Canadian Academy of Health Sciences

10 U of T researchers named fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences

rahul.kalvapalle — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 20:32:57 +0000

10 U of T researchers named fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences

rahul.kalvapalle Fri, 09/20/2019 - 16:32

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From left, Fang Liu, Antonio Strafella and Carles Muntaner are three of 10 researchers from U of T named fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences

Rahul Kalvapalle

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Ten researchers from the University of Toronto have been named fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences – one of the most esteemed honours for academics in the field.

From breast cancer diagnosis and neuro-imaging of Parkinson’s disease to regulation of alternative therapies and understanding the impact of social inequities on health, the new fellows from U of T and its partner hospitals are at the forefront of tackling a diverse array of issues pertinent to health care and the life sciences. (See the full list of U of T researchers below.)

“The University of Toronto would like to congratulate these 10 faculty members from our health sciences community on this most deserved recognition of their scholarship and research accomplishments,” said Vivek Goel, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives.

“Their election to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences is a testament to U of T’s strengths in areas of health sciences that run the gamut from bench to bedside and molecule to population.”

One of three national academies that make up the Council of Canadian Academies, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences leverages the expertise of Canada’s leading health sciences researchers to examine the most pressing and complex health challenges of the day, share assessments and recommend actionable solutions.

Fellows are drawn from an array of disciplines within the health sciences and are elected to the academy in recognition of their research prowess, scientific creativity, leadership and track record of advancing health sciences for the public good.

They are tasked with carrying out independent, evidence-based analysis of health-related topics that affect Canadians.

Fang Liu

(photo by Johnny Guatto)

For Professor Fang Liu, co-director of the brain and therapeutic division of the Faculty of Medicine's depatment of psychiatry, the election as a fellow marks the latest distinction in a 25-year career at U of T. She started as a master’s student in 1994 before going on to complete her PhD and post-doctoral fellowship at U of T and embarking on her professorial career.

“I’m always proud to tell people that I’m a U of T-homemade professor,” said Liu, who is cross-appointed to the department of physiology and the Institute of Medical Science. She is also a senior scientist and head of molecular neuroscience at the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

Liu’s research ranges from pharmacological interventions for diseases that currently have no treatments, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, to the development of drugs without side-effects for conditions like schizophrenia.

“We do this by studying the molecular mechanisms of diseases, targeting specific mechanisms and developing drugs for them,” she said.

Liu said she was “excited and honoured” to be elected a fellow, describing it as “a dream for scientists in health sciences research.” She added that she hopes to use her position as a fellow to promote mental health awareness.

Antonio Strafella

(photo by Johnny Guatto)

Antonio Strafella, a professor in the neurology division of the department of medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, said he was “extremely honoured” at what he called the “amazing surprise” of having been granted the opportunity to serve the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and Canadian society.

Like Liu, Strafella is a senior scientist at the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute at CAMH, albeit in its research imaging centre.

Much of his work revolves around using neuro-imaging to work towards a cure for Parkinson’s disease – “so taking pictures of the brain using very sophisticated biomarkers to image the progression of the disease and the complications associated with it,” explained Strafella, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Movement Disorders and Neuroimaging.

Strafella said studies on the brains of Parkinson’s patients are commonly conducted post-mortem, and that while there are drugs available to treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s, there is no cure for the disease itself.

“Using neuro-imaging, we can conduct these studies in vivo and potentially find changes in biomarkers in the very early stages of the disease,” he said.

Carles Muntaner

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Professor Carles Muntaner of the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing is looking into how activities outside the health-care sector influence health and disease.

“My area of research includes social determinants of health, health equity and social inequalities,” said Muntaner, who holds cross-appointments at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the department of psychiatry in the Faculty of Medicine.

Muntaner’s research examines how an array of factors – ranging from race, ethnicity and employment conditions to education and disparities in the availability of services – influence the health of individuals and groups.

While his expertise has seen him appointed as the co-chair of the World Health Organization’s Employment Conditions Knowledge Network, Muntaner said his election as a Canadian Academy of Health Sciences fellow is among his most valued accomplishments.

“It’s a great honour. I’m an immigrant to Canada, so to be acknowledged like this in my country – I’m not only honoured, but it’s a great endorsement for me to continue in this area of research on health equity and social inequalities in health,” he said.

Here's the full list of the 10 U of T researchers named fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences:

Christine Allen, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy

Heather Boon, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy

Jocalyn Clark, department of medicine, Faculty of Medicine and The Lancet

Ronald Cohn, department of paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and The Hospital for Sick Children

Linda Johnston, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing

Lawrence Leiter, department of medicine, Faculty of Medicine and St. Michael’s Hospital

Fang Liu, department of psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Stephen Matthews, department of physiology, Faculty of Medicine

Carles Muntaner, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing

Antonio Strafella, department of medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Health Network, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Canadian Academy of Health Sciences names eight U of T researchers as fellows

noreen.rasbach — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 14:41:24 +0000

Canadian Academy of Health Sciences names eight U of T researchers as fellows

noreen.rasbach Fri, 09/14/2018 - 10:41

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Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering Professor Michael Carter's election to the academy is an acknowledgment of his leadership in improving health-care delivery in Toronto for more than 30 years (photo by Brian Tran)

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Christine Henry

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Eight researchers at the University of Toronto have been named fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences – one of the highest honours for the country’s health sciences community.

