April 8, 2013
Researchers at CFRI, BC Cancer Agency, and UBC part of "pediatric cancer dream team"
Researchers from CFRI, BC Cancer Agency, and UBC will be playing an important role in a newly-formed international "pediatric cancer dream team."
[more ...]
March 15, 2013
Dr. Michael O'Shaugnessy awarded Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
Dr. Michael O’Shaughnessy, a member of the CFRI Interim Leadership team, received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in January 2013. The medal honours significant contributions and achievements by Canadians to their fellow citizens, their communities and to Canada.
[more ...]
March 11, 2013
CFRI researchers awarded Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
On February 26, 2013, Dr. Daniel Metzger and Dr. Bruce Verchere received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for their outstanding research and dedication to improving the lives of Canadians living with diabetes.
[more ...]
March 11, 2013
Helping kids with arthritis be kids! LEAP into Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month 2013
[more ...]
February 20, 2013
Common acne drug not associated with increased risk of IBD
Doctors should not be discouraged from prescribing isotretinoin to adolescents for inflammatory acne, according to a new study by Canadian and U.S. scientists showing the drug does not increase the risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
[more ...]
January 28, 2013
Dr. David Scheifele appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada
On December 30, 2012, Dr. David Scheifele was named an Officer of the Order of Canada for his contributions to improving health care through the prevention of infectious disease. The Order of Canada is one of the nation’s highest civilian honours and is awarded to recognize a lifetime of achievement and contribution to society.
[more ...]
January 22, 2013
BC's Clinical Researchers Seek Public Feedback
Have you been asked to participate in a clinical trial? If so, British Columbia’s clinical research community wants to hear from you, through a large scale survey.
[more ...]
January 16, 2013
New research finds slower growth of preterm infants linked to altered brain development
Preterm infants who grow more slowly as they approached what would have been their due dates also have slower development in an area of the brain called the cerebral cortex, report Canadian researchers in a new study published today in Science Translational Medicine.
[more ...]
December 12, 2012
8666 teenage girls needed for new national study launching this month
Evaluation program will determine best dosing schedule for HPV vaccine
Canadian researchers are seeking 8666 teenage girls across the country for a new national study opening this month that will determine whether two or three doses of the vaccine Gardasil provide similar protection against human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV infections cause nearly all cases of cervical cancer, which is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in women worldwide.
[more...]
November 19, 2012
New playground gear promotes risk-taking to boost fitness and brain development
Risk can be useful training for children, recent scientific articles assert. In a report in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, CFRI researcher and UBC Psychologist Dr. Mariana Brussoni and colleagues suggest risky play ultimately keeps children safer by allowing them to learn how to take and manage risk.
[Wall Street Journal article]
November 8, 2012
UBC-CFRI effort to save pregnant women awarded additional $17 million
A project aimed at finding and treating women at risk of succumbing to pre-eclampsia – the often-fatal onset of high blood pressure during pregnancy – will receive an additional $17 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Peter von Dadelszen, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of British Columbia (UBC), a clinician-scientist at the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI), and a Consultant in Maternal Fetal Medicine at BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre, is leading the multi-pronged effort in 11 developing countries, which has previously received $7.4 million from the Gates Foundation.
[more...] [Vancouver Sun article]
November 7, 2012
New drug target found for cystic fibrosis lung disease
Discovery could lead to new treatment for lung inflammation
Vancouver researchers have discovered the cellular pathway that causes lung-damaging inflammation in cystic fibrosis (CF), and that reducing the pathway’s activity also decreases inflammation. The finding offers a potential new drug target for treating CF lung disease, which is a major cause of illness and death for people with CF.
“Developing new drugs that target lung inflammation would be a big step forward,” says Dr. Stuart Turvey, who led the research.
[more...] [News1130 article] [research paper]
October 24, 2012
Boys reaching puberty younger, study finds
CFRI researcher Dr. Dina Panagiotopoulos is interviewed by The Globe and Mail for comment on a U.S. study that found that puberty among boys is starting six months to two years earlier than previously documented.
[Globe and Mail article]
October 19, 2012
Feature on Juvenile Arthritis
BC Almanac highlighted juvenile arthritis on the CBC radio show on Friday, October 19th. CFRI investigator and pediatric rheumatologist Dr. Lori Tucker was joined by 19-year-old Andrea, who has lived with arthritis since she was two, and her mother Kathy.
