The legal availability of marijuana, including edibles, has led to more hospital visits among children. UM's Dr. Tamara Taillieu will study population data to understand the effects of legalization on vulnerable children and youth in Manitoba.
Early-career Rady researchers awarded New Investigator grants
Five assistant professors from the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences are among 24 researchers who have received a total of nearly $1.8 million in New Investigator Operating Grants from Research Manitoba.
The granting program is designed to support early-career researchers within the first four years of their initial academic appointment.
By providing up to two years of operating funding, the program helps new faculty members to establish independent research programs, build collaborative networks and generate the results needed to compete for larger, national-level grants.
Additional funds were awarded this year as a result of a recent $5-million increase to Research Manitoba’s operating budget by the provincial government.
The recipients from the Rady Faculty are:
Dr. Alicia Berard
Dr. Alicia Berard, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher with the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM)
Project: “Investigating the role of mTOR in the vaginal microenvironment”
Grant: $130,000 (two years)
While studying bacterial vaginosis, which is associated with an increased risk of sexually transmitted infections and poor reproductive health outcomes, Berard’s team has found a link between a cellular pathway called mTOR and the vaginal microbiome. They will investigate the effects of mTOR in the vaginal tissue barrier, with the goal of developing future therapies.
Dr. Tara Horrill
Dr. Tara Horrill, assistant professor, College of Nursing
Project: “Co-development and feasibility testing of a social needs assessment tool in an outpatient oncology setting”
Grant: $130,000 (two years)
Horrill’s study aims to introduce a social needs assessment tool into outpatient care at CancerCare Manitoba. With CancerCare and patient partners, her team will co-develop a tool to assess whether patients with cancer face social challenges such as housing instability and lack of transportation. Connecting patients to resources to address their social needs will promote more equitable access to cancer treatment.
Dr. Joel Pearson
Dr. Joel Pearson, assistant professor of pharmacology and therapeutics, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher with CHRIM
Project: “Understanding the role of a TEAD/homeobox axis in the genesis and evolution of distinct small cell lung cancer subtypes”
Grant: $130,000 (two years)
In small cell lung cancer, most tumours develop resistance to initial treatment within months. Very little is known about what causes this rapid drug resistance and disease relapse. Pearson’s team will study how a protein called TEAD is involved in this process, with the eventual goal of using drugs to prevent treatment resistance.
Dr. Tamara Taillieu
Dr. Tamara Taillieu, assistant professor in the College of Community and Global Health; researcher with CHRIM
Project: “A population-based examination of the impacts of the legalization of recreational use of cannabis on vulnerable children and youth from Manitoba”
Grant: $130,000 (two years)
Taillieu’s team will use population data to study changes in hospital and emergency department visits, criminal charges related to marijuana, and impaired driving among vulnerable children and teenagers in Manitoba since marijuana was legalized for adults. The findings will potentially inform educational materials and programs aimed at decreasing marijuana-related harms among children and youth.
Dr. Cedric Tremblay
Dr. Cedric Tremblay, assistant professor of immunology, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher with CHRIM
Project: “Investigating the role of interferon signaling in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia”
Grant: $130,000 (two years)
Tremblay’s team has recently found that in acute leukemia, cancer cells that resist chemotherapy express markers associated with inflammation. Building on this finding, they will investigate how inflammation contributes to leukemia development and relapse. The long-term goal is to reduce the length of chemotherapy needed for achieving complete remission in children and teens with acute leukemia.