Awarded First Place was Dr. Michael Saley, a postdoctoral fellow in Chemistry, whose work creates new tools and techniques to uncover how cells communicate with one another—conversations that shape health and disease in ways often hidden from view.

Second Place in the competition was awarded to Dr. Olabisi (Bisi) Akinlabi, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Her presentation highlighted research examining how vaginal bacterial load and microbiota influence the clearance of human papillomavirus (HPV) and the progression of cervical cancer in Kenyan women. By advancing understanding of the microbiome’s role in HPV persistence and clearance, her work offers potential insights into improved strategies for preventing cervical cancer and related health outcomes.

Third Place in the went to Dr. Asim Joshi, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Dr. Joshi’s research focuses on understanding why lung tumors often develop resistance to treatment and how this resistance can be overcome. By developing laboratory models and studying the underlying mechanisms, his work aims to identify new therapeutic strategies that could improve treatment effectiveness and patient outcomes.

The People’s Choice Award went to Dr. Mariela Rodríguez, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Human Nutritional Sciences. Dr. Rodríguez’s research is advancing green technologies for extracting and improving plant proteins—particularly from pulses. Her work focuses on enhancing digestibility, taste, and functionality, with the goal of creating sustainable, high-value food ingredients that can strengthen Manitoba’s agri-food sector.

This competition shines a spotlight on the incredible contributions of our postdoctoral fellows,” said Dr. Kelley Main, Dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. “Their research is advancing knowledge in ways that will have a direct impact on our communities. We are proud to celebrate their achievements and the vital role they play in shaping the future”.

This year’s challengers included:

• Dr. Asim Joshi – Pharmacology and Therapeutics
• Dr. Mariela Rodriguez – Human Nutritional Sciences
• Dr. Masoomeh Gomroki – Food Science
• Dr. Michael Saley – Chemistry
• Dr. Monire Nobahar Ahari – Occupational Therapy
• Dr. Olabisi Akinlabi – Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
• Dr. Ruchira Nandasiri– Human Nutritional Sciences
• Dr. Taalia Khan – Art and Architectural History

The competition highlighted the important contributions of 8 postdoctoral researchers across varied disciplines, showing how their work is creating real-world impact in Manitoba and beyond.

“I’ve always wanted to come back to Canada to continue my research,” said Dunn, who recently spent some time at The Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida. “To be honoured by the Brain Canada Foundation not only provides critical funding for early-career researchers like me, but also gives me an opportunity to reintroduce myself to the Canadian scientific community and opens up opportunities for collaboration on a national level.”

Dunn studies receptors in brain cells (neurons) that help facilitate communications with other neurons. These G-protein-coupled-receptors (GPCRs) are the main target used in the pharmaceutical industry, with over 35 per cent of drugs leveraging them as a treatment pathway.

Dunn is receiving the Brain Canada grant to further his research after he discovered a new mechanism by which GPCRs communicate with other brain cells. This mechanism has been observed to be disrupted in several brain disorders, including autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and epilepsy.

“This new mechanism could provide us with a new avenue for drug design, a new signaling pathway, a new interface for more specific drug targeting,” said Dunn. “This is brand new neurobiology, and we expect to find more of these types of mechanisms between other receptors, which would allow us to target other diseases.”

The impact of Dunn and team’s research is far-reaching, with immediate implications once treatments are developed. “We’ve already identified families with members who have mutations in this particular pathway. They could directly benefit from our further understanding of this atypical signaling mechanism,” said Dunn.

“Congratulations to Dr. Dunn for this prestigious recognition, and I look forward to the meaningful work that he and his team are doing to support treatment for some of the most debilitating brain disorders,” said Dr. Mario Pinto, Vice-President (Research and International). “This award is a testament to the innovation and tenacity of UM researchers, and the implications of his work demonstrate the calibre of research that the global medical community has come to expect from UM.”

Since 2019, the Brain Canada Foundation has recognized the most promising and innovative brain research in Canda, specifically targeting early-career Canadian researchers to provide funding over a two-year period. This program is funded by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada) Brain Canada Foundation, and the Azrieli Foundation, with support from The Erika Legacy Foundation, The Arrell Family Foundation, the Segal Foundation, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Although treatments for childhood cancer have improved significantly, even leading to cures for many patients, many children still suffer from symptoms such as pain, anxiety and weight loss related to cancer and its treatment.

