Momentum - Spring, 2020

ISSUE NO. 4

Spring 2020

A DI ABETES BREAKTHR OUGH Twenty years ago, UAlberta scientists put Edmonton on the map in the quest to cure Type 1 diabetes. Now they’re closer than ever.

COVID-19 SPECIAL EDITION

Propelling health research and education in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry University of Alberta

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

ISSUE NO. 4

2 Meet the dean

SPRING 2020

FEATURES

8 Top news 10 Education

19 Expert commentary

3D heart model advances patient education

37 Learners as leaders

Interdisciplinary team’s

14 Research

cutting-edge tools illustrate

40 Generosity

complex medical concepts

44 Alumni

20

47 Innovation 49 Throwback

24

On the cover

Edmonton team in tireless pursuit of a diabetes cure

4 A closer look at COVID-19

32 Integrating technology and medical education

MOMENTUM

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS

UAB.CA/MOMENTUM

KIRSTEN BAUER, ’05 BA, ’17 MA JUDITH CHRYSTAL CHERYL DESL AURIER GEOFF MCMASTER ROSS NEITZ RYAN O’BYRNE, ’06 BA, ’19 MA GILLIAN RUTHERFORD L AURA VEGA TAMARA VINEBERG NICHOL AS WILSON BRENT WITTMEIER LESLEY YOUNG, ’94 BA

NATASIA MARTIN, ’13 BDES MARIAH BARNABY-NORRIS, ’17 BDES AMANDA SCHUTZ

DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING SALENA KITTERINGHAM, ’00 BA NATASIA DESIGNS NATASIA MARTIN, ’13 BDES PHOTOGRAPHY L AUGHING DOG PHOTOGRAPHY JORDAN CARSON

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA RESPECTFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THAT WE ARE SITUATED ON TREATY 6 TRADITIONAL L ANDS OF FIRST NATIONS AND METIS PEOPLE.

CONTENT WRITER / PUBLISHING EDITOR SASHA ROEDER MAH, ’91 BA UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

1

MEET THE DEAN

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

Meet the dean AN INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION

work researchers and educators are

for excellence in research, a passion

already doing, leveraging the faculty’s

for teaching and a deep well of front-

strengths to push it forward. She has

line experience are just a few of the

a deep understanding of the academic

assets Brenda Hemmelgarn, MD/PhD,

and health-care systems in Alberta

brings to her new role as dean

and a dedication to building and

of the University of Alberta’s Faculty

strengthening collaboration between

of Medicine & Dentistry.

the two.

Hemmelgarn began her career in

“I’m very much about teams and

nursing and went on to obtain a PhD

team-building. I like to lead by

in epidemiology and biostatistics at

example, and I value transparency

McGill University and a medical degree

and equity, but one person does

from McMaster University. A specialist

not make an organization,” says

in nephrology, she focuses on finding

Hemmelgarn. “It’s all about the

the best care for patients with chronic

team, collaboration and bringing in

kidney disease.

a variety of different perspectives to build that team.”

in Kidney Research since 2011, and is

Excellence in the areas of education,

the co-lead for the Interdisciplinary

research and clinical care will lead

Chronic Disease Collaboration, a team

to better health in our communities,

working to improve the health and

says Hemmelgarn, and with her

quality of life for Canadians living with

commitment to innovative thinking

chronic disease.

and strategic planning, she’s putting the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry

Hemmelgarn’s vision for the Faculty

at the nexus of all three.

of Medicine & Dentistry builds on

Five things about your new dean

BORN & RAISED in the small farming community of St. Walburg, Saskatchewan

HIKER & BOOKWORM

MORE THAN

35+ YEARS in health care, academics & administration

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada 2

500

peer-reviewed publications

&

the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences

FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

PHOTO BY: L AUGHING DOG PHOTOGRAPHY EDITED BY: SASHA ROEDER MAH

She has held the Roy and Vi Baay Chair

ISSUE NO. 4

MEET THE DEAN

SPRING 2020

“I like to lead by example ... but one person does not make an organization. It’s all about the team.”

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

3

COVID-19

A CLOSER LOOK AT COVID-19 The U of A’s Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology is responding to the COVID-19 crisis AUTHOR

ORIGINAL STORY

PHOTO BY

GILLIAN RUTHERFORD

FOLIO

FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA’S Li Ka

When word started to trickle out of

family—severe acute respiratory

Shing Institute of Virology was set up

China in early January that a new and

syndrome (SARS) and Middle East

in 2010 to be ready for a moment just

deadly virus was spreading fast, Tyrrell

respiratory syndrome (MERS)—was

like the COVID-19 pandemic.

immediately pulled together more than

immediately fast-tracked. The lab has

20 institute members to brainstorm

since found the drug effective against

how they could help.

a key enzyme of coronavirus that

“We set up in the beginning so that we would have funding to sponsor

causes COVID-19.

rapid responses to new viruses,” says

After the Canadian Institutes for

founding director Lorne Tyrrell, ’64

Health Research announced $26.8

A total of 11 U of A projects have

BSc, ’68 MD, PhD. Tyrrell pooled

million for rapid responses to

received $5.8 million in funding

funding from numerous sources

COVID-19, “we had a week to write

from the federal government’s

to found the institute, including a

grant proposals,” Tyrrell says. “They

Canadian 2019 Novel Coronavirus

$25-million donation from Hong

were reviewed over a weekend and we

(COVID-19) Rapid Research

Kong businessman Li Ka Shing to

were notified right away.”

competition, including:

the institute. The Alberta government

Newly published research by

Ʌ Investigation of protease inhibitors,

promised a further $5 million a year

Matthias Götte, PhD, into remdesivir,

a class of antiviral drugs that also

in recognition of the potential to

a drug proven to be active against

block replication of viruses (Joanne

diversify the economy by turning

Ebola virus but with even more

Lemieux, PhD, director of the

research discoveries into profitable

activity against two other deadly

U of A’s Membrane Protein Disease

pharmaceutical products.

members of the coronavirus

Research Group)

establish an endowment to operate

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FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

ISSUE NO. 4

COVID-19

SPRING 2020

Ʌ COVID-19 diagnostic tests for

THREE STEPS TO SUCCESS

home or remote settings (Chris

A concerted worldwide approach

Le, PhD, director of analytical and

will be needed to quell COVID-19,

environmental toxicology in the

stresses Tyrrell.

U of A’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology)

“Strong public health measures such as self-isolation, social distancing and

Ʌ Work on a potential vaccine (Michael

avoiding large public gatherings at the

Houghton, PhD, director of the Li Ka

beginning of an epidemic try to change

Shing Applied Virology Institute)

that infection rate curve.

Ʌ Development of an anti-COVID-19

“The second thing we need desperately

therapeutic (Michael James, PhD,

is approved antivirals to be used in

Distinguished University Professor

people who are sick enough to end up in

Emeritus in Biochemistry)

hospital. New effective antivirals would help to take some of the fear out of this

Ʌ Sequencing the RNA of coronavirus

situation and would likely decrease

(Matthew Croxen, PhD, assistant

hospitalization and mortality rates.

professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology)

“And the third thing—just like with influenza—we need a vaccine against

Researchers at the institute are

COVID-19, to try to decrease the

now working with samples of the

number of people who get infected,”

coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), using

Tyrrell says.

custom-built sealed labs, special gowns, masks and headgear. Alberta Innovates has since contributed nearly $850,000 in additional funding for the U of A’s ongoing research.

Lorne Tyrrell of the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology, where multiple research projects on the new coronavirus are in progress

More promising research Ʌ Researchers Tom Hobman, PhD, David Evans, ’78 BSc, ’82 PhD, and Olivier Julien, ’11 PhD, received a rapid response funding boost for their research project to develop unique vaccines for emerging viruses, looking to apply them as therapeutics against COVID-19 and other coronaviruses. Ʌ An international clinical trial has been launched to test the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, a drug commonly used to treat malaria, to slow down or prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Ilan Schwartz, MD, PhD, professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases, is the U of A site lead. The U of A is collaborating with McGill University, University of Manitoba and University of Minnesota for the study.

A provincial study on the same drug is underway, led by the University of Calgary, with U of A researchers Schwartz and Lawrence Richer as leads for a branch of the study that hopes to focus on people who are exposed to somebody infected with COVID-19, but who don’t have symptoms and have not tested positive. Ʌ Lisa Hartling, ’90 BSc, ’10 PhD, professor of pediatrics, is co-principal investigator in a project that looks to develop optimized mechanical ventilation systems as a way to mitigate the spread of airborne COVID-19 in highoccupancy structures. Ʌ New funding allows a project co-led by professor of oncology Jack Tuszynski, PhD, to target programmed ribosomal frameshifting (changing the production of proteins in the structure of a virus to disrupt its life cycle) as a therapeutic strategy against COVID-19.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

5

COVID-19

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

Campus dentistry clinics offer emergency care AUTHOR

PHOTO BY

CHERYL DESL AURIER

BILL PRESHING

AFTER THE PROVINCE of Alberta declared a state of public

health emergency on March 17, two campus dental clinics stepped up to offer emergency care, with a mandate to help prevent anyone with dental emergencies from ending up in potentially overcrowded hospital emergency departments.

The School of Dentistry Oral Health Clinic has remained open to provide emergency patient care to existing patients two days per week. Meanwhile, the six staff dentists and clinical and administrative team at the University of Alberta Hospital Dental Clinic—aided by dental residents—are seeing up to 18 patients every day, seven days a week, and offering telephone consultations to many more. The team, proudly led by Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry clinical professor of dentistry Bill

U of A boosts province’s COVID-19 testing with shared supplies

Preshing, have shown great dedication and commitment to patient care.

ORIGINAL STORY

AUTHOR

PHOTO BY

FOLIO

GILLIAN RUTHERFORD

ALBERTA HEALTH SERVICES

Dental clinics are offering emergency procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

AS OF MID-APRIL, Alberta laboratories had tested 77,316

people for COVID-19—about 20 per cent of the 422,200 tests carried out across Canada to that point.

Throughout the early spring, Alberta’s two provincial public health labs in Calgary and Edmonton have been running almost 24/7 (6 a.m. to 2 a.m.), and with more than 4,000 laboratory staff, Alberta has the capacity to do almost 8,000 tests per day. “There are no weekends and no time off,” says Michael Mengel, chair of laboratory medicine and pathology at the University of Alberta and north sector medical director for Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL). “Everybody is working extra hours.”

To reach and sustain that volume, the universities of Alberta, Calgary and Lethbridge have collaborated with APL to share critical lab supplies, adds Mengel, and there has been a monumental co-ordination of staff, equipment and supplies.

