From investigating microbial resistance mechanisms to helping Indigenous communities lead environmental assessments and more, researchers at the University of Guelph have been awarded more than $5 million in grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
"This federal investment will support our researchers as they explore factors that impact people's health, from both biological and social perspectives," says Dr. Shayan Sharif, interim vice-president, research and innovation. "The knowledge gained from these projects will fuel the development of better therapies and solutions to ultimately improve the wellbeing of our populations."
College of Biological Science
Dr. Georgina Cox
Dr. Georgina Cox, professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB), College of Biological Science, is exploring the structure of Escherichia coli, or E. coli, to determine why these bacteria are so inherently resistant to antibiotics and using this knowledge to inform the discovery of future drugs.
"Antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, has emerged as an existential threat to global health and E. coli is a very problematic pathogen," says Cox. "It's one of the top contributors to mortality associated with AMR globally."
E. coli is a type of bacteria called Gram-negative bacteria that are particularly antibiotic resistant. Their complex cell envelope structure makes it difficult for substances, like antibiotics, to enter the cell.
Many compounds that do manage to get into the cell are "pumped" back out by transport proteins called efflux pumps before they can carry out their functions.
"It has been extremely challenging developing new classes of antibiotics against Gram-negative pathogens, which is mainly because of these intrinsic resistance mechanisms," says Cox.
In this project, Cox and her team - including Dr. Eric Brown, professor at McMaster University - will explore how efflux pumps and the outer membrane structure contribute to antimicrobial resistance, and how they help E. coli survive after being ingested.
Exploring these mechanisms will help uncover knowledge needed to design new compounds that are more effective against Gram-negative bacteria, and guide future drug discovery efforts to combat the threat of AMR on a global scale.
Other College of Biological Science recipients include:
Dr. Jasmin Lalonde, MCB, is exploring how LGI1 a protein that contributes to synapse formation between neurons affects cortex and brain development. Lalonde will also investigate whether LGI1 plays a role in schizophrenia and how psychoactive cannabis compounds affect its expression and activity. A deeper understanding of these pathways will help researchers identify new therapies for mental illnesses.
Dr. Rebecca Shapiro, MCB, is investigating how Candida, a leading cause of fungal disease, becomes resistant to antifungal therapies. Her team will use their previously developed, first-of-a-kind CRISPR tools to identify genetic mechanisms that promote antifungal resistance and use this knowledge to inform future treatments.
College of Social and Applied Human Sciences
Dr. Diana Lewis
Dr. Diana Lewis, professor in the Department of Geography, Environment & Geomatics, College of Social and Applied Human Sciences, is equipping Indigenous people with tools and knowledge to influence decision-making about environmental assessments on sites that affect their communities.
"Traditional environmental assessments have failed to capture not only the negative health impacts, but also cultural impacts on Indigenous communities near pulp mills, landfills, and oil sands," says Lewis. "Indigenous people will continue to be harmed if these processes don't change."
To do this, Lewis is establishing a network of international researchers, trainees, technical experts and members of four Indigenous communities across Canada, each with different perspectives and needs.
The network will come together at 5-day Knowledge Symposiums where communities can learn about topics of concern they identified in Lewis' previous work, and researchers can better understand how to work collaboratively with Indigenous groups.
Topics include children's environmental health, tailings ponds and wildfires, microplastics, Indigenous health economics, and Indigenous-led risk communication.
The goal is to help Indigenous communities deepen their knowledge on these topics, including how to interpret and analyze their health data in the context of environmental assessments. Groups will also create culturally informed risk communication tools like webinars, podcasts and toolkits for communities to share findings with their members, and eventually policymakers.
"We want to build the capacity of these communities so they can leverage their data to influence policy without researcher support," says Lewis. "We want to show what Indigenous people can accomplish if we let them lead the way."
Other U of G recipients include:
Dr. Tami Martino, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) is exploring the use of "tiny drugs", or small molecule modulators, that could improve treatment outcomes for cardiovascular conditions by targeting the heart's circadian clock mechanism. This builds on her earlier work showing the circadian mechanism influences recovery after heart attacks.
Dr. Roger Moorehead, Department of Biomedical Sciences, OVC, is using genetically modified mouse models to better understand how breast cancer starts to develop, with the long-term goal of identifying ways to prevent breast cancer in women.
