Dentistry / en U of T startup targets harmful side effect of cancer treatment /news/u-t-startup-targets-harmful-side-effect-cancer-treatment <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T startup targets harmful side effect of cancer treatment</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2024-03/HDAX_Jan-5%2C-2024_Volpe_Edits-01-crop.jpg?h=a7ee5f2a&amp;itok=yajTqJtf 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2024-03/HDAX_Jan-5%2C-2024_Volpe_Edits-01-crop.jpg?h=a7ee5f2a&amp;itok=GO45lqgV 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2024-03/HDAX_Jan-5%2C-2024_Volpe_Edits-01-crop.jpg?h=a7ee5f2a&amp;itok=xDJryCG4 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2024-03/HDAX_Jan-5%2C-2024_Volpe_Edits-01-crop.jpg?h=a7ee5f2a&amp;itok=yajTqJtf" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2024-03-06T11:17:45-05:00" title="Wednesday, March 6, 2024 - 11:17" class="datetime">Wed, 03/06/2024 - 11:17</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p><em>Nabanita Nawar and Pimyupa Manaswiyoungkul, co-founders of HDAX Therapeutics, met while they were pursuing doctoral studies at U of T Mississauga’s department of chemical and physical sciences&nbsp;(photo by Matthew Volpe)</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/geoffrey-vendeville" hreflang="en">Geoffrey Vendeville</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/black-founders-network" hreflang="en">Black Founders Network</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship-week" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship Week</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dentistry" hreflang="en">Dentistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/health-innovation-hub" hreflang="en">Health Innovation Hub</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/startups" hreflang="en">Startups</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/thisistheplace" hreflang="en">ThisIsThePlace</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-mississauga" hreflang="en">U of T Mississauga</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utest" hreflang="en">UTEST</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">HDAX Therapeutics is focused on developing treatments for peripheral nerve damage, which can result from chemotherapy or radiation</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Pain, numbness, sore muscles and even paralysis. These are some of the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, an often-debilitating condition associated with chemotherapy, radiation and other cancer treatments.&nbsp;</p> <p>Such peripheral nerve damage can be temporary, but for some, it never goes away.&nbsp;</p> <p>“There’s often really nothing for these patients except just symptom management and putting fingers and toes in a bucket of ice,” says&nbsp;<strong>Nabanita Nawar</strong>, who holds a PhD in medicinal chemistry from the Ƶ.&nbsp;</p> <p>Nawar is the CEO and a co-founder of HDAX Therapeutics, a startup that grew out of technology developed in U of T Mississauga’s department of chemical and physical sciences. The company is currently working on treatments that focus on HDAC 6, a protein that has been implicated in cardiovascular diseases and neurodegenerative disorders – including the peripheral nerve damage experienced by many cancer patients.</p> <p>“We are essentially developing new medicine for diseases that have a transport problem in the body,” Nawar says, referring to the protein’s key role in multiple cellular processes.&nbsp;</p> <p>HDAX’s patented mechanism targets HDAC 6 to return damaged neurons to health.&nbsp;</p> <p>“Our target, HDAC6, plays a key role in regulating microtubule stability and thus, affects axonal transport,” explained <strong>Pimyupa Manaswiyoungkul</strong>, who also earned a PhD at U of T and is now chief operations officer at HDAX. “In diseased states for indications that we are targeting, these axonal transports are impaired resulting in nerve degeneration, which results in symptoms in patients.”</p> <p>By using a “two-site binding modality,” the startup’s technology essentially holds the target with two figurative hands instead of one&nbsp;– like many of its competitors –&nbsp;providing a tighter grip on the protein and a key competitive advantage.&nbsp;</p> <p>The treatment, still in pre-clinical testing, would be delivered in the form of an oral pill.&nbsp;</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-03/HDAX_Jan-5%2C-2024_Volpe_Edits-44-crop.jpg?itok=3ViuLxf3" width="750" height="500" alt="&quot;&quot;" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>(photo by Matthew Volpe)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>The HDAX team also plans to apply the startup’s technology to target transport mechanisms in cardio-metabolic diseases, including heart failure.</p> <p>Manaswiyoungkul met Nawar in the lab when they were pursing doctoral studies. She says Nawar, who was on the medicinal chemistry side, would give her compounds to evaluate.</p> <p>“The flow of how we worked in the&nbsp;lab helped us&nbsp;connect,” Manaswiyoungkul says.&nbsp;</p> <p>Working with fellow researchers&nbsp;<strong>Elvin de Araujo</strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Olasunkanmi Olaoye</strong>, it wasn’t long before Nawar and Manaswiyoungkul shifted their focus to the challenges of translating their promising research into a viable business.&nbsp;</p> <p>The team established HDAX in&nbsp;2021 and received&nbsp;its first big funding injection – and a confidence boost – a few months later when it <a href="https://mbd.utoronto.ca/news/hdax-therapeutics/">won a&nbsp;bio-venture pitch competition</a>&nbsp;hosted by&nbsp;<a href="https://mbd.utoronto.ca/">Medicine by Design</a>, a U of T&nbsp;<a href="https://isi.utoronto.ca/">institutional strategic initiative</a>&nbsp;focused on regenerative medicine and cell therapy.&nbsp;</p> <p>“That was the first thing that made us think, ‘OK, this may be a real company – this could really be something.’ It wasn’t just in our heads,” Nawar says.</p> <p>HDAX has since attracted a total of $1.3 million in funding, Manaswiyoungkul says, noting the company and its five full-time employees is now preparing for its first seed round funding.</p> <p>The work of Nawar, Manaswiyoungkul and their teammates hasn’t gone unnoticed. The two founders recently earned an unexpected individual accolade: inclusion in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesunder30team/2023/08/09/30-under-30-local-2023-toronto/?sh=84c7f2037d2d" target="_blank"><em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;list of&nbsp;30 under 30 Torontonians</a>. When the&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;email landed in Nawar’s inbox, she says she was so surprised she wondered if it was spam.&nbsp;</p> <p>As it turns out, the duo were nominated by one of their early U of T mentors,&nbsp;<strong>Paul Santerre</strong>, a professor in the Faculty of Dentistry and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering.</p> <p>“The [HDAX] technology circumvents toxicity in neuro and cardiac drugs, with amazing efficacy demonstrated in their neuro models,” Santerre says, adding that Nawar and Manaswiyoungkul “not only accomplished novel, impactful findings during their&nbsp;PhD/post doc training, but did the work to accelerate their evolution to becoming serious entrepreneurs.”&nbsp;</p> <p>Along the way, the startup received extensive support from the U of T entrepreneurship community, which ranks first in Canada for research-based startups and among the top five globally for university startup accelerators. In particular, HDAX worked with&nbsp;<a href="https://utest.to/">UTEST</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://h2i.utoronto.ca/">Health Innovation Hub (H2i)</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href="https://entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca/for-entrepreneurs/black-founders-network/">Black Founders Network</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p>Santerre says one of the keys to U of T’s successful entrepreneurial support network is its “no wrong door” policy.&nbsp;</p> <p>“This means, regardless of where you come from at U of T, you will be supported by the incubators that best fit your venture,” he says.</p> <p>Manaswiyoungkul’s advice for students thinking about making the leap into entrepreneurship? Just go for it.&nbsp;</p> <p>“U of T is a very accepting community and there’s always someone who has more experience and the willingness to help take your ideas forward.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:17:45 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 306535 at After fleeing Syria, Aiman Ali finds a new home as co-ordinator of a U of T dentistry lab /news/after-fleeing-syria-aiman-ali-finds-new-home-co-ordinator-u-t-dentistry-lab <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">After fleeing Syria, Aiman Ali finds a new home as co-ordinator of a U of T dentistry lab</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Histology-Lab-Research-Stock_2022-06-23_021-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=NhduP5rL 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/Histology-Lab-Research-Stock_2022-06-23_021-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=g7NIyVwe 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/Histology-Lab-Research-Stock_2022-06-23_021-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=nR4IaLzX 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Histology-Lab-Research-Stock_2022-06-23_021-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=NhduP5rL" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>geoff.vendeville</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2022-07-21T15:15:52-04:00" title="Thursday, July 21, 2022 - 15:15" class="datetime">Thu, 07/21/2022 - 15:15</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">After fleeing the Syrian war, Aiman Ali came to Canada where he found a job that matches his qualifications at the Faculty of Dentistry (photo by Jeff Comber)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/rachel-boutet" hreflang="en">Rachel Boutet</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dentistry" hreflang="en">Dentistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-dentistry" hreflang="en">Faculty of Dentistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/syrian-refugees" hreflang="en">Syrian refugees</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong>Aiman Ali</strong> and his family fled war in Syria six years ago and came to Canada in hopes of a better life. But the move to a new a country wasn't easy, especially at first.&nbsp;</p> <p>“I came here on a Visiting Scholar Visa for six months – our transition to Canada was extremely arduous and we faced many financial difficulties at the beginning,” Ali says. “We were living cheque to cheque and it wasn’t easy to make ends meet.”</p> <p>Despite having two advanced degrees in dentistry from universities in Syria and Spain – a doctor of dental surgery and PhD in oral cancer – Ali initially struggled to find a job that matched his qualifications. But earlier this year he became the manager and lab co-ordinator for the Histopathology Research Unit at the Faculty of Dentistry.</p> <p>Histopathology refers to the branch of pathology dealing with tissue changes characteristic of disease. The lab uses both human and animal samples for&nbsp;precise experiments to determine the role of specific proteins in cells and their role in the progression of cancer and other diseases.&nbsp;</p> <p>As manager, Ali is responsible for everything that goes on in the lab, including experiments, ordering materials and chemicals and training students and researchers to use the equipment.&nbsp;</p> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/Histology-Lab-Research-Stock_2022-06-23_010-crop.jpg" alt></p> <p><em>Ali programming one of the automated machines in the Histopathology Research Unit (Jeff Comber)</em></p> <p>The job put Ali and his family on firmer financial footing, and it's a good fit with his credentials, he says.&nbsp;</p> <p>Ali took it upon himself when he arrived to modernize the lab with newer equipment so that it could provide more services, including the ability to&nbsp;perform immunostains experiments and&nbsp;full soft- and hard-tissues services for anything related to histopathology and immunohistochemistry.</p> <p>“Now researchers are sending us work from Sinai and MARS because we can do it all in house,” he says. “Having the ability to deal with dental implants, mineralized tissue in the teeth, [and] bone and jaw puts us at an advantage as it’s difficult for a lot of other labs to complete.”</p> <p>Ali says he's enthusiastic about using the lab's new machinery to help researchers in Canada and beyond.&nbsp;He says the new equipment has made the lab more efficient by automating certain procedures, thereby saving time and improving accuracy.&nbsp;</p> <p>“Our lab is an example of the way forward in histopathology,” he says. “I’m excited to see what the future holds for this type of research.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 21 Jul 2022 19:15:52 +0000 geoff.vendeville 175756 at Staying engaged: U of T Faculty of Dentistry student makes community volunteer work a priority /news/staying-engaged-u-t-faculty-dentistry-student-makes-community-volunteer-work-priority <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Staying engaged: U of T Faculty of Dentistry student makes community volunteer work a priority</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/IMG_0529-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=pvC5ICxE 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/IMG_0529-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=FBzk4gqY 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/IMG_0529-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=O0BEXeCq 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/IMG_0529-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=pvC5ICxE" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2022-02-02T14:03:53-05:00" title="Wednesday, February 2, 2022 - 14:03" class="datetime">Wed, 02/02/2022 - 14:03</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">In her final year of the Faculty of Dentistry's Doctor of Dental Surgery&nbsp;program, Marta Thorpe's volunteer work ranges from high school outreach to helping visually impaired runners train (photo by Anna Dzieciol Photography)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/rachel-boutet" hreflang="en">Rachel Boutet</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cities" hreflang="en">Cities</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dentistry" hreflang="en">Dentistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-dentistry" hreflang="en">Faculty of Dentistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Despite her hectic schedule, Ƶ student&nbsp;<strong>Marta Thorpe</strong> makes time to stay connected to the community through volunteering – and says she wouldn’t have it any other way.