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FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

ISSUE NO. 4

COVID-19

SPRING 2020

MD program, learners showcase adaptability, generosity during uncertain times AUTHOR

PHOTO

MedIT department to handle licensing and prepare for the

L AURA VEGA AND ROSS NEITZ

SUPPLIED

successful remote interviews of 528 applicants.

FOURTH-YEAR MD STUDENT Jillian Schneider organized

The weekend was such a success that leaders are considering

an initiative in early March to pair MD student volunteers

how they might use it in future to help reduce the cost

with front-line health-care providers for child care, after the

of having to fly all over the country for interviews or for

province announced an indefinite closure of Alberta schools

applicants in remote areas.

to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

More than 150 doctors and health-care workers signed up for the service, offered by third- and fourth-year students temporarily pulled from clinical rotations.

GOING VIRTUAL, ON THE FLY When the coronavirus was declared a pandemic in early March, MD program leaders decided to find a different way to conduct what would normally be in-person Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs).

SIDEBAR ORIGINAL STORY: CBC SIDEBAR ARTWORK BY: AMANDA SCHUTZ

Determining the safest way to proceed was online, within 48 hours the dean’s office and medical education team chose a

Jillian Schneider, fourth-year MD student behind a volunteer initiative

cloud-based video-conferencing system and worked with the

that pairs MD students with front-line health-care workers for child care

In the face of adversity, a homegrown hero shines Since her first live update on Feb. 26, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Deena Hinshaw, BSc ‘97, MD ‘04, MPH ‘08, has commanded the Alberta public’s undivided attention in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Hinshaw’s daily reports have become an afternoon ritual across the province, launching countless tweets, T-shirts and even fan art from her admirers.

Though it may seem unusual for a scientist to garner such celebrity, the popularity of Hinshaw, a proud U of A alumna, comes as no surprise to her former mentors.

"Within a week or two, I could tell … that this is one of the doctors who stands out," says Mike Donoff, professor and associate chair of family medicine, who mentored Hinshaw while she was simultaneously completing her master of public health

(MPH) and two-year family medicine residency. Her intelligence, compassion, ability to understand and interpret data and relatable communication style made her a patient favourite.

After completing her MPH in 2008, Hinshaw entered the Department of Family Medicine’s care of the elderly diploma program, spending six months training with associate professor Jasneet Parmar, medical director for the Network of Excellence in Seniors' Health and Wellness, at WestView Health Centre in Stony Plain. "Some residents stick in your mind and she was one of them," says Parmar.

the COVID-19 pandemic and the risk it presents to the elderly.

While working through her diploma, Hinshaw was especially interested in influenza prevention among seniors, which seems almost prescient given

"She deserves the respect that she's getting,” says Donoff. "We all benefit when we have somebody who's such a good role model."

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

7

TOP NEWS

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

Don’t take aspirin to prevent first heart attack, stroke AUTHOR

FOLIO

GILLIAN RUTHERFORD

IF YOU’VE NEVER had a heart attack or

stroke, you likely should not be taking aspirin to prevent them, according to new research.

University of Alberta professor of family medicine Michael Kolber, ’92 BSc, ’96 MD, ’11 MSc, and University of Calgary family medicine resident Paul Fritsch are co-authors of a paper

Micro implants could restore standing and walking

in Canadian Family Physician that shows

ORIGINAL STORY

AUTHOR

the risk of major internal bleeding

FOLIO

BRENT WITTMEIER

associated with taking an aspirin a day is higher than any preventive benefits.

Mushahwar’s research, published in Scientific Reports, focuses on using a tiny spinal implant to restore lowerbody function after severe injuries.

Hair-like electrical wires plunge deep into the spinal grey matter, sending electrical signals to trigger the networks that already know how to do the hard work.

Supported by the University Hospital Foundation, her team has also

THANKS TO WORK in mapping the

created maps of which parts of the

spinal cord, and an electrical spinal

spinal cord trigger the hips, knees,

“Instead of just taking a daily

implant pioneered in the laboratory

ankles and toes, and the areas that

aspirin like we’ve been taught for a

of University of Alberta professor

put movements together.

generation,” says Kolber, “we would

Vivian Mushahwar, PhD, the dream

recommend patients stop smoking,

of helping patients with paralysis

Being able to control standing and

exercise, track their blood pressure and

walk again could be reality within

walking would improve bone health,

consider the Mediterranean diet.”

a decade.

improve bowel and bladder function, and reduce pressure ulcers. It could

8

FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

ARTWORK BY: AMANDA SCHUTZ PHOTO BY: L AUGHING DOG PHOTOGRAPHY

ORIGINAL STORY

ISSUE NO. 4

TOP NEWS

SPRING 2020

Study links preschool screen time to behavioural problems

behavioural and attention problems at age five,” says the study’s lead author Sukhpreet Tamana, a post-doctoral fellow in pediatrics. The study found the children were also over seven times more likely to meet the criteria for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

“Our data suggest that between zero and 30 minutes a day is the optimal amount of screen time,” says Piush

ORIGINAL STORY

AUTHOR

Mandhane, MD/PhD, an associate

FOLIO

ROSS NEITZ

professor of pediatrics and member of the Women and Children’s Health

A UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA study

Research Institute (WCHRI), who led

published in the journal PLOS ONE

the study.

suggests that preschoolers who engage in two hours or more of screen time

The team’s ongoing data collection

per day are five times more likely

is funded in part by the Stollery

than those who watch less than 30

Children’s Hospital Foundation and

minutes to exhibit clinically significant

supporters of the Lois Hole Hospital

behavioural problems such as

for Women through WCHRI.

inattention, acting out, hyperactivity and being oppositional.

The research used data from the CHILD Cohort Study, a national survey

“Children exposed to more screen

collecting information from nearly

Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute

time, at either age three or five

3,500 children and their families from

member Vivian Mushahwar

years, showed significantly greater

pregnancy to adolescence.

Biomedical engineering researcher and

help treat cardiovascular disease— the main cause of death for spinal cord patients—while bolstering mental health and quality of life.

“Imagine the future,” Mushahwar says. “A person just thinks of wanting to walk and commands are transmitted to the spinal cord. They stand up and walk. This is the dream.”

Vivian Mushahwar, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Medicine and adjunct professor with the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, Canada Research Chair in Functional Restoration and director of the SMART Network.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

9

EDUCATION

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

Passionate preceptors reflect on why they love to teach THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRECEPTORS AND LEARNERS CAN BRING LIFELONG BENEFITS TO BOTH. AUTHOR

PHOTOS BY

SASHA ROEDER MAH

JORDAN CARSON

May Mrochuk says mentorship at the bedside is key for lifelong learning in the emergency room.

STUDENTS AND RESIDENTS gain valuable support and

expert guidance while supervisors enjoy a deeper level of engagement with their own work and thrive in the knowledge that they have passed on both crucial skills and important life lessons along the way.

Today’s preceptors in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry believe in modelling and mentoring rather than more didactic methods.

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“I focus on finding out what their individual learning

Mrochuk agrees that the real-world exposure preceptors

needs are,” says associate clinical professor and emergency

provide for learners is invaluable. “The experience of talking

physician May Mrochuk, ’97 MD. “This can then inform a

to a patient, learning how to interact with compassion, or

tailored approach that will help them take ownership over

how to manage your time in a busy emergency room can’t be

the process, instead of taking a prescriptive approach.”

replaced,” Mrochuk says. “A learner can pick up so much just from watching you.”

Christopher Fung, ’10 MD, agrees. The assistant professor of radiology tends to take a hands-on approach with learners

Supervisors like Lobb—who has been taught by masters in

just starting out, but his goal is to grant them autonomy as

dental education and clinical dentistry in North America,

early as possible in their training. “That means stepping back

Europe and beyond—are also excited to pass on the excellent

and ‘pushing them out of the nest’ and seeing how they do,”

guidance they’ve had. “Learning from others motivates me

he says. It’s through this kind of freedom that they become

to pass on the knowledge that I have accumulated during my

who they can be and find what they love, he adds.

lifelong career,” he says.

Learning to trust the process and allow learners to make the mistakes they need to can be hard, says Trevor Day, MD, assistant clinical professor of family medicine. “But you have to have faith in your students and let them experiment, rather than giving the information and giving them the answers,” he says. Equally important to Day is cultivating in learners a tolerance for the kinds of uncertainty and ambiguity that

“Knowing that you can affect even one thing that they carry throughout their career is something that you can’t replace; it’s wonderful.”

inevitably come with practising medicine in the real world.

—MAY MROCHUK

Patience is just as important as trust, says Douglas Lobb, ’75 BSc, ’77 DDS. “Be patient with the students and with

“Ever since I went through medical school, I made a promise

yourself,” says the dentist and clinical associate professor in

to myself that I would pass along what I had learned from

the School of Dentistry. “They are learning and so are you.”

those who mentored me,” says Mrochuk, “as a way of

This patience is rewarded, he adds, when he gets to see the

ensuring that the medical field would continue to evolve, and

growth and confidence in his students and they can enjoy the

to create a positive learning environment.”

feeling of working together toward a common goal.

“You can’t have medicine without clinical teaching,” says assistant professor of radiology Christopher Fung, who takes great pleasure in watching his learners gain confidence.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

11

EDUCATION

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

For Day, it’s not just about passing along the scientific knowledge needed to be a practising physician. He’s also careful to model a healthy work-life balance. “I think the personality types that go into medicine tend to be very driven, perfectionist and goal oriented,” he says, “and it’s very easy to push and push and not to take a step back for yourself. It’s important to create boundaries and to have personal time. Self-care is so important.”

All four preceptors have come to appreciate clinical teaching as a strong complement to their own practice as well as a way to support the best future clinical practitioners.

“(Clinical teaching is) actually the most fun part of my job.”

Innovative programming hits the mark THREE MD COMMUNITIES OFFER OUTSIDE-THE-BOX EDUCATION, TAKING CARE OF STUDENTS SO THEY CAN TAKE CARE OF FUTURE PATIENTS. AUTHOR

PHOTO BY

SASHA ROEDER MAH

ED ELLIS

THE MD PROGRAM in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry

is on a mission to attract applicants who reflect multiple

—CHRISTOPHER FUNG

areas of excellence and interest, says associate dean “You can’t have medicine without clinical teaching,” stresses

Tracey Hillier, MD, ’16 MEd, stretching its programming

Fung. “It’s a core component, it’s part of being a physician,

far beyond traditional approaches. “We believe flexibility

it’s part of your professional responsibility, and it’s actually

in our programming accommodates learners who are

the most fun part of my job.” It’s also a great way to keep

exploring career possibilities,” she explains, adding that

your own skills fresh and up to date, he adds, a sentiment

recent curricular innovations have provided the time and

echoed by Lobb. “If you’re a lifelong learner, becoming a

space necessary for students to engage in the kinds of self-

mentor or teacher just makes sense,” he says.

directed learning that support that exploration.

