Hospital for Sick Children

Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing

Subheadline

The Teens4Teens virtual peer support group was launched to help strengthen connections between adolescents with cancer and tackle isolation

A virtual peer support program created at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) shows significant potential in helping immunocompromised teenagers cope with the challenges of social isolation and physical distancing, positively impacting their well-being, a study finds.

The study – carried out by researchers at SickKids and the ��߲ݴ�ý and published in the journal Supportive Care in Cancer – examined the impact of a program called Teens4Teens on adolescents undergoing cancer treatment.

A weekly peer support group and patient education program, Teens4Teens was launched at SickKids in 2020 with the goal of supporting the psychosocial and physical health of adolescents with cancer.

According to the study, program participants reported a number of positive impacts that included feeling relatable and understood, conveying their emotions through art, developing coping mechanisms and discussing grief and relationships with family.

“One of the biggest takeaways for teens in our study group was the peer support component,” says the study’s first author Alicia Kilfoy, a PhD student in the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing. “They wanted a safe space to communicate with other teens with cancer who understood what they were going through.”

An unexpected finding was that Teens4Teens also acted as a training ground for broader skills development in realms such as peer mentorship, career planning and applying to post-secondary education opportunities.

For adolescents who are immunocompromised, physical distancing can be important in managing their risk of serious infection, but it can be an especially negative experience during some of their most formative years.

“The cancer situation for teens is very unique, in that the disease hits at a time when they are trying to develop their own sense of autonomy,” says Kilfoy’s supervisor and study co-author Lindsay Jibb, a scientist in the Child Health Evaluative Services program at SickKids and assistant professor at the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing. “Resources in pediatric oncology are often not tailored to this age group, and so this support program, according to our results, appears to be a step in the right direction.”

(L-R) Alicia Kilfoy, Lindsay Jibb and Chana Korenblum (supplied images)

Teens4Teens was originally designed by Chana Korenblum, a staff physician in SickKids’s division of adolescent medicine and assistant professor in the department of paediatrics in U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

It was implemented for young cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the aim of providing teens with a space to connect through virtual sessions with speakers who engaged them on an array of topics related to cancer and also generally on navigating life as a teen.

Sessions were moderated by child life specialists and included guest speakers from various disciplines including nursing and creative art therapy. Each group was involved in addressing coping strategies for grief and navigating difficult feelings using activities such as music and art therapy.

“Teens told us they valued having a space where all thoughts and feelings about cancer were welcome, where they could share their stories and swap coping strategies without judgment – and most importantly, where they felt a strong sense of belonging and connectedness,” says Korenblum.

One of the big draws for teens to participate in the program was the desire to regain a sense of control. Many participants in the study reported challenges associated with feeling excluded from decision-making in their own lives – including around their medical treatment – and the negative impact of cancer on their sense of self and relationships with others.

“We also saw teens reporting that the program normalized their cancer experience in a developmentally appropriate way, and changed the way health providers were engaging with them as patients,” says Jibb, who also holds the Signy Hildur Eaton Chair in Paediatric Nursing Research at SickKids.

The study also delved into participants’ suggestions for improvement, which included making the program hybrid to provide more opportunities for in-person social connection. The researchers say the teens’ feedback will help them fine-tune and augment the program to increase recruitment, engagement and impact.

The study comes amid a growing recognition within the oncology field of the need for teen-centred programming, with Teens4Teens showing promise as a low-cost, feasible intervention.

“Adolescence can be tricky to navigate, and a cancer diagnosis can add many bumps to the road,” says Jibb. “I’m excited to see how this program continues to grow in support of teens with cancer.”

U of T, hospitals launch pilot program to boost commercialization of medical innovations

rahul.kalvapalle — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 14:19:19 +0000

U of T, hospitals launch pilot program to boost commercialization of medical innovations

rahul.kalvapalle Wed, 04/24/2024 - 10:19

Cutline

(photo by Daria Perevezentsev)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Acceleration Consortium

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Artificial Intelligence

Department of Chemistry

Department of Computer Science

Entrepreneurship

Faculty of Art & Science

Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy

Startups

The ��߲ݴ�ý is collaborating with the University Health Network, the Hospital for Sick Children and Sunnybrook Research Institute on a new program that aims to leverage the expertise of entrepreneurs and business leaders to advance commercialization of emerging medical technologies and regenerative medicine research.

