Kirshenbaum is the recipient of the 2023 Dr. John M. Bowman Memorial Winnipeg Rh Institute Foundation Award in recognition of the important impacts of his work to improve treatments for those living with heart disease and heart failure. Kirshenbaum is the Canada Research Chair in molecular cardiology. He was invested into the Order of Manitoba in 2023 and was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree from the University of Kragujevac, Serbia, in March of 2024.

UM Today caught up with him recently to learn more about his research.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your research.

My research interests lie in understanding the mechanisms of heart failure. When people have a heart attack, the heart muscle becomes damaged, ultimately resulting in heart failure, and for that, there is no cure.

When I was growing up, my grandparents had heart disease. One grandparent had diabetes and the other one had a heart attack. As a kid I was always very inquisitive about how things worked – I would take them apart and put them back together – and I wondered why the heart couldn’t just be fixed after a heart attack.

We can replace the tires or the motor on a car, so why can’t we fix this pump that is so vital to life?

That fascination with understanding how things worked in general pulled me in this direction and instilled a love for science ever since. The idea of being able to pursue a curiosity in life and to chase down solutions to complex problems really drives me.

Why is this research important?

Heart disease is very prevalent. It’s the number one killer across North America next to cancer. One in three women have heart disease, so whether it’s our sisters, our aunts, our mothers or our friends, it reaches all of us.

We are developing a program at St. Boniface Hospital and UM focused on the specific needs of women with new drugs and therapies. The only real cure for heart failure, which is a devastating disease, is a heart transplant. Heart failure can be quite debilitating, not only for the affected individual but also for their caregivers and family, because it’s quite a life-altering disease.

Over the past 10 years, there has been movement in our field toward the understanding that heart disease in women is much different than it is in men. Most of the clinical trials, if not all, had previously been conducted in men. We are now learning that women develop different forms of heart disease.

Education is needed to identify the sometimes vague or undefinable ways heart disease develops in women. In my own research over the past 30 years on heart failure, I recognized this gap and as director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at St. Boniface Hospital, I’ve been able to address this need by building a research program that could be translated into better patient care.

What does the Rh Award mean to you?

I’m tremendously honoured to be recognized alongside so many giants in research excellence with this Bowman Award. It’s incredibly special because it’s the highest award UM bestows on its own faculty. It’s especially meaningful because the recognition is from my colleagues, for which I am deeply honoured.

I recognize the legacy of Dr. John M. Bowman and the significance of the Rh award. My sister was Rh negative with an Rh positive baby and Bowman’s WinRho serum resolved some issues during pregnancy.

It’s just a phenomenal honour to be recognized and I am gratified.

What do you hope to achieve in the future?

My long-term goal is to progress our women’s heart health research to a point where we’re able to develop new drugs and therapies for better patient care. I’m hoping that by building this program, we will not only improve the quality of life for both women and men living with heart disease in Manitoba, but around the world.

We’ve established partnerships with the Mayo Clinic, the Barbra Streisand Heart Center in Los Angeles at Cedar Sinai Hospital and other centres across Europe, which gives the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and UM tremendous reach for extending our global presence and building our research capacity. Our new researchers are already training and mentoring medical and graduate students, so there’s a multiplier effect driving an incredible momentum for our work.

What about you would people find surprising?

I have a passion for different cuisine. I love to cook and have always been amazed how food brings people together. I have different culinary interests beyond just flipping burgers on the barbecue. I very much enjoy preparing exotic dinners. Perhaps it’s the scientist in me that loves the mixing of ingredients to create something special for my friends and family to experience, with some of my creations better than others.    

I think research is really an art, and science is the language because in research, like art, we start off with a blank canvas and our curiosity guides the creativity and experimental design. I think testing an idea and realizing that you discovered something new is really art.

Any advice for early-career researchers and students?

I would say that at the very beginning you have to have passion. If you have passion, whether it’s science, whether it’s hockey, whether it’s art, then you have the drive to realize your dream.

When you have a dream then you’ll chase it regardless of what people say, but you will also need mentors. I recommend seeking a mentor, whether that’s in your field, whether that’s a personal mentor, whether it’s a spiritual mentor, it doesn’t matter. Mentorship has played a major role in my professional life.