You’re also investing in future generations, says

The MD communities—research, social justice, and now

Morchuk. “I hope that my students will take what they

arts and humanities—are perfect examples of this type of

learn and pay it forward in the same way throughout

innovative programming, encouraging the kinds of active

their careers in the future.”

learning and authentic experiences that bring fulfilment to learners and help prepare them for the diverse needs of the

Modelling a healthy work-life balance is a key part of the job for assistant clinical professor of family medicine Trevor Day.

communities they will eventually serve.

GROWTH AND CHANGE The communities of learning are available for students to access as they wish, whether dipping in for corecurriculum enhancements such as an elective or two, attending the occasional seminar, or committing to a four-year trajectory. For those who do want the full immersion, there’s formal acknowledgement of that commitment upon graduation.

First-year MD student Mikayla Gray was drawn to the social justice community, which facilitates placements with preceptors in traditionally underserved areas such as the inner city and remote rural communities. Gray says working at the Boyle McCauley Health Centre and being part of the learning community have helped her better understand her

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SPRING 2020

Flexible approaches like the MD program’s communities of learning enhance learner

own privilege and the societal inequities behind issues such

well-being and a feeling of belonging,

as domestic violence, addiction and homelessness.

says Tracey Hillier, associate dean.

Meanwhile, in the research community, a solid MD/PhD cohort is now in place in the first-year class. “We’re fortunate

“We wanted to make sure the community is not

that the faculty sees the importance of allowing us to

overwhelming or difficult for students who are already very

immerse ourselves in both clinical and research training

busy,” says Li, “but also provide opportunities to put in a

simultaneously,” says Andrew Woodman, an MD/PhD

significant amount of effort, explore and shape their own

student and Vanier Scholar who joined the research learning

experience into something meaningful.”

community last fall.

“We’re also now talking about possible future streams,”

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

adds Hillier, including a leadership community, on the

A small cohort entered the pilot of the arts and humanities community of learning this winter, says Pamela Brett-

horizon for fall.

MacLean, PhD, director of Arts & Humanities in Health

MEETING STUDENT NEEDS

& Medicine (AHHM).

Beyond the appeal of flexible learning opportunities, says Hillier, “our hope is that the sense of belonging and purpose

Second-year MD student and class AHHM representative

that comes from being in a community will help with

Jenny Li worked with Brett-MacLean during a summer

learners’ well-being.”

student curriculum project last year to forge the beginnings of this community. Li researched similar programs at other

“It’s really important for our students to be well, and as

schools and determined how to incorporate the best aspects

doctors we’re also going to have the best patient outcomes

of those programs here.

if we start off with healthy students.”

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

13

RESEARCH NEW DIRECTIONS

Pediatric researchers at the University of Alberta are collaborating at the highest levels to design user-friendly resources for parents struggling to support their children through a wide range of common childhood illnesses and diagnoses.

Here are three recent innovations designed to make life a bit easier for families.

AUTHORS

ARTWORK BY

GILLIAN RUTHERFORD, TAMARA VINEBERG AND JUDITH CHRYSTAL

NATASIA DESIGNS

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FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

RESEARCH NEW DIRECTIONS

1

Videos explain how to treat common childhood ailments The best way to inform parents of the latest evidence on the diagnosis and treatment of childhood illnesses is to tell them a story.

One in five kids in Canada who go to the emergency department don’t need to be there, says nursing professor Shannon Scott, Canada Research Chair in Knowledge Translation in Child Health. Scott and Lisa Hartling, pediatrics professor and Canada Research Chair in Knowledge Synthesis and Translation, work together to develop accessible resources for parents wondering how to treat their kids’ common ailments.

During the development phase, the Women and Children's Health Research Institute (WCHRI) team members work with emergency and clinical experts, and with a target group of parents and children who provide valuable input—such as where they sought information, what information was missing, how they made the decision to go to the emergency department and what information they needed to care for their child later at home.

Their latest video, Cough, Cold and Wheeze: How to Help Manage Your Child’s Bronchiolitis, received a Special Commendation from the 2019 Canadian Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health video competition.

RESEARCHERS Stollery Science Lab Distinguished Researchers Shannon Scott, ’06 PhD and Lisa Hartling, ’90 BSc(PT), ’10 PhD FUNDERS Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Networks of Centres of Excellence of Canada, Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation through WCHRI

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

15

RESEARCH NEW DIRECTIONS

Conversation cards for improved health and weight Talking to teens about their health and weight can be a challenge, especially when it concerns lifestyle behaviours. Maryam Kebbe, ’19 PhD, and pediatrics professor and WCHRI member Geoff Ball, ’02 PhD, created CONversation Cards for Adolescents© to empower health-care professionals and their teen patients to have these critical conversations. The initiative was bolstered by requests from clinicians for a teen-tailored, bilingual tool to use in weight management clinics and parents’ desire to involve their kids in discussions.

The 45 palm-sized cards each have a statement that guides conversations between teens and health-care professionals working in weight management.

Teens choose from among seven themes (nutrition, physical activity, sedentariness, sleep, mental well-being, relationships and clinical factors) and three categories (barriers, enablers, recommendations). The card choice indicates the teen’s own priorities for discussions with clinicians to address healthy lifestyle and weight.

Overall, these cards help shift conversations from a narrow focus on weight to a broader discussion around health and well-being.

Both English and French card decks are available for order on the Obesity Canada website.

RESEARCHERS Maryam Kebbe, ’19 PhD, and Geoff Ball, ’02 PhD FUNDERS Alberta Health Services Maternal, Newborn, Child & Youth Strategic Clinical Network, Obesity Canada, Alberta Health Services Chair in Obesity Research, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Alberta Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research, and the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation through WCHRI

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RESEARCH ISSUE NO. 4

NEW DIRECTIONS

SPRING 2020

3

Workbook supports families dealing with celiac disease If your child has celiac disease, you will need two of everything in your kitchen—just one source of extra expense faced by families dealing with Canada’s most common autoimmune disorder.

U of A pediatric gastroenterologist and WCHRI member Justine Turner, MD, served as scientific adviser for a new guide for parents, Growing Up Celiac, which recommends food for celiac children be prepared using a separate toaster, butter dish, cutting board and utensils—at home, at daycare and at school.

The guide, developed by the Canadian Celiac Association, aims to share accurate, accessible information about celiac disease with families of children who are newly diagnosed, says Turner, medical lead for the Multidisciplinary Pediatric Celiac Disease Clinic at the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton.

People with celiac disease must avoid ingesting any gluten, ever, and they won’t grow out of it.

The long-term impact of untreated celiac disease and its related nutrient deficiencies can include fertility problems, osteoporosis and an elevated risk of developing other autoimmune disorders such as diabetes.

“For the most part, what we’re interested in is preventing health consequences down the track, as well as helping people with symptoms to feel better,” Turner says.

RESEARCHER Justine Turner, MD FUNDERS Canadian Celiac Association and the Stollery Childrenʼs Hospital through WCHRI

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

17

RESEARCH DISCOVERIES

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

New piece of Alzheimer’s puzzle found AUTHOR

PHOTO BY

RYAN O’BYRNE

MELISSA FABRIZIO

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

The team is focused on manufacturing

Distinguished University Professor

an optimized, oral version of the drug

and neurologist Jack Jhamandas,

so human clinical trials can begin, says

’74 BSc, ’76 MSc, PhD, has found a

Jhamandas, adding small-molecule

new piece of the Alzheimer’s puzzle,

drugs are preferable because they are

bringing him closer to a treatment for

cheaper to make, can be taken orally

the disease.

and can more easily reach the brain through the blood.

Jhamandas and his team found two short peptides, that when injected into mice

Jhamandas’ research was supported

with Alzheimer’s disease daily for five

by grants from the Canadian

weeks, significantly improved the mice’s

Institutes of Health Research,

memory. The treatment also reduced

Alberta Innovates (Alberta Prion

some of the harmful physical changes in

Research Institute), Alzheimer

the brain associated with the disease.

Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories, University Hospital

This discovery builds on findings

Foundation, the Centre for Prion

of the compound AC253, which

& Protein Folding Diseases, Li Ka

can block the toxic effects of the

Shing Institute of Virology and

protein amyloid beta, believed to be

Applied Virology Institute.

$1M grant sparks U of A Alzheimer’s research collaboration The Hope for Tomorrow Dementia Research Catalyst Grant from the Alzheimer Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories has provided a onetime $500,000 research support boost, matched by the University Hospital Foundation for a total $1-million commitment, to bolster collaboration among researchers of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia at the University of Alberta.

This funding is advancing the work of the eight members of the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute who make up the New Synergies in Research on Alzheimer’s Disease group.

The grant provides small equipment, supports young researchers and dispenses seed money to kick-start new investigations into Alzheimer’s.

a major contributor to Alzheimer’s.

However, treatment using injectable AC253 requires large amounts to be

Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute member Jack Jhamandas’ team is developing a drug that could eventually be used to treat Alzheimer’s disease.

effective because it is metabolized so quickly. A pill version would address the metabolism issues and increase efficacy, but AC253 is too complex to make an effective oral drug. By cutting it into smaller pieces, the team found two short peptides that replicated the preventive and restorative abilities of the larger one.

Jhamandas and his team, which includes renowned virologists D. Lorne Tyrrell, ’68 MD, PhD, and Michael Houghton, PhD, are using computer modelling and artificial intelligence to develop a smallmolecule drug for Alzheimer’s, much like medications available to treat high blood pressure or cholesterol.

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FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

ISSUE NO. 4

EXPERT COMMENTARY

SPRING 2020

U of A experts caution against cannabis vaping ‘experiment’ AUTHOR

ORIGINAL STORY

GEOFF MCMASTER

FOLIO

A LACK OF EVIDENCE COMBINED WITH LUNG PROBLEMS LINKED TO VAPING LEADS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PRODUCTS’ SAFETY.

Dilini Vethanayagam, ’92 MD, associate professor of medicine

AS OF THIS FEBRUARY, more than 2,700 cases of e-cigarette

or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI), including 64 that resulted in death, had been identified in the United States.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that 76 per cent of patients with those injuries had reported using products containing THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis.

No single substance has been blamed for the lung injuries, but so far, no vaping product has been ruled safe.