</p> <p>“It’s easy to get caught up in the idea of having limited time, but I’ve found if something is really important to you, you find a way to prioritize it,” says Thorpe, who is in her final year of the&nbsp;Faculty of Dentistry’s&nbsp;Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS)&nbsp;program. “Volunteering helps me stay grounded. It reminds me of what I value.”</p> <p>Thorpe has many volunteer commitments both inside and outside of the university. Last summer, she worked with U of T’s <a href="https://www.facebook.com/uoft.bmsa/">Black Medical Students' Association</a> to organize presentations and meetings with Toronto high school students. The goal was to encourage young, disadvantaged students to pursue careers in health care.</p> <p>“I think it’s really important to plant the seed early and show young students that they can have a career in health care,” Thorpe says. “I also think representation in dentistry is valuable so students can see themselves in the person they want to become.</p> <p>“We are serving a diverse population so ideally we’d have diversity in the profession. It helps students see their place in the dental office as a patient, as an assistant&nbsp;and as a dentist.”</p> <p>That mentality carries through with Thorpe’s work on the Faculty of Dentistry’s equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) committee. She was nominated by Dean <strong>Daniel Haas</strong> to be a committee member in her second year and has served ever since. The EDI committee is composed of staff, faculty and students, and is currently putting together an action plan on how to improve equity, diversity and inclusion efforts at the Faculty of Dentistry.</p> <p>Thorpe is also involved in the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry EDI working group as a student representative, thanks to the nomination by Haas. The&nbsp;group’s aim is to collect data and identify shortcomings of both individual schools and dentistry as a profession overall. The findings will be used to determine the best way to affect change related to EDI.&nbsp;</p> <p>Thorpe also volunteers with the <a href="https://outofthecold.org/">Out of the Cold</a> program in downtown Toronto to provide lunches and other donations to those who struggle with housing insecurity or who have low incomes. She spends a few hours every Sunday assisting with food preparation. Some of her other volunteer engagements, including&nbsp;being a guide for the visually impaired runners who are&nbsp;training for races, have been put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.</p> <p>“It's very important to me to stay engaged in the community weekly even in the busiest times of the school year,” Thorpe&nbsp;says. “I do better when I have time to separate myself from my schoolwork and get to know my community. Prioritizing these types of involvement may come at cost, but it’s such a worthy one to me.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 02 Feb 2022 19:03:53 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 172540 at 'A mindset that needs to change': U of T researcher promotes gender equality on the global stage /news/mindset-needs-change-u-t-researcher-promotes-gender-equality-global-stage <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">'A mindset that needs to change': U of T researcher promotes gender equality on the global stage</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/De%20Souza%2C%20Grace_2020-02-26_025.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=4ZgnXcG0 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/De%20Souza%2C%20Grace_2020-02-26_025.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=A38vn7OW 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/De%20Souza%2C%20Grace_2020-02-26_025.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=0im_mOPw 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/De%20Souza%2C%20Grace_2020-02-26_025.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=4ZgnXcG0" alt="Photo of Grace De Souza in the lab"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2020-03-04T14:47:45-05:00" title="Wednesday, March 4, 2020 - 14:47" class="datetime">Wed, 03/04/2020 - 14:47</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">U of T's Grace De Souza is the vice-president of the Women in Science Network, a subgroup of the International Association of Dental Research (IADR), a global academic research association with over 10,000 members worldwide (photo by Jeff Comber)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/erin-vollick" hreflang="en">Erin Vollick</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dentistry" hreflang="en">Dentistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/gender" hreflang="en">Gender</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong>Grace De Souza</strong>, an&nbsp;associate professor in the Ƶ’s Faculty of Dentistry,&nbsp;wants to raise awareness about the impact of gender-based discrimination on the careers of female scientists, which she says is ubiquitous.</p> <p>Even the language used in reference letters can lead to bias against women, says De Souza, who adds that her eyes were opened when she attended a U of T workshop on anti-discrimination and unconscious bias in grant reviews.</p> <p>That led De Souza to get involved with the Women in Science Network, a subgroup of the International Association of Dental Research (IADR), a global academic research association with over 10,000 members worldwide.</p> <p>“There is a mindset that needs to change. The least we can do is open up a conversation,” says&nbsp;De Souza, who was elected vice-president of the network in&nbsp;January and is now&nbsp;holding those conversations on a world stage.</p> <p>The Women in Science Network formed in 2011&nbsp;after a review conducted by the IADR showed that, despite gains, women in science continue to face barriers to equal pay, tenure, and grant success. They also receive significantly fewer major recognitions. Now boasting over 300 active members from institutions across North America and internationally, the network organizes events throughout the year that bring greater awareness to gender barriers and propose strategies to dismantle them.</p> <p>Leadership is one such barrier. “Historically, we may have seen an increase of women in dentistry, in academia, but not in leadership roles,” says De Souza, who adds that the situation may be starting to change in part due to network members’ efforts to improve equal gender representation.</p> <p>Current and past presidents of the IADR are women, for instance, marking an important new trend in the organization’s 100-year history. Only 10 women have ever been elected to its leadership, with the first taking office in 1981 and the second being elected in 1999. At the upcoming centennial meeting of the IADR in March, the network will host a mentorship event, with the goal of helping more women step into leadership positions.&nbsp;</p> <p>A large part of the network’s mandate is to organize events that prompt dialogue on issues of gender. They run a successful symposia series, for example, that deals with topics ranging from harassment in academic institutions to the importance of scientific rigour,&nbsp;and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/adra/current"><strong>published a special issue of the IADR’s <em>Advances in Dental Research</em> this past November.</strong></a></p> <p>Recognition platforms are another means to improve gender equality, according to De Souza. Awards are handed out by the Women in Science Network at the IADR’s annual meetings, and they have developed a program to fund research projects that promote better representation of female scientists.</p> <p>But while these interventions are important for dentistry’s largest academic research organization, they shouldn’t stop there, says De Souza. “We are always looking for initiatives to improve the conversation,” she says, and those conversations should continue at the members’ home institutions, as well.</p> <p>At the end of her tenure as vice president in 2021, De Souza will step into the role of president of the Women in Science Network.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 04 Mar 2020 19:47:45 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 163284 at The smile doctors: U of T Dentistry instructor, students help thousands through overseas volunteer effort /news/smile-doctors-u-t-dentistry-instructor-students-help-thousands-through-overseas-volunteer <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">The smile doctors: U of T Dentistry instructor, students help thousands through overseas volunteer effort</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/IMG_8594b_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=BuLBs8nD 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/IMG_8594b_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=KrZG1eUM 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/IMG_8594b_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=lrNvUW8v 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/IMG_8594b_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=BuLBs8nD" alt="Izchak Barzilay laughing with dentistry students in Uganda as locals look on in the background"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2019-11-29T16:15:18-05:00" title="Friday, November 29, 2019 - 16:15" class="datetime">Fri, 11/29/2019 - 16:15</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Courtney David and Elahe Behrooz with volunteer supervisor Izchak Barzilay in Kabale, Uganda (photo courtesy of David Chvartszaid)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/erin-vollick" hreflang="en">Erin Vollick</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/student-experience" hreflang="en">Student Experience</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/central-america" hreflang="en">Central America</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/africa" hreflang="en">Africa</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/arbor-awards" hreflang="en">Arbor Awards</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dentistry" hreflang="en">Dentistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/graduate-students" hreflang="en">Graduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">U of T Scarborough</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong>Izchak Barzilay </strong>has been an&nbsp;instructor at the Ƶ’s&nbsp;Faculty of Dentistry for over 33 years while maintaining a successful practice. But about five years ago he branched out into volunteer dentistry – a decision that took him all the way to Kabale, Uganda.</p> <p>Now he travels annually to the region with his not-for-profit&nbsp;Build Your Smile Dental Foundation, each time&nbsp;bringing with him two fourth-year U of T&nbsp;students who are pursuing doctorate degrees in dental surgery. Over the course of eight days, the group sets up make-shift dental hospitals in fields and villages, where they perform hundreds of procedures.</p> <p>It’s vital aid for communities that can lack even basic oral hygiene supplies. “Many of the stores we saw didn’t have tooth care products,” says <strong>Elahe Behrooz</strong>, one of the first students to go on rotation in Uganda in 2016. “They didn’t even carry toothbrushes.”</p> <p>Over the years, the team has shifted their emphasis from emergency dental care – mostly fillings and extractions – to restoring people’s teeth via dentures. They bring supplies donated from the Canadian dental community, and co-ordinate treatment in conjunction with local health authorities.</p> <p>Students benefit as much as the patients, according to volunteer supervisors such as Barzilay. On the cusp of graduation, fourth-year students become faster at performing procedures, more adaptable and learn to think outside the box. They also gain insight into how their skills and knowledge can support underserved populations. A number of students, like Behrooz, have become repeat volunteers post-graduation or support the foundation’s work in shelters across the Greater Toronto Area.</p> <p>“We have seen wonderful things come from these students,” Barzilay says.</p> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/IMG_8504b.jpg" alt></p> <p><em>Dentistry student Elahe Behrooz at work in Uganda (photo courtesy of David Chvartszaid</em><em>)</em></p> <p>Alongside his dentistry skills,<strong> Marshell Kurniawan</strong>’s rotation in Honduras last February taught him what he truly valued in a future career path. Working under <strong>William Kerr </strong>– a U of T Scarborough graduate and the site supervisor of the programs in Honduras and Haliburton County in Ontario – Kurniawan realized that mentorship “is so important as part of the profession. It goes such a long way to develop you professionally and as a person.”</p> <p>Kerr began volunteering as a dentist in El Porvenir, Honduras in 2009. He’s been supervising the faculty’s students on international rotations since 2017, offering free dental care to the children of the economically depressed area. “Many of [the town’s] young children had rampant decay,” he explains.</p> <p>The team’s interventions have had a massive impact.&nbsp;Over the past 11 years, Kerr and his small crew have attended to over 6,000 young patients. That breaks down to 1,295 extractions, 1,832 restorations, 263 root canals and 14 partial dentures for the children of the town.</p> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/IMG_8802b.jpg" alt></p> <p><em>The team at work inside the Ugandan facility (photo courtesy David of Chvartszaid</em><em>)</em></p> <p>It wasn’t long before Kerr’s international work led to a project&nbsp;closer to home: the Volunteer Dental Outreach for Haliburton County, a charity offering free dentistry to low income adults. A pilot project rotation with the school’s doctor of dental surgery students began in 2016.</p> <p>The Haliburton placement was – and is – a family affair. “The two students stayed at our home and spent two days treating many adult patients,” says Kerr, who estimates that the charity has provided over $2.7 million in free dental care to the region.</p> <p>The successful pilot project quickly expanded to up to 34 students annually&nbsp;–&nbsp;all hosted by Kerr and his family (two at a time).