Pain in the craniofacial region is one of the more complex and difficult to treat conditions for patients and clinicians. Current treatments are complicated by limited efficacy and considerable side effects. Many of these conditions show greater prevalence in women than men, but there is a lack of basic research utilizing female animals. Recent advances […]

Osteoarthritis is a slow and progressive degenerative joint disorder, and is the most common form of arthritis, causing a significant reduction in the quality of life of afflicted individuals. A common treatment for this disease is to inject corticosteroids, such as triamcinolone acetonide (TA), directly into affected joints, which treats the joint inflammation that causes […]

Egg yolk contains IgY antibodies that target various infectious disease and food allergens. IGY Inc is a company focused on utilizing chicken immune system for antibody production. IgY antibody contains 0.64% of total wet egg yolk, after cracking each egg IGY Inc generates 60-70g of liquid egg white which has a low commercial value. Egg […]

The goal of this Mitacs research proposal study is to develop and apply experimental methodology for transdermal delivery of bone-targeting peptide hormone drugs. We aim to deliver these compounds using an appropriate hydrophilic-hydrophobic Diffusimax liposomal drug delivery cream base to anatomically superficial bone, at the sites of stress fractures (also known as “shin-splints”) in order […]

Ginseng is a medicinal plant with a long history of traditional use. The medicinal properties of ginseng root have been attributed to two main classes of chemical compounds: ginsenosides and polysaccharides. While much is known about ginsenoside pharmacology, less is known about polysaccharide pharmacology. One of the most important properties of ginseng root polysaccharides is […]

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 […]

Many diseases, including cancer, afflict the intestines. This is in large part due to the continuous renewal of epithelial cells, and the exposure to toxins from the diet and to infectious agents. Inflammation also contributes to the genesis of cancer, as illustrated by the link between chronic and ulcerative colitis and colorectal cancer (CRC). Caspases, […]

Opioids are the most efficacious analgesics known, and elective in the treatment of acute severe pain. In contrast, their use in the management of chronic pain syndromes remains limited, requiring a compromise between preserving analgesic efficacy and controlling side effects such as respiratory depression, somnolence, nausea, constipation as well as abuse, dependence and analgesic tolerance. […]

In the CNS the majority of excitatory synapses are formed onto specialized structures known as dendritic spines which can undergo shape changes in the time frame of minutes to days. This inherent structural plasticity of dendritic spines even lasts into adulthood. It is still unclear why certain spines are more likely to be maintained, to […]

Cancer cells are known for their unique capacity to survive and grow in a low oxygen tension environment in the middle of a poorly vascularized solid tumor. This adaptation, which is central to the tumorigenesis process, is mediated by precise cellular mechanisms allowing the regulation of gene expression. Thus, the development of small molecules to […]

The proposed project, performed with the company Immune Biosolutions, aims to develop superior antibodies for biological targets of interest for the treatment of colorectal cancer. Specifically, these targets are a class of proteins expressed on cell surface, which are notoriously difficult for the development of antibodies. The method involves making molecules look like the biological […]

Obesity and diabetes are a significant global burden and there is an immediate need for novel treatments and management strategies. Our lab has shown that an avocadoderived lipid is a potent inhibitor of fatty acid oxidation (i.e., the cellular breakdown of fat for energy) which reduces mouse weight gain without toxicity. Inhibition of fatty acid […]