The academy brings together Canada’s leading health scientists and scholars to address critical health challenges facing Canadians. The fellows are recognized for their leadership, creativity and commitment to advancing academic health science and are drawn from a wide range of fields, from fundamental science to social science and population health.

“The University of Toronto is proud of these eight scholars, all of whom have achieved national and international peer recognition for their meaningful contributions to the health sciences," says Vivek Goel, vice-president of research and innovation.

“Their internationally recognized leadership and their election to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences reflect the university's strength in these fields that helps place it as one of the top research universities in the world.”

“This is a real privilege,” says Michael Glogauer (pictured left), a professor in the Faculty of Dentistry and one of the eight elected to the academy. “Being a clinician-scientist is the best job in the world. There is creativity and problem-solving involved and we get to work toward answering important questions.”

Glogauer is a leader in oral innate immunity in health and disease. As a dental clinician scientist, he focuses on understanding the impact of oral diseases on general health. He says his election into the academy will afford him the opportunity to demonstrate how important funding is to the work of dental clinician scientists – and to the lives of Canadians.

“The oral cavity is connected to the rest of the body where health problems can be initially detected by dentists," he says. "For example, diabetes often presents with an infection in the mouth. With improved communication between the dentist and the rest of the health-care team, we can potentially carry out earlier detection of new cases of diabetes, improve patient health, and reduce costs to the health-care system.”

Canadian Academy of Health Sciences names 8 U of T researchers as fellows

lavende4 — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 15:44:16 +0000

Canadian Academy of Health Sciences names 8 U of T researchers as fellows

lavende4 Fri, 09/16/2016 - 11:44

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Sidney Kennedy, one of eight U of T researchers named as CAHS fellows

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Dr. Sidney Kennedy is cutting through the fog of depression, hunting with his colleagues to find the genetic markers they believe could hold the key to better treatment for millions of Canadians.

Today, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences named Kennedy and seven other U of T researchers as fellows — one of the highest honours in Canada for individuals working in the health sciences field, ranging from fundamental science to clinical research and population health. See the full list below.

“It’s definitely an honour to be recognized by your peers,” said Kennedy, a psychiatry professor at U of T and the Arthur Sommer-Rotenberg Chair in Suicide Studies and Depression at St. Michael’s Hospital.

“CAHS is doing very relevant research to improve the health of Canadians. I’m looking forward to participating on [their] task forces and reports that really make a difference to the lives of Canadians.”

Vivek Goel, U of T’s vice-president of research and innovation, praised the eight researchers.

“Every day, researchers at the University of Toronto are hard at work to find solutions to some of the world’s most pressing issues,” he said. “The exemplary work of our eight new fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences is not only furthering our knowledge in a range of health sciences areas, it’s also improving the lives of everyday Canadians.”

As the principal investigator in the Canadian Biomarker Integration Network in Depression (CAN-BIND), Kennedy is already making a huge difference at the forefront of an entirely new approach to finding the root causes of depression.

Unlike diagnosing cancer or arthritis, there isn’t a battery of medical tests to confirm what type of clinical depression a person has. Instead, psychiatrists are left to diagnose using clinical interviews and patient self-reporting, he explains.

In the CAN-BIND study, the individuality of the patient is front and centre when it comes to determining their diagnosis and treatment. Brain scans, blood tests, environmental factors, childhood trauma and reported symptoms such as sadness and weight gain are all investigated and evaluated.

It’s hoped studying these variables will also bring to light the biomarkers of depression, perhaps an errant protein is the culprit, and pinpoint the best course of treatment for that marker.

Identifying biomarkers would mean depression can’t be blamed on a “weakness” in a person’s character, Kennedy said, which is one of the reasons fighting the stigma of mental illness has been such an uphill battle.

“We have a long way to go but we are making progress in making it easier for people to openly talk about mental illness,” he said.

The 2016 U of T fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences are:

Joseph L. Rotman School of Management

Brian Golden

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Howard Hu

Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Health

Ira Jacobs

Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy

Shana Kelley

Faculty of Medicine

Laurie Morrison, department of medicine and St. Michael’s Hospital
Sidney Kennedy, department of psychiatry and University Health Network
Nancy Baxter, department of surgery and St. Michael’s Hospital
Richard Weisel, department of surgery and University Health Network

Canadian Academy of Health Sciences

10 U of T researchers named fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences

Fang Liu

Antonio Strafella

Carles Muntaner

Canadian Academy of Health Sciences names eight U of T researchers as fellows

Read more about Michael Glogauer

Read more about Michael Carter

Canadian Academy of Health Sciences names 8 U of T researchers as fellows