</p> <p>The Central American teams have also grown. Two students have attended the Honduras site each year since 2017 while an additional two-student rotation began in Guatemala in 2018.</p> <p>“I try to teach students that, ultimately, they always have to do their very best for every patient&nbsp;and, as they prepare to graduate, they need to hone their skills&nbsp;to get better and faster.”</p> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/UofTDentalArborAwards02_edited-600x400_0.jpg" alt></p> <p><em>Bill Kerr (left) and Izchak Barzilay (right) with Daniel Haas, dean of the Faculty of Dentistry at U of T’s Arbor Awards, which recognize exceptional volunteerism&nbsp;(photo courtesy of Dave Hanson)</em></p> <p>For&nbsp;the dentists who supervise the students on these trips, it’s not just about the work.</p> <p>“I love to see joy in a student’s eyes when they accomplish something they have never done before or develop a new skill or technique,” Kerr says.&nbsp;“It is very rewarding to see the students help someone who needs their help and can’t afford their help.</p> <p>“I hope we are helping build up the next generation of volunteers.”&nbsp;</p> <p>The students are just as affected.</p> <p>“He’s my Yoda,” Kurniawan says of Kerr, a reference to the <em>Star Wars</em> character. “I’m going to do more of this in the future. I want to do what Dr. Kerr is able to do.”</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 29 Nov 2019 21:15:18 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 161025 at #WeTheNorth: U of T students, faculty and staff cheer on the Raptors /news/we-north-u-t-students-faculty-and-staff-cheer-raptors-historic-nba-finals-appearance <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">#WeTheNorth: U of T students, faculty and staff cheer on the Raptors</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/D72ApCOXkAATTp2.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=bQ3Bx6bw 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/D72ApCOXkAATTp2.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=bDQKdHCb 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/D72ApCOXkAATTp2.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=cpX1g741 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/D72ApCOXkAATTp2.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=bQ3Bx6bw" alt="UTSC Students cheering on the Raptors"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>davidlee1</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2019-05-31T14:50:37-04:00" title="Friday, May 31, 2019 - 14:50" class="datetime">Fri, 05/31/2019 - 14:50</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Support for the Raptors was on full display at U of T before, during and after the team's Game 1 win over the Golden State Warriors (UTSC photo via Twitter.com)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-archives" hreflang="en">U of T Archives</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cities" hreflang="en">Cities</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dentistry" hreflang="en">Dentistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-staff" hreflang="en">Faculty &amp; Staff</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-kinesiology-physical-education" hreflang="en">Faculty of Kinesiology &amp; Physical Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/graduate-students" hreflang="en">Graduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/meric-gertler" hreflang="en">Meric Gertler</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sports" hreflang="en">Sports</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/statistical-sciences" hreflang="en">Statistical Sciences</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-community" hreflang="en">U of T Community</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-mississauga" hreflang="en">U of T Mississauga</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">U of T Scarborough</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/varsity-blues" hreflang="en">Varsity Blues</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Toronto Raptors’ long road to the NBA Finals started before most Ƶ undergraduate students&nbsp;were born. But that didn't stop them from being among the loudest, proudest fans cheering on the team last night.</p> <p>Students – as well as many faculty and staff – held viewing parties on campus and took to social media to celebrate as the Raptors defeated defending champions Golden State Warriors in the opening game, 118 to 109.</p> <p>“Their defense was great, and it wasn’t our best night,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr told reporters after the game. “We just got outplayed.”</p> <p>The win came as no surprise to <strong>John Campbell,</strong> head coach of men’s basketball at U of T, <a href="/news/win-it-six-u-t-basketball-s-head-coach-raptors-chances-what-nba-finals-means-toronto">who predicted the Raptors will win the series</a>.</p> <p>And it made total sense to U of T’s <strong>Jeffrey Rosenthal</strong>, a professor in the department of statistical sciences and author of <em>Knock on Wood: Luck, Chance, and the Meaning of Everything</em>. Rosenthal <a href="/news/u-t-statistician-jeffrey-rosenthal-gives-toronto-raptors-edge-win-nba-finals">predicted a Game 1 win and gave the Raptors the edge to win the NBA Finals.</a></p> <p>As for simply being Raptors fans, here's a snapshot of what took place elsewhere among the U of T community over the past 24 hours:</p> <hr> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/linnetk3/status/1134168569573531648"><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/Linnet%20Kocheril.JPG" alt></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Students, faculty and staff show off their Raptors gear at U of T Mississauga.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/UTSC/status/1133815889286111232"><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/Wisdom%20Tetty.JPG" alt></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Wisdom Tettey</strong>, vice-president and principal of U of T Scarborough, added a Raptors tee to his wardrobe.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/ronleviutoronto/status/1134304839121326083"><img data-delta="5" data-fid="11133" data-media-element="1" height="503" src="/sites/default/files/Ron%20Levi.JPG" style="height:322px;width:598px;" typeof="foaf:Image" width="933" loading="lazy"></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Faculty member <strong>Ron Levi</strong> weighed&nbsp;in on U of T’s support of the Raptors and their history-making NBA&nbsp; Finals appearance.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/UTSC/status/1134272614967447553"><img alt data-delta="2" data-fid="11130" data-media-element="1" height="540" src="/sites/default/files/UTSC%20Cheering.JPG" style="width:598px;height:540px;" typeof="foaf:Image" width="598" loading="lazy"></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Students gather to watch the game on a big screen at a viewing party at U of T Scarborough.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/JosephWongUT/status/1134156347971448832"><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/Joseph%20Wong.JPG" alt></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>U of T’s <strong>Joe Wong</strong> rubs social media shoulders with Raptors&nbsp;“superfan” Nav Bhatia.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/UofT/status/1132388005803679745"><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/Gertler%20office.JPG" alt></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>President <strong>Meric Gertler&nbsp;</strong>is a Raptors fan, too.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/UTArchives/status/1131916241701150720"><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/UT%20Archives.JPG" alt></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The Ƶ Archives takes a historical look at the situation.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/blackbellied/status/1134132675571331074"><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/Mark%20Fitzpatrick.JPG" alt></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Faculty member&nbsp;<strong>Mark Fitzpatrick</strong>&nbsp;is decked out in Raptors gear at U of T Scarborough.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/UofTDentistry/status/1134167115743846400"><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/Dentistry.JPG" alt></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Some members of the U of T community have been monitoring the Raptors closer than others.</p> <p>_______________________________________________________________________________</p> <h4><strong>Can’t wait for Sunday’s game? Need more Raptors’ content? We’ve got you covered:</strong></h4> <p><a href="https://medicine.utoronto.ca/alumni/jurassic-park-doctor-howard-petroff-keeps-raptors-game">Jurassic Doc: Howard Petroff Keeps the Raptors in the Game</a></p> <p><a href="/news/u-t-basketball-coach-tamara-tatham-joins-raptors-905-first-canadian-woman-role">U of T basketball coach Tamara Tatham joins Raptors 905 as first Canadian woman in the role</a></p> <p><a href="/news/basketball-charity-family-raptors-president-masai-ujiri-speaks-2019-black-history-luncheon">Basketball, charity, family: Raptors President Masai Ujiri speaks at U of T's Black History Luncheon</a></p> <p><a href="/news/deal-raptors-u-t-dance-tech-startup-builds-industry-cred">A deal with the Raptors: U of T dance-tech startup builds industry cred</a></p> <p><a href="/news/toronto-raptors-dentist-preps-nba-all-star-game-when-theyre-hit-theyre-hit-hard-">Raptors' dentist preps for NBA All-Star Game: “When they're hit, they're hit hard”</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 31 May 2019 18:50:37 +0000 davidlee1 156796 at Government of Canada provides almost $5 million for U of T cutting-edge research /news/government-canada-provides-almost-5-million-u-t-cutting-edge-research <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Government of Canada provides almost $5 million for U of T cutting-edge research</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-03-03-cfi_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=zutLXKh2 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2017-03-03-cfi_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=3GwYCBf2 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2017-03-03-cfi_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=W2ekvS4e 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-03-03-cfi_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=zutLXKh2" alt> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ullahnor</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2017-03-03T10:50:07-05:00" title="Friday, March 3, 2017 - 10:50" class="datetime">Fri, 03/03/2017 - 10:50</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"> Canada Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund awarded $5 million in total to 19 U of T researchers (photo by James Poremba) </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/innovation" hreflang="en">Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research" hreflang="en">Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/awards" hreflang="en">Awards</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/medicine" hreflang="en">Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dentistry" hreflang="en">Dentistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utm" hreflang="en">UTM</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/kpe" hreflang="en">KPE</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Nineteen scholars at the Ƶ have been awarded almost $5 million to support research in everything from using stem cells to fix injured hearts to creating an advanced laboratory to develop large astronomical telescopes.</p> <p>“Our government understands the important role Canada's scientists and researchers play in developing the evidence we need to make decisions that impact our environment, our health, our communities and our economy,”&nbsp;said federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau, who announced the funds for Toronto-area universities today. “Strengthening our support for research innovation and infrastructure and improving access to post-secondary education is fundamental to our government's plan for a strong middle class and a growing economy.”</p> <p>The investment was made by the Government of Canada through the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund, which is designed to help universities attract and retain the best and brightest researchers from around the world by giving them access to state-of-the-art research tools.</p> <p>“I’d like to congratulate our 19 researchers and thank the Government of Canada and the Canada Foundation for Innovation for their continuing support,” said <strong>Vivek Goel</strong>, U of T’s vice-president of research and innovation. “As recognized leaders in their fields, this funding will help them acquire research infrastructure that is internationally competitive and enable research to be conducted that will lead to significant results for Canadians.</p> <p>“Every day, our researchers are engaged in an outstanding array of research aimed at tackling real-world challenges that have the potential to benefit all of us. This funding will ensure that work can continue at the highest level.”</p> <p>The John R. Evans Leaders Fund recipients affiliated with U of T are:</p> <p><u><strong>Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering&nbsp;</strong></u></p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3643 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Ghafghazi_Mohsen-CFI.jpg?itok=yFXaddF8" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Mohsen Ghafghazi</strong>, $150,000, for “Investigating the response of gravelly soils to earthquake loading through large scale cyclic simple shear testing.”</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3644 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Sivanandam_Suresh-CFI.jpg?itok=qTWkKweT" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p><br> <br> <strong>Suresh&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Sivanandam</strong>, $138,000, for an “Advanced optical instrumentation laboratory for large astronomical telescope instrument development.”</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><u>Faculty of Arts &amp; Sciences</u></strong><br> <br> <img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3646 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Wilson_Mark-CFI.jpg?itok=6dd4OTus" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><br> <br> <strong>Mark Wilson</strong>, $250,000, for “Infrastructure for the study of excitonic materials and the development of nanocrystal-sensitized photon upconversion.”