Could the changing ecosystems of Ontario’s far north have an impact on human health?
University of Western Ontario researcher Brian Branfireun, a newly appointed Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Environment and Sustainability (Tier 2), thinks so.
His research in the second largest wetland region in the world – the Hudson Bay Lowlands – will focus on water quality and quantity issues, along with developing an understanding of how these ecosystems will be altered in response to changes in land use and climate.
Yesterday, Branfireun, Kevin Shoemaker (Health Sciences) and Mansour Haeryfar (Microbiology and Immunology) were named to new CRC positions. Six Western researchers also have their CRC positions renewed.
The chairs program has been designed to encourage and promote top research and innovation in universities. Tier 1 chairs receive $200,000 annually for seven years to fund their research and are awarded to outstanding researchers who have developed reputations as world leaders in their fields. Tier 2 chairs receive $100,000 annually for five years and are recognized as exceptional and emerging researchers with the potential to lead their respective fields.
Branfireun, who came to Western recently from the University of Toronto, was “incredibly flattered” with the news of his CRC with so many academics doing important work on a myriad of issues.
“We all have to believe at some level that our individual work is important – or else we wouldn’t have nearly enough momentum to keep it up for a career – but to be honest I think that most of us always feel like we could be doing more, or doing better,” he says. “I felt very fortunate to be selected to be given the opportunity to, at this stage in my career, really focus my time and effort on some environmental problems that my students and I believe are important.”
Branfireun’s research group focuses on how changes in the physical and chemical properties of the extensive wetlands, with increases in temperature and changes in precipitation patterns, will impact the exposure of organisms and ultimately human consumers to contaminants such as mercury.
“We are also very interested in how these changes will affect the vast stores of carbon that are stored there in the form of peat,” he says. “It has remained there for thousands of years because it is cold and wet, in some cases frozen permanently as permafrost. This is changing fast.”
The implications of Branfireun’s work are at a range of scales including the local ecosystem with respect to organism health and ecological feedbacks; the regional scale in terms of changes in water quality affecting contaminant cycling and human health; and the global scale with gigatonnes of carbon that, if released because of changes in hydrology, will amplify the effects of an already warming atmosphere.
Branfireun’s research will provide critical information to regulators, policy-makers and northern residents alike on the role large northern wetlands play in governing water quality, and how this sensitive environment is going to respond to climate change.
Also receiving new CRC positions are:
• Kevin Shoemaker, Canada Research Chair in Integrative Physiology of Exercise and Health (Tier 1)
Vascular disease remains the greatest economic and physical burden in our society due to its role in stroke, heart attacks and exercise limitations. Yet, the costs of this disease are likely to be greatly underestimated because vascular disease is now believed to be a fundamental problem behind many chronic diseases that affect brain function, cardiovascular responses to stress, mental health, bone health, balance and others.
Shoemaker’s research will examine the integration of the autonomic nervous system with the cardiovascular system in health and disease, and establish the architecture of the cortical autonomic network.
Further, the research will emphasize the role of exercise as a stimulus that produces a protective result in vascular and nervous system tissues. Shoemaker’s research is relevant to the health and mobility of our population, particularly the aging population as it deals with a common problem behind many chronic diseases that affect one’s ability to move freely.
• Mansour Haeryfar, Canada Research Chair in Viral Immunity & Pathogenesis (Tier 2)
Infectious diseases caused by naturally occurring or emerging viruses (e.g., seasonal and pandemic flu) represent one of the greatest threats to mankind. They can potentially wipe out or hospitalize large sections of human populations and impose a heavy burden on the world and Canadian economies.
A specialized subset of immune cells called cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) provide an important line of defence against viral invaders. CTLs recognize virus-infected cells and eliminate them by using their impressive arsenal of lethal molecules.
Despite the presence of CTLs in many infected individuals, they may not always be able to rid the body of disease-causing viruses. CTLs often attack a very limited range of viral targets and are also under tight control by various other cell types found in the body.
A major focus of Haeryfar’s research team is to understand the reasons for antiviral CTL limitations and to design novel therapeutic approaches to enhance CTL-based antiviral immunity.
This research will better our understanding of immune responses to viruses and lead to the development of highly effective strategies for rational vaccine design and for the treatment of infectious diseases.
Six Western professors received renewals of their Canadian Research Chair positions. They include: Trevor Birmingham, Tier 2 CRC in Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation; Ann Chambers, Tier 1 CRC in Oncology; Dale Laird, Tier 1 CRC in Gap Junctional Intercellular Communication and Disease; Shawn Li, Tier 2 CRC in Functional Genomics and Cellular Proteomics; Joy Parr, Tier 1 CRC in Technology, Culture and Risk; and Gregory Zaric, Tier 2 CRC in Health Care Management Science.