CIHR Projects
Browse 25 CIHR-funded research projects
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PI: Baetz, Kristin K
Project Summary: Every time a cell divides, it must accurately distribute one copy of each duplicated chromosome (DNA) to each daughter cell. Errors that cause cells to gain or lose chromosome, chrom…
PI: Gaudreau, Luc R
How genes are regulated is a major step in defining differences amongst all living organisms, and improper regulation of genes can also lead to cancer development. There is overwhelming evidence sugg…
PI: Leung, Peter C
Ovarian cancer is the most lethal and primary cause of death from gynecological malignancies for women in developed countries. A better understanding of the pathophysiology of this devastating diseas…
PI: Piekny, Alisa J
Cell division occurs due to the ingression of a contractile actin-myosin ring, which pinches the mother cell to form two daughter cells. The goal of cell division is to ensure that the daughter cells…
Cells are composed of millions of molecules working symbiotically to maintain a cellular balance. If broken, this fragile orchestration of events could potentially lead to chemical alterations of the…
Elevated expression of members of a class of growth factor receptors known as the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family have been implicated as important determinants the induction of breast…
PI: Gorski, Sharon M
Programmed cell death (PCD) is a biological process that occurs in all animals, including humans, and is important in normal development and disease. As its name suggests, PCD is the orderly destruct…
PI: Roy, Richard D
The cells within the tissues of an organism must obey controls that tell them when to divide, and importantly, when to stop. These controls are present from the early stages in the embryo, when most …
Gap junctions are traditionally made up of connexins subunits that form a pore allowing communication to occur between two adjacent cells. Recently a new family of gap junction-like protein called pa…
PI: Sewitch, Maida J
Despite widespread distribution of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening guidelines, many Canadians are not screened for CRC. Our research shows that in 2003 only 30% of Canadians received CRC screening …
Glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) enzymes are responsible for the glucuronidation metabolic pathway and play an essential role in the elimination and detoxification of a large diversity of drugs from all…
PI: Ling, Hong
Maintenance of genomic stability is a challenge to every cell in the presence of genotoxic agents. Translesion DNA replication or translesion synthesis (TLS), the replication of DNA across damaged DN…
PI: Hughes, Sarah C
Cancer is a disease where the normal controls regulating cell division are no longer active. Cells are controlled by their genes, and one class, termed tumour suppressors, encode 'do not divide' sign…
Our immune system can eliminate cancer as it develops. However, due to reasons not fully understood, some cancers develop ways to avoid elimination by 'killer' cells of our immune system called natur…
PI: Chevrette, Mario
Numerous genetic changes occur as prostate cancer becomes more aggressive. We have shown that one such change is the loss of expression of CD9, a protein which is also lost in other human cancers. Re…
The tumor suppressor pRb is lost by mutations or functional inactivation in most, if not all, human cancers. The prevailing view is pRb controls cell proliferation and survival as well as differentia…
PI: Lee, Hoyun
Copying of the entire genetic material (i.e., DNA) accurately and timely is essential for maintaining genetic stability in all living organisms, and the deregulation of this process is directly relev…
PI: Frappier, Lori D
Human cell nuclei contain several structures referred to as PML bodies because PML (promyelocytic leukemia) proteins form the basis of these structures and alterations to the PML proteins result in l…
PI: Derry, William B
Cells that make up the tissues and organs of multicellular organisms must be maintained at a relatively constant number to maintain viability and prevent disease. If this intricate balancing act is t…
Investigation of meiotic defects in infertile men undergoing assisted reproductive technologies
PI: Ma, Sai
It is estimated that 2% of men are infertile due to severe defects in sperm production. In the majority of these cases, the cause of infertility remains unknown. During spermatogenesis, cells must un…
Rapidly growing tumours contain many areas of low oxygen (hypoxia), and the presence of these hypoxic regions is associated with cancer metastasis and a poor clinical outcome. In a manner similar to …
Neuroprotective Effect of Mood Stabilizers: the Role of the Major Brain Antioxidant Glutathione
PI: Wang, Jun-Feng
Bipolar disorder is a serious psychiatric illness in which subjects experience severe recurrent episodes of mania and depression, and a high rate of psychosocial disability. Lithium and valproate are…
The kinins are hormone-like substances generated from blood, but also potentially from the cells that constitute the blood vessels. Two types of receptors are activated by kinins: the B2 receptors ar…
PI: Kislinger, Thomas; Medin, Jeffrey A
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among North American men and is in general treated by surgery, radiation therapy or chemotherapy. Cell-surface membrane proteins comprise more than half of t…
PI: Nilson, Laura A
Our bodies contain a wide range of cell types that are specialized for carrying out particular functions. These cells adopt a variety of distinctive shapes, and are often organized into discrete tiss…