</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><br> <br> <strong><u>Faculty of Dentistry</u></strong><br> <br> <img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3647 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Hinz_Boris-CFI.jpg?itok=P4RLiN3m" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><br> <br> <strong>Boris Hinz</strong>, $250,056, for “Developing new strategies and technologies to fight fibrosis.”</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><br> <u><strong>Faculty of Kinesiology &amp; Physical Education</strong></u><br> <br> <img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3648 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Beach_Tyson-CFI.jpg?itok=De5xQWjw" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><br> <br> <strong>Tyson Beach</strong>, $199,090, for “Movement assessment and retraining for the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders.”</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><br> &nbsp;</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3650 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Tamminen_Katherine-CFI.jpg?itok=nqXscO9O" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p><br> <br> <strong>Katherine Tamminen</strong>, $61,341, for “Developing the Ƶ Sport and Performance Psychology Lab.”</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><br> <strong><u>Ƶ Mississauga</u></strong></p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3651 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Ness_Rob-CFI.jpg?itok=0cpDynJT" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p><br> <br> <strong>Rob Ness</strong>, $120,000, for “How recombination alters selection in the genome.”</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><br> &nbsp;</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3653 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Phillips_Michael-CFI..jpg?itok=Wc3DKsuH" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p><br> <br> <strong>Michael Phillips</strong>, $140,000, for “Control and adaptive responses of the plant metabolome.”</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><br> <u><strong>Faculty of Medicine</strong></u><br> <br> <img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3674 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/josselyn-sheena-CFI_0.jpg?itok=wfVBc0So" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p><br> <br> <strong>Sheena&nbsp;Josselyn</strong>, $798,057, for “Observing and manipulating brain function.” Josselyn is also a senior scientist at SickKids.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><br> <br> <img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3654 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Andrews_David-CFI.jpg?itok=8DsWEPix" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p><br> <strong>David Andrews</strong>, $615,894, for “High content screening to identify and validate potential therapeutic targets.” Professor Andrews is also a director and senior scientist at the Sunnybrook Research Institute.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3655 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Beal_Deryk-CFI.jpg?itok=WM98tKHO" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Deryk Beal</strong>, $108,791, for “Non-invasive brain stimulation for speech and language development.” Beal is also a clinician-scientist at the Bloorview Research Institute.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3656 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/coburn%2C%20bryan-CFI.jpg?itok=7EVS4Xcn" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p><br> <br> <strong>Bryan Coburn</strong>, $259,938, for “Personalized microbiology, infection and immunity. Coburn is also a clinician-scientist at the University Health Network.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3657 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Davidson_Alan-CFI.jpg?itok=V0vF22Nk" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Alan Davidson</strong>, $399,980, for “Electron microscopy for the engineering of novel bactericidal nanomachines derived from bacteriophages.”</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><br> &nbsp;</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3659 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Ellis_James-CFI.jpg?itok=DqdIbnK1" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>James Ellis</strong>, $188,744, for “Stem cell derived neuron phenotyping and drug screening platform.” Ellis is also a senior scientist at SickKids.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><br> &nbsp;</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3661 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Gehring_Adam-CFI.jpg?itok=kSZaWTza" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p><br> <br> <strong>Adam Gehring</strong>, $218,378, for “Immunotherapy for chronic viral hepatitis.” Gehring is also a scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, UHN.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3662 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Jaffray_David-CFI.jpg?itok=-WAhauvu" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>David Jaffray</strong>, $396,428, for “Robotic radiobiology.” Jaffray is also senior scientist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, UHN.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><br> &nbsp;</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3663 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Laflamme_Michael-CFI.jpg?itok=Qf0E07ri" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Michael Laflamme</strong>, $214,569, for “Remuscularization of injured hearts using stem cells.” Laflamme is also a senior scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, UHN.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><br> &nbsp;</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3664 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/McGaha_Tracy-UTC.jpg?itok=jMAg_FRJ" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Tracy McGaha</strong>, $398,219, for “Laboratory for mechanistic studies of myeloid-driven immune suppression. McGaha is also a senior scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, UHN.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3665 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Reid_Darlene-CFI.jpg?itok=UtbYmy3y" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Darlene&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Reid</strong>, $75,000, for “Rehabilitation aimed at muscle performance (RAMP).</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 03 Mar 2017 15:50:07 +0000 ullahnor 105291 at Meet U of T’s newest Canada Research Chairs /news/meet-u-t-newest-canada-research-chairs <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Meet U of T’s newest Canada Research Chairs</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-12-02-CRC%20Announcement-sidebar-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=aoZb7BKW 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2016-12-02-CRC%20Announcement-sidebar-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=9kdH1XHy 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2016-12-02-CRC%20Announcement-sidebar-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=2oidQuFD 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-12-02-CRC%20Announcement-sidebar-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=aoZb7BKW" alt="Photo of Science Minister Kirsty Duncan announcing chairs"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ullahnor</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-12-02T12:33:09-05:00" title="Friday, December 2, 2016 - 12:33" class="datetime">Fri, 12/02/2016 - 12:33</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Federal Minister of Science Kirsty Duncan announces the 25 new Canada Research Chairs at U of T (photo by Johnny Guatto)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/canada-research-chairs" hreflang="en">Canada Research Chairs</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-social-work" hreflang="en">Faculty of Social Work</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/social-work" hreflang="en">Social Work</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dentistry" hreflang="en">Dentistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/medicine" hreflang="en">Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utsc" hreflang="en">UTSC</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/pharmacy" hreflang="en">Pharmacy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dalla-lana-school-public-health" hreflang="en">Dalla Lana School of Public Health</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><u><strong>Dalla Lana School of Public Health</strong></u></p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2736 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-tricco.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Andrea Tricco</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Knowledge Synthesis</p> <p>In the fast-paced world of health-care research, having the most up-to-date research at your fingertips is imperative for doctors, policymakers and patients to make the best, most informed decisions.</p> <p>But the sheer amount of complex research available –&nbsp;and the fact not all of it is consistent in findings and conclusions –&nbsp;means it’s impossible to read everything quickly and accurately. That’s where knowledge synthesis can make all the difference.</p> <p><strong>Andrea Tricco</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Knowledge Synthesis, is leading research to advance the science of knowledge syntheses within health, including identifying and validating the best rapid review methods. She is also leading research to improve the reporting of scoping reviews and a type of systematic review that uses advanced statistical methods called network meta-analysis.</p> <p>In the field of knowledge syntheses, there are systematic reviews, rapid reviews and scoping reviews to summarize all pertinent studies on a question, improve the understanding of inconsistencies and define future research agendas.</p> <p>The results from knowledge synthesis can then be used to create policy briefs, clinical practice guidelines and patient decision aids.</p> <p>Systematic reviews, which are the gold standard in reviewing research, take thousands of hours to complete while rapid reviews, a type of knowledge synthesis, typically take just six to 12 weeks. But it’s unclear if rapid reviews are susceptible to biased results because of short-cuts in the process.&nbsp;What is clear is that decision-makers need and expect the information quickly – often&nbsp;in three months or less.</p> <p>The results of Tricco's research will be used to directly inform knowledge synthesis groups that exist in Canada, as well as internationally, on how to provide relevant, timely and high quality information to health decision-makers.</p> <h3><a href="http://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/2016/12/professor-andrea-tricco-awarded-canada-research-chair-to-help-governments-health-care-providers-and-patients-make-health-related-decisions/">Read more about Tricco</a></h3> <hr> <p><u><strong>Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work&nbsp;</strong></u></p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2742 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-craig3_0.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Shelley Craig</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Sexual and Gender Minority Youth</p> <p>We often think of the online world as one rife with abuse for teenagers. But for Canada’s sexual and gender minority youth communicating with others online about their struggles is often safer than meeting in person.</p> <p>That’s why information and communication technology like smartphones and their social media applications such as Facebook and Instagram hold such promise to reach Canada’s estimated half a million &nbsp;sexual and gender minority youth.</p> <p>Research has shown SGMY youth in crisis, who often experience an array of discrimination and stressors at home, at school and in their community, turn to their phones and social media for information and help instead of reaching out to social services. This makes technology an important avenue to create and provide new, innovative and widely available interventions to help them cope and thrive.</p> <p><strong>Shelley Craig</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Sexual and Gender Minority Youth, is seeking to improve the well-being of this vulnerable population through research, practice and education. For example, her research will digitize and pilot test smartphone-enabled coping skills training for sexual and gender minority youth.</p> <p>She will also improve on how social workers and other health professionals successfully intervene with SGMY youth by creating best practice guidelines and through simulation based learning exercises in graduate social work classes.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2743 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-fallon.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Barbara Fallon</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Child Welfare</p> <p>Helping children survive and thrive after they have been abused or neglected is a pressing concern to Canadians.</p> <p>We now know instances of maltreatment can have a longstanding impact not only on children and their families but on communities as a whole. Studies have shown young people who have been abused or neglected can experience a host of physical, mental and behavioural challenges, as well as struggle to form bonds with others and are more likely to abuse alcohol or drugs. Supporting children and families to achieve better outcomes through evidence-informed policy is the foundation for providing effective interventions.&nbsp;</p> <p>Although child welfare services are one of the fastest growing social service delivery sectors in Canada, we still suffer from a dearth of evidence about what works best to help children and families.</p> <p>For the past 20 years, <strong>Barbara Fallon</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Child Welfare, has worked to bridge that knowledge gap by collecting reliable national and provincial child welfare data across Canada and mining it with innovative statistical techniques to help policymakers determine what works and is needed to best help children based on evidence, not perceptions.