unscripted, who came together and talked,” said Dr. Annette Schultz, an associate professor in the College of Nursing and story consultant on the documentary.

The symposium closed with the presentation of the Dawn Stewart Award for Research Support in Indigenous Health to Dr. Moneca Sinclaire, who served as project coordinator for the Debwewin – The Truth of Our Hearts study and story consultant for Pac-Ow-Tay.

“Through time, energy, giving back and sharing knowledge, we will again rise up; we will again be a whole people. That’s who I work for and that’s who I work with, anyone from elders to youth, that’s always been my message,” said Sinclaire.

Ongomiizwin – Research is a centre of research excellence. It is committed to building and maintaining productive and respectful partnership-based relationships with First Nations, Metis, Inuit and Indigenous communities, to recruiting Indigenous students and scholars, to providing effective support and mentorship, and to sharing and building knowledge internationally.

This support, through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, will help Canadian researchers study the full spectrum of health issues affecting the lives of Canadians.

While visiting the university, Eyolfson highlighted the $9.7 million in funding that will go to researchers in Manitoba.

Eyolfson highlighted the work of Dr. Josée Lavoie, a University of Manitoba researcher who works on kidney health care in rural and remote Manitoba First Nation communities. Manitoba First Nations have the highest documented prevalence and the second highest incidence of end-stage kidney disease in Canada. Canadians living in rural/remote locations and requiring care experience significant barriers. Dr. Lavoie will receive $1.5 million to support her research.

“These investigators are all leading experts in their fields. This recognition through the highly competitive CIHR project grants program is testament to the high impact of their research and the investigations these funds will support,” said Dr. Digvir Jayas, Vice-President (Research and International), University of Manitoba.

Other announcements are happening across the country to highlight the diversity and strength of Canada’s health research community. The total amount of funding announced by Minister Petitpas Taylor is $372 million.

U of M projects funded:

Lavoie, Josée G., Community Health Sciences, $1,575,900
Kidney health care in remote Manitoba First Nation communities

Karimi-Abdolrezaee, Soheila, Physiology & Pathophysiology, $1,059,525
Therapies for spinal cord injuries

Driedger, S. Michelle, Community Health Sciences, $864,450
Fostering trust through joint clinical decision making

McKenna, Sean A., Chemistry, $784,125
Investigating the regulatory role of RNA-G4 helicases

Fowke, Keith R., Medical Microbiology, $772,650
Reducing HIV target cells in the female genital tract

Dhingra, Sanjiv, Physiology & Pathophysiology, $749,700
Preserving stem cells in the heart

Hatala, Andrew R., Community Health Sciences, $745,875
Participatory health with Indigenous youth in Canadian cities

Azad, Meghan, Pediatrics & Child Health, $742,050
Breast milk and allergic diseases

Mookherjee, Neeloffer, Internal Medicine/Immunology, $661,725
Regulatory mechanisms in the control of asthma

Murooka, Thomas T., Immunology, $573,750
Understanding how viruses are transported from one cell to another

Sibley, Kathryn M., Community Health Sciences, $443,700
Ensuring health research is incorporated into everyday practice

Slater, Joyce, Food & Human Nutritional Sciences, $393,976
Building Evidence to Inform Policies and Programs for Food and Nutrition Security in Manitoba Youth

Riediger, Natalie D. Community Health Sciences, $359,551
A proposal for introducing a pop beverage tax to combat diabetes

Total amount: $9,726,977

The Government of Canada is the country’s largest investor in health research through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

“Some of Canada’s most important health discoveries are being made right here in Winnipeg. This announcement highlights the bright minds and the strong support for research and innovation at the University of Manitoba,” said Ouellette.

Health research leads to discoveries and knowledge that helps improve the health of Canadians through new treatments, health services and health promotion and disease prevention programs.

The funding will support the work of researchers at the University of Manitoba across the spectrum of health research areas, ranging from microbiology and nanoparticles, to healthcare delivery and population-based wellness strategies.

Two U of M researchers shared snapshots of their collaborative research projects.

Dr. Julie Ho, associate professor of internal medicine and immunology in the Max Rady College of Medicine (Rady Faculty) and a team of researchers at the U of M will lead a new clinical trial led that could change the current standard of care for monitoring kidney transplant patients and potentially increase the longevity of successful kidney transplants.

Ho, Principal investigator on the study, says many Canadians don’t realize that kidney disease is a silent killer. “It’s actually really sad.… When patients tell their families they have kidney disease, it doesn’t have the same implication as if they were to say ‘I have cancer.’ But the mortality rate with kidney disease is actually just as bad as with many cancers, although there is less public awareness about it.” [Read more about this study.]

Marissa Becker [MD/99], an associate professor in community health sciences (U of M) with cross-appointments to internal medicine and medical microbiology,  will lead a project designed to understand how the consequences of conflict, migration and disrupted health services affect risk in the context of HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). The study is being conducted by an international, inter-disciplinary team in order to understand this complex public health issue.

The study will generate important information for its Ukrainian partners, who provide HIV prevention programs in Dnipropetrovsk, and address an important knowledge gap globally.
“We’re working with local program partners, researchers and policy makers,” Becker says. “We’ve been doing work in Ukraine for a number of years now. It’s important to us to sustain and further develop those partnerships for impactful work.” [Read more about this study.]

The following researchers also received funding:

Christopher Anderson | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Keith Fowke | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Spencer Gibson | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Richard Keijzer | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Christine Kelly | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Ayush Kumar | Brian Mark | Faculty of Science
Josée Lavoie | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Brian Mark | Faculty of Science
Lyle Mckinnon | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Donald Miller | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
James Nagy | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Abdelilah Soussi Gounni | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Jude Uzonna| Rady Faculty of Health Sciences