Funded by the Government of Ontario, the Entrepreneur-In-Residence program will support projects that display high potential for clinical impact and spin-off company formation, spanning areas ranging from regenerative therapies and medical devices to AI-powered clinical tools and apps for patient care.

The one-year pilot program is being launched with the help of a $300,000 grant from Intellectual Property Ontario (IPON), a provincial agency that was established in 2022 to provide IP resources and supports to researchers and businesses.

“The Entrepreneur-in-Residence program will help take medical innovations developed in academic and hospital environments and translate them into the commercial arena, generating economic opportunity for the region and expanding clinical impact globally,” said Leah Cowen, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives.

“The ��߲ݴ�ý is grateful to IPON for its support of this initiative, which stands to strengthen existing networks of knowledge exchange and collaboration between the university and its partner hospitals.”

Jill Dunlop, left,Ontario’s minister of colleges and universities, said post-secondary institutions are critical incubators of innovation and commercialization (photo courtesy of IPON)

The program will see Entrepreneurs-in-Residence – individuals with a track record of launching science-based ventures and shepherding projects from proof-of-concept to incubation, acceleration and seed funding – liaise with U of T’s Innovations & Partnerships Office and IPON to generate and protect IP. It is designed to add capacity and scope to U of T’s thriving entrepreneurship and commercialization ecosystem, including existing Entrepreneur-in-Residence initiatives such as those offered by the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and Medicine By Design, an institutional strategic initiative (ISI).

“In today’s global knowledge-based economy, Ontario’s post-secondary institutions are critical – not just as centres of learning, but as incubators for innovation and commercialization,” said Jill Dunlop, minister of colleges and universities, in a recent announcement of new IPON-funded initiatives.

“Through the province’s support of IPON, our government is ensuring the social and economic benefits of publicly funded research stay in our province, so that Ontarians and the Ontario economy benefit from these new discoveries and innovations.”

Dunlop also spoke at an April 8 event with Christine Allen, a professor in U of T’s Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy who has an extensive track record of translating and commercializing lab discoveries.

Christine Allen, far right, is a professor in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and the founder and CEO of Intrepid Labs (photo courtesy of IPON)

At the event, Allen highlighted the growth of her startup, Intrepid Labs Inc., which she co-founded with Alán Aspuru-Guzik, a professor in the departments of chemistry and computer science in U of T’s Faculty of Arts & Science and director of the Acceleration Consortium. The company marries Allen’s prowess in drug formulation and development with Aspuru-Guzik’s expertise in AI and advanced computing in order to accelerate the development of next-generation medicines. In the fall, the company closed a pre-seed round of US$4 million.

“The availability of top-notch talent in AI and life sciences made Toronto a great place to launch our company,” says Allen, who is Intrepid’s CEO, noting all four of the startup’s co-founders are from U of T.

She added that U of T is a powerhouse for entrepreneurship and intellectual property, ranked second in North America for university-based startups, and that companies with founders or co-founders from U of T make up a significant percentage of some of the fastest-growing companies in Ontario.

“This is the beauty of being at the ��߲ݴ�ý and having the MaRS Discovery District across the street and all the hospitals around us. It’s such a rich environment,” she says.

“We can do this in Toronto.”

Allen stressed that a thriving lab-to-market ecosystem is critical to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.

“Students are increasingly seeking out roles in the private sector,” she says. “For them to see other students and faculty members [found startups] helps them realize that it’s possible for them to start companies, too.”

U of T receives $10 million from Ontario government for modernization of high containment facility

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 18:15:01 +0000

U of T receives $10 million from Ontario government for modernization of high containment facility

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 03/18/2024 - 14:15

Cutline

(photo by Julia Soudat)

Betty Zou

Topic

Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Sinai Health

Unity Health

Health

Subheadline

Renewal of the 20-year-old facility, which allows researchers to study high-risk pathogens, will provide increased capacity to develop new vaccines and therapeutics

Canada’s ability to respond rapidly to emerging infectious diseases is taking a step forward with a $9.9-million investment from the Ontario government to support critical research infrastructure updates to the Toronto High Containment Facility (THCF), which houses the largest containment level 3 lab in the province.

The facility, located at the ��߲ݴ�ý, is specially equipped to allow researchers to study high-risk pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2, HIV, tuberculosis and mpox, in a safe and secure way.

