Fragility fractures of the pelvis are a very common injury in the elderly and are increasing in incidence with an aging population. These injuries are associated with high healthcare costs as well as poor patient outcomes, including decline in function and decreased independence. Historically, older adults with fragility fractures of the pelvis received nonoperative treatment with supportive care because operative management was deemed too invasive for this patient population. However, the development of percutaneous and less invasive surgical techniques has led to an increased frequency of operative stabilization of pelvis fractures in older adults. It is unclear if the increasing use of surgical fixation is improving outcomes for patients with pelvic fragility fractures. A definitive trial is urgently needed to help guide treatment decision making in this injury population.
Dr Sepehri is an orthopaedic trauma surgeon at Vancouver General Hospital who has experience and expertise in conducting research that focuses on challenging acute fractures of the extremities and pelvic ring. Dr Sepehri received funding from the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) to lead a feasibility study to support and inform the design of a definitive Randomized Controlled Trial evaluating operative treatment of fragility fractures of the pelvic ring. This study is an international collaboration with sites in Canada, USA and Spain. Supported by the CANadian Consortium of Clinical Trial TRAINing Platform (CANTRAIN)-Clinical Trials Training Programs, funded by Michael Smith Health Research BC, Dr Sepehri will receive mentorship from Dr Sheila Sprague, Research Director and Associate Professor within the Department of Surgery at McMaster University. Dr Sprague has expertise in the design and conduct of large RCTs with an established track record for mentoring early career surgeon scientists.
The McNagny and Roskelley research teams are thrilled to receive generous Matching Funds from Health Research BC in support of our 2025 GlycoNet Strategic Initiatives Grant from the Canadian Glycomics Network Centre of Excellence. This critical funding, made possible through Canada’s Networks of Centres of Excellence and Strategic Science Fund programs, will accelerate our mission to develop novel groundbreaking cancer immunotherapies.
Led by Prof. Kelly M. McNagny from the School of Biomedical Engineering and co-applicant Prof. Calvin Roskelley, both at the Vancouver Campus of the University of British Columbia, this project merges world-class academic expertise and cutting-edge industrial innovation. We are proud to collaborate with MetaStem Therapeutics (a UBC startup) and iProgen Biotech, two pioneering BC-based companies committed to bringing the next-generation of antibody drug conjugate (ADC) therapies to the clinic. Their invaluable industry expertise and in-kind support will help drive this research forward to meet a critical unmet clinical need in treating patients with metastatic cancer.
Our work builds on groundbreaking insights into the function of the stem cell glycoprotein, podocalyxin, a key driver of aggressive tumor cell behavior and an effective predictor of poor outcomes in most types of solid tumors. From these insights, we have developed a prototype ADC-based immunotherapy engineered to selectively bind and eliminate tumor cells while sparing healthy tissues. Based on these crucial findings, we will now refine and optimize our ADC to enhance its effectiveness against recurrent ovarian and pancreatic cancers, laying the foundation for the rapid transition of this therapy into clinical trials.
Our ultimate goal is to develop more effective, less toxic treatment options for patients battling these devastating cancers. Thanks to this generous support, we are one step closer to making this very novel therapeutic approach available to those patients for which there are currently few effective clinical options.
This project, supported by the 2024 CANTRAIN competition, focuses on developing and evaluating innovative clinical trial designs to enhance efficiency and reliability. Led by BC Principal Investigator Denghuang (Jeff) Zhan, a third-year doctoral student at UBC, this BC-based research integrates modern statistical approaches to address challenges in clinical trials.
The study builds on insights from the THREE-D trial, a groundbreaking study that evaluated treatments for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Traditional clinical trials, like the THREE-D trial, often require large sample sizes and fixed designs, which can be inefficient and inflexible. This research introduces a Bayesian adaptive design framework, which allows trials to adjust in real time based on accumulating data, improving efficiency and reducing costs.
By employing advanced simulation methods, including plasmode simulation (a technique using real-world data with controlled modifications), this project compares the performance of Bayesian adaptive designs with traditional fixed designs. Key benefits of Bayesian adaptive designs include the ability to stop trials early for efficacy or futility, more precise treatment effect estimation, and reduced sample size requirements without compromising statistical power.
The anticipated outcomes of this work include:
- Improved trial designs that are more responsive to real-world data.
- Practical guidelines for implementing Bayesian adaptive designs in clinical research.
- Enhanced methodologies that could accelerate treatment evaluation in areas like psychiatry and beyond.
