Andy Shih’s Masters research focuses on preventing damage to cells in the central nervous system after a traumatic injury. Following such an injury to the brain or spinal cord, free radicals (oxidants) accumulate and damage almost all molecules in a cell by stealing electrons. Toxic damage to neural tissues worsens progressively over hours or days due to an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants that normally protect the cells. Shih is examining the effectiveness of increasing antioxidants to prevent cellular damage, with a particular focus on glutathione, a potent antioxidant. He hopes this work will lead to new treatments for brain and spinal cord injuries. Shih also sees potential benefits from the research for many other diseases, including stroke, epilepsy and neurodegenerative disease.
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Material properties of the spinal cord
Carolyn Sparrey wants to help develop new technologies and devices that prevent and improve treatment of spinal cord injuries. She’s working toward that goal by researching the biomechanical properties of the spinal cord to determine how tissues deform under various forces. This may provide new insights about the reasons the spinal cord deforms so rapidly during trauma. Sparrey ultimately wants to develop sophisticated mathematical models that simulate the injury process and accurate spine models. These models will provide valuable new tools to help in the assessment of new therapies, such as drug treatments and rehabilitation protocols for treatment of spinal cord injuries.
Effects of amphetamine challenge on working memory in schizophrenia: A fMRI study
Christine Tipper is committed to studying schizophrenia in a multi-disciplinary manner. That’s why Christine combined cognitive neuroscience and cognitive psychology in her Master’s research on the disorder. She specifically examined the increases in brain activity that schizophrenia patients experience in areas of the brain associated with working memory — a phenomenon that is especially pronounced during acute phases of their illness. Research shows that both the acute symptoms of schizophrenia and the increased brain activity may be affected by high levels of dopamine, an important neurotransmitter (messenger) that brain cells use to communicate with each other. As one of only a few studies that have utilized fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging – an advanced MRI scanner) to examine the effects of a pharmacological compound, Christine studied the impact of amphetamine – an agent with neurochemical responses that partially mimic the brain’s chemistry during acute schizophrenia – on brain functions involved in working memory. The research confirmed a relationship between amphetamine dose and working memory processing efficiency, supporting the implication that both the excessive dopaminergic activity associated with acute schizophrenia, and excessive dopaminergic blockade caused by overmedication may lead to working memory deficits. Christine hopes her findings will help physicians identify individuals at high risk for developing schizophrenia, potentially leading to earlier treatment and better long-term outcomes.
Genetic analysis of natural killer cell functions
Linnea Veinotte believes immunology (studying the immune system’s functions and disorders) and molecular genetics (studying the molecular structure and function of genes) will be an important research combination in the future. Linnea worked in both areas during her Master’s Research, studying natural killer (NK) cells, unique types of lymphocytes (white blood cells). Distributed in various tissues, the cells are thought to be the body’s first line of natural defense against cancers and viruses. NK cells can kill a wide range of cancer and virus-infected cells but not normal cells. Linnea aimed to better understand their development during varying stages. Linnea discovered, unexpectedly, that a small percentage of NK cells in the neonatal and adult stage express a gene specific to T cells: the T cell receptor gamma gene (TCR). This suggests that a population of NK cells shares extensive characteristics with T cell development, and that multiple developmental pathways of of NK cells may exist. She continues to further define NK cell differentiation in her PhD program, and hopes that the research will contribute to treatments for cancer and virus infection.
Regulation of Bcl-2 family members involved in macrophage cell survival
Shih Wei Wang is examining the role of a family of proteins implicated in atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), a condition that puts people at risk of heart attacks and stroke. In the early stage of atherosclerosis, plaque forms along the inner lining of arteries. This occurs at sites where altered LDL blood proteins enable blood cells known as macrophages to survive. While macrophages act as scavengers to remove foreign substances from the body, macrophages also turn into foam cells that contribute to plaque build-up. Wang’s research focuses on the Bcl-2 family of proteins, including proteins that regulate cell death and others that contribute to cell survival. In experiments incorporating techniques from biochemistry, cell biology and molecular biology, Wang is analyzing proteins that influence macrophage survival and death. The research could lead to improved therapy for people with atherosclerosis, involving selective drugs that block specific proteins or enzymes.