I came out of some exceptional labs where I received great training by some who were themselves trained by Nobel laureates. My own greatest satisfaction is seeing someone who I’ve trained go on to something great, and then train another generation of scientists. To me, that’s the greatest satisfaction, knowing I made a difference.

“It is wonderful to celebrate the outstanding researcher accomplishments of across disciplines at the annual Rh Awards,” says Mario Pinto, Vice-President (research & International). “Throughout his career, Dr. Kirshenbaum has worked to improve treatments for those with heart disease and to integrate student experience with the cutting-edge research at UM labs. I congratulate him on this well-deserved award.”

Awards are given in two categories: The Dr. John M. Bowman Memorial Winnipeg Rh Institute Foundation Award, awarded to one established faculty member annually and the Terry G. Falconer Memorial Rh Institute Foundation Emerging Researcher Awards, awarded to seven early career faculty members.

Lorrie Kirshenbaum, Canada Research Chair in Molecular Cardiology at Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, is the recipient of the Dr. John M. Bowman Memorial Winnipeg Rh Institute Foundation Award in recognition of the important impacts of his work to explore the genetic roots of heart disease. In his complimentary roles as Director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre and Director of Research Development at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, Kirshenbaum is focused on providing specialized treatments for women living with heart disease.

Terry G. Falconer Memorial Rh Institute Foundation Emerging Researcher Award recipients are:

Applied Sciences

Dr. Faouzi Bellili (electrical & computer engineering) investigates technologies and information processing to support massive connectivity in wireless communication. Bellili is internationally recognized as a leader in the development of new signal processing techniques for increased sustainability and capacity in wireless infrastructure.

Health Sciences

Dr. Renée El-Gabalawy (clinical health psychology) is a clinical psychologist at Health Sciences Centre whose innovative patient informed research explores the interconnections between mental and physical health. As Director of the multidisciplinary Health, Anxiety and Trauma Laboratory, El-Gabalawy seeks to improve mental health care for medically vulnerable populations through targeted interventions integrating emerging medical technologies such as virtual reality.

Dr. Zulma Rueda (medical microbiology and infectious diseases) is focused on understanding the epidemiology and infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, HIV and other sexually transmitted and blood borne infections. Rueda’s innovative research examines a lifetime of experiences and exposures to better understand the complexity of disease susceptibility with the goal of improving public health. She is the Canada Research Chair in Sexually Transmitted Infection – Resistance and Control.

Interdisciplinary

Dr. Kyle Bobiwash (entomology) is a multi-disciplinary researcher with impacts across natural science and STEM fields through policy leadership integrating Indigenous knowledge systems. His work examines pollinator health and sustainable agricultural practices. Bobiwash creates opportunities for Indigenous self-determination by bridging Indigenous and Western scientific methodologies with lasting impacts on research and training programs, locally and nationally.

Dr. Orly Linovski (city planning) investigates the intricacies of urban planning practice and transportation equity to inform practical strategies to address gaps in city planning practices. Linovski leads research partnerships with colleagues at twelve universities across Canada the United States and United Kingdom. She is an in-demand expert with critical insights in private-sector planning who is making transportation systems more equitable for all.

Social Sciences

Dr. Leslie E. Roos (psychology) is working to understand how experiences of childhood adversity impacts family well-being over a lifespan. Roos employs a multi-method approach with community and clinical partners to develop family-centered mental health interventions and promote mental health equity. Her research objectives include improving access to mental health supports for families through the provision of scalable and accessible programming.

Dr. Sandeep Arora (marketing) is an Associate Professor and Department Head in the Asper School of Business’s Marketing Department as well as the F. Ross Johnson Professor of Marketing. Arora is an esteemed leader whose highly impactful publications have garnered more than 300 citations in a short period of time. His innovative research includes using “big data” to answer complex questions with socially relevant implications.

To learn more about research excellence at UM, visit our Awards and Recognition webpage.

On March 13, the federal government announced funding of $1.9 million through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) – Innovation Fund to develop the new lab space that Kirshenbaum and his team will use.

Kirshenbaum is professor of physiology and pathophysiology in the Max Rady College of Medicine, Canada Research Chair in molecular cardiology and director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre. His team will study new treatment options to improve quality of life in women with heart disease.

“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.

The Province of Manitoba also announced its support of the project via Research Manitoba’s $1.9 million investment through the CFI – Matching Program. Additional funding partners include the St. Boniface Hospital Foundation, St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre and Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, and the UM department of internal medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine and Faculty of Science.