Over the last decade, cannabis products—both synthetic cannabinoids and natural phytocannabinoids—have gained popularity with patients and families for managing such symptoms, but pediatric oncologists are cautious to authorize cannabis for their patients given the limited data to inform dosing, product selection or safety monitoring. The urgency for answers is highlighted by recent research reporting that cannabis use by up to 24 per cent of patients at a pediatric cancer clinic and 92 per cent of pediatric oncologists and palliative care providers in Canada reported managing patients using cannabis products in the past six months.

Dr. Lauren Kelly

To provide insights for clinicians and parents, and to inform an upcoming clinical trial, a team led by Dr. Lauren Kelly, associate professor of pharmacology & therapeutics in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba, searched the medical literature to summarize existing knowledge about the potential benefits and harms of cannabis products in children with cancer. This literature review and clinical trial are a part of a team grant funded by the Canadian Cancer Society and Canadian Institutes of Health Research through a Cannabis Team Grant.

The investigators identified 19 unique studies with a total of 1,927 participants with cancer: eight retrospective chart reviews, seven randomized controlled trials, two open‐label studies and two case reports. The products studied included medical-grade cannabinoids (such as the prescription drug nabilone), synthetic cannabinoids, and unspecified cannabis herbal extracts most commonly used to manage chemotherapy‐induced nausea and vomiting.

In the randomized controlled trials, patients who used cannabinoids were more likely to experience drowsiness, feeling high, dizziness and dry mouth. Also, trial participants who received cannabinoids were almost four times more likely to drop from the study due to adverse events, compared with the control group who received placebo. Across all included studies, no serious cannabis‐related adverse events were reported.

Kelly and her colleagues noted that most studies did not adequately describe the types, dosing, frequencies and routes of administration of cannabis products, and outcomes were mixed and were reported in different ways. Therefore, researchers should develop standards for reporting cannabis exposures, cannabis‐related effects and patient outcomes.

“It was difficult to measure benefit across studies, given a range of different outcomes and study designs; however, in interventional studies with active control groups, cannabinoids performed better in managing nausea and vomiting. Data are lacking on cannabinoids’ effects on pain, mood, sleep and health-related quality of life,” said Kelly.

“Given that some children report benefits and some children experience adverse events, it is critical that more rigorous studies evaluating the effects of cannabinoids on children with cancer are conducted and shared with parents, patients and the health-care community.”

This literature review informed the design of CANnabinoids in Pediatric ONCology that will begin recruiting 60 patients into a three-arm tolerability trial later this winter.

Trivedi, a first-year master’s student in pharmacology and therapeutics at the Max Rady College of Medicine, said that previous research shows that pregnant individuals with gestational diabetes tend to have a lower expression of the molecule sirtuin-3 (SIRT3), which is involved in regulating energy metabolism while reducing the production of molecules that harm cells and tissues.

Trivedi is looking into whether lower levels of SIRT3 lead to the development of gestational diabetes.

As part of the project, SIRT3 has been knocked out of the liver of an animal model so it doesn’t express the protein. Trivedi is now looking at the effects of this and comparing it with the control animal model.

Trivedi said her research will help better understand the factors that lead to gestational diabetes, and it will contribute to future studies looking at treatments aimed at improving the health of mothers and their children.

UM Today sat down with Trivedi to learn about what motivates her and her experience as a master’s student at UM. 

You recently received $12,000 in funding from Research Manitoba for a project titled Role of SIRT3 deficiency in the development of gestational diabetes. What are your thoughts on receiving this funding?

I’m beyond grateful for the funding from Research Manitoba. I’m very thankful for my current supervisor, Dr. Vern Dolinsky, and previous supervisors Dr. Jason Treberg and Dr. Liam O’Neil. It wouldn’t be possible without the mentorship, guidance and support I’ve received over the years and that’s shaped me into the scientist that I am right now. Every single day I’m learning.

What motivates you to do the work you do?

Going through my undergraduate degree I didn’t see a lot of people of colour – especially women of colour – in faculty positions. I see how important it is for women and girls to have a role model to look up to. So, I aspire to be an inspiration for young women and girls who want to go into the sciences.

Why did you choose UM for your master’s?

