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Announced at the 2017 Lawson Impact Awards, Drs. Muriel Brackstone and Gregor Reid were recipients of Lawson’s annual Strategic Research Fund (SRF) competition. Their project, “Re-setting the breast microbiome to lower inflammation and risk of cancer,” will examine whether taking an oral probiotic can reduce inflammation and lower the risk of breast cancer.

One in nine Canadian women will develop breast cancer during her lifetime (Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation). Many cancers are considered to be the result of inflammatory processes. While inflammation has been a focus of research in breast cancer, the role of bacteria has not.

Recently, Drs. Reid and Brackstone were collaborators on a study that was the first to describe the breast microbiome, proving the existence of bacteria in human breast tissue. Led by Dr. Reid and his former PhD student, Dr. Camilla Urbaniak, further research demonstrated that the types of bacteria found in women with breast cancer differ significantly from those found in healthy tissue.

One bacterial species from the cancerous tissue, Escherichia coli (E. coli), is capable of producing low amounts of substances known to cause cancer and induce inflammation, while the bacteria found in healthy tissue, like Lactobacillus, are known to interfere with cancer processes.

“The question is whether we can manipulate this to essentially get rid of more harmful bacteria and replace them with beneficial ones like Lactobacillus,” says Dr. Reid, a Lawson scientist and Director of the Canadian Centre for Human Microbiome and Probiotic Research.

In this new study, Dr. Brackstone and Dr. Reid will join forces to test their theory that taking an oral probiotic lactobacilli will lead to these organisms reaching the breast tissue, displacing harmful bacteria and reducing inflammation.

Drs. Brackstone and Reid will compare bacteria from the breast tissues of women at risk for breast cancer who are taking the probiotic against those at risk who are taking a placebo. They will also compare to the breast tissue of healthy women who are not at risk. The research participants will provide nipple and needle aspirates for their bacteria to be analyzed both at the beginning of the study and after three months of either taking the probiotic or a placebo. The samples will also be tested for inflammatory compounds, levels of heavy metals and pesticides that may influence cancer risk.

“I think this study will shed light into what actually occurs in the milk ducts where most breast cancers originate,” says Dr. Brackstone, a Lawson scientist, surgical oncologist and medical director for the London Breast Care Clinic. “If successful, this project could lead to larger studies and contribute to a new way of approaching breast cancer management.”

Now in its third year, Lawson’s Strategic Research Fund (SRF) supports research projects that will advance science in alignment with Lawson’s strategic research goals, as outlined in Lawson’s 2014-2018 Strategic Plan. This year’s competition once again focused on “inflammation”. Chosen projects received $50,000 over a two-year period.

Learn more about this research project:

Announced at the 2017 Lawson Impact Awards, Drs. Stewart Gaede and Gerald Wisenberg were recipients of Lawson’s annual Strategic Research Fund (SRF) competition. With their project, “Assessing acute cardiac inflammation after left-sided breast cancer radiotherapy with hybrid PET/MRI,” the Lawson researchers will explore the cardiovascular effects of radiation therapy for left-sided breast cancer.

Radiation therapy is critical to modern breast cancer treatment. It has led to improved survival rates with many patients living long lives following their treatment.

Unfortunately, when delivering radiation therapy, we cannot avoid irradiation around surrounding tissues, including the heart. This is a concern since such irradiation may lead to cardiovascular disease later in life.

Currently, the effects of radiation to the heart can only be detected one or two years afterwards. With the help of their Lawson SRF award, Drs. Gaede and Dr. Wisenberg will use PET/MR imaging to detect earlier effects of radiation and construct new guidelines and treatment strategies for left-sided breast cancer patients.

“We’re seeing more and more breast cancer survivors, but many women with left-sided breast cancer are now developing heart disease later in life,” says Dr. Gerald Wisenberg, Director of Cardiac Imaging Research at Lawson and cardiologist at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC). “We hope to improve their outcomes through this research.”

Recently, Drs. Gaede and Wisenberg discovered that an increase in cardiac inflammation can be detected as early as one week after radiation using PET/MR imaging. This inflammation may be the cause of cardiovascular disease seen in women 10 to 15 years after treatment.