“A lot of kids and younger adults think vaping is safer than smoking, and it’s not,” says University of Alberta pulmonary

ARTWORK BY: MARIAH BARNABY-NORRIS PHOTO BY: MELISSA FABRIZIO

medicine expert Dilini Vethanayagam, ’90 BMedSc, ’92 MD. Canada’s chief public health officer attempted to reassure Canadians last year that regulated vaping products are safer than those on the black market. However, in Vethanayagam’s opinion, Health Canada approved those products for market without enough data. Launching safety investigations after products become freely available is far from adequate, she says, and it jeopardizes the health of young consumers especially.

“There is no clear data on what’s in all these e-liquids people are using,” says Barry Finegan, PhD, a recently retired U of A smoking cessation expert and anesthesiologist.

“My advice to consumers would be not to engage in this experiment, because that’s what it is—an experiment on your health in uncontrolled circumstances,” he adds.

“Nothing inhaled outside of prescribed, and tested, inhalational medications is safe for your lungs,” sums up Vethanayagam. “Your lungs are meant for respiration.”

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

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FEATURE

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

Mason Thomas and his mother Brandie admire one of three 3D models of his heart, this one featuring Star Wars TIE Fighter wings.

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FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

FEATURE

U of A project helps families, patients and medical trainees visualize congenital heart defects.

AUTHOR

PHOTOS BY

GILLIAN RUTHERFORD

L AUGHING DOG PHOTOGRAPHY

WHEN MASON THOMAS needed a

Two years later in the fall of 2019,

heart transplant at age six, he asked

Mason got his wish, thanks to an

to see his damaged heart so he could

innovative project by a team of

understand what was wrong with it,

University of Alberta staff and

but the old organ was discarded after

students in medicine, engineering

the surgery.

and industrial design.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

21

FEATURE

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

Mason received three 3D models of his heart—one complete with Star Wars TIE Fighter wings—which were designed from CT scan images of Mason’s damaged heart and manufactured with a 3D printer.

“They show why my old heart couldn’t work and why I needed a new one,” Mason said when he received the models. “It’s amazing!

Thank you so much.”

“This is an anatomically accurate representation of Mason’s heart, with colours to help him understand how the blood and oxygen were flowing and which parts of his heart were too small and failing,” explains project lead Charles Larson, MD. Larson is a member of the Women and Children’s Health Research

From left, pediatric cardiac intensivist Charles Larson, Mason Thomas

Institute, U of A clinical lecturer

and his mother Brandie Thomas with two of the 3D models of Mason’s heart.

in pediatrics and pediatric cardiac intensivist at the Stollery Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

“Mason is a very logical kid who

CO-OPERATING TO CREATE A TACTILE TEACHING TOOL

Technologies unit, who took several months to create three-dimensional models by stacking two-dimensional

likes to know how things work,” says

Larson dreamed up the idea of

CT scan images on a computer.

his mother, Brandie Thomas. “The

creating 3D heart models because it

Then staff and students at the Elko

question of why this happened to

is so difficult for patients, families

Engineering Garage, an engineering

him bugs him the most, and seeing

and medical trainees to visualize

faculty workshop, stepped up to do the

the heart helps give him some of the

congenital heart problems. Doctors

3D printing.

answers of what was wrong with him

will often sketch the heart for

and why he was so sick.”

patients, but it is hard to capture the

“None of us in isolation would have

complexity in just two dimensions.

been able to create these,” Larson

Mason was born with hypoplastic left

They also share CT, MRI or

says. “It’s at the intersection of

heart syndrome, a rare and serious

ultrasound images, but they are

different fields that breakthroughs

congenital defect that was fatal until

difficult to read for non-experts.

happen these days.”

pioneered. Most patients don’t need

“Your heart is inside your chest walls

WORLDWIDE BENEFITS

transplants, but Mason’s heart failed

and you never see it,” Larson says.

The team has created 40 models so far

after his second surgery. He was on

“The plumbing is very complex.”

and will make more models of typical

the 1980s, when surgical fixes were

oxygen and a feeding tube for the

congenital heart defects this year. The

first six years of his life and waited

Larson worked with industrial design

models are shared with patients and

on the transplant list for three and a

students through the Faculty of

their families, and are used as teaching

half years.

Medicine & Dentistry’s Academic

tools to train medical professionals.

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FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

ISSUE NO. 4

FEATURE

SPRING 2020

Following a heart transplant at age six, Mason Thomas was given 3D models of his heart to help him understand what made the procedure necessary.

“They show why my old heart couldn’t work and why I needed a new one.

It’s amazing!”

patient who has the same heart defect

exactly what doctors are doing and why

could benefit from this work.”

they’re doing it, it makes you feel that it’s being done with you instead of to you

Those working on the project, which

and gives you back that sense of control.”

is funded by the U of A’s Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund, then

As for Mason, he is living as

created models from ultrasound images,

normal a life as possible after his

which are more complex to read but

transplant. While he is small for his

more commonly available than CT

age and takes immunosuppressants

Larson says while some groups in the

scans. Larson presented the work in late

that put him at risk for kidney

United States are already creating

fall at the World Congress of Intensive

failure, cancer and infections, he is

virtual and printed models of

Care in Melbourne, Australia.

expected to catch up over time. He

—MASON THOMAS

damaged hearts for surgical planning

loves gymnastics, video games and

and teaching, they are often not

Brandie Thomas, who works as a

based on real patients’ scans and are

paramedic and often speaks to health-

protected by copyright. The U of A

care professionals about the cardiac

“We have a lot of talks before we go

team will share the digital models

patient experience, believes the

to bed about how the heart works

online for free.

models will help young patients cope

and the way the blood flows,” says

with their diagnoses.

his mother. “He’s a tactile learner

“Anyone around the world with a

building things.

like me, so it’s really meaningful for

3D printer can make these models,”

“People are traumatized when they

him to have the model and see his

Larson says. “A doctor in India with a

feel powerless,” she says. “If you know

heart for real.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

23

COVER STORY

24

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

COVER STORY

Twenty years ago, U of A scientists transformed Edmonton into the world’s leading light in the quest to cure Type 1 diabetes.

Now they’re at it again.

AUTHOR

ARTWORK BY

ROSS NEITZ

NATASIA DESIGNS

IN THE SUMMER of 2000, a global

Few understood the setbacks that had

spotlight shone on Edmonton.

been overcome to get to that point.

A small team of University of Alberta

Even fewer could have predicted the

researchers had done what until

lows and highs yet to come. But Ray

then had been impossible, helping

Rajotte, ’71 BSc, ’73 MSc, ’75 PhD,

patients with Type 1 diabetes

professor of surgery at the U of A and

become insulin-independent at an

the founder of its Islet Transplant

unprecedented success rate of 100

Group, experienced it all.

per cent. Termed the “Edmonton Protocol,” the procedure became a ray of hope for those suffering from diabetes worldwide.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

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COVER STORY

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

The Surgical Simulation Lab is led by Bin Zheng, associate professor, surgery and Alberta Health Services chair in Surgical Simulation.

Ray Rajotte is founder of the U of A’s Islet Transplant Group.

(Photo: Laughing Dog Photography)

STEERING THROUGH ROUGH WATERS TO LAY A COURSE FORWARD

Together, the team hypothesized that if donor islets could

The foundations of the Edmonton Protocol were built

There, they would become revascularized and perform their

through the pioneering work Rajotte began in 1972,

duties as usual, away from the besieged pancreas, where a

28 years before its breakthrough success. A U of A

diabetic’s immune system inexplicably attacks healthy islets.

biomedical engineer back then, Rajotte attended a lecture

With any luck, such a transplant—accompanied by a proper

by American researcher Paul Lacey, who had cured diabetic

anti-rejection drug regimen—could allow a Type 1 diabetic

rats by transplanting the islet cells of healthy rats into them.

to be free of insulin injections.

somehow be isolated, they could be injected into the liver.

In that moment, Rajotte saw a new path for his work in the isolation and cryopreservation of islet cells, with the hope it

By the late 1980s, Rajotte’s team felt it was finally ready

might one day have application in humans.

for the next step—a clinical trial of human islets. In 1989, the group carried out Canada’s first islet transplant.

Over the next several years, Rajotte spent his time in research labs scattered across the United States learning all

“The first patient we transplanted, his insulin requirement

he could about isolating islets. In 1979, he returned to the

went down, but he didn’t quite get off insulin,” says Rajotte.

U of A to join the departments of surgery and medicine,

“The same thing happened in a second patient.”

and began working toward moving his efforts from animal to human islets. He also assembled the team that would

For a third patient, the team adjusted their methods,

make up the initial Islet Transplant Group alongside him:

doubling the number of islets being injected and using a

then graduate students and surgical fellows Garth Warnock

mixture of fresh and cryopreserved islet cells. This time, the

and Norman Kneteman, and endocrinologist Eddie Ryan.

patient achieved insulin independence for two and a half years.

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ISSUE NO. 4

COVER STORY

SPRING 2020

“In all we did five islet transplants,” says Norman

passed on to me, there was very little enthusiasm to drive

Kneteman, ’78 MD, ’85 MSc, now director of the Division

forward a program where the global results were only a

of Transplantation Surgery at the U of A. “Among those

dismal eight per cent.”

five we had two patients that we managed to get off insulin for extended periods of time. Those were some of

The team, bolstered with the key additions of Jonathan

the first in the world to achieve insulin independence …

Lakey, ’95 PhD, and Greg Korbutt, ’85 BSc, ’88 MSc, PhD—

but the success that we had was not prolonged.”

now a professor of surgery at the U of A, scientific director of the Alberta Cell Therapy Manufacturing Facility and a

“Worldwide there were probably about 260 transplants

member of both the Alberta Diabetes Institute and Alberta

carried out and only eight per cent of the patients got

Transplant Institute—made two large modifications to

off of insulin,” adds Rajotte. “Eight per cent just wasn’t

the procedure. Where the initial wave of patients had all

good enough.”

previously had a kidney transplant, the team decided the next wave of patients would not. This change gave the

Those were some of the first in the world to achieve

team complete freedom to use anti-rejection drugs of their

insulin independence … but the success that we had was

choosing, and new drugs were chosen in the hopes they

not prolonged.”

would be less toxic to the islets.

They needed to go back to the drawing board.

“My contribution was leading this clinical team, but also throwing the kitchen sink at the protocol,” says Shapiro.

So the U of A scientists returned to the lab, suspending

“From where I stood there was absolutely nothing to lose.”

islet transplants to refocus on advancing the science before bringing it back to patients.

