Dr. Darryl Adamko: Little Lungs, Lessons Learned
Release Date: 01/08/2023
Turning Back the Neurotoxin Clock, with Dr. Jeff Dong
Researchers Under the Scope
Midway through his undergraduate degree at the University of British Columbia, a laboratory 'help wanted' poster caught Jeff Dong's eye. He applied, gaining invaluable practical experience that summer in 's lab. "She really supported me in understanding what research is about," said Dong, who went on to complete his PhD through UBC's Department of Microbiology and Immunology, moving to Calgary for post-doctoral work at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute. "That process was really exciting for me." He accepted a faculty position last year as an assistant professor in the University of Saskatchewan's...
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Antibodies and Aging Gracefully: Dr. Peter Pioli
Researchers Under the Scope
Before we’re even born, our bodies begin to grow and train an army of spies and assassins, creating a crew of immune system fighters in the upper chest's thymus gland. While this production is dominated by T cells, other immune cells such as B cells and plasma cells can be generated within the thymus, albeit at a very low level. After adolescence, the thymus reduces production at its 'spy and assassin' factory to a trickle. This has consequences because as we age, our immune system makes mistakes, leading to mutations in our DNA; changes in the types of antibodies we produce, and odd...
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Ready to Launch: Anurag Sakharkar Pinpoints Key Biomarkers in Astronaut Health
Researchers Under the Scope
Like a lot of kids, used to dream about being a doctor, or an astronaut. His parents, both academics, encouraged him to follow his dream. In high school, he began spending evenings and weekends working at the University of Saskatchewan’s biomedical labs, perfecting advanced research methods, western blots and PCR analysis . He began learning about Parkinson’s disease with Dr. Changiz Taghibiglou, then started examining novel cancer treatment approaches with Dr. Franco Vizeacoumar. The Covid-19 pandemic brought Anu’s in-person laboratory time to an abrupt halt. Undeterred,...
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Scratching That Itch: Dr. Rachel Asiniwasis Targets Atopic Dermatitis
Researchers Under the Scope
When Dr. Rachel Asiniwasis returned to the prairies after her dermatology residency in Toronto, she noticed a pattern among many of her pediatric patients. Hundreds of them were coming to her with itchy, raw patches of skin, the result of atopic dermatitis — eczema. “One of the biggest frustrations for me is when people say ‘oh, it’s just a skin problem’,” said Asiniwasis. “Itching in many ways is just as impactful as chronic pain,” Atopic dermatitis is the most common chronic skin inflammatory disease. The vast majority of cases start in children under the age of five. At...
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When Can ICU Patients Be Discharged Home?
Researchers Under the Scope
Patients in intensive care units often move to a regular ward before they're discharged, and sent home. But increasingly, hospitals are skipping that step, sending a handful of ICU patients directly home. "We were really looking at analyzing the data of safety in terms of discharging patients home safely in terms of outcomes such as mortality, or a re-admission to hospital," said Ryan Donnelly, who's currently finishing his first year of residency in Regina. He said for young patients without serious co-morbidities, direct discharges to home are an option. "If you have a patient...
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Reversing the effects of Alzheimer's Disease: Dr. Ron Geyer on NeuroEPO
Researchers Under the Scope
For decades, families have watched Alzheimer's disease steal their loved ones' cognitive function. It's the most common form of dementia; one that affects a third of people over the age of 85. It's a disease Dr. Ron Geyer and Dr. Andrew Kirk want to tackle. Right now, most pharmaceuticals target the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, without addressing its root cause. Most lose their effectiveness after three months. Geyer, a biochemist and professor of pathology at the University of Saskatchewan's College of Medicine, said a novel protein could change that. "They did a first clinical...
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From Scratch: Rural Dementia Care with Dr. Debra Morgan
Researchers Under the Scope
Debra Morgan grew up on a farm and continued farming with her husband, initially working in nursing in the winter. Nursing shifts took her from neurosurgery to pediatrics, to orthopedics, then to Saskatoon's geriatric units at City Hospital and Royal University Hospital. "I just found that I really enjoyed working with older people," Morgan said. She soon followed her passion for research, opting to study geriatric care as she earned her masters' and doctoral degrees in nursing. Today, she's a professor and chair of rural health delivery at the Canadian Centre for Rural and...
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Affairs of the (Zebrafish) Heart: Dr. Michelle Collins
Researchers Under the Scope
If you've ever sat through a bad date at a restaurant, unsure of what to order, you're still doing better than a typical zebrafish date. Dr. Michelle Collins said without safety precautions, a zebrafish male and female left together overnight often eat their embryos. The assistant professor of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Saskatchewan's College of Medicine has studied zebrafish for years, using them as a model to examine genetic factors in cardiac development. "They're actually quite beautiful," she said. "The embryos look almost like a crystal ball." In this...
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Dr. Darryl Adamko: Little Lungs, Lessons Learned
Researchers Under the Scope
Diagnosing pulmonary diseases ilike asthma in young children is still largely a matter of trial and error, according to Saskatchewan’s top pediatric respirologist. As viruses and colds tear through schools and daycares across North America, Dr. Darryl Adamko wants to change that. “If you have asthma this year and you're not taking your inhaled steroids, well you're rolling the dice,” said Adamko, who’s watched an influx of young patients over the past few months at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon. In children, problems with breathing are the...
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In the Spirit of Christmas
Researchers Under the Scope
May this holiday season find all our Researchers Under the Scope listeners feeling cozy, festive and warm. In the spirit of giving, the Office of the Vice-Dean of Research at the College of Medicine has once again teamed up, to make a donation to students and staff at King George Elementary School in Saskatoon. you can scroll down and find the details you need to make an e-transfer donation. And in the New Year, we resolve to bring you an episode for parents of young children. With Influenza A, RSV, and Covid-19 ripping through schools, daycares and workplaces, we have a...
info_outlineDiagnosing pulmonary diseases ilike asthma in young children is still largely a matter of trial and error, according to Saskatchewan’s top pediatric respirologist.
As viruses and colds tear through schools and daycares across North America, Dr. Darryl Adamko wants to change that.
“If you have asthma this year and you're not taking your inhaled steroids, well you're rolling the dice,” said Adamko, who’s watched an influx of young patients over the past few months at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon.
In children, problems with breathing are the leading cause of hospitalizations.
Undiagnosed asthma and other pulmonary conditions in children mean small patients have a a much tougher fight when they’re infected by Covid-19, RSV or influenza.
“You have to be taking those preventative drugs first before the virus finds you,” said Adamko.
That’s why he’s pinning down biomarkers for pulmonary disease in a familiar tool for family doctors: urine samples.
“We still really don't have a great test for like preschool kids. It's just history for the most part,” he said.
Using mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, he and his team have spent more than a decade analyzing urine samples and refining their methodology.
“Now that we've got enough urine samples analyzed that, I think we've got a good signal,” said Adamko.
His research today is aimed at creating a urine test that would give giving family doctors and paediatricians a faster, more efficient way to diagnose pulmonary conditions long before kids arrive at the hospital.
In this episode, he explains why a resurgence of RSV after years of Covid restrictions has hit young patients hard.
“It's really bad for little babies. It loves the smallest little airways,” Adamko said. “This year the problem is we've got a bunch of two-year-olds, and one-year-olds who have never seen these viruses.”