For the first time, we have provided in vivo evidence of demyelination in individuals with non-traumatic spinal cord injury. This was done using an MRI technique called myelin water imaging that is specifically sensitive to changes in myelination (validated in more conventional diseases associated with demyelination, like multiple sclerosis).This is important because it would suggest demyelination is a pathophysiological process of non-traumatic spinal cord injury and that targeting myelin...
Transfusion practice plays a vital role in medicine and many doctors routinely face patients requiring blood products. However, transfusion is not covered in depth in medical schools across Canada. Residents and physicians whose specialty is not hematology, are often left out of the loop when decisions are made about transfusing a patient. To bridge this critical gap in knowledge, a…
Dr. Chris Overall, a leading scientist at the Centre for Blood Research (CBR), won the 2017 Discovery in Proteomic Sciences Award from the Human Proteome Organization (HUPO), along with recipient Dr. Ileana Cristea from Princeton University. This award will be presented at HUPO 2017 in Dublin, Ireland, where Dr. Overall will present a talk. Launched in 2001, HUPO is an…
Zymeworks Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation bispecific and multifunctional biotherapeutics, initially focused on the treatment of cancer, and Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited (“Daiichi Sankyo”) today announced the successful achievement of a research milestone for an immuno-oncology bispecific antibody therapeutic candidate in their collaboration. In conjunction with this milestone achievement, Zymeworks is…
The Best of the AACR Journals collection 2016 highlights the most-cited articles published in 2015 across the AACR journals. Three VPC scientists, Drs Chi, Collins & Gleave, are included in this prestigious group for their articles “Androgen Receptor Gene Aberrations in Circulating Cell-Free DNA: Biomarkers of Therapeutic Resistance in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer” in Clinical Cancer Research (Chi and Collins) and “Anticancer Activity of a…
Carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) is a hypoxia inducible factor 1-induced, cell surface pH regulating enzyme with an established role in tumor progression and clinical outcome. However, the molecular basis of CAIX-mediated tumor progression remains unclear. Here, we have utilized proximity dependent biotinylation (BioID) to map the CAIX ‘interactome’ in breast cancer cells in order to identify physiologically relevant CAIX-associating proteins…
Motile and non-motile (primary) cilia are nearly ubiquitous cellular organelles. The dysfunction of cilia causes diseases known as ciliopathies. The number of reported ciliopathies (currently 35) is increasing, as is the number of established (187) and candidate (241) ciliopathy-associated genes. The characterization of ciliopathy-associated proteins and phenotypes has improved our knowledge of ciliary functions. In particular, investigating ciliopathies has helped…
This week, the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research announced the recipients of their Scholar and Research Trainee Awards. These grants go towards furthering the MSFHR’s mission to fund innovative and promising research in British Columbia. Many ICORDians have benefited from this support. This year, one Investigator and five postdocs from ICORD have won MSFHR Awards! Dr. Heather Gainforth, an ICORD Investigator…
Our well-powered study had two major findings, both of which have profound implications across multiple fields.
First, we found that mild life-long reduction in circulating insulin improves glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity in old mice. This demonstrates that at least some age-dependent insulin resistance is caused by the hypersecretion of insulin itself. This simple observation is the first clear evidence of causality to one of the most important chicken-and-egg debates in the metabolism field...
The formation of blood clots is mediated by an intricate and dynamic interplay between platelets, blood clotting proteins, and small molecules. While rapid clot formation is essential for stopping blood loss at wound sites, uncontrolled blood clotting can evolve into thrombosis, causing organ failure and even death if left untreated. In order to better understand the underlying complex biochemistry of…