October 18, 2012
Genes and immune system shaped by childhood poverty, stress
A study led by CFRI investigator Dr. Michael Kobor has revealed that childhood poverty, stress as an adult, and demographics such as age, sex and ethnicity all leave an imprint on a person’s genes, which could play a role in the immune response.
[news release] [research paper]
October 10, 2012
Peter von Dadelszen wins CIHR Knowledge Translation Award
 Dr. Peter von Dadelszen, a Clinician Scientist at CFRI and a world authority on diagnosing and treating pre-eclampsia, has received the 2012 Knowledge Translation Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
Pre-eclampsia — the sudden onset of high blood pressure during pregnancy — is the second-leading cause of maternal death worldwide, resulting in 76,000 women dying each year, almost all of them in lower- and middle-income countries. The condition can lead to seizures (eclampsia), stroke or failure of the lungs, kidneys or liver. Treatment involves hospitalization until delivery, so that the mother’s blood pressure can be managed, her seizures prevented and her delivery induced.
Dr. von Dadelszen’s research spans basic science, clinical research and health services evaluations. He and his trainees have published 130 articles in high-impact journals, and he was the lead author for guidelines issued by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada for diagnosis and management of pre-elampsia and for use of magnesium sulphate treatment prior to labour to prevent cerebral palsy. He also was a contributing author of the 2011 World Health Organization’s guidelines for the prevention and treatment of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia.
Dr. von Dadelszen, the Co-Director of the Reproduction & Healthy Pregnancy research cluster at CFRI, led the development and testing of a standardized surveillance tool for detecting and managing pre-eclampsia to prevent maternal and newborn complications. That work led the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2010 to award Dr. von Dadelszen and his team $7 million to test a battery of new strategies for monitoring, preventing and treating pre-eclampsia in the developing world. The project is unfolding in 11 countries in Africa, South Asia, Asia-Oceania and Latin America.
“Many women are moribund, or dead, by the time they are seen by someone who can help,” Dr. von Dadelszen says. “The idea is to reach into the community to make a difference.”
One component of the project will test his method for diagnosing pre-eclampsia and assessing the degree of risk, based either on the woman’s symptoms, clinical examination and simple lab tests, or without any lab tests whatsoever.
The Gates grant also is funding the creation of a “treatment pipeline” that extends from remote villages to properly-equipped medical facilities in urban centres. Community health workers are being trained to use his diagnostic and risk-assessment tool, and to administer an anti-hypertensive drug to prevent strokes and magnesium sulfate to prevent seizures. The pipeline will include a protocol for transporting women to hospitals that provide more extensive care.
The award – which includes a $100,000 prize — honours and supports an individual, team or organization that has made an outstanding contribution to increasing the application of research findings, improving the health of Canadians, health services or products, or strengthening the health care system.
October 8, 2012
Maternal depression affects language development in babies
Maternal depression and a common class of antidepressants can alter a crucial period of language development in babies, according to a new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia, Harvard University and the Child & Family Research Institute at BC Children’s Hospital.
[UBC/CFRI news release] [Canada.com article] [Globe and Mail article] [research paper]
September 29, 2012
Government commits $2M for childhood cancer research
B.C. is committing $2 million in one-time funding to the Michael Cuccione Foundation to support childhood cancer research and treatment. The foundation will direct the money to the Michael Cuccione Childhood Cancer Research Program at the Child & Family Research Institute at BC Children’s Hospital. The research program focuses on better understanding childhood cancers and seeking new therapies with lower side-effects for young patients.
[Ministry of Health news release]
September 7, 2012
Medical research grants awarded to BC’s top talent
The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation has awarded funding to six of the province's brightest minds in cancer research. CFRI researcher
Dr. Christopher Maxwell was one of the six medical grant recipients. The goal of Dr. Maxwell's research is to develop safer, more specific therapies for breast cancers that develop in young women by understanding and targeting differences in cell division between normal cells and cancer cells.
[Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation news release]
August 7, 2012
CFRI researchers honoured with UBC Faculty of Medicine 2012 Distinguished Medical Research Lecturer Awards
Congratulations to Dr. Jan Friedman and Dr. David Speert on receiving the 2012 Distinguished Medical Research Lecturer Awards, in clinical sciences and in basic sciences, from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC). This award recognizes candidates from the basic or clinical sciences on the basis of a distinguished research career, recognition in the medical community and effective contributions to student educational growth over the past year.
