The recruitment and retention of health care professionals is one of the most pressing challenges facing the Canadian health care system today. BC is competing with the rest of the world to recruit and retain physiotherapists, pharmacists, X-ray technicians, socials workers and other health care professionals. This challenge is even more prevalent for rural and northern BC communities seeking talented professionals. Candice Roberge is researching the experiences and personal characteristics shared by health care professionals who successfully make a career of working in rural, northern BC communities. Her study will provide insight into the kind of people that need to be trained to meet the health care needs of rural BC. With her findings she hopes to assist health authorities target their recruitment strategies towards health professionals who will thrive on the lifestyle and the unique rewards of providing health services in small-town BC. In addition, her research strives to improve health care services and accessibility to services for individuals living in rural BC.
Year: 2007
Identification of Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) effector protein binding partners in host intestinal epithelial cells
Certain strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria can be harmful and cause disease; other strains are harmless and live harmoniously with their host. In fact, harmless strains of E. coli colonize the human intestine shortly after birth and survive there. In contrast, the disease-causing strains produce a wide variety of infections, including meningitis, urinary tract infections and intestinal infections. Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) colonizes the small intestine and induces severe bloody diarrhea. It is a significant cause of illness and death worldwide. EHEC attaches to the surface of cells lining the intestinal walls. These epithelial cells have microvilli, which are small finger-like projections that increase the surface area available to absorb water and nutrients. EHEC causes flattening of microvilli, which enables the bacteria to bind tightly to the intestinal cells and inject effector proteins into the interior of the host cell where they disrupt normal host cell processes and cause disease. Seven novel EHEC effector proteins have been identified and the mechanisms of their function are unknown. In her research, Stephanie Shames is working to identify host proteins in epithelial cells that are targeted by the seven novel EHEC effector proteins and to describe the interaction that occurs between these host and bacterial proteins. This research may provide important insights into how EHEC causes diarrhea which, in turn, could lead to the development of better methods of treatment and prevention, with world-wide benefits.
Exploring emotional awareness using real-time fMRI
Depression is a devastating disorder affecting approximately 1.4 million Canadians and 121 million people worldwide. While there have been many advances in depression treatment, a high rate of depression relapse remains. Numerous studies have shown that depression is associated with rumination, the tendency to dwell on thoughts and emotions. Since the majority of these thoughts and emotions are negative, rumination leads to a lower mood state. Rumination involves the difficulty of regulating emotional awareness as individuals become excessively aware of their negative emotions. A better understanding of the process of regulating emotional awareness in healthy individuals is therefore needed to address this problem in individuals suffering from depression. Rachelle Smith is exploring the regulation of emotional awareness in healthy individuals by making use of real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This novel method, which has been successfully used in research on regulation of pain and sadness, enables participants to receive immediate feedback regarding the level of activation in a selected brain region as they engage in emotional awareness and perceptual awareness. Smith hopes her research will not only lead to an increased understanding of the regulation of emotional awareness in healthy individuals, but more importantly, provide a necessary framework for future studies in individuals suffering from depression. Ultimately, it could lead to new treatments for depression that allow individuals to gain increased control of their emotional awareness.
The role of CD34 in muscle regeneration
Exercise damages muscle, which the body subsequently repairs. In the repair process, satellite cells (also called muscle stem cells) that are normally at rest, get switched on to replicate, and fuse to, existing muscle fibers. As few as seven satellite cells can generate over 100 new muscle fibers to replace damaged tissue. Consequently, these cells are ideal candidates for treating severe muscle degenerative diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (the most common form of MD), which cause rapidly progressive muscle weakness and atrophy, and is eventually fatal. Leslie So is assessing the role of a protein called CD34 in muscle regeneration. A short form of CD34 is present on resting satellite cells. Once the cells are activated and recruited for muscle repair, a longer form of CD34 quickly replaces the short form. During the last steps in muscle regeneration, CD34 is no longer present. Leslie is investigating whether the protein maintains satellite cells in their resting state, or helps these cells switch on. To date, efforts to grow and inject satellite cells to treat damaged muscle have been disappointing. In previous work, she developed methods to isolate satellite cells, and therefore hopes that further research will enable scientists to grow cells able to repair damaged muscles, providing a new treatment, and possibly a cure, for muscle degenerative diseases.