I did my bachelor of science at the University of Manitoba and I had a very positive experience, not only with the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM), but with the faculty and the university. Altogether, that led me to pursue graduate studies here. When I was looking for a supervisor and I came across Dr. Dolinsky, who studies gestational diabetes as well as mitochondrial function. CHRIM has a dedicated group that studies diabetes called the Diabetes Research Envisioned & Accomplished in Manitoba (DREAM). My interest in child health research and diabetes attracted me to UM.

What has been most rewarding during your time at UM?

I see myself becoming a better scientist every single day. I’ve not only seen academic growth, but I’ve seen a lot of personal growth and development in myself and that’s really been the most rewarding thing about academia altogether.

What do you love about the work you do?

Everything. Everything I do really drives me, especially combining my research background in metabolism with medical research focused on diabetes… and the thought that I could one day potentially make a long-lasting impact on mothers and their children.

What are your future plans?

I plan to transfer into the PhD program within the next year. I want to be a principal investigator at some point. I want to be an independent researcher and have my own lab to study mitochondrial function in terms of metabolic diseases.

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

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.

Pranav Mishra is a third-year student at the Max Rady College of Medicine, with advisors Drs. Paul Fernyhough and Benedict Albensi. Mishra’s research involves working with the sex hormone estrogen to see how it can decrease inflammation and increase mitochondrial function in the brain, consequently improving the survival of brain cells.

He explained his thesis on the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease to a panel of judges and a viewing audience online, competing against eleven other graduate students from a variety of disciplines.

Mishra received $2,500 for first place in the competition, which received over 2,100 views online.

On receiving the award, Mishra said: “I am glad that my efforts paid off. There is this sense of achievement that I can feel right now, and I am glad I could make my advisors, family, and friends proud.

Even though it was very challenging to summarize a complex research project in simple terms, I enjoyed doing that. To be able to present my work to such a large crowd was amazing.  I have received a lot of appreciation and wishes for winning the finals and this makes me even more enthusiastic towards my research project. Listening to other researchers and getting to learn about their work was fascinating.”

CTV News Winnipeg’s Colleen Bready [BA(Adv)/03] hosted the online competition. Students were judged on comprehension, engagement, ease of communication by the judging panel which included  Joe Funk [BSc/89, MBA/96], Assistant Deputy Minister of Advanced Education,; Coleen Rajotte [BA(Adv)/89], Artistic Director of the Winnipeg Aboriginal Film Festival and CEO, Vitality Television; and Mark Evans [PhD/88], President & CEO of Conquest Planning Inc.

Shayna Giesbrecht received the University of Manitoba Retirees Association Prize for Second Place ($1,250) for her work on the prevalence of sexually transmitted blood-borne infections in Canadian waste water samples.

She said: “It is so exciting to be chosen as the 2nd place competitor. I came into the finals as a wildcard selection, so I honestly didn’t expect to win anything. It was such a special experience to me because I was watching it with my whole family. I also had some of my track teammates, friends, and co-workers watching, and my grandparents were watching it remotely, so I really got to celebrate with my whole support system. I really enjoyed getting to watch others talk about the research that they are a part of here at UM, and the finalists had so much passion for their research. It was great to be able to share my research with so many people.”

Third place winner Kaitlynn Weisgerber received the Third Place Prize ($750) for studying wild and hatchery-raised Lake Sturgeon in Manitoba.

Weisgerber said: “It feels incredible to win and represent the biological sciences department. This is arguably one of my greatest achievements to date. I really enjoyed that 3MT provided a diverse platform to disseminate research and engage with the public. It was exciting to test my communication skills in a competitive way. I will be continuing to assess lake sturgeon populations across the province and hope to find myself working in the fisheries industry in the near future.”

The online audience voted Chioma Victoria Nwachukwu as People’s Choice for her presentation about using electrical stimulation to allow walking after spinal cord injury.

“The way I felt on hearing of my win was inexplicable. I got very emotional on seeing that I had won the “People’s Choice Award”. It was satisfying to know that my project and presentation were applauded by the viewers. I truly appreciate my family, friends, supervisors, and colleagues for all their support throughout the competition. I could not have achieved any of these alone. What I enjoyed most about 3MT was the task of breaking down complex scientific concepts of my project into simple comprehensible terms and analogy. It was not an easy thing to do, but I liked the fact that it challenged me to think more about my project and how best to present it to a lay audience. I also enjoyed the creative and innovative ways the other challengers presented their works. I am very proud of everyone that participated in this year’s 3MT competition.”