“It’s very exciting for the CFRI community. To receive this award in the basic and clinical sciences in the same year is quite an honour,” says Dr. Catherine Pallen, Acting Deputy Director of the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI). “This truly highlights the breadth and integration of excellence that CFRI strives to bring to translational research in child health.”
Dr. Jan Friedman is Acting Executive Director of CFRI, Acting Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Medicine at UBC, Professor in the Department of Medical Genetics at UBC, and Senior Clinician Scientist in the CFRI Genetics & Health research cluster. His research focuses on understanding the disease process that leads to neurofibromatosis 1, using genomic technology to determine the causes of mental retardation and investigating the risks to embryonic or fetal development resulting from maternal medication use during pregnancy.
Dr. Speert is Head of the Centre for Understanding and Preventing Infection in Children at CFRI, Senior Clinician Scientist in the Immunity in Health & Disease CFRI research cluster, physician in the division of Infectious & Immunological Diseases at BC Children’s Hospital, and Sauder Family Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UBC. His research focuses on the human innate immune system and the control of inflammation in health and disease, including inflammatory determinants in both pathogen and host.
[UBC Faculty of Medicine announcement]
August 5, 2012
Early puberty and mental health in girls
A recent Globe and Mail article looks at whether there is a link between early puberty and depression in girls. Two CFRI researchers, Dr. Dina Panagiotopoulos and Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc, offer their expertise.
[Globe and Mail article]
August 2, 2012
Hand washing practices for preschoolers
CFRI researcher Dr. David Speert gives expert advice to Today's Parent on hand washing practices for preschoolers and the use of hand sanitizer.
[Today's Parent article]
July 11, 2012
Canucks for Kids Fund Diabetes Catalyst Awards Announced
The Diabetes Research Program recently ran its third internal grant competition for the “Canucks for Kids Fund” Diabetes Catalyst Awards. The committee received 11 excellent innovative research proposals. After an external peer review process the successful grant applications for the 2012 Catalyst Grant Competition were:
- William Gibson, $50,000 grant
Role of p300 protein in B-cell function and survival
- Megan Levings, $50,000 grant
Gene signatures of T regulatory cells as molecular biomarkers in type 1 diabetes
[more...]
July 7, 2012
Patients who donate samples to the Childhood Cancer & Blood Research BioBank will benefit local research
A Vancouver Sun shines a spotlight on how today's research can help tomorrow's patients in an article on the Childhood Cancer & Blood Research BioBank located at CFRI. Dr. Kirk Schultz, director of the Childhood Cancer & Blood Research (CCBR) program at CFRI and Dr. Suzanne Vercauteren, chair of the CCBR BioBank speak to the Vancouver Sun about the value of donations.
[Vancouver Sun article]
June 28, 2012
Diabetes researcher honoured with new award
CFRI scientist Dr. Francis Lynn was announced as the first recipient of the new
Alan Permutt Career Development Award by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). The award
honours research in the field of beta cell therapies.
[JDRF news release]
June 20, 2012
Dads and kids’ safety: Study on injury prevention
Men can differ greatly from women in how they parent, especially during playtime. Lead investigator Dr. Mariana Brussoni and her team are compiling data about father’s attitudes towards safety and injury prevention during play in an effort to provide recommendations for community and parenting programs.
[UBC news release]
June 13, 2012
New $12M Child & Family Research Imaging Facility opens in Vancouver dedicated to child health research
The new Child & Family Research Imaging Facility was officially opened today in Vancouver. It is dedicated to research that will increase understanding of brain development as well as to other child health research projects. The $12-million facility features a 3-Tesla MRI scanner along with an imaging analysis and neuro-informatics lab.
[more...]
May 2, 2012
Update on CFRI cluster leadership appointments
A message from Dr. Jan Friedman, Acting
Executive Director, CFRI
Three CFRI cluster directors or co-directors have recently taken on more senior administrative positions at the University (Dr. Geoff Hammond), hospital (Dr. Erik Skarsgard) or CFRI (Dr. Stuart Turvey). We have, therefore, restructured the leadership of these three clusters, and I am pleased to announce the following appointments:
I am very grateful to Geoff, Erik and Stuart for their excellent service as cluster heads. I also wish to thank Mark, Wendy and Ru for taking on these important roles for CFRI.
