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Dr. Donna Goldhawk, an imaging scientist at Lawson Health Research Institute (Lawson), is providing a unique and valuable learning experience to senior high school students. Since 2009, she has accepted students to train in her hospital-based research laboratory at St. Joseph’s Health Care London in partnership with secondary schools in the Thames Valley region.

Dr. Goldhawk recruits students in partnership with the Partners in Experiential Learning (PEL) program. This unique academic co-op education program in London, Ontario identifies high school students interested in health research and prepares them for placement in a health research environment. The students earn senior high school credits and receive training in basic laboratory research.

Originally conceived by Dr. Jim Koropatnick, a cancer scientist at Lawson, and Mr. Rodger Dusky, a retired secondary school teacher, PEL has been running successfully since 2004. It is a partnership between the Thames Valley District School Board, London District Catholic School Board, the Ontario Ministry of Education, Western University, London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Care London. In Dr. Goldhawk’s experience, PEL attracts an excellent calibre of student who is eager to learn, aspiring to further education and capable of contributing to the science of molecular imaging.

Through the Ontario Research Fund (ORF), the Ministry of Research and Innovation also recognizes the value of attracting youth to the scientific enterprise and provides funding to support youth outreach. Dr. Goldhawk oversees one such initiative, approved under a grant entitled “Heart Failure: Prevention through Early Detection Using New Imaging Methods”. She works with PEL to attract summer students with an interest in molecular imaging.

This year, a total of three ORF summer studentships are available at the following collaborating research labs: Lawson Health Research Institute (London), University of Ottawa Heart Institute (Ottawa) and Sunnybrook Research Institute (Toronto). To learn more about these summer studentships, please email Dr. Goldhawk at @email by May 25, 2018.

Participating students can expect experiential learning tailored to their current understanding of science and aimed at expanding this knowledge for a fuller appreciation of biomedical research.

“ORF youth outreach recognizes the role of medical imaging in today’s workplace and promotes the study of cardiovascular disease in the next generation of researchers,” says Mr. Dusky. “This fills a clear gap in knowledge and career planning for high school youth.”

In Dr. Goldhawk’s laboratory, for example, cardiac research is focussed on the measurement of iron contrast using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). “Many cells have naturally distinct iron metabolism. However, we are also using genes from magnetic bacteria to improve the magnetic sensitivity of mammalian cells. MRI can then be used to detect disease processes in living subjects.”

“We are particularly interested in reporter gene expression for MRI, a term coined to describe how changes in the pattern of gene activity, and its related protein activity, may be visualized.” Her research group uses laboratory models to track these biological molecules, particularly those involved in cardiac inflammation and cancer growth and metastasis.

Her current team of four graduate and four undergraduate students span various stages of their chosen programs. In this setting, high school students step into a work atmosphere where they interact with colleagues at multiple levels. In addition, since molecular imaging research is inherently interdisciplinary, students acquire training in both biology and physics.

Dr. Goldhawk finds that students exposed to high-quality science education more easily envision themselves in positions of responsibility within the health care sector. Youth learn that developing a scientific career is a process with many choices for fusing interests with a specific occupation.

“To retain the interest of talented young scientists, it is essential to provide them with interesting challenges that reward their curiosity and ambition to learn,” explains Dr. Goldhawk. “In hospital-based research institutes, youth are also exposed to the clinical side for which our research is targeted. This is a quality scientific experience for youth interested in expanding their outlook, performance, technical, problem-solving and record-keeping skills. I think it is essential to build these opportunities into our scientific programs.”

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Above: Suhail Shukri, 2018 PEL student at Oakridge Secondary School, and Sarah Donnelly, 2013 PEL student at Wilfred Laurier Secondary School and current MSc candidate at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, training with Dr. Jeremy Burton and Dr. Donna Goldhawk at Lawson Health Research Institute. 

Lawson Health Research Institute – the research institute of London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and St. Joseph’s Health Care London – is ranked seventh in the country in Re$earch Infosource’s 2023 list of Canada’s Top 40 Research Hospitals. 

This is the 13th year in a row that Lawson has ranked top ten in the country, and the seventh-place ranking is up two spots from 2022 – highlighting continued dedication to hospital-based research at LHSC and St. Joseph’s.

Lawson also ranked second for research intensity among the large tier institutions with more than $776,000 of research spending per researcher.