Research undertaken at the current facility has advanced our understanding of infectious diseases and strengthened our ability to respond to emerging health threats.

“The THCF strengthens Ontario’s position as a prime location for globally leading companies and top talent to discover and commercialize cutting-edge technologies, while improving our preparedness for future health challenges,” says Leah Cowen, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives. “The updated facility will enhance Canada’s health infrastructure and health security, and ensure that Canadian researchers are trained and ready to respond to emerging infectious diseases.”

The provincial funding builds on a previous $35-million investment from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to support efforts to revitalize and expand the THCF and to transform it into the largest academic high-containment research centre in Canada.

The renewal of the 20-year-old facility will provide increased capacity to use state-of-the-art approaches supporting academic research projects as well as collaborative industry-led efforts to develop new vaccines and therapeutics for Canadians. The new provincial investment will also allow the facility to meet the growing demand from industry and public sector partners while maintaining ongoing research projects and an agile responsiveness to future outbreaks.

“The new THCF will allow our researchers to work on the most urgent infectious disease threats, provide greater opportunities to engage with government agencies and industry partners, and allow us to provide unique training opportunities for the next generation of infectious disease leaders, building a strong foundation for Canada’s response to future outbreaks,” says Scott Gray-Owen, academic director of the THCF and a professor of molecular genetics in U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

The provincial support is part of a suite of investments through the Ontario Research Fund and the Early Researcher Awards that also include support for quantum and artificial intelligence projects at U of T. Support has also been extended to advance an infrastructure renewal of the province’s Advanced Research Computing (ARC) systems, including U of T’s Niagara ARC supercomputer, used by researchers across the country.

As the only high containment facility of its kind in the Greater Toronto Area, the THCF is a unique asset to the life sciences ecosystem in the region, which is home to 55 per cent of Canada’s pharmaceutical companies. The modernized facility will be able to support greater engagement with industry partners to advance made-in-Ontario therapeutics such as the experimental drug paridiprubart from Markham-based Edesa Biotech, which is currently being tested in a Phase 3 clinical trial to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome, a common complication from COVID-19 or influenza infections.

In addition to industry partners, the THCF has been used by federal and provincial agencies including the Public Health Agency of Canada, Bank of Canada, Rogers Hixon Ontario Human Milk Bank and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

The THCF renewal will also be undertaken in collaboration with U of T’s hospital partners: The Hospital for Sick Children, Sinai Health, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Unity Health Toronto and University Health Network. Construction of the facility has begun but the university is seeking additional funding to complete the project.

Based at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, the THCF is the cornerstone of the Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium, a U of T institutional strategic initiative that brings together the university and Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) hospital partners to drive innovative approaches to infectious diseases and prepare for future pandemics. It is also a key infrastructure resource for the Canadian Hub for Health Intelligence and Innovation in Infectious Diseases (HI3) which was established through the Canada Biomedical Research Fund. The hub brings together over 90 partners across several sectors to bolster Canada’s biomanufacturing capacity to ensure a fast and co-ordinated response to future pandemics and infectious threats.

The revitalized THCF will also have the capacity to train more than 100 new highly qualified professionals over a five-year period with industry-relevant skills, including manufacturing practices and vaccine and therapeutics development.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the THCF was the first lab in Canada – and one of the first in the world – to isolate the new coronavirus in March 2020. The facility and its highly trained staff played a key role in accelerating research breakthroughs that guided the pandemic response including, for example, methods to allow safe reuse of personal protective equipment in health-care settings and to ensure safe human milk banking for premature infants.

The THCF was also a core element of EPIC’s mpox rapid research response, housing a biobank of samples from patients with mpox which are being used by researchers to better understand the dynamics of viral shedding and other important questions about the disease.

In addition to a larger physical space, the updated facility will include a state-of-the-art high containment insectary to enable research on mosquito-borne viruses like Chikungunya, dengue, Zika and yellow fever. With its modular design and enhanced safety features, the new facility will also be better positioned to respond to emerging pathogens like highly pathogenic avian influenza.

