Next-generation preclinical development andassessment of engraftment efficiency of Sernova’s Cell Pouch System™ in clinical islet transplantation

This fellowship will develop next generation Cell Pouch™ technology, through testing novel animal study (anti-cell death agents, insulin-producing mouse stem cells and islet health (metabolic engraftment efficiency) in parallel to a safety and efficacy (Phase I/II) clinical study of the Cell Pouch™ in Type 1 diabetic in which an in vitro measure of islet health will be correlated to in vivo graft function.

"Indanio Fellowship Year Two *Renewal, previous title ""Indanio Fellowship"""

The proposed project goals are five fold:

1) Generate and lead initiatives in drug discovery especially in the area of target identification/validation.

2) Generate transgenic zebrafish lines for nuclear receptor diseases related to oncology and metabolic diseases

3) Apply and supervise drug discovery on nuclear receptor ligand trap fish lines in the area of metabolic disease / cancer to extend state of the art research that leads to the discovery of new therapies


The overall objective of this PDF project is to propose an integrated dose adaptation strategy that can be used in anticancer drug treatment. Indeed, many chemo agents used to treat tumors often induce dangerous side effects or toxicity, such as neutropenia [Crawford et al.] and hand-foot syndrome [Janusch et al.]. Since some tumors can only be destroyed by sufficiently high doses of chemotherapeutic agents, these harmful and lethal toxicities have become a main obstacle that limit the full use of the dosage of anticancer drugs or even force the discontinuation of chemo treatment.

Tumor Reduction and Enhanced Responsiveness to Radiation Therapy and Chemotherapy Via Selective Removal of Iron: Mechanism and Preclinical Evaluation

Objectives: The objectives of this study are to use in vitro and in vivo models to validate the hypothesis that the ironchelator, DIBI, can selectively inhibit the proliferation and survival of breast cancer cells and that the combination of this chelator with radiation or standard chemotherapeutic agents (e.g., cisplatin and docetaxel) increases the sensitivity of breast cancer cells to the treatment regime. In collaboration with Chelation Partners Inc.

Peptide Antagonists of Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid Type Calcium Channel (TRPV6) as a Potential Therapeutic Agent for Multiple Myeloma

Overexpression of the calcium channel – Transient receptor potential vanilloid type (TRPV6) occurs in many epithelial type cancers [4] and hematological malignancy such as leukemia [7]. However, no correlation of TRPV6 to the deadly bone marrow cancer, multiple myeloma, has been made so far. Recently, we have detected the strong expression of TRPV6 protein in the bone marrow of MM patients, and this interesting finding has led us to investigate the potential of TRPV6 as a therapeutic target for multiple myeloma in collaboration with Soricimed Biopharma Inc.

Knowledge Recombination and Alliance Strategy in Science-based Businesses

Project Objectives:

1. To identify the best practices in knowledge recombination by comparing science-based multinational corporations and start-up firms.

2. To suggest refinements in alliance strategies for science-based multinational corporations and start-up firms.

3. To uncover processes and organizational structures to productively exploit the confluence of biotechnology and nanotechnology by MNCs.

Post Doctoral Fellow Name: Dr. Varkey Jon Thomas

An evaluation of geohazards arising from gas hydrate dissociation in Canadian continentalmargins

The long-term research goal of the research group is to contribute to the fundamental state-of-knowledge on gas hydrates by improving methodologies and techniques for characterization, assessment, and development of natural gas hydrate accumulations. The short-term goal and main objective of the present proposal is to characterize and assess submarine geohazards evolving from gas hydrate instability.

Investigating the biophysics and structural basis for state dependent drug blockade of persistent/late sodium current (INa(P)) in the heart using photoactivatable crosslinking unnatural amino acids.

Electrical activity in the heart is controlled by the concerted activity of many proteins called ion-channels that regulate the transfer of different ions across cell membranes. Recently, researchers in biomedical science have identified that a particular component of sodium carrying ion-channel activity (called the persistent or late sodium current also known as (INa(P)) played a major role in controlling the electrical activity of the heart. More recent research suggests that this late sodium current may be involved in various cardiac diseases.

Determining the half-life of prophylaxis treatment using population pharmacokinetics

Hemophilia is a rare blood coagulation disorder caused by a deficiency or deformity in one of 12 primary clotting factors. Hemophiliacs experience insufficient healing and prolonged bleeding either from trauma or unprompted bleeding. We are able to maintain a level of the deficient factors in a patient through direct and immediate infusion of a drug into the blood. To determine the frequency of injections and the appropriate dosage, we need to consider how long a drug will stay in a child’s body.

