Dr. Gautam Awatramani, Anatomy & Neurobiology, Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
$19,665 for retinal regeneration studies
Since joining Dalhousie Medical School in 2007, Dr. Gautam Awatramani has obtained substantial funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and NSERC to study neural circuits and synaptic signaling in the eyes and ears. A leading-edge researcher in the field of retinal regeneration, Dr. Awatramani will use new microscopy equipment from Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation (DMRF) to understand how visual information is processed by neural circuits in the healthy retina and how retinal neurons break down in disease. He will use this information to devise new strategies for preserving retinal function – and preventing vision loss in neurodegenerative diseases known to cause irreversible blindness. A highly competitive researcher, Dr. Awatramani has already shown it is possible to partially restore vision in animals which had lost all their photoreceptors (rods and cones).
Dr. Christian Lehmann, Anesthesia, Pharmacology, Microbiology & Immunology
$31,632 for sepsis research
Dr. Christian Lehmann came to Canada from Germany in 2007, joining Dalhousie Medical School as a full professor and the QEII Health Sciences Centre as a staff anesthesiologist. He is pursuing his longstanding research interests in sepsis in collaboration with the Dalhousie Inflammation Group. A severe, systemic infection, sepsis is a life-threatening and relatively widespread complication of surgery. Dr. Lehmann will use DMRF-funded microscopy equipment to study ways of protecting blood flow in the gut and other organs in sepsis. Microcirculation – the flow of blood through the body’s tiniest vessels – plays an important role in protecting organs from damage in severe sepsis. Protecting blood flow in the gut may prevent damage to the lining of the intestines, and therefore prevent leakage of more dangerous bacteria and toxins into the bloodstream. Dr. Lehmann wants to know if modulating the immune response of toll like receptors can protect the gut, and the lives of patients with sepsis.
Dr. Geoffrey Maksym, School of Biomedical Engineering
$30,000 for asthma research
Dr. Geoff Maksym is internationally known for his work to develop a groundbreaking new way of assessing airway function. Known as ‘oscillation spirometry,’ this technique measures the variability of airway resistance over time. Dr. Maksym is working with a Montreal company to develop the patented technology into a handheld device that will allow doctors to more sensitively diagnose asthma and monitor the effectiveness of treatment. Meanwhile, he and his clinical collaborators at the IWK Health Centre and QEII Health Sciences Centre are furthering their understanding of asthma, including the role of lung volume. The researchers will use their new DMRF equipment grant to purchase a lung-volume-measurement device for dedicated research purposes. This is an important step in building Dalhousie Medical School’s respirology research program.
Dr. Nikhil Thomas, Microbiology & Immunology, Medicine
$12,709 for E.coli studies
Dr. Nikhil Thomas joined Dalhousie Medical School in 2006, after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of British Columbia. An infectious diseases researcher, Dr. Thomas studies how toxins produced by bacteria impact the function of infected cells and lead to disease. He will use new DMRF-funded centrifuge equipment to study E. coli infection, while his colleague, Dr. Rafael Garduno, will use the equipment to learn more about Legionella, a common waterborne bacterium which causes Legionnaire’s Disease.
Stephen Whitefield, Anatomy & Neurobiology
$20,500 for the Cellular Microscopy & Digital Imaging Facility
As director of Dalhousie Medical School’s Cellular Microscopy & Digital Imaging Facility, Stephen Whitefield is responsible for every aspect of maintaining, running and equipping this vital facility. More than 120 researchers have used the facility since it opened in 1998, with substantial funding from DMRF. This new equipment grant will purchase the facility’s first high-sensitivity deep-cooled monochrome camera, enabling higher-resolution image capture. The new camera will improve researchers’ abilities to capture maximum resolution images of living cells and perform 3D reconstructions, quantitative imaging and other important imaging and analysis procedures. Researchers throughout the medical school will use the equipment to advance their research programs into previously uncharted territory.
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