Do you have questions about children's vaccines? A new phone line has the answers

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 14:18:11 +0000

Do you have questions about children's vaccines? A new phone line has the answers

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 02/05/2024 - 09:18

Cutline

(photo by SDI Productions/Getty Images)

Ishani Nath

Topic

Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Pediatrics

Vaccines

Subheadline

The SickKids Vaccine Consult Service (VCS) aims to answer caregivers’ questions about all pediatric vaccinations

Canada is in the midst of respiratory illness season, yet the number of individuals getting the updated COVID-19 and flu vaccines remains low. The number of children receiving routine vaccinations has also dropped since the pandemic.

For the past few years, questions about vaccines dominated headlines and internet searches. Is this vaccine safe? Will it work? Who needs to get vaccinated?

Shaun Morris, a clinician scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and an associate professor of pediatrics in the ��߲ݴ�ý’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine, and Pierre-Philippe Piché-Renaud, who is pursuing a clinical and research fellowship at SickKids and graduate studies at U of T’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, routinely field these types of questions from parents and caregivers.

Both are members of the Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases (CVPD) at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

Shaun Morris and Pierre-Philippe Piché-Renaud (supplied images)

To help boost confidence in vaccination through easy access to reliable, evidence-based information, Morris and Piché-Renaud have launched a new pilot project running until the end of March.

The SickKids Vaccine Consult Service (VCS), part of a larger project funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), is offering a phone service staffed by nurses to answer caregivers’ questions about all pediatric vaccinations. The intent is to make vaccine information more accessible and, ultimately, help parents make the best, most informed decision for their child, Piché-Renaud says.

Building on previous success

The pilot project builds off the success of a COVID-19-specific VCS phone line that ran from October 2021 to March 2023. The COVID-19 VCS received more than 2,700 calls from caregivers asking about COVID-19 vaccines for children. The phone line was staffed by health-care professionals who provided information tailored to each individual circumstance, including living situation or medical history – answers that could not typically be found on the internet.

The nurses fielding calls were trained to create an open and safe environment, explains Julia Orkin, the SickKids COVID-19 VCS medical lead and an associate professor in U of T’s department of paediatrics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

“It wasn’t, you know, ‘you must do this,’ it was really a shared supportive conversation,” she says. After calling in, 83 per cent of caregivers surveyed said their questions and concerns were addressed, and more than 60 per cent said they would proceed with vaccination.

The new phone service expands beyond the COVID-19 VCS by fielding questions not only about COVID-19 vaccines but all childhood immunizations. The service is open to anyone in Ontario, with a specific focus on patients with existing medical concerns and equity-deserving populations throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

Insurance coverage and internet access aren’t required to book a VCS consultation and translation services are available.

Piché-Renaud says that the conversations are about “taking it one step at a time, meeting parents where they are, and addressing their concerns.”

Research has shown that COVID-19 vaccine uptake was lower among certain groups – for instance, certain racialized and lower income populations. To reach these communities, Morris and Piché-Renaud are working with organizations like Black Creek Community Health Centre, Taibu Community Health Centre and the Paediatric Alliance of Ontario.

“The messaging is going to come through the people that [caregivers in these communities] already know and work with,” says Piché-Renaud.

Meeting an urgent need

Providing information on the importance of childhood vaccinations is particularly urgent.

“Immunization coverage for a variety of diseases is lagging behind, leaving kids susceptible to infections and outbreaks that are completely preventable. It’s essential to provide parents with clear, individually tailored messaging from a trusted source to enable them to make informed decisions for their children,” says Shelly Bolotin, director of the Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases and an associate professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

During the pandemic, routine childhood immunizations for preventable diseases like meningitis, measles and polio were set back to levels not seen since 2008. The proportion of Canadians who view vaccines as important for children also dropped from 91 to 82 per cent, according to UNICEF’s 2023 State of the World’s Children report. Canada has since seen cases of pertussis (whooping cough) and other vaccine preventable diseases.

“We’re still seeing kids who show up at SickKids and other paediatric hospitals with vaccine preventable illnesses, like certain types of meningitis,” says Piché-Renaud.

The physicians hope that through the VCS phone line and a related project working with SickKids pediatricians and patients, they will be able to better understand why some children are not getting vaccinated. With this information, they can then develop resources such as educational websites, or improve access to vaccination sites.

Making trusted vaccine information more accessible

Morris and Piché-Renaud encourage Ontario parents wondering about childhood vaccines to book a consultation appointment at SickKids VCS.

