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Appanna
Vasu Appanna’s research focus is on metabolism, and it aims to uncover how environmental stress affects microbial and mammalian cells. The former has led to discoveries on biomining and bioremediation while the latter has help identify some biochemical networks leading to obesity and neurological disorders.
Gauthier
My research team and I are interested in the molecular and cellular events involved in the initiation, execution and regulation of cell death in mammalian cells. We focus on two main facets of this problem:
1) a fundamental aspect, where we investigate the intracellular signals triggered by the amino acid L-glutamine, and which lead to cell survival. This research has recently found immediate application to medicine, since glutamine is an important amino acid for the survival of several types of cancers.
2) a more applied focus, where the impact of the modulation of cell death on the behaviour of cells of biotechnological interest is investigated.
Merritt
Dr Merritt’s research combines bioinformatics, functional genomics, and experimentation to explore metabolism and genetic networks. Merritt’s group studies the interactions between genes, genetic backgrounds, and the environment in a variety of stress response systems. In one project, we are using metabolomics and the SNOLAB particle physics laboratory, located 2 km underground in an active mine, to understand deep underground physiology. Other projects investigate oxidative stress and the NADP(H) enzymes. Merritt’s contributions also extend beyond the research setting and into the non-scientific community. As a committed science communicator and partner with Science North, Canada’s second largest science centre, Merritt has shared the importance of genetics research as a TEDx speaker, educator, and as a contributor to news sources. His article on trapping flies – and the science of model species – was the most read article of 2017 at TheConversation.ca, an on-line academic news source. In 2017, Merritt partnered with a local primary school to set a world record for most people isolated DNA at one time.
Omri
Research interests are: Liposomal delivery of antisense oligonucleotides. Effect on P-glycoprotein function in multidrug resistant cells in vitro and in vivo studies. Cationic liposome formulations are used to promote the penetration of antisense oligonucleotides into the cell membrane and protect them from enzymatic degradation (nucleases); Liposomal delivery of antimicrobial agents towards resistant bacterial pathogens: pulmonary and systemic infections. Construction of liposomes with high encapsulation efficiency, favorable antimicrobial release profile and enhanced bactericidal activity, to overcome the problem of bacterial resistance caused by low permeability of the bacterial cell envelope and by production of antimicrobial-inactivating enzymes; Liposomal formulations of drugs and vaccine for oral delivery. Liposomes are used to protect the encapsulated agents from the harsh gastrointestinal milieu (low pH, phospholipases, and bile salts) and to enhance their absorption to the systemic circulation and to increase the efficacy of these agents while minimizing their frequency of administration. Special liposomal formulation will be prepared, characterized and assayed for their efficacy in vitro and in animal models.
Parissenti
Dr. Parissenti's research group and its collaborators seek to identify and validate effective approaches to monitor the effectiveness of cancer treatments in cancer patients. They recently discovered the ability of a variety of structurally distinct chemotherapy agents to induce the degradation of ribosomal RNA in tumour cells, a phenomenon we refer to as “RNA disruption”. Interestingly, they observed in a national clinical trial (MA.22) that high tumour RNA disruption during treatment is associated with pathologic complete response and improved disease-free survival after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced breast cancer. One current goal of the group is to validate their promising clinical findings in an international breast cancer clinical trial called BREVITY. They are also focused on better understanding the biochemical and cellular mechanisms involved in RNA disruption by chemotherapy agents. Dr. Parissenti's research group has also provided evidence that chemotherapy agents can induce an acute inflammatory response in tumour cells involving the production of the cytokine tumour necrosis factor (TNF). This induction is lost in chemoresistant cells, and they are now investigating strategies to restore TNF production in chemoresistant cells through the activation of toll like receptors (TLRs).
Yang
I have a strong interest in gasotransmitter, biomolecular science, and signal transduction research. There are three areas of on-going research programs and interests funded by NSERC and HSFC, including: 1) Biological significance of H2S-mediated protein translational modification; 2) Roles of H2S in cell differentiation and organ development; 3) Regulation and function of H2S in vascular diseases, cancers and aging.