“Research Manitoba is pleased to provide funding support for this critical lab that will be used by Dr. Kirshenbaum’s research team to improve the lives of women who experience heart disease,” said Jennifer Cleary, CEO of Research Manitoba. “Funding research infrastructure is essential to support cutting-edge, world-class research here in Manitoba.”

Next to cancer, heart disease is the number one killer of women in Canada, and the development of a dedicated drug discovery platform for heart research will have far-reaching implications for UM and women’s health.

“This funding will allow our research team to study the sex differences of heart failure that uniquely affect women through a dedicated discovery platform,” said Kirshenbaum. “We know that women’s heart health is very complex, so developing our understanding is vitally important, particularly for Manitoba and Canada.”

The professor and his team will primarily study how metabolic dysfunction (the way our cells process energy from food) contributes to factors that lead to heart disease.

“I congratulate Dr. Kirshenbaum and his team on this tremendous step forward for women’s heart health in Canada,” said UM Vice-President (Research and International) Dr. Mario Pinto. “On behalf of the University of Manitoba, I would like to express our appreciation for today’s investment in cutting-edge research infrastructure in the Prairies. This lab will open many new training opportunities for medical and graduate students, along with establishing a platform for international collaboration at the highest level.”

UM Knowledge Exchange is an important opportunity for UM researchers to share emerging knowledge with members of the public and the wider UM community. UM Knowledge Exchange is hosted by the Office of the Vice-President (Research and International), with support from the UM Learning for Life Network.

Heart disease is a leading cause of death worldwide and in Canada. Heart attack and heart failure can happen at any age, leading to significant impacts to quality of life for patients and their families. New ground-breaking research from UM is seeking to provide specialized supports and treatment for women living with heart disease and explores the genetic roots of cell death to hopefully someday, reverse or prevent heart failure.

Moderator

Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum, Director, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences St. Boniface Hospital, Canada Research Chair in Molecular Cardiology, Professor, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences

Panelists

Dr. Inna Rabinovich-Nikitin, Assistant Professor, Evelyn Wyrzykowski Family Professor in Cardiovascular Sciences, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences

Dr. Shuangbo Liu, Assistant professor, Department of Internal Medicine and Department of Community Health Sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences

Dr. Brad Doble, Associate Professor and Bihler Chair in Stem Cell Research, Departments of Pediatrics and Child Health & Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences

Heart Health and You February 28, 7pm-8:30pm (CDT) at Degrees Diner. UM Knowledge Exchange is a hybrid event with in-person and online options to attend.

Please register by February 23^rd to join the discussion.

Add Heart Health and You to your calendar. Coffee and other refreshments will be provided, and the kitchen at Degrees Diner will be open for specialty coffee and full food service. Parking is available with registration.

Or join us for online viewing 7 pm CDT to watch the live stream. Participate during the live session by asking your questions via email to: Research [dot] Communications [at] UManitoba [dot] ca

The seven-part UM Knowledge Exchange panel-discussion series is ongoing until May 2024. More details can be found on the UM Knowledge Exchange webpage.

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.

“Our researchers have demonstrated excellence by securing federal support for a diverse range of innovative health studies,” said UM Vice-President (Research and International) Dr. Mario Pinto.

“Many of our UM experts will be collaborating with community members to help our research have impact and provide solutions for society.”

Dr. Peter Nickerson, dean of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, also noted the involvement of community partners in many of the funded projects. “This is important because community members have valuable expertise to contribute,” he said.

Dr. Jonathan McGavock, professor of pediatrics and child health at the Max Rady College of Medicine in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, was a double recipient, landing two of the 10 grants to UM in the Spring 2023 round of funding.

McGavock, who is also a researcher with the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM), has a key research interest in youth diabetes, with a particular focus on encouraging physical activity. The professor, who holds a PhD in exercise science, published a study last year demonstrating the cardiovascular health benefits associated with living near a multi-use activity trail.

He and his team have now received a grant of $1,453,500 to lead a five-year study of how Canadian cities can best implement urban trails that are fair for all citizens and generate the greatest possible cardiovascular health benefits. Seven cities, including Winnipeg, Brandon and Selkirk, are partners in the study.