For Morris, empowering patients and families to make the best health decisions for themselves is one of the most important aspects of his job. Services like the VCS phone line help achieve that goal by “enabling people to connect to trusted sources of information and navigate through the quagmire of not good information, which is probably more common in the realm of immunization than in most areas.”

Lisa Robinson appointed dean of U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 14:58:25 +0000

Lisa Robinson appointed dean of U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 12/13/2023 - 09:58

Cutline

(supplied image)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Toronto Academic Health Science Network

Pediatrics

Cheryl Regehr

Institute of Medical Science

Subheadline

A clinician-scientist and paediatric nephrologist, Robinson has also been appointed vice-provost, relations with health-care institutions

Lisa Robinson, a clinician-scientist and paediatric nephrologist who seeks to understand the molecular mechanisms behind kidney disease and transform care for children living with complex illnesses, has been appointed dean of the ��߲ݴ�ý’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

Currently Temerty Medicine’s vice-dean, strategy and operations and co-chair of its finance committee, Robinson will assume her new role on July 1, 2024 for a five-year term.

She was also appointed vice-provost, relations with health-care institutions for the same term.

“I’m very biased, but the faculty, the university and the Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) structure are incredible – so I’m very excited,” said Robinson, a professor in Temerty Medicine’s department of paediatrics and the Institute of Medical Science.

Robinson, who earned her MD at the university, is a staff physician and former head of the division of nephrology at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), where she specializes in caring for children with kidney disease, including a focus on renal transplantation.

A senior scientist in the cell biology program at the SickKids Research Institute, Robinson has led a research program – both fundamental and translational – over more than two decades that has encouraged collaboration between scientists, clinicians and learners at all levels. Her work draws on biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, advanced microscopy and disease models to explore immune responses in the context of kidney injury and progression of kidney disease. She is also investigating ways to expand the pool of viable donor kidneys available to patients who need kidney transplants.

“What I really want to do is use the new knowledge we generate from this research to transform the way we care for children and adults with kidney disease,” said Robinson, who holds a tier-one Canada Research Chair in vascular inflammation and kidney injury.

Robinson is a dedicated mentor and educator who has supervised many undergraduate and graduate students as well as post-doctoral fellows. She founded the SickKids Research Institute’s Kids Science program, which gives middle and high school students from under-served communities the opportunity to learn about careers in science and technology.

“Professor Robinson’s commitment to inclusive excellence, her advocacy for the sector and her vision for the future will be key to the success of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine in the years ahead,” said Cheryl Regehr, U of T’s vice-president and provost.

Robinson will succeed Professor Trevor Young in the roles after he was appointed U of T’s next vice-president and provost earlier this year, with his term beginning Jan. 1, 2024. Professor Patricia Houston will serve as interim dean of Temerty Medicine until Robinson assumes the role in July.

Robinson said Young made “enormous” contributions to the faculty.

“Dean Young was the catalyst behind our Academic Strategic Plan, in which so many members of our community see themselves reflected,” Robinson said. “His approach, vision and relational leadership also helped set the stage for the Temerty family’s historic gift to the faculty, which has been transformational.”

As dean, Robinson said she is keen to explore ways to further grow supports and opportunities for Temerty Medicine students.

“I want to renew our emphasis on a student-centric approach that addresses financial challenges, wellness, mental health and mentorship – and use the collective expertise we have across TAHSN to give our students a competitive advantage,” she said, adding that her priorities also include strengthening the recruitment, development and support of faculty and staff.

“We have to renew our focus and make sure that we create an environment in which every member of the community feels valued because that’s the only way in which every person can flourish.”

Robinson also wants to leverage TAHSN – which comprises U of T and partner hospitals – to maximize research potential, accelerate translation of research and foster a renewed emphasis on commercialization and industry collaboration. “Our people flow back and forth across U of T and partner health-care institutions, so we’re uniquely positioned to take advantage of this unique ecosystem,” she said.

To advance inter-disciplinary research, Robinson intends to strengthen Temerty Medicine’s ties with partners across U of T’s three campuses, including the Mississauga Academy of Medicine, Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health (SAMIH), the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and the Faculty of Arts & Science.

“It’s a matter of thinking broadly about the broader environment and making sure we have opportunities to bring together people who wouldn’t normally work with one another.”

