Megan Stacey

It’s like Google Maps for the brain, layers of information that fit together to build a new kind of diagnostic jigsaw puzzle.  Shawn Whitehead, a professor at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and director of the Western Institute for Neuroscience (WIN), is leading work to transform disease detection with an advanced imaging platform that can map the brain in unprecedented detail.  “When we think about biomarkers of disease, we usually think of three main categories,” Whitehead said. “You might have an imaging biomarker, where you put someone in a scanner and see something wrong in the brain. Or you might have a fluid biomarker from a blood draw that shows signs of disease or risk for disease. Even a cognitive test for dementia can act as a biomarker.”  But these pieces rarely connect.  “What we don’t do very well is integrate all three. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle – the more information you have from different techniques, the stronger your diagnostic and predictive power becomes.”  Whitehead and collaborators were awarded $4.1 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), one of four projects at Western to receive funding in the latest round of grants. A total of more than $21.5 million will flow to researchers at Western across disciplines, from chemistry to rehabilitation.  The initiative builds on the university’s strength in imaging, positioning Western as a “global hub for precision neuroscience,” Whitehead said.  “Our team is developing an advanced imaging platform to better understand brain diseases, infections and cancers. By combining different types of imaging technologies, including mass spectrometry imaging, we can create detailed maps of molecules within brain tissue,” he said.  He uses the Google Maps analogy – instead of roads, this platform will navigate brain tissue.  “Instead of showing streets and buildings, it shows the precise location of molecules that might be involved in disease,” Whitehead said. “Fluid biomarkers might show you have molecules A, B and C and you’re at risk for certain diseases, but you don’t know where in the body these biomarkers are. That’s what the imaging diagnostic piece will bring.”  University Health Network and University of Ottawa will collaborate on the project, which is expected to train more than 80 young scientists.  The potential impact is huge.  “It’s really about creating a 360-degree view of brain disease,” Whitehead said. “Better biomarkers mean better clinical trials, more powerful diagnostics, opportunities for earlier diagnoses. Ultimately that will offer better treatment decisions for patients with strokes, Alzheimer’s or other diseases.”   

The invisible threat weakening critical materials 

Another team of researchers is tackling a largely invisible problem with huge consequences on everything from infrastructure to energy to medical implants: hydrogen-driven material failure.  “Hydrogen is everywhere. It’s the smallest atom, and for a very long time we didn’t even notice it in our materials. But it’s responsible for a surprising number of failures,” said chemistry professor Yolanda Hedberg. She’s leading this project, which is receiving $9.7 million in CFI funding.  “Hydrogen can transform a strong material into something that breaks very easily.”  It can enter materials through several common processes, including corrosion, energy production and even chemical reactions inside the human body. All it takes is water.  “At first, people don’t believe it, wondering ‘where is the hydrogen coming from?’ But you just need water,” Hedberg said.  Her team has recently studied cases in which stainless steel medical implants unexpectedly broke inside patients.  “This is a type of stainless steel that should never break,” Hedberg said. “But hydrogen is generated through body fluids.”  Hydrogen exposure can also occur in nuclear energy systems, where radiation can split water molecules and release hydrogen.  Because hydrogen atoms are extremely small, they are notoriously difficult to detect with conventional scientific instruments.   By understanding how hydrogen enters materials and how it triggers structural failure, researchers hope to develop strategies to prevent it.  “One solution could involve improving protective coatings so hydrogen cannot penetrate,” Hedberg said. “Another is modifying materials or heat-treating them so they’re less susceptible to hydrogen damage.”  The investigation brings together experts from multiple institutions, including material scientists, coating chemists and nuclear engineers.   “It’s really a cool team,” Hedberg said.  Researchers at Queen’s University will contribute nuclear engineering capabilities and specialized facilities that allow materials to be exposed to radiation and mechanical stress simultaneously – conditions that closely mimic real-world environments.  At the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont. samples can even be tested inside a nuclear reactor.  The findings could influence fields ranging from renewable energy systems to nuclear power infrastructure and biomedical implants.  “In corrosion science, when you solve one problem you can sometimes create another,” Hedberg said. “Our goal is to understand the mechanisms so we can design materials that are both strong and durable.”  Chemistry professor Paul Ragogna and his partners at four other universities are battling corrosion with a different solution, creating a new “metal loving” organic coating that binds strongly to metal surfaces to prevent corrosion. The project is receiving $5.3 million in CFI funding. Ragogna and team estimate proper corrosion protocols could save up to 35 per cent of the $66 billion in direct losses annually in Canada from degradation of materials. Both Hedberg and Ragogna’s projects build on the world-leading surface analysis and materials characterization work done at Surface Science Western. Another Western-led project focused on rehabilitation was granted $2.5 million in CFI funding. Director of the National Centre for Audiology, Susan Scollie, and physical therapy professor Joy MacDermid partnered with colleagues from the Bone and Joint Institute, School of Biomedical Engineering and the Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging to establish the RehabInnovation Hub. The team will develop and test advanced rehabilitation technologies. The new project will use AI, sensorized wearables and interdisciplinary partnerships to leverage Western’s impact and strength in mobility and communication (including hearing and speaking) across the lifespan.     Learn more about how Western is turning curiosity into solutions.