This research will not only advance statistical methodologies but also contribute to the broader goals of Learning Health Systems (LHS), enabling healthcare systems to learn and adapt quickly to new evidence. By making trials faster, more flexible, and cost-effective, this work has the potential to improve healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.
Sleep is essential to our health and well-being. Poor sleep quality is linked to chronic health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, cognitive impairment, and dementia. After a stroke, people often experience difficulties in getting a good night’s sleep. Approximately half of stroke survivors have trouble falling and/or staying asleep. Poor sleep quality among stroke survivors increases the risk of recurrent stroke by 3-fold and the risk of early death by 76%. Hence, stroke survivors need strategies to promote better sleep. Fortunately, evidence shows that exercise can improve sleep quality even among those with sleep problems. Whether exercise training can improve sleep quality in adults with chronic stroke (i.e., at least 12 months since their stroke) and poor sleep quality is unknown. This study will investigate the effect of twice-weekly exercise training on sleep quality over a 6-month period in persons with chronic stroke (i.e., had a stroke more than 12 months ago) and poor sleep quality. We will also investigate the effect of exercise training on sleep duration, time spent in physical activity and sitting, thinking abilities, cardiovascular health, mood, and quality of life. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research funds this BC-based research to principal investigator Professor Teresa Liu-Ambrose, a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Healthy Aging at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Professor Liu-Ambrose’s research program focuses on the promotion of mobility and cognitive outcomes in older adults with chronic stroke and mild cognitive impairment through lifestyle interventions. Postdoctoral fellow Guilherme Moraes Balbim has received the StrokeCOG & Michael Smith Research BC Postdoctoral Fellowship to assist with recruitment, personnel training, manage participant flow and the study timeline, oversee data management and quality, conduct data analysis, lead the writing of scientific articles and knowledge translation materials, and present findings in scientific conferences and knowledge translation initiatives. Our proposed research will inform how to get better sleep after a stroke to promote recovery, long-term health, and well-being.
Colorectal cancer is the second most deadly cancer in Canada. Treatment typically involves surgery and chemotherapy, which can be effective but also cause significant side effects and not always prevent the cancer from returning. The DYNAMIC-III/CO.29 study is a major international clinical trial led by BC-based researcher and medical oncologist, Dr. Jonathan Loree based at the University of British Columbia and associated with the BC Cancer Agency. The trial involves 1000 patients who have had surgery for stage III colorectal cancer and is investigating a new approach that identifies fragments of tumor DNA in the blood, called circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), to tailor chemotherapy more closely to each patient’s needs. By checking for ctDNA shortly after surgery, doctors can adjust the intensity of chemotherapy—either increasing it if ctDNA is detected, suggesting remaining cancer, or reducing it if no ctDNA is found, to spare unnecessary side effects.
Assistance from the CANTRAIN-CTTP & Michael Smith Health Research BC Masters’ Studentship 2024 Award Program supports this major clinical trial through Masters’ Student, Michael Diaz-Stewart’s whose work on evaluating colorectal cancer subtypes through artificial intelligence-based screening ties into the wider project. This award contributes to BC-based frontier research aiming to improve our ability to precisely treat colorectal cancers through revised practices and artificial intelligence-informed screening.
The CANSTAT-CTTP & Michael Smith Health Research BC Postdoctoral Fellowship 2024 Award Program supports my year-long fellowship with the CANSTAT program (https://can-stat.ca/). The CANSTAT program is a pan-Canadian platform training statistics graduates specifically for randomized clinical trials. It is primarily funded through the Canadian Institutes of Canadian Research.
I entered the CANSTAT fellowship program after completing my MSc in Statistics at the University of British Columbia in 2024. My thesis was titled “The impact of disease-modifying drugs for multiple sclerosis on hospitalizations and mortality in British Columbia: a retrospective study using an illness-death multi-state model”. I previously graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with two degrees, a BSc in Data Science and a Bachelor of Business Administration.
I remain at UBC mentored by Drs. Joel Singer, professor emeritus at the School of Population and Public Health, and Jim Russell, professor at the Division of Critical Care, Department of Medicine. As a CANSTAT statistical fellow, this award supports my work on many BC-based projects. So far, this includes drafting statistical analysis plans and power analyses, such as for a trial on studying diet and diabetes, conducting analyses and creating reports, such as for a breast cancer trial, and an ongoing project using predictive modelling as an enrichment strategy for COVID-19 and community-acquired pneumonia trials.
My CANSTAT work impacts the BC health system in two ways. My work during this year generates an immediate impact by working with many teams of researchers on high-quality RCTs. But this fellowship has also trained me for a career in RCTs that will allow me to make an enduring impact throughout my career.
