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Health Research Services

Faculty of Health Sciences Quarterly Research Recap: Q2 2024

A young adult researcher in a white lab coat stands in a research laboratory visually examining a petri dish in their right hand. The text, ‘Quarterly Research Recap’, is seen in front of them, and the researcher is highlighted by a maroon circle.
The Faculty of Health Sciences Quarterly Research Recap celebrates the remarkable funding success of our esteemed researchers and their dedicated teams between April and June 2024.

By: Mike Ayers

The Faculty of Health Sciences Quarterly Research Recap is a routine celebration of the remarkable funding success of the Faculty’s esteemed researchers and their dedicated teams. Below is a selection of some of the groundbreaking research projects that are driving the Faculty forward.

“Our research teams’ continued success is a testament to our commitment to scientific advancement. With the invaluable support of our funding partners, we’re proud to see our research consistently push boundaries, reinforcing the Faculty’s long-standing legacy,” says Jonathan Bramson, Vice-Dean of Research for McMaster’s Faculty of Health Sciences.

Projects awarded funding that have started between April to June 2024 include:

  • Canadian Consortium for understanding the role of airway mucus occlusions in cough, COPD and asthma (CANMuc). Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
  • CHAMPP4KIDS: Developing community-partnered, tailored models of care to promote positive parenting, thriving children and health equity under Preventing Gender-Based Violence: The Health Perspective. Funded by: Public Health Agency of Canada.
    • Andrea Gonzalez, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences – $1,824,080
  • Humanized mouse models for validation of therapeutic oncolytic virus and biomarker validation. Funded by: Ontario Institute for Cancer Research.
  • Strengthening the Health Workforce for System Transformation: Equitable, Diverse and Inclusive Health Workforce. Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
  • A Post-Acute Care Intervention for Frailty using Information and Communication technology (PACIFIC): Leveraging today’s health technology to co-design a complex community-based frailty intervention for older post-acute care patients. Funded by: MIRA External.
    • Lauren Griffith, Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact – $513,474
  • Comparative analysis of stress signaling in human and bat cells. Funded by: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.
  • Chemical biology of guanidine natural products. Funded by: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.
    • Gerard Wright, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences – $310,000
  • Cross-Kingdom Interactions in Fungal-Bacterial Biofilms. Funded by: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.
    • Lindsay Kalan, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences – $265,000
  • In-Touch: Implementation of a person-centred palliative care intervention to improve comfort, quality of life and social engagement of people with advanced dementia in care homes. Funded by: Tri-Agency Institutional Programs Secretariat (TIPS).
  • Randomized trial Evaluating first time shoulder Dislocation: sUrgery vs Conservative carE (REDUCE). Funded by: Physicians Services Incorporated.
  • Evolution of antagonistic and beneficial symbionts in fungus-growing ants. Funded by: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.
    • Cameron Currie, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences – $200,000
  • Development and validation of a prediction model for chronic post-surgical pain after knee replacement surgery (Mac-PROSPER). Funded by: Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization.
    • Alfonso Iorio, Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact – $186,683
  • The function and regulation of cell type-specific RNA splicing. Funded by: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.
    • Hong Han, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences – $185,000
  • Building clinically-relevant, drift-tolerant AI models for continual usage in medical imaging. Funded by: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.
  • 3-Dimensional Virtual Reality Modelling with Intravascular Indocyanine Green FluorescenceMapping for Targeted Pulmonary Segmental Resection Trial. Funded by: Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization.
  • How undergraduate medical education influences learner conceptualization of Family Medicine: A qualitative study of implicit and explicit curricula. Funded by: Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization.
  • Joy & Pain in Observed Assessments: Improving Workplace- and Simulation-Based Assessments in the Age of Competency-Based Medical Education. Funded by: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
  • Characterization of fibrinolytic properties in bleeding disorders. Funded by: Canadian Hemophilia Society.
    • Paul Kim, Department of Medicine – $75,000
  • Dixon Hall’s Rooming House Initiative: Scoping the Design and Implementation of Social Housing in Ontario to Inform Priorities and Practice. Funded by: MIRA.
    • Andrew Costa, Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact – $70,000
  • PReoperative very low Energy diets for patients with obesity undergoing non-bariatricsurgery: A Randomized Evaluation (PREPARE Pilot). Funded by: Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization.
  • Validating EQ-5D-Y in China. Funded by: EuroQol Group.
    • Feng Xie Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact – $65,677
  • Randomized trial Evaluating first time shoulder Dislocation: sUrgery vs Conservative carE(REDUCE). Funded by: Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization.
  • Normal Anatomy of the Lumbar Sublaminar Ridge in the Lateral Recess with Potential Implications to Surgical Technique in Degenerative Spinal Stenosis. Funded by: Physicians Services Incorporated.
  • Optimal Preservation for High Fidelity Ultrasonography in Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures. Funded by: Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization.
  • A phase I, single-blind, randomized study of safety of cellularized Integra® using autologous burn-derived MSCs. Funded by: Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization.
  • uPAR as a therapeutic target for recurrent Glioblastoma. Funded by: Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization.
