Dr. Jeremy Chopek, assistant professor of physiology and pathophysiology, received a Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant ($975,376 over five years) to better understand how electrical spinal stimulation can not only improve motor function in people with spinal cord injury, but also improve the body’s autonomic functions, such as regulating heart rate and blood pressure. Read more.
Dr. Sanjiv Dhingra, professor of physiology and pathophysiology, received a Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant ($1,027,780 over five years) to focus on mesenchymal stem cells (a type of multipotent cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types) derived from bone marrow. Read more.
Dr. Eftekhar Eftekharpour, associate professor of physiology and pathophysiology, received funding from the Alzheimer Society of Canada for his project Examination of neuronal nuclear damage as a new player in pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. Read more.
Dr. Tiina Kauppinen, associate professor of pharmacology and therapeutics, received funding from the Alzheimer Society of Canada for her project NUDT5 as a therapeutic target in Alzheimer’s disease. Read more.
Dr. Lauren Kelly, associate professor of pharmacology and therapeutics, received a Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant ( $749,700 over three years). She will lead a randomized clinical trial of cannabidiol (CBD) alone versus CBD in combination with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) as a treatment to reduce seizures in children and adults with drug-resistant epilepsy. Read more.
Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum, professor of physiology and pathophysiology, received a Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant ( $757,350 over five years). His study will examine the apparent link between cancer patients’ disrupted body clocks, autophagy (the body’s process of “recycling” damaged cell parts to maintain cell quality), and the harmful effects of doxorubicin on the heart. Read more.
Dr. Deepak Louis, assistant professor of pediatrics and child health, received a Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant ( $481,951 over four years and three months). He will lead a three-province study of how the birth of a preterm baby affects siblings in the family. Read more.
Dr. Jonathan McGavock, professor of pediatrics and child health, received two Canadian Institutes of Health Research grants. He received a grant ($1,453,500) to lead a five-year study of how Canadian cities can best implement urban trails that are fair for all citizens and generate the greatest possible cardiovascular health benefits. The second grant ($734,400 over four years) will fund a randomized trial of a program for adolescents living with obesity. Read more.
DEPARTMENT of MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY
Dr. Denice Bay, assistant professor of medical microbiology and infectious diseases, has received funding from Research Manitoba. Bay, in partnership with the company Periodiagnostics Inc., will undertake a two-year project to test dyes capable of detecting the bacteria responsible for periodontal disease quickly and accurately at the point-of-care. To achieve this, saliva from volunteers with and without periodontal disease will be collected at Winnipeg dental clinics, with the outcome being a ready-to-distribute test kit for use by dental professionals and community clinics.
Drs. Keith Fowke (NPI), Joshua Kimani (PI), Lyle McKinnon (PI), Julie Lajoie (CoI) and Alberto Severini‘s (CoI) CIHR project grant entitled Identifying immune markers of HPV viral clearance which was funded by the Equity in Cancer Prevention and Control priority announcement ($100,000 for 1 year).
In May 2023, CIHR held a grant competition that focused on STI (but not including HIV and HCV) and the results were announced in October. The following department of medical microbiology and infectious diseases (MMID) members all received three year $450,000 grants as NPIs: Dr. Lyle McKinnon (HPV vaccine), Dr. Xiao-Jian Yao (Chlamydia vaccine), Dr. Zulma Rueda and Dr. Yoav Keynan (syphilis POC), Dr. Derek Stein (Syphilis vaccine), Dr. Souradet Shaw (gonorrhea epi), and Dr. Keith Fowke and Dr. Joshua Kimani (HPV vaccine). There was also a Catalyst grant competition for one year $100K. Dr. Zulma Rueda and Dr. Yoav Keynan (Mycoplasma genitalium) and Dr. Thomas Murooka (HPV) were successful in this competition. There were another two grants awarded to UM faculty who were not affiliated with MMID (Dr. Rob Lorway, professor of community health sciences, and Dr. Roustam Souleymanov, associate professor in the Faculty of Social Work). The UM haul represents about half of the available grants.
Dr. Keith Fowke, professor and head of medical microbiology and infectious diseases (MMID), and Dr. Denice Bay, assistant professor of MMID, partnered with Dr. Marianne Mureithi from the department of med micro and immunology (MMI) at the University of Nairobi on a successful Global Affairs Canada training grant worth $450,000. This program will see MMI students from University of Nairobi students coming to MMID for fully funded PhD studies (three students) and one year skills building internships (five students), with the majority of these trainees being women. This program builds on the legacy of collaboration between MMID and MMI that Dr. Allan Ronald established in 1979.
Dr. Zulma Rueda and her team received their first multi-year grant and a catalyst grant:
- Test, treat and connect on site using a dual rapid diagnostic point-of-care test for syphilis and HIV among people who are experiencing houselessness. NPI: Dr. Zulma Rueda. Co-PIs: Drs. Yoav Keynan, Margaret Haworth-Brockman, Katharina Maier, Lauren Fergusson, Julianne Sanguins, Sean Rourke. Co-Is: Drs. Ken Kasper, Lauren MacKenzie, Jared Bullard, Laurie Ireland, Mike Payne, Mariana Herrera, Luisa Arroyave. Amount: $450,000 CAD for three years.
- Mycoplasma genitalium: systematically studying the epidemiology of a neglected and increasingly drug-resistant sexually transmitted infection among people living with HIV in Manitoba. NPI: Dr. Zulma Rueda. Co-PI: Dr. Yoav Keynan. Co-Is: Drs. David Alexander, Irene Martin, Shelley Peterson, Mariana Herrera. PhD student: Dr. Angela Copete. Amount: $100,000 CAD for one year.