In the new pilot study, the researchers will follow 15 left-sided breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. They will be imaged one week before as well as one week and one year after radiation therapy with Lawson’s hybrid PET/MRI scanner at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ontario.

Areas of inflammation, changes in blood flow, scar formation and fibrosis will be measured by looking at the differences between images. The data will help in the design of new treatment strategies that can hopefully decrease or eliminate inadvertent heart damage. By doing so, it could help to improve patients’ quality of life.

“The earlier we can detect the effects of radiation for left-sided breast cancer, the earlier we can intervene,” says Dr. Gaede, a Lawson imaging scientist and medical physicist at LHSC’s London Regional Cancer Program. “We hope to learn more about the ways in which radiation is affecting the heart so that we can construct new radiation techniques to better spare the heart.”

Learn more about this research:

Now in its third year, Lawson’s Strategic Research Fund (SRF) supports research projects that will advance science in alignment with Lawson’s strategic research goals, as outlined in Lawson’s 2014-2018 Strategic Plan. This year’s competition once again focused on “inflammation”. Chosen projects received $50,000 over a two-year period.

Lawson scientist Dr. Robert Teasell is considered a global leader in neurorehabilitation research and has been instrumental in transforming clinical care in this area across Canada by ensuring that clinical practices are informed by the best available and up-to-date research evidence. In recognition of his accomplishments, he received the Scientist of the Year Award at the 2018 Lawson Impact Awards event this past spring.

Dr. Teasell leads the Collaboration of Rehabilitation Research Evidence (CORRE) research team at St. Joseph’s Health Care London’s Parkwood Institute. He is also the Medical Director of the Stroke Rehabilitation Unit at Parkwood Institute and has an active outpatient chronic pain practice.

He has led the development of three internationally renowned evidence-based reviews for stroke rehabilitation, brain injury and spinal cord injury, which are regarded as the three most comprehensive research syntheses in neurorehabilitation in the world. Dr. Teasell has advised and helped plan stroke care for all of Ontario’s 14 Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) and six provincial healthcare systems. This is in addition to the many clinical guidelines and models of care he has helped develop and update.

Dr. Teasell also bridges the gap between research and clinical practice through collaborations between his research and clinical teams. His multidisciplinary Rehabilitation Knowledge to Action Project (REKAP) team received the 2014 Sandra Letton Quality Award for their quality improvement project designed to make Parkwood Institute a leader in stroke rehabilitation by improving care through implementation of best practices.

In addition to his neurorehabilitation research, Dr. Teasell has published extensively on chronic pain with a recent focus on the role of obsessive personality traits in determining chronic pain disability and coping abilities. 

Drawing on his clinical and research expertise, Dr. Teasell has supervised many students and has been committed to developing the next generation of medical researchers.

“Dr. Teasell has been successful in a number of areas. Certainly in terms of publications and mentorship of students who have gone on and had very successful careers of their own. Despite a busy clinical schedule, he always makes a point of engaging with his research team every day. His staff and students really appreciate the opportunity to work with him,” says Dr. Cheryl Forchuk, Beryl and Richard Ivey Research Chair in Aging, Mental Health, Rehabilitation and Recovery, and Assistant Director, Lawson Health Research Institute.

Dr. Teasell has authored 335 peer-reviewed articles, as well as many other collaborative group peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, published abstracts, posters, presentations and monographs. He has also been the editor for 14 special journal editions and is on the editorial boards for Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation, Journal of Rehabilitation, and Pain Research and Management. 

In 2016, he was invited to present the Ramon J. Hnatyshyn Lecture, the leading annual national stroke lecture at the Canadian Stroke Congress in Quebec City. In 2010, he received the Canadian Association of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Merit award for his many contributions to the field of physiatry. He was also awarded the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada McLaughlin-Gallie Visiting Professor in 2012.  This year he will be awarded the Post-Acute Stroke Award of Excellence from the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the National Stroke Association in the United States.

“I’ve received a lot of national and international awards but there’s nothing better than being recognized by your peers and particularly your peers in the city where you work. It’s been a nice acknowledgement of not just my work, but also the work by the whole research team and all the people who have supported me over the years,” says Dr. Teasell.