A list of all the challengers and their research topics can be found here.

Kelley Main, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies thanked all the competitors for their hard work. “This event is such a testament to the research being done at UM and it allows our graduate students to take the stage and show the broad community the passion they have for their research.  It is no easy task to speak to such a diverse audience and these students excelled at their communication and engagement. To all the competitors, I would like to say thank you.”

Following his win, Mishra will go on to represent UM at the Western Regional Competition hosted by the University of Winnipeg on May 6, 2022.

Three Minute Thesis 3MT® is an annual competition where challengers have three minutes to explain their research and its importance or relevance, using only a single static image or slide to illustrate their topic. At the University of Manitoba, 3MT® is part of an overall strategy to highlight our graduate students, promote research at the University of Manitoba, and connect with the community.

At 3MT, challengers have just three minutes to present their research in plain language using only a single slide to illustrate their ideas. Competitors are judged on comprehension, engagement and ease of communication while providing an understanding of the background and significance of their research.

In three exciting heats, up to 35 challengers from 16 different departments will be going head-to-head (virtually) as they consolidate their ideas and research discoveries so they can be presented concisely to a non-specialist audience. The winners of each heat will go on to the final, on April 7, for a chance to place in the top three for cash prizes.

Check out the list of challengers who will be competing in heats this year.

Attendance for this event is open to all and students are especially encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to watch and gain perspectives and ideas for their own research, thesis or future academic interests. This is also an excellent opportunity for anyone to learn about the innovative research happening at UM, Manitoba’s only research-intensive university.

Acting Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, Kelley Main, encourages everyone to watch the heats. “The 3MT heats are a showcase of the amazing research being done at the University of Manitoba and they highlight the ability of our graduate students to share their passion for research with a wide audience.”

In the past, challengers have presented on a variety of topics, including: cannabis as a potential therapy for breast cancer, passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammals in the Canadian Arctic, silent MRI machines to reduce patient stress, and designing buildings to withstand earthquakes.

All competitions will be held online and you can share in the competition by watching the heats on your laptop, desktop, phone or other device.

Heat #1: Wednesday, March 2, 2022, at 10:30 a.m.
Heat #2: Thursday, March 3, 2022, at 1:00 p.m.
Heat #3: Friday, March 4, 2022, at 1:00 p.m.

Links to watch each heat will be posted here.

Come support our graduate students!

Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland. For more information on the UM 3MT competition visit the U of M 3MT® website.

The ninth annual 3MT competition is happening live on YouTube at 7 p.m. on April 21. Twelve graduate students chosen from three heats held in March will be presenting their thesis research in just three minutes to a panel of judges and a virtual audience.

The master’s and doctoral students are competing for the Dr. Archie McNicol Prize for First Place ($2,500), the UM Retirees Association Prize for Second Place ($1,250) and Third Place ($750). The online audience will vote for the People’s Choice award (UM Bookstore gift certificate). The winner of this event will advance to the Western Canada regional online competition on May 13 and have the chance to be featured in a non-competitive showcase of 3MT videos from graduate students across Canada.

“I am so proud of all our graduate students who have been part of this competition so far and the hard work they have put into communicating their research to a community audience. The finals will be an exciting event that showcases a dozen deserving students who are engaged in cutting edge research,” says Kelley Main, Acting Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies.

Richard Cloutier from 680 CJOB is the event emcee, and the judges include Raj Patel, Chair of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce; Tracey Maconachie, Deputy Minster, Economic Development and Training; and Doug Collier, former SVP/Chief Commercial Officer and President International, La-Z-Boy, and member of the University of Manitoba’s Alumni Council.

3MT is an annual competition where challengers have just three minutes to present their research and its importance in plain language, using only a single slide to illustrate their topic. The competitors are judged on comprehension, engagement, ease of communication all while providing an understanding of the background and significance of their research.

Everyone is invited to attend the online event, virtually cheer on the finalists and vote for People’s Choice.

Wednesday, April 21
7-8:30 pm
Watch live online.