“Normally when you do a scientific experiment, you change one variable and you see if it has an impact or not.

“There was a period of time where we wondered how to go

But I didn’t think one variable on its own was ever going

forward,” says Kneteman.

to make a difference.”

For five years work continued in labs, yet the clinical

In all, the team made 17 changes from the treatment

program lay fallow. It needed a fresh start and reinvigorated

originally offered to patients. On March 11, 1999, Byron

leadership—which came with the arrival of a promising young surgeon from England.

CAPTURING THE WORLD’S ATTENTION In 1993, James Shapiro, MD, ’01 PhD, was recruited to the U of A as part of a transplantation fellowship. While in Edmonton, Shapiro also worked on his PhD, studying new anti-rejection drugs and steroid combinations for possible testing on islet transplantation. He would go on to posts in Vancouver; Kyoto, Japan; and Baltimore, Maryland before being recruited back to the U of A in 1998 to lead and rejuvenate what had then become a stalled Clinical Islet Transplant Program.

“I personally really didn’t have a lot of hope that islet transplantation was ever going to succeed,” says Shapiro, Canada Research Chair in Transplant Surgery and Regenerative Medicine and member of the Alberta Diabetes Institute and Alberta Transplant Institute. “When (it was) UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

Members of the Clinical Islet Transplant Program, top, from left: Greg Korbutt, Eddie Ryan and James Shapiro. Bottom, from left: Jonathan Lakey and Ray Rajotte. (Photo: Supplied)

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PORTRAITS OF DIABETES COVER STORY

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

Best, a teacher from the Northwest Territories, became the

amounts of insulin. By Year 5, only 11 per cent of patients

first patient to receive the revised islet transplant. Within a

remained insulin-free. Because of the difficulty in securing

week he no longer needed insulin injections and was able to

islet cells—only available from donated pancreases—the new

maintain a steady glucose count.

protocol was reserved for the most severe cases of Type 1 diabetes, limiting the number of patients that could be treated.

Not trusting a one-off result, Shapiro’s team went back to work, treating six more patients under the new protocol.

Still, it paved a way forward.

It was only after they had successfully transplanted islets in seven patients that the team realized their success. All seven

“It rejuvenated the field,” says Korbutt. “It proved that it was

were free of insulin injections—something that had never

possible, but it also showed that it needed to be improved.”

happened before.

The Edmonton Protocol was born.

“I was in Chicago (presenting the results to the American Society of Transplantation) and I was given a standing ovation from the entire crowd of around 5,000 transplant

“It rejuvenated the field.

It proved that it was possible, but it also showed that it needed to be improved.”

clinicians and scientists,” Shapiro recalls.

—GREG KORBUTT

“I came back to Edmonton a couple of days later and walked

In the years since, the collaborators have worked to do

into my office and there was a pile of letters. There must

just that.

have been two or three thousand people who had written— again, the same thing, ‘How can I get on the transplant list?’”

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? As of January 2020, the Clinical Islet Transplant Program

“It was a tremendously exciting time for all of us to see that

has treated 293 patients and performed 682 islet infusions.

big success and to see how it captured the imagination of

Through continuous research and modifications to the

people across the country, across the continent and, in many

Edmonton Protocol and the techniques used, 40 per cent of

cases, around the world,” Kneteman adds.

patients are now insulin independent for at least five years after the procedure, and just under 30 per cent are free of

It was a giant step forward in the treatment of Type 1

insulin at 10 years. Based on the team’s findings, research

diabetes. But it wasn’t a cure.

efforts have spread around the world, with dozens of labs working to build on the success first achieved in Edmonton.

Over time the impact of the islets faded, and one by one, within five years, most patients went back to using small

The program, which was funded in part by the Alberta Diabetes Foundation from 1998 to 2000, became fully funded

by Alberta Health Services in 2001 as the standard of care for difficult to control Type 1 diabetes. Since then, it has also been fully funded in the United Kingdom, Italy and Switzerland.

Despite the enormous gains that have been made, U of A researchers know much of the early promise of the protocol remains unfulfilled. The work, now decades old, is still far from the ultimate goal—a complete cure that is available for everyone.

But it’s getting closer.

“We have a lot of irons in the fire and one or two of them will for sure come through,” says Shapiro.

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FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

COVER FEATURE STORY

From left, James Shapiro, Gang Xu, Anissa Gamble and Braulio Marfil Garza are conducting clinical trials using infusions of a patient’s own T regulatory cells. (Photo: Richard Siemens)

Researchers are in a race to solve two problems.

immunosuppression to prevent the body from rejecting the transplant. Currently islet transplants are only available to

“We know islet transplantation works, but what we really

people with the most extreme cases of Type 1 diabetes because

want to do is develop an unlimited source of islets,” says

the risks of the transplant and taking immunosuppression are

Rajotte. “One of the limitations is that there are just not

greater than the risk of simply taking insulin.

enough human organs to go around. We also need to figure out ways to carry out the transplant without the need for

“It’s been established that islet transplants are safe and

anti-rejection drugs.”

efficacious,” says Pepper. “We just need to make it more inclusive to the whole T1D population.”

The limited supply of islets has been a significant barrier in Andrew Pepper, PhD, an assistant professor of surgery at the

TESTING LOCALIZED IMMUNOSUPPRESSION

U of A, are working to solve that problem by developing a safe

To get around the systemic immunosuppression

source of islets from neonatal pigs for clinical use. The cells are

problem, Korbutt and Pepper are developing their

quick to produce and relatively inexpensive in comparison to

own approach using a biodegradable site under

alternative therapies (i.e. stem cells) but need approval from

the skin (as opposed to the liver) for the islet

Health Canada before they can be put to the test in human

transplant and releasing “bubbles” that over time

trials. Before that can happen, the researchers must first test the

administer anti-rejection drugs targeted only to the

porcine islet cells in larger mammals to prove their safety.

site of the transplant. They hope the approach will

the number of transplants that can be carried out. Korbutt and

reduce or eliminate the need for chronic whole-body They believe an even larger obstacle is the need for an

immunosuppression. The pair have an aim to test their

effective strategy to reduce or remove the need for lifelong

work in clinical trials by 2023.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

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COVER STORY

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

Shapiro is chasing solutions to the same problems but taking different paths to get there.

One approach his team is testing in a clinical trial uses infusions of a patient’s own T regulatory cells (Tregs)— a component of the immune system that suppresses the immune responses of other cells. The Tregs are removed, expanded outside the body and then infused back into the patient as part of the islet transplant. It’s hoped the procedure will result in greater islet survival and less need for immunosuppression drugs.

RESETTING THE IMMUNE SYSTEM A second trial Shapiro is leading is exploring the possibility of resetting the immune system in patients newly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. The idea is to switch off the immune attack on islets before most of the islet-producing cells are destroyed inside the pancreas. Clinicians then give repair treatments in hopes of rebooting insulin production.

TRANSPLANTING STEM CELLS A third approach being tested is the use of stem cells, which

“It’s very preliminary but what we are seeing so far is

can gradually become strongly producing islet cells when

patients are needing dramatically less insulin. If that can

transplanted in the body. Shapiro has been working with U.S.

be replicated in lots more patients, that would also be a

company Viacyte since 2002 on several clinical trials. He is

remarkable advance and avoids the need for cell transplant

currently in the midst of the VC-02 trial, implanting stem

and immunosuppression,” says Shapiro.

cells under the skin of patients in porous devices designed to let blood vessels enter in, providing nutrients and greater

The approach has proven safe and Shapiro says his team now

survival of the cells inside. The first six patients in which the

has approval from Health Canada to test it on adolescents

approach has been tested are showing measurable function

in the near future, which will significantly speed up clinical

of the transplanted cells under the skin—meaning insulin is

findings from the trial.

being created.

Greg Korbutt, scientific director of the Alberta Cell Therapy Manufacturing Facility and a member of the Alberta Diabetes Institute and Alberta Transplant Institute.

(Photo: Laughing Dog Photography)

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SPRING 2020

Shapiro says the next phase of the Viacyte trials will be gene editing the PEC-01 cells they transplant into patients to “make them immunologically stealthy and silent so that the immune system won’t attack them.” It will take about a year to generate the cells to a point where they are ready to put into patients, but if the researchers can show the gene edits don’t cause defects in the ability of those cells to produce insulin, Shapiro believes it will be a major advance toward a functional cure.

TRANSFORMING THE PATIENT’S OWN BLOOD CELLS

Clinical trial simulation tool could speed up approval of experimental therapies

A fourth course of action has excited Shapiro so much that in 2019, he changed his team’s focus to making new islets from the blood of patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Shapiro describes the process as taking a patient’s blood cells “back in time” as though they were developing in the embryo. In essence, the team “winds back” blood cells through the use of hormones and other growth factors into inducible pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). From there, they “wind them forward” to functionally make them into islet-like cells.

The procedure, done over a 27-day period, could bypass the need for anti-rejection drugs. Shapiro’s team is currently trying to cure diabetic mice through the approach and is seeking $15 million for a clinical trial that would use it to treat the first patients.

“Pause and think about it for a second. It’s mind blowing that you can take a blood sample and turn it into islets,” says Shapiro. “It’s personalized medicine to the patient’s own cells. If you told me we could do that 10 years ago, I’d say you were cuckoo. Can we really expand it up and treat patients? Well, the next few years are going to tell us.”

CLOSE TO A CURE The researchers say they are closer than ever to a cure—and it’s no longer just a cure for Type 1 diabetes they’ve got their sights set on. If they can break the code to avoid the need for anti-rejection drugs altogether, it would finally open the door to also treating patients with Type 2 diabetes—a population that makes up more than 90 per cent of all people living with diabetes.

Researchers are challenged by how to judge the success of new experimental therapies to treat the underlying cause of Type 1 diabetes (T1D). There has yet to be a successful clinical trial leading to any of these treatments reaching the clinic. Alberta Diabetes Institute member and medical director of the Clinical Islet Transplant Program Peter Senior, PhD, and Anna Lam, ’04 BSc, ’17 MSc, are helping lead an international team of scientists, funded by JDRF and known as TOMI-T1D, who are developing a clinical trial simulation tool to address this.

This tool will allow researchers to model experimental therapies in different patient populations and clinical trial conditions to ensure they are designing robust and efficient clinical trials.

The tool should significantly speed up validation of the efficacy of experimental therapies. The team will seek regulatory endorsement from Health Canada, European Medicines Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to use it with new clinical trials as early as 2023.

While the path to a cure will still be filled with bumps, potholes and detours, U of A scientists and clinicians continue to forge ahead. At the Alberta Diabetes Institute—the largest organization of its kind in North America—about 40 scientists with support staff and graduate students numbering more than 300 are working on finding a better treatment or cure, says Rajotte.