Infants are vulnerable to chickenpox earlier than previously thought: Study

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 16:57:43 +0000

Infants are vulnerable to chickenpox earlier than previously thought: Study

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 11/24/2023 - 11:57

Cutline

(photo by Mixmike/Getty Images)

Ishani Nath

Topic

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Subheadline

The findings are in line with previous research indicating that the level of antibodies babies receive from their mothers at birth wear off quickly

Infants are not protected against the varicella-zoster virus, the virus that causes chickenpox, for several months before they are eligible for vaccination, a new study has found.

In some cases, infants may be at risk of infection as early as one month after they are born.

“Antibodies transferred through the placenta during pregnancy protect babies against many infectious diseases when they are born, including the varicella virus,” says Associate Professor Shelly Bolotin, director of the ��߲ݴ�ý’s Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases (CVPD) at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the study’s first author.

“However, our research found that that protection fades quickly, leaving infants vulnerable to infection for many months before they are eligible for chickenpox vaccine, which in Ontario is given at age 15 months.”

Using samples collected at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, researchers looked at the antibody levels in blood samples from 187 infants up to one year of age. They found that antibodies protecting against varicella wore off quickly, and that almost 80 per cent of infants were susceptible to infection by the time they were three months old. At six months, all the infants studied were susceptible to chickenpox infection.

The findings, published in the journal PLOS One, are in line with previous research indicating that the level of antibodies babies receive from their mothers at birth wear off quickly.

“Although many people think of chickenpox as a mild childhood infection, and it generally is, it can cause complications like skin infections, pneumonia or inflammation of the brain, particularly in young children,” says senior study author and CVPD member Michelle Science, an infectious disease consultant and medical adviser for infection prevention and control at SickKids.

Science, who is also an assistant professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, notes that infants are at a higher risk of complications than older children, and are the most likely age group to be hospitalized. Prior to the vaccine’s availability, Canada saw approximately 350,000 varicella cases per year with 1,500 people hospitalized annually.

The chickenpox vaccine helps protect individuals from infection as well as the serious complications that can occur. Getting vaccinated also helps lower the number of cases of chickenpox in all age-groups in a community – even in those too young or too old to be vaccinated.

The chickenpox vaccine is already part of routine childhood vaccination in several countries, including Canada, Australia, Germany and the United States. In the U.K., the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization recently recommended that a chickenpox vaccine program should be introduced into the routine childhood immunization schedule, and that a catch-up program for older children should also be implemented in the future.

“The results of our study confirm that everyone around an infant should be protected from chickenpox, either because they were previously infected or through vaccination,” says Science.

She adds that these results may be helpful for both parents and health-care providers, who should be thinking about varicella whenever they see a rash, even in a young baby, and in the assessment of an infant’s risk of infection if they are exposed to a case.

Bolotin and her co-authors noted that more research is needed on varying demographics and whether factors like breastfeeding or a mother’s age influence their baby’s antibody levels.

In the meantime, this study is a reminder of the importance of immunizations.

“Vaccination is not only about protecting yourself, it’s also about protecting your family, friends, and neighbours,” says Bolotin. “Our study further affirms how getting vaccinated can protect some of the most vulnerable – and in this case, the newest – members of our society.”

Researchers use powerful AI tool to gain new insights into protein structures

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 16:35:45 +0000

Researchers use powerful AI tool to gain new insights into protein structures

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 11/03/2023 - 12:35

Cutline

A protein containing amino acids with fixed spiral and ribbon structures, in blue and light blue, as well as thread-like disordered regions in orange (photo by AlphaFold Protein Structure Database (CC BY 4.0).

Chris Sasaki

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Cell and Systems Biology

Global

Subheadline

The findings could lead to a better understanding of the role played by proteins in disease and the development of new treatments

An international team of researchers has revealed new insights about the three-dimensional structure of certain types of proteins by using the powerful artificial intelligence tool AlphaFold2.

Long molecules comprising strings of amino acids, proteins are folded into three-dimensional structures according to a strict set of rules. The myriad of different structures enable proteins to perform their functions. Within organisms, from bacteria to humans, they transport molecules, act as catalysts for chemical processes, operate as valves and pumps – and much more.

While AlphaFold2 has predicted the three-dimensional structure of some 200 million proteins, it has until now been unable to determine whether sections within certain proteins, known as intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs), have any structure at all – much less predict the shape of that structure.