The 12 finalists are:

Cameron Eekhoudt
Dept: Physiology and Pathophysiology
Supervisor: Dr. Davinder Jassal
Thesis title: Can flaxseed protect the hearts of women with breast cancer

Jhannelle Francis
Dept: Microbiology
Supervisor: Dr. Miguel I Uyaguari-Diaz
Thesis Title: The identification of human enteric viruses present in urban water bodies of Manitoba

Kwene Appah
Dept: Sociology and Criminology
Supervisor: Dr. Lori Wilkinson
Thesis Title: Nationalism and integration policy: A comparative cross-national examination

Nolan De Leon
Dept: Physiology and Pathophysiology
Supervisor: Dr. Richard Keijzer
Thesis Title: Assessment of circular ribonucleic acid expression profiles in biofluids for the prognosis and diagnosis of congenital anomalies

Noushin Ahmadpour
Dept: Pharmacy
Supervisor: Dr. Jillian Stobart
Thesis Title: Decoding the true language of the brain

Sristi Mundhada
Dept: Biosystems Engineering
Supervisor: Drs. Jitendra Paliwal and Chyngyz Erkinbaev
Thesis Title: Safe storage for flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum)

Veronica Coppolaro
Dept: Geography
Supervisor: Drs. David Barber and Marianne Marcoux
Thesis Title: Passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammals in the Canadian Arctic: Implications of a changing Arctic for their populations and habitat use

Danah Alhattab
Dept: Physiology and Pathophysiology
Supervisor: Dr. Michael Czubryt
Thesis Title: Role of scleraxis in perivascular fibrosis

Odile Huynh
Dept: Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Supervisor: Dr. Sachin Katyal
Thesis Title: Cannabis: A potential therapy for breast cancer

Vimala Bharathi S K
Dept: Biosystems Engineering
Supervisor: Dr. Digvir S. Jayas
Thesis Title: Understanding the insect movement pattern inside a grain bin

Chris Voth
Dept: Kinesiology and Recreation Management
Supervisor: Dr. Kyoung June Yi
Thesis Title: Shining a light on the unseen athletes

Sonu Varghese
Dept: Physiology and Pathophysiology
Supervisor: Dr. Davinder Jassal
Thesis Title: EXercise to prevent AnthraCycline-based Cardio-Toxicity (EXACT 2.0) in women with breast cancer

Representing a broad range of research at UM, the 3MT online heats featured 40 challengers from 32 different departments who each explained their complex research to three judges and a virtual audience in just three minutes.

“All of the challengers should be proud of the presentations they gave during the heats and their ability to communicate their research and engage the virtual audience,” says Kelley Main, acting Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

On April 21, the finalists – both master’s and doctoral students – will compete for the Dr. Archie McNicol Prize for First Place ($2,500), the UM Retirees Association Prize for Second Place ($1,250) and Third Place ($750). The online audience will vote for the People’s Choice award (UM Bookstore gift certificate). The winner of this round will advance to the Western Canada regional online competition on May 13 and have the chance to be featured in a non-competitive showcase of 3MT videos from graduate students across Canada.

3MT is an annual competition where challengers have just three minutes to present their research and its importance in plain language, using only a single slide to illustrate their topic. The competitors are judged on comprehension, engagement, ease of communication all while providing an understanding of the background and significance of their research.

Everyone is invited to attend the online event and cheer on the finalists.

Wednesday, April 21
7-9pm
Viewing details will be posted on umanitoba.ca/3mt

2021 Finalists

Cameron Eekhoudt
Dept: Physiology and Pathophysiology
Supervisor: Dr. Davinder Jassal
Thesis Title: Flaxseed in the prevention of anthracycline and trastuzumab-mediated cardiotoxicity

Sristi Mundhada
Dept: Biosystems Engineering
Supervisors: Drs. Jitendra Paliwal and Chyngyz Erkinbaev
Thesis Title: Safe storage for flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum)

Chris Voth
Dept: Kinesiology and Recreation Management
Supervisor: Dr. Kyoung June Yi
Thesis Title: Shining a light on the unseen athletes

Veronica Coppolaro
Dept: Geography
Supervisor: Drs. David Barber and Marianne Marcoux
Thesis Title: Passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammals in the Canadian Arctic: implications of a changing Arctic for their populations and habitat use

Odile Huynh
Dept: Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Supervisor: Dr. Sachin Katyal
Thesis Title: Cannabis: A potential therapy for breast cancer

Sonu Varghese
Dept: Physiology and Pathophysiology
Supervisor: Dr. Davinder Jassal
Thesis Title: EXercise to prevent AnthraCycline-based Cardio-Toxicity (EXACT 2.0) in women with breast cancer