“These rankings help LHSC and St. Joseph’s assess how we compare to similar hospitals across the country,” says Dr. David Hill, Scientific Director at Lawson and Integrated Vice President, Research at LHSC and St. Joseph’s. “Our continuous placement in the top 10 of all research hospitals shows we are doing important and relevant medical research that is making a difference to patient care.”

Lawson has been at the forefront of research in a wide range of specializations, making advances in areas from cancer care and mental health supports to molecular imaging and theranostics in recent years.

“Conducting research in hospitals means it can go from bench to bedside much more quickly,” says Dr. Hill. “Things move much faster now than they ever did. Our top 10 ranking shows we are leading the way, and that funders are confident in London’s hospital-based researchers.”

The top 40 list analyzes hospital-based research institutes from across the country on several metrics, including total research expenditure from the previous fiscal year. The ranking looks at funds from all sources, including both internal and external, to support research in hospitals.

The American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons association has awarded a team of London researchers the 2017 Charles S. Neer Award for Clinical Science, one of the most prestigious awards in the areas of shoulder and elbow surgical research in North America.

The award recognizes the scientists’ development of the PCR-RFLP (polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism) assay, a test that can accurately identify Propionibacterium acnes (P acnes) infection of the shoulder within 24 hours. Current methods take an average of six or more days, and are prone to sample contamination and false-positive results.

“We are incredibly honoured to receive this award,” says Dr. David O’Gorman, Lawson scientist, Co-Director of Molecular and Cellular Research at the Roth McFarlane Hand and Upper Limb Centre (HULC) at St. Joseph’s Health Care London, and senior author of the publication. “We believe it illustrates the high quality of research being done at Lawson and marks the beginning of another clinically relevant research program at HULC.”

P acnes is a type of bacteria typically found deep in the hair follicles and sebaceous pores of the skin. A P acnes infection of the shoulder is a common and serious complication that occurs after arthroplasty (surgery to replace a damaged joint, most commonly with artificial material). It can cause pain in the shoulder joint and often loosens the implant. In most cases, the patient requires additional surgery to remove the infection and replace the implant.

It can be difficult to diagnose a P acnes infection as it often presents without symptoms that would be characteristic of an infection, such as pain, skin reddening or wound drainage. The prevalence of P acnes in the deeper layers of the skin also increases the chance of sample contamination and false-positive results making it hard to isolate and identify in a pathology lab.

Currently P acnes infection is identified by administering a tissue swab for anaerobic culture, which takes an average of six or more days but could take up to three weeks. This technique also carries substantial risk of contamination from the adjacent skin and other sites where P acnes is present.

The PCR-RFLP assay can identify P acnes in tissue from a shoulder biopsy within a 24-hour period. The extremely sensitive technology also has the ability to detect fewer than ten P acnes cells in the sample, which may decrease the false-positive rate in cultures caused by swab contamination.

“The accuracy of this test and the shorter period of time needed for identification can help with treatment decision making, targeted antibiotic therapy, and monitoring to minimize implant failure and revision surgery,” explains Dr. O’Gorman, who is also an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Surgery and Biochemistry at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. “We hope that the test can be further developed into a ‘point of case’ assay that can detect P acnes in tissue samples in real time while the patient is undergoing shoulder surgery.”

Since the PCR and RFLP mapping used for the assay are techniques routinely performed in many clinical microbiology and pathology labs, the test would be a cost-efficient approach not restricted to highly specialized research labs.

Other scientists who were part of the study include Dr. George Athwal and Dr. Kenneth Faber, HULC orthopaedic surgeons, Lawson scientists and Schulich professors; Ana Pena Diaz, research technician for the HULC Molecular and Cellular Biology Research Lab; and Scott Holmes, a medical student and Schulich Research Opportunities Program participant who was primarily responsible for designing and optimizing the assay.

Both Dr. O’Gorman and Dr. Faber are also members of Western’s Bone and Joint Institute.

“A rapid method for detecting Propionibacterium acnes in surgical biopsy specimens from the shoulder” was published in the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery (JSES). 

When cases of COVID-19 began spreading in the London region, Lawson Health Research Institute (Lawson) had to rapidly adjust to a new environment.