&nbsp;</p> <p>Already, her research has helped front-line child welfare workers and policymakers understand the use of risk assessments in child protection investigations and opportunities for early intervention and prevention for children at risk of maltreatment.</p> <hr> <p><u><strong>Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</strong></u></p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2758 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-gilbert.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Penney Gilbert</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Endogenous Repair</p> <p>Falling is the leading cause of injury among seniors. In fact, every two minutes, one Canadian over the age of 65 will experience a fall-related injury.</p> <p>When we are young, our bodies easily recover from a fall. As we age, not only do we fall more frequently, falls can result in long hospital stays, slow or limited mobility recovery and loss of independent living, which has a serious impact on our quality of life.</p> <p>There are many reasons why we fall but one biological risk factor is skeletal muscle strength.&nbsp;</p> <p>Recent work by <strong>Penney Gilber</strong>t, Canada Research Chair in Endogenous Repair and an internationally recognized expert in regenerative medicine and mechanobiology, suggests one of the reasons our muscles weaken with age is that our muscle stem cells lose their potency.</p> <p>Using a stem cell-targeted therapeutic approach, she’s working to identify and validate biomolecules that can rejuvenate muscle stem cells inside the body.</p> <p>She will also engineer a new human micro-tissue platform to test and create personalized medicine for skeletal muscles and uncover novel ways human stem cells are controlled in the body to reveal new therapeutic entry points.</p> <p>This work will contribute to the international reputation of the Ƶ and Canada as a regenerative medicine leader&nbsp;while delivering strategies to maintain muscle strength throughout life.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2744 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-hatzapolou.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Marianne Hatzopoulou</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Transportation and Air Quality</p> <p>Traffic-related air pollution has a large impact on public health&nbsp;from respiratory illnesses to cardiovascular health.&nbsp;</p> <p>There is no escape from air pollution in the city, but there are streets and neighbourhoods with cleaner air.</p> <p>Capturing these variations with environmental sensors and sharing them in real-time on GPS-enabled smartphones means individual citizens could soon decide what exposure to traffic-related air pollution they’re prepared to accept as they go about their travels on foot or cycle.</p> <p><strong>Marianne Hatzopoulou</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Transportation and Air Quality, was the first in Canada to integrate transportation modelling with air pollution and population exposure to help active travellers (cyclists, pedestrians) avoid smoggy routes in Montreal and Toronto.</p> <p>Now, she’s expanding that work to collect air pollution data from pedestrians and cyclists kitted out with sensors fitted with GPS units as they move around the city. These mobile sensors will allow for unparalleled coverage, generating air pollution levels at every point they cross.</p> <p>Their data will automatically be transmitted to their smartphone via Bluetooth and transferred to a central server at the Ƶ where air pollution levels are spatially interpolated to generate a time-varying map. &nbsp;</p> <p>This real-time air quality map will then be shared with the general public through a specially created smartphone app to see how the information affects their travel route decision to avoid higher pollution levels. It will also be used to study the influence of minimizing traffic congestion, queuing, and aggressive driving on air pollution. &nbsp;</p> <p>This five-year research project will enable Hatzopoulou to evaluate the potential of mobile apps to change behaviour, as well as provide essential information to policy makers to design better transportation infrastructure to minimize the impact of traffic on air quality.</p> <h3><a href="http://news.engineering.utoronto.ca/two-u-t-engineering-researchers-awarded-canada-research-chairs/?_ga=1.122225224.274916808.1470685210">Read more about Gilbert and Hatzopoulou</a></h3> <hr> <p><u><strong>Faculty of Arts and Science</strong></u></p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2745 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-barney.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Rachel Barney</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Ancient Philosophy</p> <p>Debate has long raged over the role of the sophists in the development of Western philosophy. Derided even in their own time in ancient Greece as tricksters and corruptors of youth, this group of learned men gave paid lessons to upwardly mobile Athenian men to teach them how to win political arguments, regardless of their virtue.</p> <p>Philosophers have commonly believed they had little influence over the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, a student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, who forcefully denounced their teachings in his influential dialogues such as the Protagoras and Gorgias more than 2,000 years ago.</p> <p><strong>Rachel Barney</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Ancient Philosophy, has offered another way of looking at Plato’s philosophy and the ancient debate to which it belongs. One that shows both Plato and his sophist contemporaries such as Protagoras made contributions to –&nbsp;and are continuing to influence –&nbsp;both our ways of thinking about ethics and methods of philosophical argument in general.</p> <p>She argues Plato both responds to and appropriates the ideas and methods of the sophists in his work. As such, she will offer a new account of their debates, one which will make it accessible and exciting to a wide range of scholars, contemporary philosophers and students.</p> <p>Did Plato believe virtue could be taught like the sophists? And what did he believe virtue was? Is it a kind of knowledge or mental health or perhaps a learned skill?</p> <p>She will also study the origins of sophistic thought and argue it was so successfully incorporated by Plato and others into the bloodstream of philosophy that their origins tend to be forgotten, and their primary significance and functions overlooked.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2746 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-cuningham.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>John Cunningham</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Addictions</p> <p>It is an unfortunate reality that most people with addictions will never seek formal, face-to-face treatment with an expert. Common obstacles include a lack of available treatments, particularly in rural settings, concerns over stigma and a desire for self-reliance.</p> <p>An effective new option to promote recovery is to develop and design interventions for problem gamblers, drinkers, smokers and illicit drug users they can administer on their own.</p> <p><strong>John Cunningham</strong>, the Canada Research Chair in Addictions, is a world-leading expert in the development and evaluation of assisted self-change interventions for addictions, including pioneering research on Internet interventions for hazardous drinking.</p> <p>In Canada and Australia, he’s conducting several randomized controlled trials, including Internet interventions for heavy drinkers and mailing nicotine patches to smokers to help them quit.</p> <p>His research will also encompass ways to treat addictions in high-risk situations, in vulnerable or hard-to-reach populations, among illicit drug users and in integrating assisted self-change with face-to-face treatment.</p> <p>For example, using gaming and intervention apps, Cunningham will target heavy drinkers with limited literacy to teach safe drinking techniques and encourage them to employ interventions based on their own reporting of situations where they’re in danger of drinking, such as the holiday season.</p> <p>The long-term goal is an improved system of care for people with addictions, fully integrated within the larger health-care system and widely accessed both in Canada and internationally.</p> <p>Such research will lead to sustained improvements for those suffering from addictions and contribute toward&nbsp;a reduction in the health and societal costs associated with this challenging health problem.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2748 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-fortin.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Marie-Josée Fortin</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Spatial Ecology</p> <p>Understanding how many species will respond to global change is a central challenge in ecology because their population health is vital for the overall ecosystem and the survival of humans.</p> <p>To understand and predict the impacts of global change on animal movement and the survival of isolated populations of the same species, the field of spatial ecology examines everything from the size of the “patch” where communities live to the predators that threaten prey survival and their adaptability to changes in climate, food availability, disease and reproduction rate.</p> <p>Through her work, <strong>Marie-Josée Fortin</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Spatial Ecology, will provide ecologists with novel network analytical methods that can be used to propose management strategies to facilitate species dispersal in fragmented landscapes, to maintain the resilience of ecosystem services, or to prevent disease spread.</p> <p>By doing so, she will provide novel perspectives on how to address fundamental and applied issues in the field of conservation biology by making novel network analytical models available to ecologists and evolutionists allowing the analysis and modeling of the complex spatial dynamics of species interactions across scales, trophic levels&nbsp;and ecosystems.&nbsp;</p> <p>Collectively, the proposed conceptual and analytical models will have important implications for the protection of biodiversity and its valuable role in the maintenance of ecosystem functions as well as human health.</p> <p>This research will provide fundamental and applied contributions that will significantly advance the fields of conservation biology, ecology, evolution, landscape genetics and landscape epidemiology.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2750 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-frankland_0.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Paul Frankland</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Memory Research</p> <p>Memory disorders affect millions of Canadians. In some cases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, important memories can be lost, while persistent memories tied to traumatic events can lead to depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.</p> <p>To develop better treatments for these disorders, it’s critical to understand how memories are organized and stored in the brain and how they can be altered after they are formed –&nbsp;sometimes by disease.</p> <p><strong>Paul Frankland</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Memory Research and a global leader in the field, combines behaviour, imaging and molecular approaches to study memory.</p> <p>In particular, his research focuses on how changes in memory organization –&nbsp;from their creation in the hippocampus to their reorganization in the cortex for long-term storage –&nbsp;affects their quality.</p> <p>He and his team are also building on their discovery that new neurons generated in the hippocampus throughout our lifetimes help&nbsp;the brain create new memories and forget older ones.</p> <p>Like in artificial systems, there is a trade-off in brain networks between plasticity – the ability to incorporate new information –&nbsp;and stability, which&nbsp;ensures&nbsp;that incorporating new information does not degrade information already stored in the network.</p> <p>Frankland will use whole brain mapping approaches in mice and zebrafish to define memory networks, identify areas of network vulnerability and use this knowledge to develop strategies to restore memory function.</p> <p>His team will also use genetic interventions and compounds that emerge from pro-neurogenic drug screens conducted at SickKids to manipulate neurogenesis.</p> <p>By weakening memories after they’ve formed –&nbsp;like in the movie,&nbsp;<em>Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind</em> –&nbsp;we can develop more effective treatments for addiction and other disorders associated with abnormal memory persistence or rumination.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2751 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-joesselyn.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Sheena Josselyn</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Systems Neuroscience</p> <p>Memory impairments are a hallmark of aging, mental illness, developmental disorders, as well as several neurological disorders.</p> <p>Examining how the brain normally encodes and uses information is an important goal in and of itself, but also may serve as a first step to developing treatments when these complex processes go awry in conditions ranging from autism to Alzheimer’s disease.&nbsp;</p> <p>The development of new tools has enabled the lab of <strong>Sheena Josselyn</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Systems Neuroscience, to identify, understand and even manipulate memory traces (engrams) in rodent brains.&nbsp;</p> <p>First, they erased a memory. Now, they’re working on more sophisticated problems such as altering memories or recalling them at will by choosing what brain cells to turn on or off. To help in their research, Josselyn’s team has developed a state-of-the-art, 1 photon fluorescent mini-microscope that enables them to observe the brains of mice at the cellular level as they form and retrieve a memory.</p> <p>They’ve also made significant progress in advancing our understanding of why certain nerve cells are used in engrams and others aren’t. Her team has successfully selected and manipulated nerve cells to boost their CREB function, which plays a role in binding DNA and regulating gene expression, after noticing that factor leads to preferential recruitment by engrams. One of their most interesting experiments shows promise for potential addiction treatments.