Noushin Ahmadpour
Dept: Pharmacy
Supervisor: Dr. Jillian Stobart
Thesis Title: Astroglial NMDA receptor signalling and modulation of cortical neuron activity

Nolan De Leon
Dept: Physiology and Pathophysiology
Supervisor: Dr. Richard Keijzer
Thesis Title: Assessment of circular ribonucleic acid expression profiles in biofluids for the prognosis and diagnosis of congenital anomalies

Vimala Bharathi S K
Dept: Biosystems Engineering
Supervisor: Dr. Digvir S. Jayas
Thesis Title: Estimation of three-dimensional diffusion of rusty grain beetle stored in wheat grain and its validation using the full-size bin experiment

Danah Alhattab
Dept: Physiology and Pathophysiology
Supervisor: Dr. Michael Czubryt
Thesis Title: Role of scleraxis in perivascular fibrosis

Kwene Appah
Dept: Sociology and Criminology
Supervisor: Dr. Lori Wilkinson
Thesis Title: Nationalism and integration policy: a comparative cross-national examination

Jhannelle Francis
Dept: Microbiology
Supervisor: Dr. Miguel I Uyaguari-Diaz
Thesis Title: Virome distribution in aquatic ecosystems impacted by anthropogenic activities within urban areas of Manitoba.

Dr. Chris Anderson and his team examined changes in blood flow in the brains of live mice. The findings  were published in May by the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS).

Anderson, a professor in the department of pharmacology and therapeutics, Max Rady College of Medicine, and director, Neuroscience Research Program, Kleysen Institute for Advanced Medicine, said that one of the most fundamental features of normal brain function is that blood supply naturally increases when it is needed most. This process does not work properly in many brain diseases and causes the gradual starvation of essential brain regions.

“There is growing evidence that failure of brain blood flow regulation is a defect that underpins many of the most devastating brain disorders, including dementia, epilepsy, and post-stroke and post-concussion syndromes,” he said. “Therefore, there is exciting potential that discoveries in this area could lead to improved diagnosis and treatment options that help create better outcomes in many diseases.”

Anderson, the corresponding author of the article entitled Endothelial NMDA receptors mediate activity-dependent brain hemodynamic responses in mice, said that the molecular and cellular nature of this failure of blood flow regulation is poorly understood. His lab is focused on discovering how active brain cells communicate with brain blood vessels to tell them to let more blood into active regions.

Adam Hogan-Cann, a U of M PhD student and the lead author of the article, said that Anderson’s lab had previously identified a protein (NMDA receptors) in the cells lining blood vessels in the brain that seemed to be important in controlling the dilation of vessels and regulating blood flow. Ping Lu, a research associate, co-authored the paper.

Before the study, Anderson said they had clues that the endothelial cells (cells that form the linings of blood vessels) have NMDA receptors that were able to initiate signals that lead to increases in vessel diameter. Those results were published and used isolated brain tissue from mice. No one had ever observed this in a live animal.

So Anderson and his team genetically engineered mice to delete the NMDA receptors in the endothelial cells. The researchers wanted to find out whether there was a response in blood flow with and without the NMDA receptors. The research team then implanted a plastic holder onto the skulls of the mice and created a window into their brains using a small drill.

Brain blood flow of individual vessels was observed in the brains of the awake mice using a microscope. To activate the neurons to see if there was a change in blood flow, they blew a puff of air onto individual whiskers, which triggered activity in the brain.

“Results clearly showed that animals with endothelial NMDA receptors responded normally to whisker stimulation while animals without them, had a dramatically reduced blood flow response,” Anderson said. “This means that this protein plays an important role in brain blood flow responses to natural brain activity.”

Hogan-Cann said that although their hypothesis was correct, he was surprised by the magnitude of the effect.

“It just really kind of hammered home the idea that this is something that is really important that hadn’t been looked at before,” Hogan-Cann said.

Because this reduced blood flow is involved in many different diseases that affect the brain it is a chicken and egg debate, Hogan-Cann said. There are changes in blood flow that happen way before a disease is recognized, so it could be that the changes are either initiating, contributing or making the condition worse, he said.

Now that the researchers know what happens when they remove the NMDA receptor, the team’s next step in its research is to focus on understanding how the receptors work.

“In some respects, we’re leading the way,” Anderson said.