Nonverbal Emotion Processing Across Communication Channels
Nonverbal communication â facial expressions, gestures, posture, and intonation (tone of voice) â offers a rich source of information about a speaker’s intentions and moods. Recognizing and correctly interpreting these cues is important for social competence, but is challenging for people with autism and other developmental disorders that have deficits in nonverbal communication. Intonation and facial expressions represent the most prominent and biologically important nonverbal communication channels. These channels typically overlap in terms of the information they convey. While few studies have looked at the shared and unique brain mechanisms involved in these communication systems, some behavioural research suggests shared underlying mechanisms. Using magnetoencephalography, an imaging technique used to detect electro-magnetic and metabolic shifts occurring in the brain, Valery Sramko is studying both typically developing adults and those with autism spectrum disorder. Sramko is examining the mechanisms and brain areas shared by intonation and facial expression, which are deficient in people with autism, to shed light on nonverbal emotion processing. Her overall aim is to gain a better understanding of the processes and mechanisms involved in nonverbal communication, which could contribute to the development of potential interventions for people with autism and other developmental disorders.
Dopamine and Risky-Decision Making
Parkinsonâs disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that arises when a substantial number of dopamine-producing neurons deteriorate. The loss of these cells results in a number of brain regions receiving less than the normal amount of dopamine (DA). In addition to the motor symptoms of the disease, many patients with Parkinsonâs disease exhibit difficulties with cognitive tasks. Patients can take a variety of drug therapies that increase DA brain levels or directly stimulate DA receptors in order to alleviate motor and cognitive symptoms. However, recent studies have shown that a number of patients with Parkinsonâs disease have developed pathological gambling, which appears to be related to the DA agonist drug therapy they are taking. The gambling symptoms appear after the induction of (or increase in) the dose the DA agonist medication and disappear when the medication is decreased or halted. Jennifer St. Onge is researching the link between pathological gambling and increased DA activity in the brain by studying how risk-based decision making is altered by manipulations of DA transmission using experimental animals. Her research will help clarify whether pathological gambling and risk taking behaviour observed in some patients with Parkinsonâs disease is the result of DA agonist drug therapy. This study may facilitate closer monitoring of drug doses and the development of novel drugs that could treat motor symptoms of the disease without altering decision making.
Dynamic suppression of pathological brain oscillations in Parkinson's disease (PD) with virtual environments (VE)
Parkinson’s disease is a debilitating condition that affects millions of people worldwide, and is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder in Canada. Typical symptoms include tremor, slowness of movement, difficulty in walking, and rigidity. Drug treatments and surgery are available to improve symptoms, but these forms of therapy are not always effective and can have serious side effects. As these options arenât appropriate for all Parkinsonâs patients, alternative, non-invasive treatments are needed. Parkinsonâs symptoms are caused by a lack of the chemical messenger dopamine. Dopamine is normally released by neurons in the substantia nigra, allowing communication with the basal ganglia, an area of the brain that is responsible for the planning and smooth execution of movement. The lack of dopamine is believed to result in abnormal rhythms in the motor control areas of the brain, impeding movement. Recent studies have shown that appropriate stimuli can suppress the abnormal brain rhythms responsible for blocking movement in people with Parkinsonâs and help improve the way people with the disease move and walk. Giorgia Tropini is researching the association between visual stimuli and ongoing brain rhythms. Using virtual environment technology and electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements, Giorgia is developing specific, precisely timed visual images to disrupt inappropriate brain rhythms. Ultimately, she aims to contribute to the development of a wearable, non-surgical, non-pharmacological device to treat Parkinsonâs symptoms. Findings from her research could also be applied to other diseases that involve abnormal brain rhythms, such as epilepsy and depression.