As a hospital based research institute, Lawson is uniquely positioned to address the medical questions posed by a new virus. The expertise and infrastructure to begin these investigations was already in place. The global shortage of supplies, as well as physical distancing measures, forced many research projects to be put on hold. Other areas, however, were ramping up their work to support the scientists and physicians eager to figure out how we can better prevent, detect, and treat patients with COVID-19.

Lawson Clinical Research Services (LCRS) and the Center for Clinical Investigation and Therapeutics (CCIT) got to work immediately. The teams responded rapidly to research requests, getting new studies up and running within days.

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Dr. Douglas Fraser, Lawson Scientist and Paediatric Critical Care Physician at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), initiated a study to examine the immune response in patients with COVID-19. Reports from other parts of the world identified a heightened immune response in more severe cases of the infection, also labeled the ‘cytokine storm’. Laboratories at Lawson were ready to handle this type of research, as close proximity to patients and sample collection is essential.

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“Our world changed almost overnight,” adds Tereschyn. “We had to pivot on a dime and change the entire way we do business. Our staff have really risen to the challenge.”

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The LCRS and CCIT teams are supporting essential research in other ways as well, including logistics and administrative support, and supply sharing.

“We’ve developed many new partnerships throughout this pandemic, and figured out in very short order how to work efficiently together,” says Tereschyn. “While COVID-19 has presented us with many challenges, it has also been a great opportunity for us to support one another in ways that I don’t believe would have transpired otherwise.”

Dr. Dalton Wolfe, scientist, Lawson Health Research Institute, led a tour of the physiotherapy gym at St. Joseph Health Care London’s Parkwood Institute for 14 nursing students from Kyungil University in South Korea.

The nursing students have spent six weeks in Canada as part of the Health Care and English as a Second Language Program at King’s University College, during which they focused on English as a language instruction with a focus on medical terminology.

Dr. Wolfe showcased various physiotherapy tools, including a locomat and exoskeleton and explained how holistic and practice-based research can lead to better patient outcomes.  

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3D imaging technology could improve outcomes for patients with breast cancer

During a conventional digital 2D mammogram, two x-ray images are taken of the breast, one from top-to-bottom and another from side-to-side at an angle. This technology is limited by the overlapping breast tissue that occurs from the required compression of the breast, and breast abnormalities may be hidden. A study at Lawson is looking to determine if digital breast tomosynthesis, a type of 3D imaging, is better at detecting breast tissue abnormalities than the 2D mammography regularly used today. Read more. 

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Antioxidants in the brain linked to improved treatment results in patients with psychosis

Once patients with psychosis start treatment, some get better in weeks while it can take months for others. A research team from Lawson and Western University studied antioxidant levels in the brain, and found that these chemicals, which rid the body of normal metabolic biproducts called free radicals, may improve outcomes of early intervention in psychosis. Read more. 

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Researchers awarded $4.8 million to validate locally developed test, EpiSign, for first-line diagnostic testing of rare hereditary disorders 

A clinical trial named “EpiSign-CAN,” led by researchers at Lawson was awarded $4.8 million to measure the clinical impact of a new molecular genomics test for diagnosing genetic neurodevelopmental conditions. The diagnostic test, called EpiSign, uses machine learning to analyze the EpiSign Knowledge Database. This database compiles information on rare genetic diseases using laboratory analyses of the entire genome, referred to as the epigenome, from patients with suspected genetic abnormalities. Read more.

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Perceptions of confidentiality for Canadian Veterans discussing moral injuries

Lawson researchers are exploring Canadian Veterans’ beliefs about confidentiality in mental health care and whether those beliefs act as a barrier to seeking treatment for a type of trauma known as moral injury. Moral injury describes psychological distress following events where a person performs, witnesses or fails to prevent acts that conflict with deeply held moral standards. Evidence suggests that moral injuries are on the rise among deployed members of the Canadian Armed Forces, and that those exposed to such events are at a higher risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Read more.

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New device could reduce COVID-19 infection risk and demand for invasive ventilators

Researchers designed a non-invasive ventilation mask that could significantly reduce aerosolization – the production of airborne respiratory droplets that may contain viruses or bacteria – when treating patients with COVID-19. The new device aims to reduce infection risks associated with non-invasive ventilation and lessen the demand for invasive ventilators. It is currently being tested through a clinical trial with patients at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC). Read more.

