Dr. Ron Barr
Dr. Ron Barr is working to unravel the complex and mystifying experience of being a newborn.  The Canada Research Chair in Community Child Health Research believes that a newborn’s earliest days can influence health, learning and behavior throughout life. [more...]

Dr. Sandra Dunn 
One of the difficulties in treating cancer is that malignant cells are sometimes resistant to radiation and chemotherapy. Molecular biologist Sandra Dunn is researching cancers affecting women and children to find the weaknesses in cancer cells and develop new, more effective treatments. The key is identifying and eliminating what cancer cells need to survive. [more...]

Dr. Suzanne Lewis
The Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), characterized by impairments in communication, social interaction and behaviour patterns, differ in both symptoms and genetic influences. They include Autistic Disorder, Asperger syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, PDD-Not Otherwise Specified, and Rett Syndrome. Dr. Suzanne Lewis, a geneticist and pediatrician, is uniting laboratory and clinical research to describe the many variations in ASDs and improve the lives of people affected by these disorders. [more...]

Dr. Catherine Pallen
The development of treatments for disease targeted at specific molecules, or molecular therapeutics, is widely considered one of the more exciting new areas of medical research. The promise of this research, according to molecular biologist Dr. Catherine Pallen, is the development of drugs directed specifically at diseases like cancer, avoiding the "bombing approach" of current treatments like radiation therapy with its unwanted side effects. [more...]

Dr. David Schiefele
During a pandemic, it’s important to make a vaccine available to Canadians as quickly as possible. Researchers have to do more than simply develop a vaccine; they must also ensure it’s safe and effective, and determine the appropriate dose for all ages from infants to the elderly. When it come to preparing for a pandemic – and planning the logistics required to quickly carry out such large and comprehensive studies – Dr. David Scheifele takes a lead role. [more...]

Dr. Rusung Tan
Childhood immunological diseases are devastating and range from the common and chronic to the rare and confounding. Dr. Rusung Tan is a pathologist, medical microbiologist and immunologist studying the function of immune cells, including cytotoxic T lymphocytes, natural killer and natural killer T cells in two diseases, type 1 diabetes and X-linked lymphoproliferative disease. While supportive treatments are available for both conditions, Dr. Tan’s work focuses on understanding the pathophysiology of these diseases and seeking cures. [more...]

Dr. Bruce Verchere
Diabetes, a disease that interferes with the body’s ability to produce or properly use insulin and that over time can lead to life-threatening and debilitating complications, affects more than 2 million Canadians.  Dr. Bruce Verchere, head of CFRI’s Diabetes Research Program, specializes in beta cell physiology and is researching their function in types 1 and type 2 diabetes.  [more...]