Sheila Fleming, executive assistant to Dr. David Hill, scientific director of Lawson Health Research Institute, was the recipient of a Staff Award of Excellence at the 2018 Lawson Impact Awards event this past spring.

In addition to carrying out her administrative support functions for Dr. Hill – in itself a significant responsibility – Fleming goes above and beyond to provide support in a variety of ways to the entire Lawson administration team and research community.

Just one of the many examples of this is the key role she plays in the planning of Lawson’s annual signature events: London Health Research Day (LHRD), Lawson Impact Awards and Café Scientifiques. 

Fleming has built strong relationships across Lawson and its hospital and academic partners. She often acts as a liaison connecting administrative team members to key senior leaders and researchers, and vice versa, so they are able to do their jobs more effectively.

“Sheila is the ‘hub’ of Lawson. Almost all of us on the administration team, and I’m sure many members of our research community, view Sheila as their go-to person. She has a wealth of knowledge that has guided many of us,” says Stacey Larizza, Chief Operating Officer, Lawson. “She always considers the needs of scientists, staff and trainees, and she is a passionate advocate for them. She does whatever she can to help ensure they succeed.”

Her relationship-building skills have also strengthened Dr. Hill’s advocacy efforts as Lawson continues to join research institutes across the country campaigning for increased funding, diversity in science and support for young researchers from the Canadian government.

“As a scientist it’s not just doing the research, it’s leading people; it’s really knowing how to run a business. So anyway I can help them jump those hurdles, I’m happy to do that,” says Fleming. “In my view, relationships drive everything and that’s how we get work done. If you’re fair and helpful and collaborative, people will respond in kind and then it’s easy to move things forward.”

Fleming also participates in a number of volunteer initiatives. For example, she is President of the Ingersoll District Nature Club, a group that stewards the 36 acre Lawson Nature Reserve south of Ingersoll; helps lead local advocacy efforts in opposing a proposed mega landfill adjacent to Ingersoll aquifers; and provides administrative support to the Diabetic Pregnancy Study Group, a European not-for-profit organization that fosters research and education in diabetic pregnancy.

Dr. Don Richardson was recognized at the 2019 Lawson Impact Awards for his research and innovation in working with veterans with military-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  His study titled, “Predicators of Long-Term Treatment Outcome in Combat and Peacekeeping Veterans with Military-Related PTSD,” was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Throughout Dr. Richardson’s career, he has worked diligently to develop and implement best practice assessment and treatment guidelines for Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and veterans. He has developed and maintained two clinical research databases  ̶  a database of self-reported health status, by working with patients at the Operational Stress Injuries (OSI) clinic, and a treatment outcomes database. Through this data, he has demonstrated that military trauma populations are complex and are at greater risk of becoming resistant to treatment than most civilian trauma populations.

“Don is extremely deserving of this award,” says Dr. Cheryl Forchuk, Dr. Richardson’s nominator. “When I think of someone who does a great job of linking together research and clinical practice, Don is always someone who comes to mind.”

The treatment outcomes database gives researchers unparalleled insight into the pharmacologic interventions best suited for CAF members and veterans. With the ability to identify when individual patients are experiencing less-than-optimal outcomes, the research team can adjust their treatment plan accordingly.

Over the past 20 years, Dr. Richardson has published over 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters on the assessment and treatment of operational stress injuries, PTSD, major depressive disorder, substance use disorders, and suicidal behaviour. He has elevated awareness for the unique mental health challenges faced by CAF members and veterans who present with operational stress injuries.

In light of Dr. Richardson’s findings, he works to assess the current treatment modalities for PTSD, their utility for treating military populations, as well as complementary therapies that may prove beneficial.

Dr. Richardson’s dedication to military mental health research is evident through his unwavering effort and has attracted the attention of many prominent figures in the field of military and veteran health. In 2017, he was granted the opportunity to build a research and innovation center for advancing military and veteran health research and clinical practice. Through a generous donation from two community peers, Dr. Richardson established and leads the Macdonald/Franklin OSI Research Centre, located at Parkwood Institute.

“It is certainly an honour to receive this award,” says Dr. Richardson. “I wish to thank all of my clients for taking the time to fill out the repeated questionnaires, as well as the research staff who support this program, and who work tirelessly to help our CAF members and veterans.”