&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2752 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-krkosek.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Martin Krkosek</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Population Ecology</p> <p>The ability of the oceans to feed humanity is under threat from a number of sources including the rise and spread of infectious diseases.</p> <p>As global fisheries landings have either plateaued or declined, the world has turned to aquaculture as a way to provide seafood and relieve overfishing on existing ocean stocks. The blue revolution has been so successful that most salmon people eat are now grown in open sea pens that dot the coastal seas of countries such as Canada, Norway, and Chile.</p> <p>But intensive aquaculture production hasn’t been without risk. Parasites and diseases like sea lice and infectious salmon anemia virus have emerged, challenging aquaculture industries and perhaps contributing to the decline of wild marine ecosystems and fisheries.</p> <p><strong>Martin Krkosek</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Population Ecology, is studying salmon in British Columbia to probe what causes infectious diseases to emerge in wild and farmed fish and the ways to control disease spread.&nbsp;</p> <p>His work includes how domesticated environments can cause pathogens to evolve antibiotic resistance and increased virulence, and how changes in host abundance and distribution can abruptly cause epidemics.</p> <p>This research will help protect ocean biodiversity, as well as human health and food security.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2753 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-peng.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Ito Peng</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Global Social Policy</p> <p>Contracting out the care of our young children and rapidly aging populations is producing significant societal changes around the world –&nbsp;even changing migration patterns, as females are drawn from poorer countries to work in wealthier nations.</p> <p>Research by <strong>Ito Peng</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Global Social Policy, has shown this urgent demand is also being driven by shifts in traditional family obligations, the growing service economy and&nbsp;in an ironic twist,&nbsp;gender equality&nbsp;as more and more women are working outside of home.</p> <p>This has contributed to growing demands for government services. National governments have responded by providing more public care services and/or subsidies and tax incentives for families to purchase care privately. In almost all cases, care is increasingly being commodified as a service to be purchased in the market.&nbsp;</p> <p>This change isn’t confined to Western countries. It’s even happening in many southern Mediterranean and Asian countries, which have strong cultural traditions of families providing care, Peng has found. In Spain and Italy, the government care allowance has enabled a large proportion of elderly people to hire foreign migrant caregivers. This is helped by the increased intake of foreign caregivers. But there remain holdouts such as Japan, which has resisted opening its doors to increased immigration.</p> <p>Peng is globally known for her research in showing how changes in domestic factors interact with global institutions and actors in shaping social policy development within countries.<br> <br> In the case of care workers, she is studying policies in North America, Asia, Oceania and Europe to examine broad theoretical issues around how care and immigration policies are informed by societal and cultural norms, expectations and trends,&nbsp;and how these policies in turn help influence societal and cultural norms and trends. Her research also looks at the implications of these policies for the migrants performing care work.</p> <p>This knowledge will make an important contribution to public and policy debates, particularly in current socio-economic contexts where international migration continues to accelerate amidst the intensification of immigration politics and growing calls for national and regional governments to develop effective social policy and governance to address the issue.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2754 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-vutha.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Amar Vutha</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Precision Atomic and Molecular Physics</p> <p>Atoms and molecules can be used as extremely precise tools to advance fundamental physics and practical technology.</p> <p>For example, highly accurate clocks based on laser-cooled atoms can now keep time to better than one part per quintillion (1 followed by 18 zeros). Such accuracy forms the basis of our global system of measurement standards, and allows ventures ranging from deep space navigation to cellular communications networks to precision manufacturing.</p> <p><strong>Amar Vutha</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Precision Atomic and Molecular Physics, is taking this precision one step further –&nbsp;by developing a portable version of such atomic clocks.</p> <p>These clocks have potential applications in improving metrology, navigation and mapping the earth’s gravitational field. Excitingly, these clocks could also open up a new way to “see” gravitational waves emanating from black holes and other hitherto invisible inhabitants of our universe.&nbsp;</p> <p>Vutha’s research group will also develop other atomic and molecular tools to reveal unexplored physics. For example, very precise measurements on cold, confined molecules can shed light on physical and chemical processes occurring millions of light years away in gas clouds in space. New techniques that are needed to make such precise measurements, using lasers and terahertz radiation, will be studied in his group.</p> <p>A big puzzle about the universe is the absence of natural anti-matter anywhere. While lots of anti-matter is believed to have formed after the Big Bang, the fate of all that anti-matter remains a mystery. One approach to unraveling this puzzle is to precisely probe the shape of certain atomic nuclei. Vutha’s group will develop new experiments to measure such properties of nuclei, which could also lead to practical payoffs such as improved gyroscopes for navigation.</p> <hr> <p><u><strong>Faculty of Dentistry</strong></u></p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2755 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-levesque.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Celine Levesque</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Oral Microbial Genetics</p> <p>A biofilm is a collection of microbes –&nbsp;such as bacteria –&nbsp;that stick to each other and to a surface to survive. When biofilm bacteria attack the human body, they can be difficult to fight. In fact, antibiotics need to be 100 times more concentrated than usual in order to kill biofilm bacteria.</p> <p>Biofilm bacteria have also developed clever ways to stay alive. Some bacteria in biofilms can essentially commit suicide –&nbsp;known as “programmed cell death” (PCD) –&nbsp;to enable other microbes to become stronger and better able to survive. They can also remain dormant until antibiotic treatment is completed. As a result, microbes can persist for months or even years in the body and lead to recurrent infections that are very difficult to eradicate.</p> <p><strong>Celine Levesque</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Oral Microbial Genetics, is investigating how biofilm bacteria develop the means to survive and grow by studying an oral pathogen that can lead to tooth decay.</p> <p>Levesque’s research will result in better understanding of the genetic networks that regulate PCD and the formation of “sleeping” bacteria. It will also help lead to better treatments for such biofilm infections as tooth decay, children’s ear infection, cystic fibrosis pneumonia and necrotizing fasciitis, the so-called flesh-eating disease.</p> <hr> <p><u><strong>Faculty of Medicine</strong></u></p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2756 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-andreazza.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Ana Andreazza</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Molecular Pharmacology of Mood Disorders</p> <p>One in 10 Canadians suffers from highly disabling mood disorders including bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia. Currently, diagnosis is based upon self-reported symptoms or behavioural observations that lack substantial biological validation.</p> <p><strong>Ana Andreazza</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Molecular Pharmacology of Mood Disorders, is an emerging international leader in this field, which is searching for affordable, easy-to-use and clinically relevant biological markers that can be used for biological confirmation of a mood disorder diagnosis or to identify people at risk of developing a mood disorder.</p> <p>The identification of biological targets will open doors to the development of new treatments strategies that treat abnormalities or impairments in oxidation processes in the periphery that contribute to mood disorders.</p> <p>Her research, in collaboration with other laboratories, has produced some of the most convincing insights to date into the mechanisms that underlie mood disorders by focusing on metabolic processes known as oxidation and reduction reactions or redox modulations.</p> <p>Oxidation in our cells is a natural process that converts energy from food to ATP, a molecule that carries energy to where the body needs it. But the oxidation process isn’t always well modulated.</p> <p>For example, Andreazza's research demonstrates increased mitochondrial dysfunction and redox modulations in brain and blood cells of patients with mood disorders. This discovery led to treatments with antioxidants that have shown promising results when used with other therapies in treating mood disorders.</p> <p>She is currently furthering her study of the role these redox abnormalities or impairments play in mood disorders and is exploring the possible effects of redox modulations on molecular pathways leading to synaptic alterations, particularly those that might provide potential avenues for therapy. She is also investigating the role these redox mistakes and inflammation in signalling white matter changes in mood disorder.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2757 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-gingras.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Anne-Claude Gingras</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Functional Proteomics</p> <p>Inside a living cell, proteins associate with one another to perform their activities in a tightly regulated manner to maintain proper cellular function, similar to the different parts of an assembly line and temperature controlled rooms in a factory.&nbsp;</p> <p>Research by <strong>Anne-Claude Gingras</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Functional Proteomics, is developing a map showing how the factory is organized, in order to better understand the processes that go awry in disease.</p> <p>Using advanced protein identification instruments known as mass spectrometers, she will identify the precise physical interactions and location of a large number of proteins to begin constructing a physical blueprint of a human cell.</p> <p>Her research team will make this blueprint openly available to researchers to accelerate health research worldwide.</p> <p>This dovetails nicely with the significant contributions they’ve made in the field of protein-protein interactions by creating tools that enable researchers worldwide to analyze their own mass spectrometry data, increasing the impact of Gingras’ research beyond the specific biological questions she’s investigating.</p> <p>In addition, she will create an in-depth analysis of specific signalling pathways, part of a complex system of communication governing and coordinating the basic activities and actions of cells, and how errors in processing can lead to diseases, such as cancer. Her systematic analysis of normal and mutated proteins is already paving the way for new opportunities for therapeutic options.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2759 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-Taipale_Mikko.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Mikko Taipale</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Functional Proteomics and Protein Homeostasis</p> <p>Proteins perform a wide variety of important jobs in cells. But in their crowded milieu, stressors can easily derail their finely tuned network, leading to mutant, misshapen proteins that have been implicated in human diseases such as cancer, cystic fibrosis and sickle-cell anemia.</p> <p>How this network –&nbsp;known as cellular protein homeostasis (proteostasis) network –&nbsp;coordinates all these processes is poorly understood, making it difficult to develop targeted treatments.</p> <p><strong>Mikko Taipale</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Functional Proteomics and Protein Homeostasis, is drawing on his expertise in protein quality control, high-throughput biology and chemical biology to understand how this network is organized –&nbsp;with particular focus on deciphering the Hsp70 chaperone and its co-chaperones –&nbsp;and how it contributes to human diseases.</p> <p>Chaperones are the most prominent class of proteins that shape the proteostasis network. They briefly bind thousands of substrate proteins in the cell and promote their folding, trafficking and degradation. In fact, they act as guardians controlling the fate of mutant proteins.</p> <p>Studies have shown the Hsp70 network is at the crux of devastating neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s&nbsp;and Huntington’s and plays also a central role in rare Mendelian diseases.</p> <p>By focusing on Hsp70, Taipale and his team will generate the largest and most comprehensive interaction network for cellular quality control factors and their client proteins&nbsp;including 2,500 mutant variants associated with 1,100 Mendelian diseases.&nbsp;</p> <p>This network will be complemented with followup studies to further develop chaperone-based thermodynamic and conformational sensors for biotechnological applications, and to develop innovative methods to detect drug/target interactions in human cells.