“The U of A and the clinical islet program are still the world’s epicentre for the therapy and are at the cutting edge of clinical trials,” says Pepper. “We’re moving research from the lab into patients and are doing so at the very highest of standards.”

“There are no other centres in the world doing what we are doing today,” adds Shapiro. “This work is like a big puzzle and right now the pieces seem to be scattered. But the picture is coming into place.”

“We know islet transplantation works, but what we really want to do is develop an unlimited source of islets,” says Ray Rajotte.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

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MOMENTUM FEATURE DRIVERS

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FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

MOMENTUM FEATURE DRIVERS

The future is here.

All we have to do is reach out and take it.

From left, Victor Do, Lyn Sonnenberg

AUTHOR

PHOTOS BY

RYAN O’BYRNE

L AUGHING DOG PHOTOGRAPHY

WHEN LYN SONNENBERG, ’14 MEd, MD, talks about new technology and medical

school training, her eyes blaze with passion and possibility. The associate dean

and Paul LaPointe

of Educational Innovation & Academic Technologies sees amazing potential in

agree that technology

new technologies to help educate health professionals and, ultimately, improve

can be a brilliant tool for translating

patient outcomes.

complex medical concepts for learners.

“I want the University of Alberta to be a place where students don’t see technology as an adjunct, but as an integrated experience,” she says. “I want us as faculty to be comfortable with how we use technology, and students to feel like it just makes sense.”

In the decade since the Academic Technologies office was created, an explosion of new technology with significant educational potential has come to campus.

Forget iPads and SmartBoards; imagine being able to dissect a body in virtual UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

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FEATURE

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

reality, or having the location of a patient’s internal organs

recently joined Sonnenberg’s team as the first director of

holographically overlaid on their body. The opportunities are

Extended Reality (XR). He believes technologies such as

endless, with many possible on campus right now.

augmented reality (AR) and VR with Google Cardboard can give students the opportunity to actually experience

One of the challenges faced by Sonnenberg’s team, however,

learning and gain fundamental understanding using their

is that new technologies are making their way into the

smart phones.

day-to-day lives of health-care providers regardless of how prepared they are.

Industry is showing an interest in partnering with the faculty to help introduce future clinicians to technological advancements, says Sonnenberg. “We need to be better at introducing technology earlier in the learning process and

“We need to be better at introducing technology earlier in the learning process and integrating it into the curriculum.”

integrating it into the curriculum.”

—LYN SONNENBERG

IN THE CLASSROOM

“There aren’t many tools that can actually show you the

Paul LaPointe, ’97 BSc, PhD, says new technologies help

mechanics of how a cell works as a three-dimensional object,”

students get up to speed in a world that is moving faster

LaPointe says. “But with virtual reality or augmented reality, you

every day. It’s what drove the associate professor of cell

can see each piece, animate them and watch each piece work

biology and co-creator of Cell 101 VR—a VR program that

together. You get to experience how a cell works firsthand, and

gives users the opportunity to see and experience the inner

that is so much more effective for understanding a concept.”

workings of cells in 3D—to start looking for ways to use augmented reality in his classroom.

STUDENT INPUT IS KEY As a fourth-year medical student and president of the

“It’s a bit of a cliché to say that information moves

Canadian Federation of Medical Students, Victor Do

so fast, but there’s definitely a widening gap between

recognizes the value that technology can bring to medical

what is being taught in university and where people are

education. He’s quick to point out, however, that technology

when they come out of high school,” says LaPointe, who

in and of itself does not make great health-care professionals.

Paul LaPointe is the first-ever director of Extended Reality in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry’s Office of Academic Technologies.

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FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

ISSUE NO. 4

FEATURE

SPRING 2020

Integrating technology early into the learning process for medical students is a passion project for Lyn Sonnenberg, who is a developmental pediatrician as well as associate dean of Educational Innovation & Academic Technologies.

“Technology can help push people to greater potential,” he

Luckily for students like him, that’s exactly what Lyn

stresses, “but it’s still up to the physician to be a good learner

Sonnenberg wants too.

and use the technology in the right way.

SPREADING THE WORD

“I think it’s really important that physicians and medical

Last year, Academic Technologies and the U of A Libraries

learners are technology literate, because ultimately

held the first Digital Anatomy Showcase. Hosted in Cameron

we’re going to be the ones using that technology to treat

Library’s futuristic Digital Scholarship Centre, the two-hour

patients,” he adds. “We’ve seen several examples where large

showcase featured presentations of three online anatomy

companies jump in and develop technologies for health care

educational resources—Anatomy.tv, Body Interact and VH

apart from physicians, which is very frustrating.”

Dissector—as well as a demonstration of a VR anatomy program designed by the U of A’s Cognitive Projections,

“We need to get involved in thinking about how technologies

a collaboration between the faculties of Medicine & Dentistry

and health education can work together, because it’s going to

and Rehabilitation Medicine.

happen with or without us,” he says. “But we need to know about what is available to us and what is possible before

Sonnenberg says the point of the showcase was to raise

we can do that.” Students want tools—technological or

awareness about the range of technologies available to students

otherwise—that will help them be better physicians, he says,

and staff, and kick-start a larger conversation about how

with the goal of better patient outcomes.

technology can be better integrated into medical education.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

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FEATURE

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

She recounts recently showing a

“What VR, AR and other new

neuroradiologist Anatomy.tv, an online

technologies have in common is that

program that provides 3D interactive

they allow the students to experience

models of human anatomy.

something in ways you can’t describe,” LaPointe says. “I think the real

“I showed him how the program could

revolutionary power of new technology

display anatomy and radiology together,

is in the ability to make medical

and he literally dropped his pen on the

breakthroughs and other complex

table and said, ‘I’m throwing out my

ideas easier to understand, which in

PowerPoint slides. I’m going to teach

turn helps close the gap between the

like this from now on!’”

frontiers of scientific discovery and the

TRANSFORMING TEACHING, TRANSFORMING CARE

learner just getting interested in a field.”

“I’m excited about any new technology that helps me do my job, as long as our

Sonnenberg, LaPointe and Do agree

foundation is that these are tools, and

that integrating new technology and

not a replacement for doing a physical

innovation in medical education is not

exam or talking to the patient and

about the technology itself; there will

getting to know them,” Do says.

always be something new and exciting on the horizon.

“If we get the foundational knowledge solidly in place, there are only good

“It’s really about how we are teaching,

things that can build upon that,”

and how we are breaking down

Sonnenberg agrees. “We have such a

challenging concepts for learners,”

creative and innovative group at the

Sonnenberg says. “If we can help them

University of Alberta, and I want to tap

understand what they need to learn

into that energy, immerse people in the

better, then they can translate that to

tools we have and use that knowledge

the patients they’re serving. I believe

to change the world.”

that if we transform the learner, we transform care.”

“This is just the beginning.”

Embracing a leadership role Fourth-year medical student Victor Do describes himself as “a regular guy,” a humble young man who has wrestled with insecurity, even while being drawn to advocacy and leadership roles.

The lifelong Edmontonian and only child of immigrant parents entered medical school in 2016. In his second year, he was elected vice-president external of the Medical Student Association (MSA). That ignited a passion for student governance, advocacy and administration, he says.

Do soon brought that passion to the national stage as one of two western regional directors for the Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS).

In that role, he developed the CFMS National Wellness Program, working to support the well-being of more than 8,000 students across the country.

Do went on to be elected CFMS director of student affairs and was named executive vicepresident of the board in 2018.

In 2019, he ran for president and won, becoming only the fourth CFMS president from the U of A, and the first of ChineseCanadian heritage.

As CFMS president, Do sees an opportunity to help take medicine in a new direction and prepare students for a world where technology and change are advancing at an everincreasing pace.

It’s crucial that learners be involved in health-care technology development, says Victor Do, fourthyear medical student and president of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students.

36

FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

Meanwhile, he looks forward to his upcoming residency and a fulfilling future as a doctor.

But he hasn’t lost focus on supporting his classmates and future students.

“I want every student to recognize that they deserve to be here, and that they can achieve anything.”

ISSUE NO. 4

LEARNERS AS LEADERS

SPRING 2020

There’s more than one road to a PhD

Jessica Hogan

Ashley Radomski

Darpan Malhotra

’09 BSCN, SURGERY PHD CANDIDATE

PEDIATRICS, ’19 PHD

BIOCHEMISTRY, ’19 PHD

THE FIRST UNIVERSITY of Alberta

AFTER AN UNDERGRADUATE

DARPAN MALHOTRA CAME to

nursing graduate to embark

degree in psychology and a

the U of A from Delhi, India to

on a PhD in surgery, pediatric

master’s in psychiatry, an interest

commence his PhD, focusing on

flight nurse Jessica Hogan, is

in children’s mental health led

the corneal endothelial transport

focusing on the development

Ashley Radomski to work with

protein SLC4A11.

and implementation of a trauma

pediatric researcher Amanda

registry in Western Kenya.

Newton, PhD, also a member of

Malhotra discovered that the

the Women and Children’s Health

protein’s extracellular loop

Research Institute.

serves as an adhesion site for

“In trauma registry development, with a few

cells. Mutations in the loop

fundamental changes, you

Radomski evaluated youth’s

contribute to compromised

can see major increases in

experience with Breathe, an

endothelial cell adhesion and

meaningful data,” says Hogan.

internet-based cognitive therapy

the loss of these healthy cells

“When you realize what is

(iCBT) program developed by

leads to loss of vision.

threatening a population and

Newton’s research team and

how the system can improve,

funded in part by the Stollery

Winner of the prestigious

you can target public policy and

Children’s Hospital Foundation

Canadian Vanier Scholarship,

resources to reduce those risks

through WCHRI to empower

which totalled $150,000

and improve lives.”

youth with anxiety-management

over three years, Malhotra

skills. Radomski also examined

now splits his time between

In 2019, Hogan received the

how interactions between youth,

post-doctoral research on

Trauma Association of Canada’s

technology and therapeutic

therapeutics for endothelial

Best Trainee Research Poster

content of iCBT programs might

corneal diseases and consulting

award for “Trauma Registry

reduce users’ anxiety.

for U.S.-based firm PreScouter,

Implementation in a Western

saving money to put his sister

Kenya Referral Centre:

“We can apply these insights to

through graduate studies of her

Highlighting the Quality

better develop treatments to improve

own one day.

Improvement Approach.”

outcomes for youth,” she says.

