Dr. Stephen Withers has learned a lot about the economics of blood over the past few years. Blood donations dried up during the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2022, Canadian Blood Services reported that the nation’s blood supply was critically low. Shortages also struck the U.S., Australia, much of Africa, and many other countries. Meanwhile, the global blood and blood components…
Growing up, Dr. Sarah Kraeutner liked to build things and had always wanted to be an engineer. However, after taking some psychology courses during her undergrad, she became interested in how the brain works and how it can recover after an injury, such as a stroke. She went on to complete her Master’s and PhD in Psychology and Neuroscience at Dalhousie University,…
Lindsay Pallo and Raelyn Gallant know too well how wonderful it would be to cure, prevent, or at least improve treatment for diabetes. Pallo was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age eight, Gallant at age 10. “I remember I used to get really hungry so I ate two-and-a-half foot-long subs,” Gallant says.
A team of researchers and doctors at B.C. Children’s Hospital Research Institute has discovered a previously unknown genetic condition, in a Vancouver man who came to Canada as a refugee from Syria eight years ago. The condition — the complete lack of NFAT1 or nuclear factor of activated T cells, which is important in the body’s immune response and the growth of…
The gene-silencing complex HUSH might be involved in complex disorders affecting the brain and neurons. However, its mechanism of action remains unclear. Researchers from the Penninger lab at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA) have uncovered the in vivo targets and physiological functions of a component of the HUSH gene-silencing complex and one of…
Michael Smith Health Research BC’s Scholar and Research Trainee awards provide funding to support BC’s next generation of health researchers in advancing science and improving the health of British Columbians. Applications are now open for our 2023 competitions. The Scholar awards help BC researchers build leading-edge health research programs, train the next generation of scientists, and make significant contributions to their field.…
Heart attacks and strokes are leading causes of death around the world, and many are caused by atherosclerosis, or the buildup of plaque on the walls of blood vessels. The best way to fully understand how atherosclerosis develops and progresses is by studying plaques from human tissues. Biobanks, or tissue registries, are collections of human biospecimens from the people who…
Benefits of exposing skin to ultraviolet light for people with atopic eczema far outweighs the risk, according to a study that will leave clinicians to rest easy, knowing that prescribed phototherapy does more good than harm. The study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, was authored by Dr. Tashmeeta Ahad, a clinician-scientist within the Skin Research Program at…
An exceptional $2 million gift from SFU professors emeriti Claire and William Cupples will help empower researchers in the Faculty of Science at Simon Fraser University. The Cupples’ generous commitment will support the creation of the Life Science Innovation Fund, which will provide an annual award to help researchers initiate proof-of-concept research projects. They will donate $500,000 over the next…
AbCellera (Nasdaq: ABCL) announced today that Regeneron has elected to exercise its right to advance a therapeutic antibody candidate, discovered in partnership with AbCellera as part of a multi-target collaboration between the companies, into further preclinical development. The partnership, which commenced in March 2020 and allows for four discovery programs selected by Regeneron, leverages AbCellera’s antibody discovery engine and Regeneron’s VelocImmune® mice…