Evaluating the inclinometer as a novel approach to estimate spinal compression for epidemiological and occupational field studies of back injuries
Almost 200,000 thousand workers are hurt on the job every year in BC. The majority of incidents involve musculoskeletal injuries, with back injuries accounting for approximately 25 per cent of all work claims. To reduce the occurrence of back injuries, we need a better understanding of the aspects of a job that are associated with the risk of injury. Most research is done with a small sample of workers in a controlled test environment. However, in order to have representative and generalizable results about the risk of injury, researchers require exposure data on large numbers of individuals at work so that relationships can be observed. To do this, they need accurate, inexpensive and easy-to-use tools to take out into the field. Spinal compression is a major risk factor for back injury. Robin Van Drielâs research is investigating the potential of estimating spinal compression by using an inclinometer (usually used for posture analysis), instead of the traditional electromyography method, to measure spinal compression among workers in five heavy industries in BC. By developing a better understanding of the work factors associated with the risk of injury, this research will help reduce the large personal and economic burden associated with low back disorders, and could be applied to many other occupational groups with similar risk factors.
Mechanism of Histone Variant H2A.Z Deposition by SWR1-Com
DNA, which is packaged into highly condensed structures in the cell, carries genetic information that is passed from one generation to the next. Chromatin is the first level of DNA packaging that eventually results in the formation of chromosomes â threadlike parts of a cell that carry hereditary information in the form of genes. Many debilitating and life-threatening diseases, such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s, and inherited childhood syndromes, result not only from changes in the basic DNA sequence, but also from changes in the structure of chromatin. DNA is condensed into chromatin with the help of DNA-packaging proteins called histones. DNA wraps around eight core histones â two each of H2A, H2B, H3, and H4 â to assemble into chromatin. H2A.Z is a variant of the core histone H2A that is conserved through evolution. Structurally, H2A.Z is different toward the end of the protein. A large protein complex called SWR1-Com, which binds to H2A.Z but doesnât bind H2A, deposits H2A.Z into chromatin. Alice Wang is researching the differences between the way H2A.Z and H2A are deposited into chromatin. She is specifically investigating whether the difference between H2A and H2A.Z lies in their different binding capabilities to SWR1-Com. The findings will help increase understanding of H2A.Z biology and how chromosomal neighbourhoods containing H2A.Z are made. Wangâs ultimate aims for the research is to contribute to development of therapies for diseases that result from changes in chromatin structure.
Identifying the Pro-Survival Actions of Glucose-Dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide on the Pancreatic Beta Cell
Diabetes is a rapidly growing worldwide epidemic. Itâs estimated that by 2030, more than 366 million people will have the disease, many of whom will acquire additional conditions such as neurological dysfunction, kidney failure and cardiovascular disease. Between 90 and 95 per cent of diabetics have type II diabetes mellitus. This results in hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia (high glucose and fat in the blood), which causes cell death in the beta cells that produce insulin. This further reduces insulin output, accelerating other conditions associated with diabetes. However, by increasing insulin secretion and promoting survival of beta cells, it should be possible to reduce or prevent the conditions associated with type II diabetes. Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) is a gut-derived peptide hormone whose stimulatory actions enhance insulin secretion and inhibit beta cell death. However, the mechanisms by which GIP protects beta cells are unknown. Scott Widenmaier is studying the possibility that GIP prevents beta cell death by relieving the stress placed on the mitochondria, the cellâs energy producing machine. It is expected that this protective mechanism of GIP will provide key information regarding the effects of chronically-high glucose and lipids on beta cells in type II diabetics. This could lead to a novel class of therapeutics to prevent beta cell death, contributing to better health outcomes for type II diabetics.