The influence of alcohol on mood and cognition
Treatment of alcoholism is complicated by the fact that many alcoholics also suffer from depression. Ekin Blackwell wants to contribute to more effective prevention and treatment of alcoholism by studying alcohol’s mood-enhancing properties, and identifying individuals who are especially sensitive to these properties. In her Master’s research, Ekin focused on clinically defining the characteristics of these sensitive individuals to gain insights into factors that influence the development of problematic drinking. Results from her study showed that these individuals have a higher level of negative thoughts about themselves, more negative general mood states and a more restricted emotional range that is less responsive to change. Ekin plans to continue her research on depression and has changed her focus to the link between depression and the stress hormone cortisol. She is specifically interested in understanding how individuals at risk for depression react to stressful interpersonal encounters, and whether their thoughts and emotions in response to these stressors are related to their daily patterns of cortisol output. The results will contribute to better understanding of the pathways between psychological stress and physiological illness.
The involvement of phosphatidylcholine in the development of hepatic steatosis in children with cystic fibrosis
Alice Chen hopes to achieve a better understanding of what causes liver disease in people with cystic fibrosis (CF). Liver disease – the second most common cause of death for people with CF – may result from depletion of choline (a water soluble B vitamin) in CF patients. An inability to properly absorb phosphatidylcholine (PC), which is found in food such as organ meats and egg yolks, may cause choline depletion and may ultimately lead to accumulation of fat in the liver. To test this hypothesis, Chen is studying a group of 50 children with CF, along with 10 healthy children. She will collect and analyse data from these children to determine if there is a link between difficulty in absorbing PC and liver disease. Chen, whose goal is pursing a career in nutrition research, believes that a better understanding of the causes of liver disease in people with CF is critical for the development of nutrition interventions that could prevent this serious complication.
Pain communication during infancy and early childhood: When cry becomes a speech act
Elizabeth Stanford (Job) has focused her research on understanding and improving assessment of children’s pain, by learning more about how children express pain, and how pain expression changes from infancy to early childhood. In her Master’s research she pursued three major projects that provided insights into the nature of children’s pain experience and how to improve measurement strategies. Two of her studies examined the language children use when experiencing painful events. The first involved the analysis of recordings of children’s spontaneous use of speech during immunization injections. Results from the study improve understanding of the meaning of these experiences for children and the type of language parents and practitioners can expect from children when they are in pain. The second study examined a large database providing transcriptions of children’s use of pain language during a range of structured and unstructured activities. The results provide important information about children’s spontaneous use of pain language, and could help clinicians and researchers better understand and assess pain in young children. Elizabeth’s final study examined young children’s use of self-report pain scales and described the role of developmental factors in predicting use of these scales. Child age was found to be the best predictor of children’s abilities to use the self-report pain scale. The results also highlight the tendency for over-estimation of young children’s abilities to use self-report scales and the need for tools and training tasks to be developed for use with the scales.
Improving Therapeutic Decision-Making During Active Clinical Practice
The ultimate goal of Laura Esmail’s research is to improve the management of medication use and patient outcomes. Studies estimate that 4.3% of hospital admissions in industrialized countries are due to preventable adverse outcomes of drug therapy. To begin to address this problem, Laura developed and tested a decision-making network aimed to improve physicians’ drug therapy decision-making. The conceptual framework of this network was based on the theory of cognitive apprenticeships: the process of understanding concepts through engaging in authentic activities and actual practice. Through linking family physicians with clinical pharmacists using cellular-telephone instant group conferencing, Laura attempted to create a continuous, contextual, social learning environment in which therapeutic expertise and experience could be shared and acquired at the time of patient care decision-making. This network ultimately aimed to facilitate the collaborative decision-making process that often takes place between health care professionals during hospital medical rounds. Results of her study concluded that cellular-telephone instant group conferencing between family physicians and clinical pharmacists is a useful method for influencing and assisting with drug therapy decisions at the time of patient care decision-making. Further modifications to the network are necessary before feasibility can be fully assessed. This work is an important contribution towards the understanding of decision-making systems that can improve drug related morbidity and mortality and help advance patient care.
Social Support Among Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Daily Progress Study
Because there is no cure for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), treatment focuses on alleviating pain symptoms and maintaining function. With that in mind, Susan Holtzman studied the links between pain levels, stress, ways of coping and social supports in patients with RA. The few existing studies in this area indicated that patients with strong social supports experience less pain and disability, but Susan wanted to examine this more closely. In her study she used daily monitoring techniques and collected detailed data from patients and their spouses. Susan used an advanced modelling technique to analyse the findings and concluded that social support decreased pain levels by encouraging and improving coping strategies. Findings from this study highlight the importance of social support. The research may ultimately lead to the development of psychologically-based treatment and individually-tailored pain management for patients with RA.