This research is led by Dr. Marie-Pier St-Laurent, a urologic oncology fellow at the University of British Columbia (UBC) who will transitioning to faculty in July 2025, and under the mentorship of Dr. Peter Black and in collaboration with Dr. Bernie Eigl. This British Columbia-based project will investigates a novel and personalized treatment approach for patient with muscle-invasive bladder cancer through a pilot randomized clinical trial.
Invasive bladder cancer is typically treated with chemotherapy followed by bladder removal surgery, or the combination of chemotherapy and bladder radiation While effective, these treatments may often cause significant side effects. Studies and experience have shown that one-third of patients treated with chemotherapy before surgery have no detectable cancer left in their bladder, suggesting that maybe they could avoid invasive treatments. However, current methods cannot reliably identify these patients without removing their bladder.
This project integrates advanced imaging (MRI), repeat bladder biopsies, and novel biomarkers (liquid biopsies detecting circulating tumor DNA in blood, or ctDNA) to identify patients with no residual cancer. The NEO-BLAST trial will assess whether these patients can safely opt for active surveillance (with monitoring) versus the standard definitive bladder therapy (bladder removal or chemo-radiation).
If successful, this study could shift the paradigm in bladder cancer care, reducing treatment burden while improving patients’ quality of life. Supported by funding from the CIHR Catalyst Grant for SPOR Innovative Clinical Trials (iCT), this study could lay the groundwork for a pan-Canadian clinical trial and improve care delivery across BC by reducing surgeries and optimizing healthcare resources.
Best research practices and honest reporting are cornerstones of science. Society assumes that research is performed carefully and reported openly. But there are unseen threats to science—85% of the investment in biomedical research is avoidably wasted due to poor conduct and reporting of research results. When we rely on science to inform decisions about patient care and health policy, society must strive for reliability in science.
Only 3 out of every 100 clinical trials conducted in Canada between 2009 and 2019 provided enough information for researchers, clinicians, patients and policymakers to decide whether the research is meaningful and worth implementing in practice.
I will lead a project to develop and evaluate an online training programme that aims to teach researchers how to maintain an accurate public record of their research—from its beginning all the way through to sharing the results with the scientific community and the public. The training program will roll out across at least 12 universities (out of 16) in British Columbia and culminate in testing how well researchers and institutions in British Columbia register and report the results of their research.
The avian influenza virus H5N1 is shed in infected birds’ saliva, mucous, and feces. Still, other infected animals may shed bird flu viruses in respiratory secretions and other body fluids (e.g., cow milk). The virus can spread rapidly through poultry flocks and among wild birds. Thus, developing diagnostic tests to identify the virus at early stages before dissemination is crucial to contain a pandemic at early stages.
Detecting pathogens during a pandemic has mainly been based on PCR amplification. Although PCR is relatively fast, samples must undergo a lengthy extraction process, especially for environmental samples. Sequential sequencing also requires highly trained personnel, expensive equipment, and specialized facilities. Thus, the current project will develop a rapid test for the surveillance of H5N1 in human communities, point-of-care settings, animal farms, water supply, sediments of wetlands, farming- and human-derived sewages, animal processing plant sewage, and personnel working in animal husbandry.
The project will take place in BC. The project will develop engineered antibodies against the virus H5N1. These antibodies will be used to generate a rapid test. Samples from different environments, such as water supply, sediments of wetlands, farming- and human-derived sewages, animal processing plant sewage, etc., will be sampled, analyzed, and validated by the BCCDC using PCR techniques. The impact of the rapid test will be a fast delivery across the province for the early detection of the H5N1 virus to contain the dissemination and allow better management of the disease.
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a major health issue where the heart unexpectedly stops beating, and blood no longer circulates through the body. In Canada, there are about 60,000 cases of SCA each year. Quick action, such as starting cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), is crucial. The longer it takes to start CPR, the less likely a person is to survive. Unfortunately, most SCAs happen in places where no one is around to help. Therefore, one of the biggest challenges in improving survival rates is the delay in recognizing that a cardiac arrest has occurred. Consumer wearable technologies have great potential to continuously monitor cardiac function and automatically recognize signs of disruption or loss of blood circulation at any time. If a problem is detected, these devices could automatically call emergency services for help. Our previous studies have shown that wearable sensors combined with artificial intelligence (AI) can recognize some signs and symptoms associated with a cardiac arrest, such as absence of a pulse. The overarching goal of the proposed project is to validate the performance of such a system for real-world SCA detection.