April 27, 2012
The digital doctor is in... your phone
Vancouver Sun story describes Dr. Mark Ansermino's research to develop a phone oximeter, which uses a cell phone to measure blood oxygen levels.
[Vancouver Sun story]
April 11, 2012
$4.3-million grant to CFRI-led national childhood cancer research team
The federal government announced today $4.3 million in funding to a national childhood cancer research team led by principal investigator Dr. Kirk Schultz. The team will assess biomarkers to
identify children at risk of adverse effects of cancer
treatments and to predict potential long-term
complications. Studies will focus on biomarkers associated with hearing loss, kidney
failure, blood clotting problems, and a type of tissue
rejection called chronic graft-versus host disease that can occur after bone marrow transplantation. The studies include eight child health centres across Canada. The team is called Applying Biomarkers to Long-term Effects in Child and Adolescent Cancer Treatment (ABLE Team) and the team's co-principal investigators include CFRI investigators Professor Mary McBride and Dr. Rod Rassekh.
[Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) news release]
[CIHR fact sheet]
[CBC story]
April 4, 2012
Two commonly used medications linked to serious eye conditions: studies
A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) showed that patients taking an osteoporosis drug called bisphosphonate have a higher risk of developing the inflammatory eye conditions uveitis and scleritis. A second study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), showed that taking an oral antibiotic called fluoroquinolone is associated with a small but increased risk of retinal detachment. CFRI investigator Dr. Mahyar Etminan led both studies. He is affiliated with the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute.
[JAMA news release] [CMAJ news release]
[Reuters Health story] [Globe and Mail story] [Edmonton Sun story]
[Canadian Press/Global News story] [Insider Medicine video]
[JAMA study] [CMAJ study]
March 7, 2012
Fighting to raise awareness of a little known condition
A young woman in Red Deer, Alberta is counting on the support of the community to help
raise much-needed funds for neurofibromatosis (NF) research at the Friedman Lab at the Child & Family Research Institute.
[Red Deer Express story] [Red Deer Express fundraising update]
March 1, 2012
Painful medical procedures associated with slower brain growth in preterm infants
Preterm babies who’ve had more skin-breaking medical procedures have slower brain development as they grow to their due dates, shows new research published this week in the Annals of Neurology. The research was led by Dr. Ruth Grunau and Dr. Steven Miller, study co-authors.
[more...]
February 17, 2012
International ranking for infant mortality flawed: Canadian study
Canada’s ranking in international child health indexes would dramatically improve if measurements were standardized, according to a new study, led by Dr. K.S. Joseph.
[more...]
January 30, 2012
A young girl's legacy inspires pediatric brain tumour research
Dr. Sandra Dunn and trainee Cathy Lee speak to The Vancouver Sun about how Hannah’s Heroes Foundation has supported their research at CFRI.
[Vancouver Sun story]
January 26, 2012
Update on CFRI Deputy
Director
A message from Dr. Jan Friedman, Acting
Executive Director, CFRI
It is my pleasure to congratulate Dr. Geoff Hammond on his new position as
Professor and Head of the Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences at
the University of British Columbia effective March 1, 2012. Dr. Hammond has
served the Child & Family Research Institute since 2003, first as CFRI’s
Scientific Director and most recently as the Deputy Director.
While Dr. Hammond’s departure is a loss for CFRI, I am pleased to announce we will continue to benefit from strong scientific leadership through the appointment of Dr. Catherine Pallen as Acting Deputy Director starting February 1, 2012.
[more...]
January 24, 2012
Genetic variation increases risk of metabolic side effects in children on some antipsychotics
Researchers have found a genetic variation predisposing children to six-times greater risk of developing metabolic syndrome when taking second-generation anti-psychotic medications. The research is published today in the medical research journal Translational Psychiatry. Dr. Angela Devlin and Dr. Dina Panagiotopoulos were co-authors of the study.
[more...] [journal article] [Vancouver Sun story]
January 11, 2012
Foundation laid for Child & Family Research Imaging Facility
Above ground construction is expected to begin this week on the new Child & Family Research Imaging Facility. Construction crews have completed the foundation and are currently levelling the site.
[more...]
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