“Our team will be working closely with city planners, and with organizations in all seven cities that support the use of trails, to create an optimal ‘recipe’ for trail creation that can inform the next wave of urban trails in Canadian cities,” McGavock said.  

The second grant to McGavock’s team is for $734,400 over four years. It will fund a randomized trial of a program for adolescents living with obesity. The program will support teens’ social, emotional and psychological needs as well as lifestyle changes, such as better sleep, daily activity and healthier eating.

“Very few treatments aimed at supporting a healthy lifestyle for adolescents with obesity incorporate skills to help regulate emotions and support positive mental health and quality of life,” McGavock said. 

“We want to determine if it’s feasible to deliver a treatment for teens living with obesity that includes emotional skills training.”

Here’s a look at the other CIHR-funded UM projects. More information on the studies and research teams is available here.

Dr. Jeremy Chopek, assistant professor, physiology and pathophysiology, Max Rady College of Medicine

Grant: $975,376 (five years)

Chopek’s study seeks to better understand how electrical spinal stimulation can not only improve motor function in people with spinal cord injury, but also improve the body’s autonomic functions, such as regulating heart rate and blood pressure. The long-term goal is to increase exercise capacity, reduce obesity and improve overall health in people living with spinal cord injury.

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

Grant: $1,027,780 (five years)

Dhingra will focus on mesenchymal stem cells (a type of multipotent cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types) derived from bone marrow. Aiming to understand why, in treating heart disease, transplanted stem cells are rejected by the recipient, Dhingra’s team will experiment with modifying the cells to improve their survival in the heart.

Dr. Keith Fowke, professor, medical microbiology and infectious diseases, Max Rady College of Medicine

Grant: $100,000 (one year)

Partnering with community members in Nairobi, Kenya, Fowke’s team will study immune cells from Kenyan women who naturally clear the human papilloma virus (HPV) in the presence or absence of HIV co-infection. Because HPV causes cervical cancer, understanding how the immune system clears it naturally is an important step toward developing a vaccine to clear HPV infection.

Dr. Lauren Kelly, associate professor, pharmacology and therapeutics, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher, CHRIM

Grant: $749,700 (three years)

Kelly will lead a randomized clinical trial of cannabidiol (CBD) alone versus CBD in combination with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) as a treatment to reduce seizures in children and adults with drug-resistant epilepsy. Patient-centred organizations have partnered with researchers in guiding the trial, which will involve 90 participants across eight sites.

Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum, professor, physiology and pathophysiology, Max Rady College of Medicine; Canada Research Chair in molecular cardiology; director, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre

Grant: $757,350 (five years)

Doxorubicin is an effective chemotherapy drug with the side effect of inducing heart failure in some cancer survivors. Kirshenbaum’s study will examine the apparent link between cancer patients’ disrupted body clocks, autophagy (the body’s process of “recycling” damaged cell parts to maintain cell quality), and the harmful effects of doxorubicin on the heart.

Dr. Deepak Louis, assistant professor, pediatrics and child health, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher, CHRIM

Grant: $481,951 (four years, three months)

Louis will lead a three-province study of how the birth of a preterm baby affects siblings in the family. Parents of a preterm infant often experience stress, isolation, financial difficulties and mental health effects. Louis’s team will be the first to examine siblings’ risk for developing behavioural, socio-emotional, mental and physical health problems in childhood and adolescence.

Dr. Kristin Reynolds, associate professor, psychology, Faculty of Arts

Grant: $351,901 (four years)

Reynolds’ team will partner with community organizations in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario and British Columbia to implement and evaluate the CONNECT Program, a group telehealth mental health program for older adults. Working with the organizations, the researchers will assess the program’s effects on participants’ loneliness, social connection and mental health.

Dr. Roberta Woodgate, distinguished professor, College of Nursing; Canada Research Chair in child and family engagement in health research and healthcare; researcher, CHRIM

Grant: $100,000 (one year)

Woodgate’s mixed-methods study will focus on vaccine uptake within families. Her team aims to understand Manitoba childrearing families’ perspectives and decisions about vaccinating their family members against COVID-19 and influenza, with the goal of providing recommendations to promote vaccine uptake.