Alan Moses (supplied image)

“This has been a long-standing debate amongst biochemists and molecular biologists – whether IDRs have fixed structure or whether they’re just ‘floppy’ parts of proteins,” says Alan Moses, a computational biologist and professor in the department of cell and systems biology in the ��߲ݴ�ý’s Faculty of Arts & Science.

“We confirmed that, [while] AlphaFold2 still can't predict the structure of IDRs very well ... what it can do is tell us which IDRs are likely to have some structure – something that was previously impossible.”

Moses is a co-author of a new paper, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that details the research team’s findings and could lead to a better understanding of the role played by these proteins in disease and to the development of new drug treatments.

His co-authors include Reid Alderson, a post-doctoral researcher with the Medizinische Universität Graz (MUG) who formerly did post-doctoral work at U of T; Julie Forman-Kay, a senior scientist and program head of molecular medicine at the Hospital for Sick Children and a professor of biochemistry in U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine; Desika Kolaric, a research assistant at MUG; and Iva Pritišanac, an assistant professor at MUG and former post-doctoral researcher in Moses’s lab.

The team’s findings are significant because AlphaFold2 wasn't trained to predict structures in IDRs and IDRs were not included in its training data. “It's like AI being trained to drive a car, and then trying to see if it can also drive a bus,” says Moses. “It can't drive the bus all that well, but it can recognize that someone should be driving.”

The team is also the first to do it systematically for all the proteins in humans and other organisms. “So, for the first time we believe we know how often it is happening,” says Moses. “This is important because biology is full of exceptions. We need to know what’s common and what’s exceptional.”

The development of this powerful and unexpected application of AlphaFold2 demonstrates the power of using AI to solve the protein folding problem and will improve researchers’ understanding of IDRs and their role in disease.

“In the IDRs that AlphaFold2 predicts to have some structure, we’ve shown that mutations are far more likely to cause disease than mutations in other structureless IDRs,” says Moses. “This is an important advance in understanding how mutations in IDRs can cause disease, which is generally not well understood. We now believe that many of the mutations are disrupting the structure somehow.

“What’s more, because AlphaFold2 predictions are already available for all proteins, now we can say for the first time how many IDRs across the tree of life have structure. Our paper shows that bacterial IDRs are much more likely to have structure than human and animal IDRs. As far as we know, this is the first time this has been noticed and it may settle the ongoing debate about whether most IDRs have structures or not.”

Why is COVID-19 more severe in some people? Researchers use genetics, data science to find out

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 14:08:53 +0000

Why is COVID-19 more severe in some people? Researchers use genetics, data science to find out

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 10/25/2023 - 10:08

Cutline

(Photo by Cole Burston/AFP/Getty Images)

Tyler Irving

Topic

COVID-19

Data Sciences Institute

Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

Sinai Health

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Unity Health

Computer Science

Faculty of Arts & Science

Mount Sinai Hospital

St. Michael's Hospital

Statistical Sciences

Women's College Hospital

Subheadline

With the help of U of T's Data Sciences Institute, researchers from the university and partner hospitals gathered more than 11,000 full genome sequences from across Canada

Why do some people have a more severe course of COVID-19 disease than others? A genome sequence database created by an international collaboration of researchers, including many from the ��߲ݴ�ý and partner hospitals, may hold the answers to this question – and many more.

The origins of the Canadian COVID-19 Human Host Genome Sequencing Databank, known as CGEn HostSeq, can be traced to the earliest days of the pandemic.

Lisa Strug, senior scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and academic director of U of T’s Data Sciences Institute, one of several U of T institutional strategic initiatives, says genetic data was top of mind for her and other researchers in late 2019 and early 2020 as reports of a novel form of coronavirus emerged from China and then other locations across the globe.

Lisa Strug (Photo courtesy The Hospital for Sick Children)

“In my research, I use data science techniques to map the genes responsible for complex traits,” says Strug, who is a professor in U of T’s departments of statistical sciences and computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science and in the biostatistics division of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

“We knew that genes were a factor in the severity of previous SARS infections, so it made sense that COVID-19, which is caused by a closely related virus, would have a genetic component, too.

“Very early on, I started getting messages from several scientists who wanted to set up different studies that would help us find those genes.”

