Director’s Message

Photo Credit: Mikaeel Valli

DR. LUCY OSBORNE

Acting Director, Institute of Medical Science Professor, Departments of Medicine and Molecular Genetics

DIRECTOR’S

MESSAGE

As the new Acting Director of IMS, it is a pleasure to see the hard work and commitment from our graduate students towards science communication through the production of IMS Magazine. It is wonderful to see many of our students and faculty return to the campus and the Fall 2021 issue is a great opportunity to acknowledge all the fantastic work that has been going on at IMS.

There’s no doubt that our gastrointestinal tract and its related microbiome plays an important role in influencing our overall health and wellbeing. This issue of IMS Magazine takes the opportunity to shine light on researchers involved in this intriguing field with the goal to better understand the gut and find ways to improve lives of patients in the process. Read the work by Dr. Margaret Hahn and her group that looks at the interplay between the gut and brain and how it influences mental health. In another feature, you will learn about inflammatory bowel disease, and how Dr. Mark Silverberg and his team is trying to understand the influence of genetics on this condition. Dr. Tony Lam and his colleagues explore how the nutrient sensing molecules within the gut is implicated in diabetes and obesity. Turn the pages to learn about the work of Dr. Nicola Jones and her team in trying to understand the cause and effect of Helicobacter pylori infection on the gastrointestinal health.

Every year we host the Ori Rotstein Lecture in Translational Research with the goal to celebrate exceptional scientific contributions of our scientific community. This 11th year, we were privileged to have Dr. Mary Gospodarowicz as our keynote speaker. You can read more about this event on page 36. My heartfelt congratulations to the organizing committee for making this event a smashing success.

I also would like to congratulate the new faculty joining IMS. Check out pages 28-29 about their inspiring research! Welcome to the IMS and I am looking forward to your continued success in your research endeavors.

The IMS aims to foster a sense of community and the IMS Magazine truly expresses that. I am honoured to be a member of such a community. I hope you enjoy reading the articles within this issue as much as I did!

Sincerely,

Dr. Lucy Osborne Acting Director, Institute of Medical Science