“It is both gratifying and humbling to reflect on the exceptional accomplishments of the 12 outstanding men and women being invested into the Order of Manitoba this year,” said Lt.–Gov. Neville. “They are leaders, visionaries and mentors whose efforts have enriched lives across the province, the country and around the world. Their efforts inspire commitment to community that makes Manitoba, and Manitobans, so special.”

As director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at St. Boniface Hospital, Kirshenbaum has gained international recognition for his ground-breaking research on cardiac cell death and its impact on the development of heart failure. His research has led to a better understanding of genetic and molecular processes in two of the most lethal cardiac syndromes, heart attack and chemotherapy-induced heart failure, resulting in new approaches to diagnosis and treatment now adopted worldwide. 

In his complementary role as director of research development at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, Kirshenbaum engages his passion by developing a series of programs for supporting the career development of junior faculty and clinicians.

“I congratulate Dr. Kirshenbaum on his much-deserved induction into the Order of Manitoba,” says Mario Pinto, Vice-President (Research a& International). “His research into molecular cardiology continues to inform advances in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease worldwide. Throughout his career, he has worked to integrate student experience with the cutting-edge research at UM labs, laying the foundation for future advancements by the next generation of clinician scientists.”

Impacts of heart disease research

Heart failure is debilitating, and people diagnosed with this form of heart disease require costly long-term care, impacting the quality-of-life of patients, their family members and caregivers.  Kirshenbaum is focused on understanding the genetic mechanisms of cell death to better manage, and hopefully someday, reverse or prevent heart failure.

“Whether the heart muscle is damaged by lack of oxygen due to a heart attack or by chemotherapy treatments, the results are always the same, certain genes in the cell are triggered, leading to heart failure,” explains Kirshenbaum.

“Discovering that this is not random – that cell death is a molecular process triggered by certain genes – has allowed us to develop prototype drugs to prevent heart muscle damage at a cellular level.” These drugs are now in pre-clinical testing and are showing great promise with animal models.

Kirshenbaum’s work uncovering the genetic roots of cell death is also beginning to inform new insights in other related medical fields. While in heart disease, excessive cell death leads to heart failure, tumors result when there is not enough cell death.

“The very same genetic mechanism that is being inadvertently activated in heart disease could one day lead us to a genetic treatment for cancer,” Kirshenbaum says. “A cancer cell has lost its ability to stop dividing and continues growing until it forms a tumor. We are also studying how similar genetic processes that cause heart disease cause cancer. Kirshenbaum notes that many cancer therapies have side effects that cause heart muscle damage, and we are currently working on treatments that help cells to heal themselves, at a molecular level.”

Fostering research leadership in women’s heart health

“I’m a proud UM alumnus,” says Kirshenbaum. “After post-doctoral training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, I never expected my career to bring me back home to Winnipeg. Here at UM, I had the unique opportunity to develop a research program on cardiac cell death that has become internationally recognized and a training program that has inspired a whole new generation of research leadership within and outside of Manitoba.”

Kirshenbaum and a team of UM investigators have recently initiated a dedicated research program focused on cardiovascular disease in women. Despite women being just as likely as men to develop heart disease, most research programs are focused on males, overlooking differences unique to females. Currently, Manitoba is one of the few provinces without a dedicated women’s heart health program and this project seeks to fill this gap, by providing an opportunity for emerging researchers here in the province. 

“The Women’s Heart Health program championed by Dr. Kirshenbaum is important in addressing the inequities in research, education and patient care of women living with heart disease in Manitoba,” said Dr. Noel Bairey-Merz, Director of the Barbara Streisand Women’s Heart Center at Cedars Saini in Los Angeles. “The program will transform the landscape and quality of life of women living with heart disease in the province and I applaud Dr. Kirshenbaum for his leadership and look forward to working with him as one of our international partners.”

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.

The recently announced grants from the Fall 2022 funding round went to faculty members in medicine, nursing and pharmacy.

“This outstanding result reflects the high calibre of our health researchers,” said UM Vice-President (Research and International) Dr. Mario Pinto.

“This funding will enable UM laboratory scientists to advance knowledge in areas such as cardiovascular health, spinal cord injury, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Rett syndrome. Rady Faculty investigators will also conduct cutting-edge data research, as well as vital studies aimed at supporting mental health and well-being.”

The largest grant of more than $1.4 million went to a team led by Dr. Linda Larcombe, an associate professor of internal medicine, community health sciences and medical microbiology/infectious diseases.

