Chronic kidney disease is a growing problem in Canada and worldwide and is associated with obesity, diabetes and vascular disease. Current therapies only treat symptoms of CKD and have no impact on inflammatory and fibrotic process that underlie the progression of the disease toward hemodialysis, kidney transplantation, or death. OPKO Canada (Markham, Ontario) is developing […]

Handling practices commonly used in aquaculture can be stressful for spawning fish. When a fish is repeatedly exposed to stressors, circulating levels of the hormone cortisol are chronically elevated, which can cause elevations in egg cortisol. When egg cortisol levels are increased, offspring quality is reduced. Compounded with these intergenerational effects is the influence of […]

Recently, positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been successfully combined into a single system that can collect clinical PET/MRI data simultaneously (Siemens Biograph mMR). With PET, a wide variety of tracers have been developed that can measure energy usage and concentrations of disease-specific features in the brain. In collaboration with Siemens […]

The research team will investigate how plants and animals are affected by forestry. We will measure nutrients in the plants (specifically carbon and nitrogen) in areas with forest harvest and nearby Terra Nova National Park. We will collect plant samples to analyse in the lab for carbon and nitrogen content. We will also live-trap and […]

The purpose of this project is to determine if associations between actions and their effects can modulate attention capture. This goal will be achieved by measuring reaction time interference and monitoring eye movements while participants reach towards targets in the presence of a distractor. Participants will reach towards targets that are onset (appearance) or offset […]

The goal of the proposed research project is to survey evidence of the effectiveness of recreational therapy programs and disseminate this information through a therapy guide and algorithm that will assist recreation program staff in BC and Ontario in meeting the needs of residents living in residential care facilities. The guide will provide a comprehensive […]

The proposed research project is around conducting feasibility studies on the purification and conditioning of industrial hemicellulosic C5 sugars from a number of potentially commercial wheat straw liquor fractions. The research will propose experiments where data for the ultimate evaluation of enzymatic hydrolysis vs. a selected comparative list of acid hydrolysis can be included. The […]

Developing countries are faced with finding novel and humane ways to permanently reduce and control their dog populations. This is especially important for the sustainability of canine disease control and public health programs. Understanding the demography of domestic dog populations is central to the design of effective dog population management and zoonotic disease control interventions, […]

The goal of our proposal is to clarify the impacts of low doses of radiation on key biological aspects in a short-lived animal model (the cricket). Current assessments of radiation exposure mainly emphasize cancer. Our model will allow us to more broadly assess important features like growth, maturation, survivorship, reproduction and life span as well […]

Many HIV-positive persons on HIV medication have trouble taking this medication as prescribed by their doctor (treatment adherence). This threatens the long-term ability of the drugs to preserve a patient’s health. For 1 in 5 in Canada, their medication does not work, in part because of adherence problems. Furthermore, doctors and their HIV-positive patients do […]

Cardiovascular disease and sepsis are two of the biggest public health problems in North America. Increasing evidence further suggests they are linked. Recent studies in human healthy volunteers and in chronic heart failure patients have highlighted the apelin system as a potential target for drug development. We therefore propose to fully validate pre-clinically the potential […]

Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer affecting women, with 1 in 9 Canadian females expected to develop the disease in their lifetime. About 90% of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancers express androgen receptor (AR). Recent results in our laboratory demonstrated that the inactivation of 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the most potent androgen, contributes to estrogen-dependent breast […]