</p> <h3><a href="/news/mikko-taipale-has-second-best-job-world">Read more about Taipale</a></h3> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2767 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-tyndale3.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Rachel Tyndale</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Pharmacogenomics</p> <p>Addictions affect millions of Canadians with catastrophic consequences. However, there is a large variation in the risk for drug dependence and also in treatment response.</p> <p>Smoking is a prime example. It remains a killer, a drain on the health-care system, as well as a tough addiction to beat. Although smoking levels have stabilized in North America, one in five people still smokes and tobacco use is still projected to kill one billion people during the 21st century. Smoking rates are also growing in developing countries and remain inordinately high among people with other health problems, such as depression.</p> <p><strong>Rachel Tyndale</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Pharmacogenomics, is examining how genetic variation helps predict which people are prone to addiction and how well they’ll respond to treatment, as well as how metabolism within the brain alters drug and toxin effects.</p> <p>Over the past decade, she’s shown how many drug addictions are altered by genetic variation in drug metabolism, including the enzymes which metabolize nicotine, opioids and amphetamines.</p> <p>By exploring CYP2A6, the enzyme which metabolizes nicotine, and its genetic variations further, Tyndale will help identify novel mechanisms to help lead to new therapeutic targets and optimize the personalization of treatment for smokers; she has used this as a model for other addictions.&nbsp;</p> <p>She’s also looking at different populations, such as people who smoke and have chronic diseases, as well the impact of different products on smoking&nbsp;– like e-cigarettes.</p> <p>In 2002 in Canada alone, costs of substance abuse and misuse totalled almost $40 billion –&nbsp;tobacco use accounted for almost half of those costs. Her research has the potential to improve the quality of life for millions around the world, as well as cut down on skyrocketing health-care costs by helping improve success rates for smokers trying to quit and the damage inflicted by other drugs of abuse.</p> <hr> <p><u><strong>Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy</strong></u></p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2766 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-bonin_0.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Robert Bonin</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Sensory Plasticity and Reconsolidation</p> <p>Just like our memories&nbsp;can change over time, the way our bodies remember painful sensations or injuries in chronic pain may also be possible to undo.</p> <p>Scientists now know that the enhanced or abnormal pain sensations that typify chronic pain can arise from the misprocessing of touch in the pain processing pathways that run from the spinal cord to the brain.&nbsp;</p> <p>Currently, the most effective treatments, such as opioids like OxyContin and Vicodin, simply numb the pain but don’t treat the underlying physiological mechanisms causing it.</p> <p>Research into how memories are stored, recalled, and changed in the brain has proven useful to the work of <strong>Robert Bonin</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Sensory Plasticity and Reconsolidation.</p> <p>Memory reconsolidation is triggered by the recall and reactivation of a memory, which temporarily destabilizes and makes it easy to change. The memory later stabilizes and goes back into storage. Preventing the restoring process disrupts the memory, providing a window of opportunity to diminish or even erase it.</p> <p>Injury or very painful sensations can create a memory of the pain in the spinal cord that has much in common with memories in the brain. Bonin has shown that reconsolidation in the spinal cord can be used to treat and even reverse hyperalgesia, an abnormally heightened sensitivity to pain, by reactivating the spinal pain pathways and changing their pain memory.</p> <p>This work is continuing using a variety of approaches such as behavioural, electrophysiological and optogenetic approaches to explore how changes in pain processing pathways of the spinal cord are modified by ongoing sensory activity, and identify factors and corresponding therapeutic targets to end or counter the development of chronic pain.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2768 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-paradis.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Elise Paradis</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Collaborative Health-Care Practice</p> <p>With ballooning health costs and a rapidly aging population, governments, schools and hospitals worldwide have increasingly embraced collaboration as the solution of choice for many pressing health-care challenges.</p> <p>Collaboration, it’s been argued, curbs errors, cuts costs and improves effectiveness. In Canada, this faith in collaboration has led to new divisions of labour and the development of new, collaborative models of care delivery&nbsp;such as Ontario’s Family Health Teams.</p> <p>But is collaboration working?</p> <p><strong>Elise Paradis</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Collaborative Health-Care Practice, is revisiting this seemingly common-sense solution to examine what happens when the idea of collaborative practice is confronted with the structural and cultural realities of health-care delivery.</p> <p>By turning collaboration into an object of study –&nbsp;instead of an ideal to achieve –&nbsp;she will answer new and innovative questions about the rise of collaboration, its actual practice, the future of health-care delivery and of education for collaboration.</p> <p>Specifically, she will examine how the new collaborative ideal is perceived and acted upon in intensive care units, operating rooms and family health teams by health-care professionals such as nurses, pharmacists and doctors.</p> <p>Her research-based insights will lead –&nbsp;via an integrated knowledge translation strategy –&nbsp;to the development of new policies, educational interventions and recommendations for practice change to improve Canadian health-care delivery.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2770 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-paradee_0.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Keith Pardee</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Synthetic Biology in Human Health</p> <p>Imagine pouring water on a piece of paper the size of a postage stamp and having it transform into a vaccine or a sensor that can detect Ebola, Zika and glucose levels.</p> <p><strong>Keith Pardee</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Synthetic Biology in Human Health, is doing just that by combining synthetic biology with molecular engineering and electronics in order to build freeze-dried, cell-free paper-based materials that can be programmed to act like cells.</p> <p>In fact, the Zika test, created in 2016 at the height of the crisis in Brazil by Pardee and an international team, is ready to go into production for use in the field.</p> <p>A small sample of saliva, urine or blood is applied to the activated paper and results take as little as an hour. If the sample contains the RNA of the Zika virus, the test area turns purple.</p> <p>The vast potential of these cell-free synthetic gene networks means vaccines won’t need to be refrigerated and testing for diseases can be done on the spot, without the need of a lab, bringing down costs and improving access and the speed of health care diagnostics for people in remote locations or developing countries.</p> <p>He is also developing a novel approach to the study of <em>in vivo</em> mRNA structure, which plays critical roles in health and the onset of disease, and is drawing on his background in stem cell biology and cellular reprogramming to create nano and micro devices to embed directly into cells. These devices will monitor and manipulate the cells to help develop cancer treatments.</p> <hr> <p><u><strong>Ontario Institute for Studies in Education</strong></u></p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2771 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-goldstein.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Abby Goldstein</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Preventing Risk and Promoting Well-Being in Emerging Adulthood</p> <p>Young adults aged 18 to 25 are at a critical juncture in their lives –&nbsp;both psychologically and cognitively –&nbsp;as they face an increasingly extended transition into adulthood.&nbsp;</p> <p>This is a time of identity development and possibility, but also instability and uncertainty, marked at times by risky behaviour like binge drinking, gambling and unsafe sex. It’s also a peak time for the emergence of mental health issues.&nbsp;</p> <p>Compared to past generations, today’s emerging adults are living at home longer, and taking longer to enter the workforce and achieve longer-term stability. These changes are not only affecting their individual growth but are also creating significant economic and labour market shifts.</p> <p><strong>Abby Goldstein</strong>, Canada Research Chair in the Psychology of Emerging Adulthood, is studying the psychological factors that influence changes in risk, wellness and well-being over time, and impact healthy transitions into adulthood. In addition, she’s investigating the impact of relationships with parents on these risk and wellness trajectories and identifying strategies to support parents and emerging adults as they navigate this critical stage of life.</p> <p>Because emerging adults are the ‘tech-savvy generation,’ Goldstein is using research methods that are integrated with the technology they use to document their daily lives. Using a mobile app, participants will make reports for 30-days in each year of the four-year study, detailing their mood, risk behaviours, wellness behaviours and interactions with their parents, as well as any major changes in their transition to adulthood.</p> <h3><a href="http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/oise/About_OISE/OISE_Professor_Abby_Goldstein_named_Canada_Research_Chair.html">Read more about Goldstein</a></h3> <hr> <p><u><strong>Ƶ Scarborough</strong></u></p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2772 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-connelly.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Brian Connelly</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Integrative Perspectives on Personality</p> <p>Ever wonder why someone got the job? Important decisions on who to hire and promote are often based on personality tests.</p> <p>But typical tests, created by applied psychologists, have historically adopted a narrow view in measuring personality, which can lead organizations to choose manipulators and egoists over more suitable candidates.</p> <p>As the Canada Research Chair in Integrative Perspectives on Personality, <strong>Brian Connelly</strong> is investigating better testing methods that avoid these pitfalls and pave the way for making accurate, data-driven predictions about who has the best chance to succeed and fit in, saving companies millions in retention and hiring costs every year.</p> <p>Fascinated by the question of who is the best judge of personality –&nbsp;oneself or others –&nbsp;Connelly believes observer-based personality ratings are a promising strategy to help weed out bias and fakery, which are vulnerabilities of standard self-assessments.</p> <p>In this method, the standard tests will be aided by ratings from observers who know the individual well –&nbsp;such as coworkers or close acquaintances –&nbsp;to create a more complete and balanced picture of the job seeker or employee.</p> <p>This work, along with a stronger understanding of where traits, reputations and identities come from and how they relate to important organizational outcomes, will redefine how we think about and use personality information to make career-changing decisions for people in the workplace.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2773 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-kerman.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Kagan Kerman</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Bioelectrochemistry of Proteins</p> <p>As the life expectancy of Canadians increases, the number of people affected by Alzheimer’s disease – the most prevalent form of dementia –&nbsp;is increasing alarmingly, outpacing progress made in research and medical care.</p> <p>Globally, it’s estimated nearly 44 million people have the disease or a related dementia. By 2040, the Alzheimer Society of Canada estimates the disease will cost our economy $293 billion a year.</p> <p>Early detection is key for improved treatment options. A cure has remained elusive because little is known about the biomolecular interactions leading to this disease.</p> <p>Using an interdisciplinary approach fusing chemistry, biology and neuroscience, <strong>Kagan Kerman</strong>, the Canada Research Chair in Bioelectrochemistry of Proteins, is at the forefront of research to improve early detection using biosensors.</p> <p>His biosensors, which use modified gold surfaces with nanoparticles, proteins and/or enzymes added, react when exposed to the molecules linked to dementia. As part of his research, Kagan is using these biosensors to test the role of metals in the progression of Alzheimer’s,&nbsp;as well as the interactions between protein biomarkers.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2774 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-02-treanor.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Bebhinn Treanor</strong><br> Canada Research Chair in Spatially-Resolved Biochemistry</p> <p>B cells are a critical component of the immune system and the targets of vaccination as they produce molecules called antibodies, which are important for the destruction of pathogens.</p> <p>To produce antibodies, B cells must undergo a process of activation, triggered by recognition of a pathogen. The steps leading to B cell activation must be strictly controlled, however, as aberrant activation can lead to autoimmunity and leukemia.</p> <p><strong>Bebhinn Treanor</strong>, Canada Research Chair in Spatially-Resolved Biochemistry, is using cutting-edge microscopy to resolve, in both space and time, the biochemical process that drive immune cell activation. Her aim is to identify novel regulators of B cell activation that could be targets for therapeutic intervention in B cell diseases such as non-Hodgkin’s and Burkitt’s lymphomas and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.