Larcombe is an anthropologist whose research focuses on First Nations history, health and collaborative research. Her grant will fund a three-year project called “Connecting with cultural heritage: Land-based learning and healing through archeology in northern Manitoba.”

The study team will create and evaluate a land-based healing and cultural heritage program that will enable youth to explore archeological sites and artifacts reflecting the thousands of years of Inuit, Dene and Cree presence along the coast of Hudson Bay at Churchill, Man.

“We will determine if cultural heritage in land-based healing programming can contribute to wellness and leadership development of Inuit, Dene and Cree youth,” the researchers wrote.

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

Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov, distinguished professor, psychiatry, Max Rady College of Medicine

Grant: $100,000 (one year)

In Chochinov’s study, health-care professionals will hold conversations with cancer patients, guided by the Patient Dignity Question: “What do I need to know about you as a person to take the best care of you possible?” The study will measure how this affects the experiences of both patients and care providers.

Dr. Ian Dixon, professor, physiology and pathophysiology, Max Rady College of Medicine; principal investigator, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St. Boniface Hospital

Grant: $1,040,400 (five years)

Dixon’s project centres on proteins and processes involved in skin wound healing, with the goal of developing treatments to speed wound closure and reduce scarring. The study will investigate how age and sex affect dermal healing. It will also examine the healing of skin damage caused by chemotherapy and radiation.

Dr. Soheila Karimi, professor, physiology and pathophysiology, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher, Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM)

Grant: $1,136,025 (five years)

Neural stem cell therapy has exciting potential for patients with spinal cord injury, but it currently faces the challenge that the cells die after they are transplanted. Karimi’s project will test an experimental treatment aimed at optimizing the use of neural stem cells for repairing spinal cord injury.

Dr. Jason Kindrachuk, assistant professor, medical microbiology and infectious diseases, Max Rady College of Medicine; Canada Research Chair in molecular pathogenesis of emerging viruses; researcher, CHRIM

Grant: $750,000 (five years)

Kindrachuk’s team will investigate the circulation and transmission of the monkeypox virus in wildlife in regions of Africa where the virus is endemic, as well as surrounding areas. They will also assess the potential impact of the virus on Canadian wildlife.

Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum, professor, physiology and pathophysiology, Max Rady College of Medicine; Canada Research Chair in molecular cardiology; director, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre

Grant: $853,931 (five years)

Kirshenbaum’s project builds on the growing evidence of a link between body-clock disruptions – like those experienced by shift workers and people with health issues such as sleep apnea – and cardiac dysfunction. He will investigate the relationship between circadian disruption and heart attack.

Dr. Lisa Lix, professor, community health sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine; Canada Research Chair in methods for electronic health data quality

Grant: $508,725 (three and a half years)

Lix’s study focuses on using anonymized health-care databases to construct personal and family disease histories for chronic illnesses, such as heart disease. Researchers will compare two methods for creating disease histories, using data from Manitoba and Denmark, and assess their value for predicting disease risk.

Dr. Suresh Mishra, professor, internal medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine

Grant: $100,000 (one year)

Mishra will explore the role of cholesterol in the body’s production of steroid hormones. He aims to develop new ways to treat altered steroid hormone levels, which can lead to infertility and illnesses such as inflammatory diseases.

Dr. Neeloffer Mookherjee, professor, internal medicine; researcher, CHRIM

Grant: $100,000 (one year)

Mookherjee’s team will look at differences in how rheumatoid arthritis (RA) develops in males and females. In addition to using a mouse model, her team will study human samples from close relatives of RA patients, who may show changes in their blood before the appearance of clinical RA symptoms.

Dr. Christopher Pascoe, assistant professor, physiology and pathophysiology; researcher, CHRIM

Grant: $100,000 (one year)

Pascoe’s project aims to better understand how diabetes in pregnancy increases the risk of asthma in offspring. He will examine how maternal diabetes increases the twitchiness of airway smooth muscle in the lungs of offspring, and whether a specific enzyme co-ordinates changes in this muscle.

Dr. Mojgan Rastegar, professor, biochemistry and medical genetics, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher, CHRIM

Grant: $990,675 (five years)

Rastegar has been working for more than 10 years to understand the pathobiology of Rett syndrome, a severe neurodevelopmental disorder in young children. This study will investigate the molecular and cellular abnormalities of the brain in this syndrome. The goal is to pave the way for therapeutic strategies.

