Department of Biology, Trent University Using the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum to study neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis Mutations in CLN5 cause late-infantile, juvenile, and adults forms of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL), commonly known as Batten disease. This devastating neurological disorder, which is linked to mutations in 13 genetically distinct genes, affects all ages and ethnicities and…
Nomazulu Dlamini, MD PhD
Division of Neurology, The Hospital for Sick Children Neural network reorganization and maladaptive plasticity in dystonia post childhood basal ganglia stroke Dystonia is a disabling and often painful disorder characterized by involuntary, repetitive muscle contractions, twisting movements and abnormal posturing. It is often resistant to treatment, and many children with dystonia develop fixed deformities with…
Dylan Cooke, PhD
Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University Accelerated mapping of individual variation in brain organization with online detection of EMG activity Individuality is widely celebrated in human culture but rarely studied in the laboratory. As with dexterity and athletic coordination, brain organization varies significantly between individuals, though it is not known whether “natural…
Kyle Biggar, PhD
Department of Biology, Carleton University Identification of new substrates of the histone methyltransferase enzyme, SMYD3, and their implication in lung cancer development Lysine methylation plays a critical role in the development of many human diseases. These small chemical protein modifications allow cells to exert greater control over protein function. Importantly, proteins that control this lysine…
Ali Abdul-Sater, PhD
School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University Dissecting the role of TRAF1 in regulating inflammatory and autoimmune diseases Autoimmune diseases like Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) are largely driven by abnormal inflammatory responses. Recent research from Dr Abdul-Sater’s group showed that TRAF1, an immune signaling molecule associated with increased risk to RA, can control inflammation. They…
Mladen Vranic, OC MD DSc
Mladen Vranic is best known for his work in glucose tracer methodology to study the effects of exercise and stress in diabetes. He came to Canada to work with Charles H Best, co-discoverer of insulin, and was first funded by the Banting Research Foundation in 1966 for his work on glucagon physiology. Glucagon plays a…
Charles H Hollenberg, OC MD FRSC
Charles Hollenberg was a physician, administrator, teacher and researcher. Born in Manitoba and educated at the University of Manitoba, he started his research career in 1960 at McGill University. After a decade there, he moved to the University of Toronto and became Chair of the Department of Medicine, where he transformed it into a place…
Brenda L Gallie, CM MD FRCSC
Brenda Gallie is a world-renowned ophthalmologist known for her contributions to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of retinoblastoma, a childhood eye cancer. In 1983, shortly after being appointed assistant professor of ophthalmology at the University of Toronto, Dr Gallie received a Banting Research Foundation grant to study the mutations of retinoblastoma, a rare form of…
Henry G Friesen, CC MD FRSC FCAHS
Henry Friesen is an internationally renowned endocrinologist best known for the discovery of human prolactin. Prolactin is a hormone that stimulates lactation in mammary glands and plays an important role in infertility and reproductive disorders. He was president of the former Medical Research Council of Canada from 1991 until 2000 when it became the Canadian…
Julien van Grevenynghe, PhD
Department of Infectious diseases, immunity, cancer and epidemiology, INRS – Institut Armand-Frappier and the Université du Québec Autophagy regulates CD8 T-cell killing activity during chronic HIV-1 infection Autophagy, a natural self-destructive process in cells, eliminates some viruses from cells, and also plays a role in shaping functions of T cells, a primary part of the…
Adena Scheer, MD
Department of Surgery, St Michael’s Hospital, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, and the University of Toronto Cross-cultural communications in breast cancer treatment Among minorities, disparities in breast cancer treatments have been demonstrated across the developed world and have been associated with worse cancer outcomes. In Canada we have the highest rate of foreign-born individuals among…
Gareth Lim, PhD
CRCHUM, Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal Evaluating the therapeutic potential of 14-3-3ζ for the treatment of obesity Approximately 25% of Canadians are either overweight or obese. Current therapies have only modest success in reducing body weight, and surprisingly, none directly target fat cells, which are key in the development of obesity.
