The lionfish (Pterois volitans), is a species that is originally native to the Indo-Pacific, but has rapidly become a very invasive species in the Caribbean and up the East coast of the United States due to its lack of natural predators there. In addition to the ecological stress it causes in the region, it delivers […]

Metabolic disorders are growing into a large health crisis worldwide. One common fact shown in these diseases is impaired function of mitochondria. Several treatments for metabolic diseases therefore aim to normalize or even boost up the activity mitochondria. The role of peroxisomes, on the other hand, is relatively neglected, despite its close connection with mitochondria. […]

N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) is a reactive molecule which shows surprising reactivity toward various small molecules – such as bond activation of inert compounds. Although NHCs have shown their great reactivity, there still remains a lot of interesting molecules yet to be activated by NHCs. The objective of this project is to elevate the reactivity of […]

Pancratistatin (PST) has been shown to selectively eliminate human cancer cells, but has not been used extensively in clinical trials due to its low availability in nature. Recently, different forms of PST have been synthesized and have demonstrated anti-cancer activity. These synthesized PST molecules have been tested on prostate, pancreatic, osteosarcoma and colorectal cancer cells. […]

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common types of neurodegenerative disorders and the development of an effective treatment remains a challenge for researchers today. The nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) which are closely related with AD, especially the alpha-7-nAChR, are involved in neuroprotective effects (effects which may result in the salvage, recovery or regeneration […]

Cytochromes P450 are enzymes that add oxygen to organic molecules, to convert them to water-soluble products that can be further metabolized. These oxidative enzymes are ubiquitous (found in animals, plants and microorganisms). We are working on cytochrome P450cam, isolated from a wild soil bacterium. This enzyme catalyzes the oxidation of camphor (an organic molecule that […]

This proposed research builds on my current PhD thesis research, where I have characterized and validated a micro-tissue engineering platform that can be used to efficiently generate pancreatic islet-cell clusters (“pseudoislets”) that have significantly increased insulin secretion capacity, and superior capacity to reverse diabetes in animal studies. These findings have suggested a strong therapeutic prospect […]

Il y a peu de traitements efficaces pour réduire les symptômes de douleur associés à l’arthrose. Ceci est en partie dû à nos connaissances limitées sur le sujet. Plusieurs modèles ont été développés et celui qui se démarque est celui de l’injection intra-articulaire de mono-iodoacétate (MIA). Bien que le modèle de MIA chez le rat […]

This proposed project focuses on American ginseng (AmG), a natural herb native to Canada that has been used as a traditional medicine for many generations. Southern Ontario has become the World’s largest producer of AmG with annual sales of over $400M at the farm gate. Polysaccharides (PS) are a major active component of AmG showing […]

This proposed project focuses on American ginseng (AmG), a natural herb native to Canada that has been used as a traditional medicine for many generations. Southern Ontario has become the World’s largest producer of AmG with annual sales of over $400M at the farm gate. Polysaccharides (PS) are a major active component of AmG showing […]

The main goal of this research project is to understand how the consumption of fructose can lead to the developement of hypertension. Hypertension is one of the most world spread health condition and a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, stroke and death. The high presence of fructose in the body, whether directly due to […]

Diphtheria is still a disease causing significant morbidity and mortality in people worldwide that did not received vaccination or suffer from incomplete immunization. The disease is due to a powerful toxin produced by the pathogenic bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheria. A good vaccine already exists but its production is rather complex and involves several steps: cultivation of […]