Dr. Emily Rimmer, assistant professor, internal medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine

Grant: $307,530 (three years)

Rimmer’s project is a pilot study in preparation for an international randomized controlled trial of therapeutic plasma exchange as a treatment for septic shock. The researchers see potential for this treatment to save lives by removing harmful substances from the blood and replacing missing blood components.

Dr. Zulma Rueda, associate professor, medical microbiology and infectious diseases, Max Rady College of Medicine; Canada Research Chair in sexually transmitted infection – resistance and control

Grant: $100,000 (one year)

Rueda’s team will look at the incidence and impact of methamphetamine use and concurrent sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections in people living with HIV in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. One of the study’s goals is effective knowledge-sharing among people living with HIV, service providers and communities.

Dr. Geoffrey Tranmer, associate professor, College of Pharmacy

Grant: $100,000 (one year)

Tranmer will focus on edaravone, one of the few drugs approved to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In its current form, this medication has many limitations. Tranmer’s team plans to develop improved versions of edaravone and test them in order to optimize the drug and prepare it for advanced clinical trials.

Dr. Sonia Udod, associate professor, College of Nursing

Grant: $450,000 (three years)

Udod’s research will examine how health system leaders have adapted in response to the pandemic. She aims to determine how leaders can build their own and nurses’ psychological health and well-being to ensure a healthy workforce and organizational resilience at hospitals during and after the COVID-19 crisis.

Dr. Roberta Woodgate, distinguished professor, College of Nursing; Canada Research Chair in child and family engagement in health research and healthcare; researcher, CHRIM

Grant: $776,475 (five years)

Woodgate’s youth-centred, mixed-methods study aims to understand the impacts of COVID-19 on the mental health and well-being of Manitoba youth who have come of age during the pandemic. The findings will inform recommendations to improve services and supports for this population.

Grant: $100,000 (one year)

Woodgate’s team will also conduct a youth-centered, arts-based longitudinal study that will result in the creation and evaluation of a toolkit. This toolkit, co-created by youth, will be designed for use in schools to foster social connectedness and optimize youth mental health and well-being.

“This excellent showing by our faculty members and their partners in receiving this funding is a testament to the outstanding quality of research conducted at the University of Manitoba,” said Dr. Mario Pinto, UM’s vice-president (research and international). “I congratulate these research leaders, whose work continues to improve the quality of health and patient care here in Manitoba and around the world.”

Project: Anti-Thrombotic Therapy to Ameliorate Clinical Complications in Community Acquired Pneumonia (ATTACC-CAP)

Dr. Ryan Zarychanski and Dr. Sylvain Lother

Dr. Ryan Zarychanski, associate professor of internal medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine and senior scientist at CancerCare Manitoba, and his team received more than $3.9 million over five years.

Building on the knowledge the trial team gained while studying the blood thinner heparin in COVID-19 patients, the Manitoba-led team will conduct a large international adaptive randomized trial that will evaluate whether therapeutic-dose heparin reduces critical illness and mortality in hospitalized patients with non-COVID pneumonia.

“This is the first large international trial to be wholly managed by the University of Manitoba and will provide unique training opportunities to junior faculty like co-principal investigator Dr. Sylvain Lother,” said Zarychanski, UM Lyonel G. Israels Research Chair in Hematology. “It will also showcase UM’s clinical trial management and data coordination capacity at the George and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation.”

Project: Regulation of Programmed Necrosis in the Heart

Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum

Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum, UM Canada Research Chair in molecular cardiology and professor of physiology & pathophysiology and pharmacology & therapeutics, Max Rady College of Medicine, and his team received $1.1 million over five years.

The study will focus on the role of mitochondrial-regulated cell death programs and how they integrate at the cellular level to cause heart failure. The study will look at the mechanisms underlying doxorubicin (a chemotherapy drug) cardiotoxicity. It will also explore the relationship between cell death and other cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack, known to cause heart failure.

“The studies are highly innovative and clinically relevant, as many of the concepts and avenues of research have not been previously explored,” said Kirshenbaum, director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre. “I am particularly excited about commencing this research and hopeful it will be translated into new drug discoveries that will reduce the incidence of heart failure and improve the quality of life of cancer patients and individuals following heart attack or other human diseases where cell death is known to play a major role.”

