Research exploring novel therapies to fight against bladder cancer and a world-first asthma study are among 18 Western projects drawing more than $15 million in new federal funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
More than 20 principal investigators and their teams from the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Social Science were recently awarded CIHR project grants, created "to support the bold ideas and innovative work of Canada's health researchers."
Two grants were awarded in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Professor Obidimma Ezezika and his team are investigating how to strengthen pandemic vaccine preparedness in Africa and professor Anita Kothari received funding for her work to improve integrated knowledge translation for evidence-informed health care.
Graham Reid, psychology professor in the Faculty of Social Science is leading a project using provincial health administration data to help improve mental health care follow-up for children.
Fourteen projects at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry were also funded, including innovative research in cancer immunology led by microbiology and immunology professor Mansour Haeryfar and a multi-centre asthma study led by Grace Parraga, a professor in the department of Medical Biophysics.
A new ally in the fight against bladder cancer
Mansour Haeryfar (Schulich Medicine & Dentistry)
Bladder cancer may soon have a surprising new ally: bacteria.
A research team led by microbiology and immunology professor Mansour Haeryfar has identified a powerful group of immune cells, called MAIT cells, concentrated in the bladder's lining. Known for their ability to detect and respond to bacterial threats, these cells may also help the immune system recognize and attack cancer.
With new CIHR funding to study how bacterial products activate MAIT cells, the team hopes to unlock a new kind of immunotherapy - one that uses bacteria to boost the body's natural defenses and target bladder tumors more effectively.
"Our goal is to design novel therapies for bladder cancer, to test their efficacy in preclinical models, and to ultimately translate our findings from the benchtop to the bedside," said Haeryfar.
What makes this approach especially promising is its potential for universal application. MAIT cells are activated through a molecule called MR1, which is shared by all humans.
"Because MR1 is the same in everyone, MAIT cell therapies have the potential to work across all patients - no matter their genetic background," explained Haeryfar.
Understanding remission in severe asthma
Grace Parraga
Biologic therapies are transforming the way we treat severe asthma, offering relief - and even remission - for patients whose symptoms were once difficult to control.
But are these powerful drugs simply addressing the symptoms and flares, or are they actually involved in healing the lung airways?
A new pan-Canadian study is the first in the world to take a closer look. Led by medical biophysics professor Grace Parraga, PhD, the interdisciplinary, multi-centre study will combine advanced imaging, tissue analysis and clinical data to investigate whether biologic therapies can reverse long-term airway damage that drives worsening asthma.
With new CIHR funding, the project builds on earlier findings from a single-centre study, which showed 40 per cent of patients in clinical remission also showed complete recovery of airway function using MRI methods Parraga's team developed.
"We know these patients feel better, but the bigger question is, are we actually resetting the disease?" said Parraga, Canada Research Chair in Lung Imaging to Transform Outcomes. "If we can show that biologics repair the airways, not just relieve symptoms, it will change how we define success in asthma treatment and lead to a cure."
Western CIHR Project Grants
Corey Baron, Ali Khan, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Microstructural brain aging across the lifespan of mice
Stephen Barr, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Hiding the enemy within: Understanding HIV-1 Integrase Preference for G4 DNA and its Implications for Viral Persistence
Lillian Barra, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, The role of immune responses to citrullinated and homocitrullinated proteins in rheumatoid arthritis- associated atherosclerosis
Rodney DeKoter, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Mechanisms of cooperativity of PU.1/Spi-B and IKZF3 mutations in normal and leukemic B cell development
Stefan Everling, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Role of the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex in vocal communication: Bridging auditory perception and vocal production
Obidimma Ezezika, Faculty of Health Sciences, Strengthening Pandemic Vaccine Preparedness in Africa (SPAVPA) 2.0: Lessons from African countries with high and low COVID-19 vaccination rates
Aaron Fenster, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Development and Testing of a Whole Breast 3D Ultrasound Imaging System
Mansour Haeryfar, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Bacterial Immunotherapy for Bladder Cancer
Pingzhao Hu, Kun Ping Lu, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, AI-Driven Platform for Large- Scale Screening, Analysis, and Experimental Validation: Targeting Pin1 for Precision Drug Discovery in Triple- Negative Breast Cancer
Anita Kothari, Faculty of Health Sciences, Improving Integrated Knowledge Translation for Evidence-Informed Health Care by Attending to Power
Joseph Mymryk, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Viral mimicry of the heptapeptide repeat of the RNA polymerase II C-terminal domain by adenovirus E1A.
Grace Parraga, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, How do the lung airways and vessels respond to biologic therapy in patients with severe asthma?
Tianqing Peng, Mitochondrial calpain- mediated ATP5A1 proteolysis in heart failure: therapeutic potential applications
Graham Reid, Faculty of Social Science, Predictors and Outcomes of Quality Mental Health Follow- up for Children and Youth in the Primary Care System using Health Administrative Data in Ontario
Caroline Schild-Poulter, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Investigating the molecular pathology of WDR26 deficiency
Susanne Schmid, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Mechanistic Investigation of Prepulse Inhibition for Advancing Treatment of Sensory Filtering Disruption
CIHR Project Grants funded via London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute
Saman Maleki, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, The role of macrophages in anti-PD1 sensitivity in mismatch repair-deficient tumours
CIHR Priority Announcement
Robert Petrella, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Sport fandom to engage newcomers to Canada in type 2 diabetes prevention: A pilot, cluster randomized controlled trial of a community-based health behaviour change and exercise intervention (FIT for Newcomers)
Krishna Singh, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Novel Mechanisms in Doxorubicin-induced Cardiomyopathy