Over the next few months, Strug – who is also the associate director of SickKids’ Centre for Applied Genomics, one of three sites across Canada that form CGEn, Canada’s national platform for genome sequencing infrastructure for research – collaborated with nearly 100 researchers from across U of T and partner hospitals and institutions, as well as other researchers from across Canada to enrol individuals with COVID-19 and sequence their genomes.

Some of the key team members from the Toronto community included:

Stephen Scherer, chief of research at SickKids Research Institute and a University Professor in U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine, as well as director of the U of T McLaughlin Centre
Rayjean Hung, associate director of population health at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health, and a professor in U of T’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Angela Cheung, clinician-scientist at University Health Network, senior scientist at Toronto General Hospital Research Institute and a professor in U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Upton Allen, head of the division of infectious diseases at SickKids and a professor in U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine

The projected was initiated by Scherer and CGEn’s Naveed Aziz, along with Strug, and a $20-million grant was secured from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, administered through Genome Canada.

“We had to go right to the top to get this project funded fast and our labs and teams worked seven days a week on the project right through the pandemic,” Scherer recalls.

Identifying associations between individual genes and complex traits typically requires thousands of genomes – both from those with the trait and those without. Though there was no shortage of cases to choose from, it was critical to gather and sequence DNA – and then organize the data in a way that would be ethical, efficient and useful to researchers now and in the future.

“One of our key mandates at the Data Sciences Institute is developing techniques and programs that ensure that data remains as open, accessible and as re-producible as it can be,” Strug says.

“That vision was brought to bear as we assembled the data infrastructure for this project – for example, ensuring that consent forms were as broad as possible so that this data could be linked with other sources, from electronic medical records to other health databases.

“We wanted to be sure that even after the COVID-19 pandemic was over this could be a national whole genome sequencing resource to ask all kinds of questions about health and our genes. The development of the database and its open nature also enabled Canada to collaborate effectively with similar projects in other countries.”

Partner hospitals and institutions:

The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health
Mount Sinai Hospital, Sinai Health
St Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto
University Health Network (UHN)
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, UHN
Ontario Institute for Cancer Research
Women’s College Hospital
Toronto General Hospital, UHN
Baycrest Health Sciences

In the end, the project gathered more than 11,000 full genome sequences from across Canada, representing patients with a wide range of health outcomes. Those data were then combined with even more sequences from patients in other countries under what came to be called the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative.

It didn’t take long for patterns to start to emerge. A paper published in Nature in 2021 identified 13 genome-wide significant loci that are associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection or severe manifestations of COVID-19.

Since then, even more data have been added, and subsequent analysis has confirmed the significance of existing loci while also identifying new ones. The most recent update to the project, published in Nature earlier this year, brings the total number of distinct, genome-wide significant loci to 51.

“Identification of these loci can help one predict who might be more prone to a severe course of COVID-19 disease,” says Strug.

“When you identify a trait-associated locus, you can also unravel the mechanism by which this genetic region contributes to COVID-19 disease. This potentially identifies therapeutic targets and approaches that a future drug could be designed around.”

While it will take many more years to fully untangle the effects of the different loci that have been identified, Strug says that the database is already showing its worth in other ways.

“It can be difficult to find datasets with whole genome sequence and approved for linkage with other health information that are this large, and we want people to know that it is open and available for all kinds of research well beyond COVID through a completely independent data access committee,” she says.

“For example, several investigators from across Canada have been approved to use these data and we’ve even provided funding to trainees to encourage them to develop new data science methodologies or ask novel health questions using the CGen HostSeq data.”

“This was a humongous effort, where researchers from across Canada came together during the COVID-19 pandemic to recruit, obtain and sequence DNA from more than 11,000 Canadians in a systematic, co-operative, aligned way to create a made-in-Canada data resource that will hopefully be useful for years to come. I think that was really miraculous.”

Research may explain why men are more likely to experience severe cases of COVID-19

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 15:11:29 +0000

Research may explain why men are more likely to experience severe cases of COVID-19

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 10/03/2023 - 11:11

Cutline

Haibo Zhang, a researcher at Unity Health Toronto and U of T, led pre-clinical research that suggests why males are more likely to experience worse outcomes from COVID-19, opening the door to potential new treatments (photo by Julia Soudat)

Betty Zou

Topic

Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium

Sunnybrook Health Sciences

Sinai Health

Unity Health

Graduate Students

St. Michael's Hospital