</p> <p>Treanor’s interdisciplinary research combines immunology and cell biology and makes use of advances in optical engineering and collaboration with mathematicians to probe fundamental questions regarding cell biological processes that could lead to discoveries relevant to our understanding of human health and disease.</p> <p>For example, she is able to generate artificial planar lipid bilayers as a model for cell-cell interactions, allowing her to watch the earliest events in B cell activation&nbsp;and to use powerful super-resolution imaging techniques to visualize and measure the movement of single molecules in live cells.</p> <h3><a href="http://ose.utsc.utoronto.ca/ose/story.php?id=9040&amp;sectid=1">Read more about Connelly, Kerman and Treanor</a></h3> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 02 Dec 2016 17:33:09 +0000 ullahnor 102610 at How bacteria invade: U of T research sheds light on age-old mystery /news/how-bacteria-invade-u-t-research-sheds-light-age-old-mystery <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">How bacteria invade: U of T research sheds light on age-old mystery</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Moriarty%20Lab_2016-06-20_011.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=V68cILhb 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/Moriarty%20Lab_2016-06-20_011.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=b3Ht1v9m 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/Moriarty%20Lab_2016-06-20_011.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=ajQmP18F 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Moriarty%20Lab_2016-06-20_011.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=V68cILhb" alt="Tara Moriarty and student in a lab"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>lavende4</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-08-25T10:28:19-04:00" title="Thursday, August 25, 2016 - 10:28" class="datetime">Thu, 08/25/2016 - 10:28</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Tara Moriarty (standing) and student (Jeff Comber, Faculty of Dentistry, photo)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/erin-vollick" hreflang="en">Erin Vollick</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Erin Vollick</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dentistry" hreflang="en">Dentistry</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>They’re small, unassuming – and potentially deadly. And while most bacteria are rendered harmless by the body’s defense mechanisms, to date there has been very little understanding of exactly <em>how</em> bacteria are able to navigate the blood stream to invade organs, where they can cause massive damage and in some cases, death. But in a study published in the journal <a href="http://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(16)31059-2"><em>Cell Reports</em></a> this week, scientists at the Ƶ have used a new live-imaging system to shed new light on this ancient mystery. To their surprise, the researchers found that bacteria utilize the same strategies for invasion that the body’s immune cells use for defense.</p> <p>The team focused its study on the bacterium <em>B. burgdorferi</em>, known to cause Lyme disease which can invade joints, brain, heart and other tissues. This bacteria is part of the spirochete family of bacteria associated with diseases such as relapsing fever, leptospirosis, and periodontal disease<span style="line-height: 20.8px;">&nbsp;–&nbsp;</span>a major cause of human disease worldwide.</p> <p>To uncover the secrets behind this bacteria’s massive success, the team developed novel imaging analysis methods to capture and study thousands of films of the individual bacterium in flow chambers and blood vessels.&nbsp;</p> <p>“It’s always been hard to understand why spirochete bacteria are so highly invasive,” explained <strong>Tara Moriarty</strong>, assistant professor at the Faculty of Dentistry and the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Faculty of Medicine, and senior author of the study.</p> <p>That’s because once bacteria enter the bloodstream – say, from the bite of a tick – they face a great deal of force. Imagine a fast-flowing river: the bloodstream <em>should</em> exert enough force to sweep the bacteria through the circulatory system and into the liver, spleen and lungs, where they would be met by the body’s immune system and eliminated.</p> <p>But in fact, the bacteria’s catch bonds grow stronger as they encounter more force from blood flow, which makes them particularly good at sticking to blood vessels.</p> <p>Likening their imaging process to “plucking a single cell out of a haystack,” and filmed in real time, the researchers deduced that individual bacterium use ‘catch bonds’ and ‘tethers’, something like an anchor on a rope, to hook onto the blood vessel’s endothelial cells and slow down. The propeller-like structures which help bacteria propel forward appear to allow the bacteria active control of their movements, enabling them to wriggle out of the flowing river of blood and make their way into other parts of the body.</p> <p>“This is the first time we’ve seen this with any bacterium,” said Moriarty.</p> <p>But perhaps the most striking feature of the bacteria’s invasion tactics is that they are eerily similar to those of the body’s own immune cells. Different in terms of their shape, size and surface proteins, bacteria and white blood cells nonetheless seem to move about the body using the same catch-tether techniques. “It’s pretty surprising and fascinating that you’d see bacteria [use these methods], too,” Moriarty added.</p> <p>The study’s first author, Faculty of Dentistry PhD student <strong>Rhodaba Ebady</strong>, hopes that the study’s novel imaging technique can be used in other <em>in vitro</em> studies. “I’m still pretty amazed at the behaviour of the bacteria when they are interacting with the endothelial cells. They do some very interesting things sometimes,” Ebady said. &nbsp;</p> <p>“I hope to see this research continue for other bacteria that require vascular dissemination to cause infection [and that] it will lead to finding ways to prevent the dissemination of bacteria,” she added.&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 25 Aug 2016 14:28:19 +0000 lavende4 100258 at To floss or not to floss? U of T experts explain /news/floss-or-not-floss-u-t-experts-explain <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">To floss or not to floss? U of T experts explain </span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-08-19-flossing.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=opb8IOyc 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2016-08-19-flossing.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=xMiTH9zE 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2016-08-19-flossing.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=gsyTblgW 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-08-19-flossing.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=opb8IOyc" alt> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>krisha</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-08-19T12:58:26-04:00" title="Friday, August 19, 2016 - 12:58" class="datetime">Fri, 08/19/2016 - 12:58</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">(photo by G M via flickr)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/erin-vollick" hreflang="en">Erin Vollick</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Erin Vollick</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/flossing" hreflang="en">Flossing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dentistry" hreflang="en">Dentistry</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Flossing.&nbsp;</p> <p>You likely don’t love it. You may think everyone in the world is doing it but you. And now, thanks to <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/dental-floss-1.3703798">a recent study</a> suggesting that flossing may not be all that effective, you may think you can give it up for good.&nbsp;</p> <p>But should you throw out that dental floss?</p> <p>Writer <strong>Erin Vollick</strong> of the Faculty of Dentistry put that question and more to&nbsp;a panel of experts at U of T:<br> &nbsp;<br> <strong>Amir Azarpazhooh</strong>, associate professor and dental public health specialist, Faculty of Dentistry<br> <strong>Laura Dempster</strong>, associate professor and expert in preventive health, Faculty of Dentistry<br> <strong>Wafa El-Badrawy</strong>, associate professor of restorative dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry<br> <strong>Jim Lai</strong>, vice-dean, education at the Faculty of Dentistry and head of the graduate specialty program in periodontology</p> <hr> <p><strong>Flossing is supposed to help prevent periodontal disease and gingivitis. Can you explain what these are?</strong></p> <p><strong>Jim Lai:</strong> Periodontal diseases are a group of inflammatory diseases. The presence of bacteria leads to a host inflammatory response. The mildest form is gingivitis where the gums become red, swollen and bleed easily. Gingivitis is reversible. A more destructive form is periodontitis where if untreated, periodontitis will lead to tooth loss. These are complex diseases with multifactorial risk factors.&nbsp;</p> <p>As a result, oral home care needs to be specific to the patient. Some patient will benefit from flossing while other patients, the use of interdental brush would be more effective. These types of decision requires the clinical experience of the practitioner and in addition to the understanding of the evidence available.</p> <p><strong>The study says&nbsp;flossing does not prevent&nbsp;cavities, or caries. What are these, and what causes caries?&nbsp;</strong></p> <p><strong>Wafa El-Badrawy: </strong>Caries is formed when a specific type of bacteria (streptococcus mutans), normally present in the oral environment, reacts with carbohydrates found in plaque and food debris. The reaction produces an acid that attacks the enamel surface causing demineralization with loss of calcium and phosphorous. If the situation does not change, demineralization will continue until a cavity is formed.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>How was flossing traditionally thought to help prevent this disease?&nbsp;</strong></p> <p><strong>Wafa El-Badrawy:</strong> Proximal caries (caries that forms in between the teeth) starts typically below the contact areas between the teeth. Flossing is the mechanical process that helps to clean these inaccessible areas that the toothbrush cannot reach. Flossing removes plaque formed on these in-between surfaces and, as a result, helps to prevent acid formation necessary for progress of caries.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Based on the evidence, is dental floss still a good tool to prevent gum disease and caries?</strong></p> <p><strong>Laura Dempster:</strong> What we do know is that no matter how well you brush your teeth, you cannot remove plaque and food debris from <em>all</em> tooth surfaces with a toothbrush. &nbsp;You need to use floss or some other product to clean <em>between</em> your teeth. Figure out&nbsp;what works best for you! &nbsp;The best idea is to consult your dentist or dental hygienist, as they can help you find the right product that works for you, and to show you how to use it properly. &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Wafa El-Badrawy:</strong> If an individual does not floss, plaque accumulation below the contact area will build up and remain attached to the tooth surface. Bacteria will then react with it to form acid that causes demineralization of enamel with subsequent formation of a carious lesion (a cavity).</p> <p><strong>This study sparked&nbsp;huge media interest&nbsp;– and also confusion - what should we conclude?</strong></p> <p><strong>Amir Azarpazhooh</strong>:&nbsp;Overall there was insufficient evidence to claim or refute a benefit for flossing in reducing plaque at 1, 3 or 6 months. Furthermore, it is not possible to state whether flossing may be beneficial in reducing the risk of dental caries as no studies were found that investigated caries as an outcome. &nbsp;</p> <p>That said, flossing plus toothbrushing showed a statistically significant benefit in reducing gingivitis compared to toothbrushing alone at these three time points, with a moderate effect at 6 months. Overall studies are not reporting adverse effect, or for a small number, gingival trauma from improper use of floss – hence the desirable benefits of flossing in reducing gingivitis appear to be greater than the undesirable harms.</p> <p><strong>Laura Dempster:</strong>&nbsp;It is often difficult to directly compare research studies because they rarely investigate the same factors. As a result, findings vary across studies, which adds to the confusion of knowing which product to use. So the answer to whether floss or another product is more effective depends on many things … the answer is, the most important is the user&nbsp; (their dexterity and skill, and motivation) and the conditions in their mouth (tooth alignment and oral health). &nbsp;</p> <p>The evidence to support flossing to control dental decay and gum disease is not undisputable. &nbsp;However, not many things are.&nbsp;The reality is that floss can be very effective in cleaning between teeth, but it depends on whether floss is used correctly and regularly. &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>If you're buying floss, what should you keep in mind?</strong></p> <p><strong>Laura Dempster: </strong>Because there are so many different products on the market, it is difficult for consumers to know which one to use and which one is most effective. The answer is … it depends! &nbsp;It depends on many factors, such as a person’s motivation, personal preference, oral health, tooth alignment, dexterity, skill using the product, and willingness to use it on a regular daily basis. &nbsp;It also depends on whether you are interested in reducing cavities or gum disease. &nbsp;<br> &nbsp;<br> <strong>Amir Azarpazhooh:&nbsp;</strong>The brand is not as important as making it work, and using it properly. Dental offices usually give samples for free: try several samples and buy&nbsp;the one that you are comfortable using.&nbsp;</p> <p>(<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/yogma/3983579514/">Visit flickr to see the original of the photo used above</a>)</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 19 Aug 2016 16:58:26 +0000 krisha 100209 at