AUTHOR: NICHOL AS WILSON PHOTO: SUPPLIED

AUTHOR: JUDITH CHRYSTAL PHOTO BY: JUDITH CHRYSTAL UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

AUTHOR: SASHA ROEDER MAH PHOTO BY: JORDAN CARSON

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LEARNERS AS LEADERS

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

Widower’s search for cancer cure takes surprising turn

WHEN HIS WIFE DIED OF A RARE OVARIAN CANCER 10 YEARS AGO, POWEL CROSLEY, ’19 MSC, VOWED TO FIND A CURE.

ORIGINAL STORY

AUTHOR

DESPITE A LACK of scientific training at the time, he is now

FOLIO

BRENT WITTMEIER

within sight of a potential clinical trial for a treatment.

PHOTO BY

L AUGHING DOG PHOTOGRAPHY

38

The 66-year-old graduated in November with a master’s degree in oncology from the University of Alberta. In the FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

ISSUE NO. 4

LEARNERS AS LEADERS

SPRING 2020

something about it,’” says Hitt, who is a member of the Sixty-six-year-old Powel Crosley obtained a master’s degree in oncology last fall, inspired by his late wife’s battle with ovarian cancer.

Cancer Research Institute of Northern Alberta. “It’s not just playing around with cool toys in the lab.”

near future, his work could be the basis for a clinical trial

Crosley eventually moved on to testing PAC-1—a drug

of a new treatment for granulosa cell tumour (GCT).

Sladjana had spotted years earlier in an academic journal— and eventually decided to carry on into a master’s degree.

“When you sit down and start looking back at everything, so much is just serendipity,” Crosley says. “It just happened. Crazy.”

BUILDING TOWARD A CURE Crosley’s project has also added TRAIL, a natural protein

LEARNING INSPIRED BY LOSS

that was hailed in the 1990s for its promising ability to cause

Sladjana Crosley died in 2009 after a 13-year battle with

‘suicide’ in cancer cells, but has since proven unstable and

a dire prognosis.

prone to resistance.

Of the 225 Canadian women diagnosed with GCT this year,

The early lab results combining PAC-1 and TRAIL have shown

roughly one in three will see the cancer return. Barring

they could work well together. Through the foundation,

advances, four out of five of those women will die.

Crosley has been in touch with Paul Hergenrother, the University of Illinois chemist who created PAC-1 and is

Throughout her recurring illness, Sladjana refused to accept

conducting a clinical trial of the drug. Crosley believes the

the odds. A chemical engineer by training, in 2004 she

trial could be expanded to include TRAIL, which would be

founded the Granulosa Cell Tumour Research Foundation

a dramatic step toward a potential treatment for GCT.

(GCTRF) and gathered an online community of women facing a similarly grim future.

Without major funds or established connections to research laboratories, progress remained elusive. For Sladjana, the surgeries became more aggressive, more frequent and less effective. The cancer continued down its inevitable path while scar tissue

“There are people dying of cancer and we have to do something about it. It’s not just playing around with cool toys in the lab.”

eventually made it too risky to go under the knife again.

—MARY HITT

After Sladjana died, Powel vowed to continue leading the

Crosley has also worked with Hitt to modify a virus that could

foundation she started. He started running marathons to raise

potentially “trick” GCT cells to produce TRAIL on their own,

money for research and enrolled at the U of A, taking chemistry,

which could help move toward a more targeted treatment.

biology and genetics courses to better understand the disease.

For the next two years, he’ll remain a researcher in Hitt’s

TURNING POINT

lab. Thanks to a research proposal drafted largely by Crosley,

Under Crosley’s leadership, the GCTRF has raised more than

Hitt has received a $120,000 grant to try out the combination

$300,000 for research, a series of small grants dispersed in

therapy in animal trials.

labs around the world. And after an upper-level oncology class with Mary Hitt, PhD, Crosley began conducting

The grant, awarded by the Cancer Research Society,

experiments in her lab and soon became a permanent fixture

matched a $60,000 fundraising campaign spearheaded by

there, working long hours seven days a week.

the GCTRF, the organization Sladjana founded. It’s just another touch of serendipity, Crosley says, a reminder of

Hitt says having him in the lab has meant young researchers

his wife’s tireless efforts to help thousands of women find

get a chance to work with a role model who treats science as

a better prognosis.

more than just theory.

“I feel a sense of responsibility. I see how much hope these “To have him in the lab right there, it’s in your face,

women have invested in this,” says Crosley. “I think Sladjana

‘There are people dying of cancer and we have to do

would be pretty excited by the science.”

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

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GENEROSITY

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

LOCAL COMPANY BOOSTS U OF A RESEARCH IN MEDICAL CANNABIS

New partnership aims to unlock the future of medical cannabis for the treatment of neurological conditions AUTHOR

ROSS NEITZ

A NEW PARTNERSHIP between Atlas

In December 2019, Edmonton-based

Biotechnologies and the University of

Atlas began donating what will

ORIGINAL STORY

Alberta is exploring the use of medical

amount to over $300,000 over two

FOLIO

cannabis for the treatment of multiple

years to fund three research studies

PHOTOS BY

sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer’s and

at the U of A’s Faculty of Medicine &

L AUGHING DOG PHOTOGRAPHY

Huntington’s diseases.

Dentistry. The studies will observe

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FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

ISSUE NO. 4

GENEROSITY

SPRING 2020

opportunity to do some real science

treatments,” says Tsuyuki. “If we find

around it to understand how these

something, even if it works just a little,

compounds work and if they can be

that could be an enormous advance

used to treat human disease.”

for patients. But we have to do our homework first, and that is where

“Atlas’s vision is to create the world’s

we’re starting.”

most trusted cannabis products,” adds Jeffrey R. Gossain, chief operating

“This collaboration marks some of our

officer of Atlas. “Investing in this

first steps on a long road of research

research is really important for us

discovery around medical cannabis.

because it will start advancing the

A great amount of work needs to be

science of medical cannabis and what it

done,” adds Tsuyuki.

can actually do for people. Our vision is to have a product that will actually

Cannabis has been used for a variety

help patients with these different

of ailments for countless years but

ailments and make their lives better.”

the basic mechanisms of how it might work is not well understood

The research is being led by scientists

as the science behind it remains in

in the U of A’s Department of

its infancy.

Pharmacology who are also members of the Neuroscience and Mental Health

CANNABIS COMPOUNDS

Institute. They have begun looking at

While the most well-known

the effects of cannabis in the laboratory

components of cannabis are

through the following studies:

tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), the plant

Ʌ Examining cannabidiol (CBD)

can produce 500 different active

of cultivation Jim Hole and Ross

and other cannabinoids for the

biological compounds, each with

Tsuyuki, chair of the U of A’s

treatment of pain experienced by

the potential of having therapeutic

Department of Pharmacology,

patients with multiple sclerosis

benefits. Through the studies, Atlas

(Anna Taylor, PharmD, and Bradley

and the U of A researchers hope

Kerr, PhD)

to identify specific compounds, or

From left, Atlas vice-president

in the company’s production facility

combinations of compounds that Ʌ Studying the efficacy of

show promise for future therapeutic

cannabis compounds in reducing

treatments. In addition to the

neuroinflammation and the

funding, Atlas is providing material

degeneration of the brain that

for the studies that is produced

the effects of compounds derived

occurs in Huntington’s disease

and extracted at its Edmonton

from medical cannabis and their

(Simonetta Sipione, PhD)

production facility.

efficacy for treatment. Ʌ Testing several cannabinoids to

“We’ve got to figure out what the best

“Because cannabis is now more

determine their neuroprotective

combination of those compounds are

accessible, people are touting it

activity in models of Alzheimer’s

and how they’re actually working in

for all kinds of things, but without

disease (Elena Posse de Chaves, PhD)

people,” says Gossain. “A lot of people

solid scientific evidence,” says Ross

will tell you, ‘My mom had cancer,’

Tsuyuki, PharmD, chair of the U of

“Alzheimer’s disease, chronic pain,

or ‘my friend had an illness, and they

A’s Department of Pharmacology.

multiple sclerosis and Huntington’s

took cannabis and it helped.’ But then

“But there likely are benefits for some

disease are all devastating conditions

for other people they don’t have as

conditions. We’re excited about the

that don’t have a lot of effective

effective results.”

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

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GENEROSITY

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

“Part of the problem is that you

acquired a 170,000-square-foot

It’s hoped the research findings

don’t really know what product

facility in Denmark and was granted

through the U of A partnership will

they took, how they dosed it, or the

its cultivation and processing licence

open the door to future clinical

combinations of chemicals in the

from the Danish Medicines Agency.

trials and one day bring much-

product that helped. It’s not as simple as just saying, ‘The plant’s got THC and CBD.’ You’ve got to get a lot more detailed than that.”

Atlas was founded in 2015, with a focus on producing and researching medical cannabis. The company owns and operates a 38,000-squarefoot production facility outside of Edmonton that produces more

needed new therapies to patients.

“This collaboration marks some of our first steps on a long road of research discovery around medical cannabis.”

—ROSS TSUYUKI

than 5,000 kilograms of product

that we think have the highest likelihood of success and we will follow where the science leads,” says Tsuyuki. “If it comes to the point where Atlas wants to develop targeted products, we’ll be there for that as well. But for now we’ll be the ones to give them the signals about what’s worthwhile to pursue.”

annually. In addition to growing

In addition to the partnership with the

medical cannabis, the company has

U of A, Atlas also entered a research

extraction facilities on site, allowing

collaboration with Harvard Medical

it to isolate rare cannabinoids for

School in May 2019 that is focused on

use in targeted medical research

the development of new products for

applications. Last fall, Atlas also

pain and other neurological conditions.

42

“Our team is exploring the areas

FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

From left, research by Simonetta Sipione, Elena Posse de Chaves, Bradley Kerr and Anna Taylor is being supported by funding from Atlas Biotechnologies.

ISSUE NO. 4

GENEROSITY

SPRING 2020

Play ball!

WORLD’S LONGEST BASEBALL GAME SWINGS FOR THE FENCES IN FIGHT AGAINST CANCER

Last summer, players in a marathon baseball game raised more than $486,000 to support human trials of a promising new cancer drug, PCLX-001.

