Dr. Sarai Racey has always been fascinated by the world of viruses and bacteria, their evolution, and how much infectious diseases have shaped human history and the world. Her passion for scientific discovery and education, as well as her dedication to reaching under-served and rural communities are evident in her work.
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…
How cell-to-cell copy number alterations that underpin genomic instability1 in human cancers drive genomic and phenotypic variation, and consequently the evolution of cancer2, remains understudied. Here, by applying scaled single-cell whole-genome sequencing3 to wild-type, TP53-deficient and TP53-deficient;BRCA1-deficient or TP53-deficient;BRCA2-deficient mammary epithelial cells (13,818 genomes), and to primary triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) cells (22,057 genomes), we identify three distinct ‘foreground’…
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…
Each year, Michael Smith Health Research BC (MSHR BC) selects a handful of researchers for their Scholar Program. The Scholar Program is designed to support early career researchers as they establish independent research careers, form their own research teams, and develop research programs that advance cutting-edge health solutions. MSHR BC is pleased to name 26 exceptional BC-based health researchers as their 2022…
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…
Dr. Annie Ciernia is among 20 neuroscientists in Canada who have been awarded $100,000 each in research funding, as part of Brain Canada’s 2021 Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research Program. “I am honoured to be among the recipients of Brain Canada’s Future Leaders program,” says Dr. Ciernia, a DMCBH member and Assistant Professor in UBC’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. “It…
The release of cytokines from various immune cells is known to be essential for successful muscle regeneration. However, the precise cellular origin of some of these cytokines and how they influence each other are still not clear. One such cytokine is IFNγ, which is most commonly thought to promote inflammation. Here, we show that IFNγ is primarily produced by a…
Professor Christopher M. Overall was awarded the 2022 Helmut Holzer Award, an honour recognizing outstanding contributions to advancement of the field of proteolysis. The Award, sponsored by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, was presented September 18 at the opening plenary lecture of the September 19 – 22, 2022 Federation of European Biochemical Societies conference “Proteolysis at the…