Project: Understanding the cellular mechanisms that drive clonal T cell expansion of the HIV reservoir

Dr. Thomas Murooka

Dr. Thomas Murooka, associate professor of immunology, Max Rady College of Medicine, and his team received more than $719,000 over five years.

The study aligns with emerging data that a distinct subset of T cells seems to harbour the majority of residual HIV. By understanding why some T cells contain virus and others don’t, it may lead to a more targeted approach to purge this HIV reservoir in T cells. Murooka and his team will use new imaging tools and animal models to identify, track and kill these rare, infected T cells, so that daily drug regimens are no longer required for people living with HIV.

“So far, the HIV cure field has used a sledgehammer approach to eliminate residual HIV infection, with limited success,” Murooka said. “We are developing a more targeted, immunological approach to specifically identify and destroy rare T cells that harbour HIV as a new approach to achieve HIV cure.”

Project: Mechanisms and consequences of senescent beta cell accumulation in Type 1 Diabetes

Dr. Peter Thompson

Dr. Peter Thompson, assistant professor of physiology & pathophysiology, Max Rady College of Medicine, and his team received more than $589,000 over five years.

Thompson’s recent research has discovered that beta cells are not entirely innocent in the process that leads to Type 1 diabetes and some of them may aid and abet the immune attack. In this study, he will explore the “nuts and bolts” of these sick beta cells to determine how and why they arise, and how they may be restored. The research will take him closer to establishing a new early clinical intervention to prevent Type 1 diabetes in people who are at risk.

“Our study is unique in that it is working from a completely different concept of how Type 1 diabetes occurs as compared with conventional wisdom,” Thompson said. “It has generally been assumed that Type 1 diabetes is just an autoimmune disease, where the beta cells are just targets of the immune attack and thus the vast majority of interventional efforts are aimed at restoring the immune system. Until recently, very little attention was paid to processes operating in beta cells that might contribute. So our work is operating from a different point of view – which is that some beta cells actually promote the immune attack, leading to Type 1 diabetes. This is a major paradigm shift in how we understand the disease with implications for developing new therapies and we are now poised to make exciting progress in this area.”

Project: Confronting Homophobia in Anal Health: Community-based Program Science and HPV among MSM in Nairobi, Kenya

Dr. Rob Lorway

Dr. Rob Lorway, UM Canada Research Chair in global intervention politics and social transformation and professor of community health sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine, and his team received more than $512,000 over three years.

Lorway’s project builds on the University of Manitoba’s extensive Kenyan-Canadian collaboration that has been studying sexually transmitted infections since the 1980s. His team will employ new community-based participatory strategies to identify the risk factors that underlie HPV-related anal diseases among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men in Kenya. Lorway aims to generate new scientific knowledge related to the clinical, social and epidemiological aspects of HPV infection to inform local sexual health services delivery.

“Although HPV immunization programs in Kenya tend to focus on cervical cancer among adolescent girls and young women, the evidence from this study will enable community health activists and their allied health care providers to advocate for the urgent need to expand immunization to include gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men,” Lorway said.    

Project: Investigating the molecular and cellular abnormalities of the brain in Rett syndrome

Dr. Mojgan Rastegar

Dr. Mojgan Rastegar, professor of biochemistry & medical genetics, Max Rady College of Medicine, and her team received $100,000 over one year.

The study focuses on the molecular and cellular abnormalities of the brain in a neurodevelopmental disorder known as Rett syndrome. Rastegar and her team will perform side-by-side molecular and cellular research studies to determine the shared anomalies of the human and murine Rett syndrome brains. Her research will further include an investigation of rescue and recovery of the identified Rett syndrome-associated abnormalities, by the application of commonly used drugs in pre-clinical therapeutic studies in animal models of Rett syndrome. 

“Our research results from this project are expected to determine the extent of molecular and cellular damage in the brain of Rett syndrome patients and shared defects with animal models of this disease,” Rastegar said. “Our research may eventually lead to potential therapeutic solutions that are targeted towards commonly impaired characteristics of the brain in Rett syndrome. Our research results may also help to understand the unique characteristics of specific types of MeCP2 mutations for this complex and severe disease. MeCP2 is a protein that binds, reads and interprets genomic modifications.”