AUTHOR

IN AUGUST, 56 volunteers in Sherwood Park, Alta., played a marathon baseball game, raising more than

ROSS NEITZ

$486,000 to support human trials of a promising new cancer drug, PCLX-001. Based on a U of A Faculty

ORIGINAL STORY

FOLIO

of Medicine & Dentistry finding, the drug shuts down abnormal chemical signalling in many common cancers and triggers those cells to die, but spares the healthy cells. The Dianne and Irving Kipnes Foundation matched donations dollar for dollar up to $250,000 toward the total raised for the Cure

PHOTO BY

Cancer Foundation. Carrying the fight against cancer to the outdoor rink, watch for a 10-day, around-

JORDAN CARSON

the-clock, World’s Longest Hockey Game to hit the ice in 2021.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

43

ALUMNI

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

U of A family doctor offers evidence-based mom blog LIFE OF DR. MOM AIMS TO FEEL LIKE GWYNETH PALTROW’S GOOP, WITH ONE NOTABLE EXCEPTION— IT’S ROOTED IN FACT. AUTHOR

PHOTOS BY

LESLEY YOUNG

L AUGHING DOG PHOTOGRAPHY

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FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

ISSUE NO. 4

ALUMNI

SPRING 2020

IN LIGHT OF the overabundance of mom blogs with

“As I am hearing from women more and more, I am

questionable content, one University of Alberta family

discovering just how little is well known about baby health.

physician decided to offer women an alternative and start up

And moms will turn to a blog where they can ask questions

her own mom blog, called Life of Dr. Mom.

and feel like they are having a conversation with someone they know, more than they will read a handout from their

“There is some very serious misinformation on mom blogs

physician. There’s a tremendous need for more evidence-

that can cause harm to mom and baby if not rooted in

based mom blogs like mine.”

evidence-based science,” says Stephanie Liu, ’13 MD. When she was pregnant with now three-year-old Madeleine, for example, she read a mom blog that claimed sleep training is dangerous and can cause attachment disorder and ADHD later in life.

“I can tell you based on research that studies suggest sleep

“There is some very serious misinformation on mom blogs that can cause harm to mom and baby if not rooted in evidencebased science.”

training is safe,” she says.

—STEPHANIE LIU

There is no research on mom blogs themselves and whether the comfort and advice women take from them may also

It was a few years after giving birth that Liu found time

have negative consequences, says Liu.

between her family medicine practice and her clinical lecturing work at the University of Alberta Hospital to start her blog.

However, there is plenty of information about how to work with advertisers to monetize mom blogs—which adds another

“By then I was really desperate to do it. I’d been reading

potential red herring to the accuracy of the content, she notes.

blogs and the misinformation drove me crazy,” she says.

Estimates suggest there are 4,000 mom bloggers in Canada

In 2018, her husband, otolaryngologist head and neck

and 4.4 million in the United States.

surgeon Graeme Mulholland, ’09 BSc, ’13 MD, was offered

Life of Dr. Mom blogger and family physician Stephanie Liu with three-year-old daughter Madeleine

Stephanie Liu launched her blog during a year spent in Atlanta for training for her husband Graeme Mulholland (shown here with daughter Madeleine and baby George).

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

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ALUMNI

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

training in Atlanta for a year, and the family packed up and moved south. While there, Liu launched the mom blog with Suzanne Black, a psychiatry resident with experience in developing web platforms and an interest in advocating for mental wellness.

Now back in Edmonton, Liu collaborates with Erin Manchuk, ’05 BScPharm, a clinical pharmacist in acute care on the family medicine ward at the U of A Hospital, to keep a steady stream of blog content flowing.

There’s a tremendous need for more evidence-based mom blogs like mine.”

Life of Dr. Mom draws readers using beautiful photography and content that is rooted in studies published by credible sources. For example, a popular post on anxiety and motherhood contains a wealth of proven tips to help stave off anxiety.

The blog’s companion Instagram account @lifeofdrmom has attracted more than 9,500 followers, with Liu sharing intimate glimpses of her full days with baby George and daughter Madi while she was on maternity leave, and how she is now swinging back into work mode.

Even as a doctor and busy mother of two, she plans to both practise and blog. “I’m in love with blogging. It would be my dream to reach as many moms as Goop does, while providing credible advice,” says Liu, referring to the popular lifestyle website with articles about health and wellness that are often not founded in evidencebased medical information.

She admits she’s still working on getting over patients knowing her personally.

“But if it helps them not feel alone when they’re struggling with breastfeeding— something I totally underestimated until I gave birth—then I’m happy to do it.”

A popular post from Life of Dr. Mom WHAT IS SWADDLING?

Liu describes swaddling as “wrapping your baby tightly in the shape of a baby burrito.”

As per the Canadian Pediatric Society’s safety recommendations, Liu says to use a large square blanket folded into a triangle, and explains the baby’s shoulders should sit just below the folded side of the blanket. “A swaddle should be snug around the baby’s forearms, like a belt, but not too tight, so the baby can move his or her legs freely.”

WHAT ARE THE RISKS AND BENEFITS?

She outlines the evidence that shows swaddling soothes pain and helps infants arouse less and sleep longer. She says it has also been shown to improve muscular development in preterm infants.

“It can be helpful to keep the baby warm, but there is also a risk of the baby overheating,” Liu explains.

If the infant is swaddled with legs extended too tightly together, the infant may be at increased risk of hip dysplasia. And although swaddling helps babies remain on their back, once they are able to roll, she says, there is an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

WHAT DOES DR. MOM RECOMMEND?

“Our daughter Madi loved being swaddled,” Liu says. “For the first two months of her life, she needed to be swaddled to fall asleep. Baby George also loved swaddling.”

Life of Dr. Mom provides accurate, accessible information to new mothers hungry for support with common challenges such as breastfeeding and swaddling.

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FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

ISSUE NO. 4

INNOVATION

SPRING 2020

Medo.ai app could ‘democratize’ medical imaging

From left, former U of A/ Alberta Innovates postdoctoral fellow Dornoosh

HANDHELD PORTABLE ULTRASOUND DEVICE TAKES THE HOSPITAL TO THE PATIENT

Zonoobi and radiologist Jacob Jaremko, of U of A spinoff company Medo.ai

AUTHOR

A UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA spinoff

Along with former U of A/Alberta

GILLIAN RUTHERFORD

company is hoping its new technology

Innovates post-doctoral fellow Dornoosh

to analyze ultrasound images will make

Zonoobi, PhD, and Jeevesh Kapur, MMed,

diagnosing health problems possible

a radiologist from Singapore, Jaremko

even from remote locations.

formed Medo.ai two years ago to develop

ORIGINAL STORY

FOLIO PHOTO BY

L AUGHING DOG PHOTOGRAPHY

and commercialize software that creates “My vision is for a 21st-century

and analyzes 3D images from ultrasounds.

stethoscope, a tool where you can look inside the body and use

The company is focusing first on using

artificial intelligence to help people

its technology to correctly diagnose hip

who are not experts interpret the

dysplasia in infants. When diagnosed

images,” says U of A radiologist Jacob

early, hip dysplasia can be treated with

Jaremko, MD/PhD.

a simple harness worn by the infant for

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

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INNOVATION

MOMENTUM MAGAZINE

a few weeks, eliminating the eventual need for hip-replacement surgery.

The new system allows an operator with minimal training to take threedimensional images that can be uploaded and compared with a large data set of other images to identify abnormalities and suggest a diagnosis.

Jaremko and Zonoobi gave medical students just one hour of training on the system and found they were able to

Medo.ai’s ultrasound device takes 3D images that can be easily compared with

produce 3D images as reliable as those

a large data set of other images to identify abnormalities and suggest a diagnosis.

produced by senior technicians.

Medo.ai is already testing applications

of decentralizing and democratizing

Jaremko says analysis of the images is

of the technology for other types of

medical imaging.”

made possible by recent advances in

injuries and conditions.

computing power that allow networked

Medo.ai applied for U.S. Food and

computers to artificially mimic the

“We want to take the expertise of the

Drug Administration approval in

learning function of the human brain.

hospital to the patient, rather than

February and meanwhile has begun

have the patient come to the hospital,”

pilots in the United States, Singapore

Jaremko says.

and Australia. Other pilots in Brazil

“This is a revolutionary thing,” he says, adding that while other medical

and Alberta will also begin shortly. The

imaging methods such as CT, MRI

Jaremko and Zonoobi also see

company aims to have a proven hip

and X-ray are easier to analyze than

the potential for use in remote

dysplasia detection application in use

ultrasound, they aren’t as portable.

communities in northern Canada

throughout Alberta within five years.

and around the world.

“Ultrasound is safe, it is becoming

Jacob Jaremko holds the Alberta Health

cheaper by the day and it can easily fit

“Right now, families have to drive

Services Chair in Diagnostic Imaging at

into a pocket,” says Zonoobi. “It’s like

for hours and hours in the middle of

the U of A and is also a member of the

magic—you can see inside the patient’s

winter just to get a simple scan done,”

Women and Children's Health Research

body in real time.”

says Zonoobi. “There should be a way

Institute (WCHRI).

Driving new approaches to health-care innovation PANTHERA CRYOSOLUTIONS INC. Jason Acker, ’95 BSc, ’97 MSc, ’00 PhD, ’09 MBA (Laboratory Medicine and Pathology)

Based in Edmonton and Ottawa, PanTHERA designs and manufactures cryopreservation solutions for cells, tissues and organs, using a novel patented technology of ice-recrystallization inhibitors. Ice crystals in biological samples are one of the leading reasons for cell death during preservation.

48

RETAIN MEDICAL LABS INC. Georg Schmölzer, MD/PhD (Pediatrics, Women and Children’s Health Research Institute member), Patrick Von Hauff, ’00 BA, and Thomas Jeffery, ’17 BDes (Office of Education), Matthew Brown, PhD (Peter S. Allen MR Research Centre)

RETAIN develops accessible paper and digital resuscitation training and simulation for health-care providers. Approximately 10 to 20 per cent of infants worldwide require neonatal resuscitation at birth.

FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

AI TO ADVANCE HEALTH & WELLNESS Marjan Abbasi, MD and Sheny Khera, ’97 BSc (Hons), ’01 MD (Family Medicine)

This early-stage project looks to create digital solutions for frailty identification and intervention for elderly patients, promoting functional ability and healthy aging in a more efficient and personalized manner.

THROWBACK

We have come far in transplant research and innovation THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA was recently ranked sixth in the world in transplantation, but the medical

expertise required to save lives with organ, tissue and cell transplants did not develop overnight—it is the result of decades of close collaboration, generosity and teamwork.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

AUTHOR

ARTWORK BY

SALENA KITTERINGHAM

NATASIA DESIGNS

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OFFICE OF ADVANCEMENT

2J2.00 Walter C. Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre 8440 - 112 Street Edmonton, AB Canada T6G 2R7 UALBERTA.CA/MEDICINE E advadmin@ualberta.ca P 780-492-6621

Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry – University of Alberta @UAlberta_FoMD @UAlberta_FoMD