  • Development of virtual reality application to simulate eye diseases for patient education. Funded by: Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization.
  • A multimodal topical analgesic for pain management and reducing opioids after total knee replacement: a randomized controlled trial. Funded by: Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization.
  • Prospective Randomized Evaluation of Emerging Novel Treatments for the Infection Prophylaxis in Total Joint Replacement (PREVENT – iT). Funded by: Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization.
  • Development and validation of a quantitative mixed reality simulation environment for spinal surgery. Funded by: Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization.
  • Impact of mode of administration on responses and measurement properties of the EQ-5D-Y-3L/-5L and other pediatric preference weight measures: a systematic review. Funded by: EuroQol Group.
    • Feng Xie, Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact  – $39,369
  • Responsiveness of a machine learning algorithm in scoring the CAPE-V using non-optimized voice samples. Funded by: Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization.
  • Shoulder instability trial comparing arthroscopic stabilization benefits and Latarjet (STABLE-2). Funded by: Arthroscopy Association of North America.
  • TITAN Community. Funded by: American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI).
    • Derek Chu, Department of Medicine – $33,501
  • Identifying gender- and sex-specific differences in incidence and treatment patterns of sports injuries (INSITE): a pilot survey study. Funded by: Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization.
  • The impact of Social Determinants of Health on Lung, Breast, Esophageal and Colorectal Cancer. Funded by: Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization.
  • The validation of a proposed mechanism for statin-induced myalgia in vivo. Funded by: Michael G. DeGroote of Medicine.
  • Humanitarian Ethical Exit: Development of an Ethical Response Closure Tool for Canadian Red Cross. Funded by: MITACS-Mathematics of Info Technology and Complex Systems.
    • Lisa Schwartz, Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact – $30,000
  • Social Worker Presence in Outpatient Fracture Clinics: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. Funded by: Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization.
  • Transvaginal ultrasound-guided culdocentesis for peritoneal fluid cytokines in patients with possible superficial endometriosis but no ultrasound diagnosed ovarian or deep endometriosis. Funded by: Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation.
  • Thriving Together: Co-design of a culturally responsive and family-based mental health intervention for refugee children and families. Funded by: Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation.
    • Amanda Sim, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences – $25,000
  • Changes in the gut microbiome during pregnancy and its potential impact on maternal and infant health. Funded by: Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation.
    • Deborah Sloboda, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences – $25,000
  • The Promoting Healthy Families Knowledge Dissemination Summit: A Canadian Evaluation of Two Parenting Programs. Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
    • Andrea Gonzalez,  Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences – $24,994
  • Mobilizing brain health and dementia guidelines for practical information and a well trained workforce with cultural competencies – the BRAID Hub – Brain health Resources And Integrated Diversity Hub. Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
    • Parminder Raina, Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact – $24,886
  • Understanding intersectionality in the context of long term care: The intersectionality, aging, and social mobility (iAM) platform. Funded by: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
  • SQUEEZE Trial Dissemination and Planning Next Steps. Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
  • Interdisciplinary Course on Antibiotics and Resistance (ICARe). Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
    • Gerard Wright, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences – $20,000
  • Burden, Risk Factors and Chronic Immune Activation Signature in HIV-related Comorbidities in Black Communities in Ontario. Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
    • Dawit Wolday, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences – $19,936
  • Social disparities-Biological Exploration CONnecting multi-omics approach with healthy aging: The Social BEACON Study. Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
    • Parminder Raina, Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact – $18,647
  • The Impact of Early Versus Late Upper Extremity Mobilization After Split Thickness Skin Autograft on Wound Healing in Adult Burn Patients – A Single Center Non-Inferiority Randomized Clinical Trial. Funded by: Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization.
  • Building Mindset and Partnerships for Innovation in Canada: Business Strategy Internships with the Cansbridge Fellowship. Funded by: MITACS-Mathematics of Info Technology and Complex Systems.
    • Stacey Ritz, Department of Pathology & Molecular Medicine – $15,000
  • The function and regulation of cell type-specific RNA splicing. Funded by: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.
    • Hong Han, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences – $12,500
  • Cross-Kingdom Interactions in Fungal-Bacterial Biofilms. Funded by: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.
    • Lindsay Kalan, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences – $12,500
  • Building clinically-relevant, drift-tolerant AI models for continual usage in medical imaging. Funded by: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.
  • Postoperative EXtended venous thromboprophylaxis with ApixibaN in patients with inflammatory bowel Disease. A Randomized Pilot Trial (EXPAND Pilot). Funded by: Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization.
  • Engaging International and Canadian Stakeholders to Co-design the Canadian Obstetric Survey Systems for Reducing Maternal Mortality and Morbidity. Funded by: Canadian Foundation for Women’s Health.
 HRS