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Researchers first in world to profile the body’s immune response to COVID-19

By studying blood samples from critically ill patients at LHSC, researchers identified a unique pattern of six molecules that could be used as therapeutic targets to treat COVID-19. Studies show that part of what makes the virus so deadly is that the body mounts an overreactive immune response as the virus grows and replicates. This response releases inflammatory molecules in order to fight the virus, but also destroys healthy cells and organs in the process. Read more.

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Study suggests that surgery may be superior treatment for chronic sciatica

In a randomized controlled trial, surgery was found to be superior to non-operative therapy in the treatment of chronic sciatica. Chronic sciatica can be caused by a disc herniation which compresses a nerve in the lumbar spine causing pain from the lower back to the leg. The primary treatment options for sciatica are surgery or non-operative care. Researchers conducted this study to test if a surgical treatment called microdiscectomy results in better patient outcomes for those with chronic sciatica compared to non-operative care. Read more.

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Researchers unravel two mysteries of COVID-19

A team from Lawson and Western University made significant steps forward in understanding COVID-19 through two back-to-back studies. In one study, the team identified six molecules that can be used as biomarkers to predict how severely ill a patient will become. In the other study, they were the first to reveal a mechanism causing blood clots in COVID-19 patients and potential ways to treat them. The studies were conducted by analyzing blood samples from critically ill patients at LHSC. Read more.

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Gut microbiome may influence how cancer patients respond to oral therapies, study suggests

A study from Lawson and Western illustrated how the gut microbiome interacts with an oral medication in prostate cancer patients, suggesting bacteria in the gut play a role in treatment outcomes. The findings highlight how the drug abiraterone acetate is metabolized by bacteria in the gut to reduce harmful organisms while promoting those that fight cancer. The research team suspects this is one of many examples of how the microbiome influences our response to medications. Read more.

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First Contrast Enhanced Spectral Mammography guided biopsy in North America

Researchers at Lawson performed the first breast biopsy guided by Contrast Enhanced Spectral Mammography (CESM) in North America on June 12, 2020. CESM is a novel diagnostic imaging tool that is able to detect cancerous lesions at a greater rate than standard mammography, and at close rate to MRI. The procedure is faster and more accurate, comfortable and cost effective than an MRI biopsy. Read more.

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Assessing the pandemic's impact on Canadian Veterans and their spouses

A project from Lawson and the Centre of Excellence on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) hopes to discover the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on the mental health of Canadian Veterans and their spouses. They are partnering with up to 1,000 Canadian Veterans and 250 spouses of Canadian Veterans. Through online surveys, the project will hear directly from Veterans and their spouses to assess the pandemic’s effects on their well-being over time. Read more.

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Fecal transplants show promise as treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

A randomized controlled trial found that fecal transplants in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) results in a reduction in how easily pathogens and other unwanted molecules pass through the human gut and into circulation, known as intestinal permeability. The results could have implications for the treatment of numerous conditions including metabolic syndrome and autoimmune diseases. Read more.

Keynote speaker at joint mental health research day says compassion in action has proven benefit

Compassion in mental health care – and in all health care – is “what separates good from really great” patient outcomes, Calgary-based researcher Shane Sinclair, PhD, told mental health researchers during a conference Oct. 30, 2024, in London.

Sinclair, who heads the Compassion Research Lab at the University of Calgary, was the invited keynote speaker at the Joint Mental Health Research and Innovation Day, attended by about 130 people.

The event was hosted by Lawson Research Institute, London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute and Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.

The day also featured 17 poster presentations and 17 oral presentations on different aspects of mental health research. It’s one of the premier annual education-and-development events in mental health science regionally.

This year’s event showcased how compassion could transform health policy, partnerships, systems, care, research and service delivery.

Compassion, respect and excellence are core values of St. Joseph’s Health Care London.

Sinclair noted that the key role of compassion – responding to someone’s suffering with understanding and action – is evidence-based.  

“We do patient-informed and patient-targeted research. And we’ve found compassion makes a difference in how people heal.”
-Shane Sinclair, PhD, compassion researcher

His lab examined the outcomes and satisfaction among patients at 14 emergency rooms across Alberta and found compassion to be the greatest predictor of quality care ratings.  

“What separates good from really great comes down to compassion. These things matter,” Sinclair said.

“It improves their health and their quality of life. It reduces health-care costs, reduces adverse medical outcomes and helps build patients’ trust in the medical information and direction they receive,” he said.