Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

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Autoimmune disease

Autoimmune diseases occur when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues. The Ottawa Hospital is conducting cutting-edge research to improve our understanding of autoimmune diseases and develop better treatments.

Research News

	New scientist profile: Dr. David Massicotte-Azarniouch aims to improve care for rare kidney diseases May 20, 2022 - As a nephrologist specializing in glomerular diseases, Dr. David Massicotte-Azarniouch embraces the challenge of helping patients whose kidneys are being attacked by their own immune systems.
	Stem cell treatment for scleroderma improves quality of life February 17, 2021 - When Dr. Nancy Maltez meets a patient with early severe systemic scleroderma, a rare autoimmune disease that hardens the skin and organs, she knows one of the best options is to reset their immune system using strong chemotherapy and a stem cell tran
	New scientist profile: Dr. Angela Cheung’s patients inspire her to investigate rare liver diseases January 27, 2021 - Dr. Angela Cheung understands why her patients with autoimmune liver diseases are frustrated. Little is known about these rare diseases, and treatments can often only delay, but not prevent, a liver transplant.
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	Are we using biologic therapy properly? June 13, 2019 - The introduction of infliximab (Remicade), the first biologic therapy approved for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), did not result in lower rates of hospitalizations or intestinal surgeries among patients living with IBD in Ontario
	Chance discovery linking diet to type 1 diabetes started whole new field of research October 22, 2018 - In the early 1980's, Dr. Fraser Scott was conducting nutritional studies on rats that were supposed to develop type 1 diabetes—except they didn't. He discovered that changing the diet of these diabetes-prone rodents had prevented the disease. Making
	New blood sugar monitoring a game-changer for pregnant women with type 1 diabetes October 24, 2017 - Fifteen women at The Ottawa Hospital took part in an international clinical trial that could change the way mothers with type 1 diabetes monitor their blood sugar levels. Mothers with this condition have a higher risk of having children with health c
	Ottawa scientist wins Canada's top stem cell prize for multiple sclerosis trial September 6, 2017 - Dr. Harold Atkins, stem cell transplant physician and scientist at The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa, will receive the prestigious Till & McCulloch Award for “exceptional contributions to global stem cell research.” The award will
	Common acne medication shows promise in treating multiple sclerosis June 1, 2017 - Clinical trial shows that minocycline, an oral acne medication, can slow the progress of relapsing-remitting MS A common oral acne medication could provide new, affordable treatment options for Canadians suffering from relapsing-remitting multip
	Information for patients: Chemo and blood stem cell transplantation for rare autoimmune diseases January 4, 2017 - A number of media stories have recently highlighted The Ottawa Hospital’s use of chemotherapy and blood stem cell transplantation to treat rare autoimmune diseases, such as myasthenia gravis, stiff person syndrome and scleroderma. These stories have
	Stem cell procedure sends patients with severe myasthenia gravis into remission November 17, 2016 - A stem cell procedure that reboots the immune system sent seven patients with a severe form of the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis into long-term remission, according to a retrospective study published in JAMA Neurology. In this disease th
	MS breakthrough: Replacing diseased immune system halts progression and allows repair June 9, 2016 - Clinical trial suggests chemo and blood stem cell combination therapy should be considered for people with early, aggressive MS A clinical trial published in The Lancet, a top medical journal, shows that an intensive procedure that completely wipe
	The Ottawa Hospital leads first Canadian clinical trial of mesenchymal stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis January 29, 2015 - The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and the Multiple Sclerosis Scientific Research Foundation announced today a $4.2 million grant to support the first Canadian clinical trial of mesenchymal stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS), led by
	Flu shots decrease overall risk of acquiring Guillain-Barré Syndrome January 19, 2015 - Drs. Kumanan Wilson and Steven Hawken published a paper this week that examines whether the flu shot increases or decreases the risk of getting Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a rare but serious autoimmune condition. Recent studies have associated

Researchers

Name	Scientific appointment	Diseases, conditions and populations of interest	Research and clinical approaches
Atkins, Harold MD, FRCPC	Senior Clinician Investigator (Cancer Therapeutics)	Autoimmune disease, Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system, Blood cancer, Cancer, Multiple sclerosis, Myasthenia gravis, Stiff person syndrome	Basic research, Cancer biotherapeutics, Cancer immunotherapy, Cell therapy, Clinical trials, Immunotherapy, Oncolytic viruses, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Translational research, Transplantation, Viral therapy
Aydin, Sibel MD	Associate Scientist (Clinical Epidemiology)	Arthritis, Autoimmune disease, Bone and joint degeneration, COVID-19, Population health	Epidemiology, Imaging
Chandratre, Priyanka BSc (Hons), MBBch, MRCP (UK), PhD, FRCP (UK)	Clinician Investigator (Clinical Epidemiology)	Autoimmune disease, Bone and joint degeneration, Musculoskeletal conditions	Epidemiology
Coutu, Daniel PhD	Scientist (Regenerative Medicine)	Aging, Arthritis, Autoimmune disease, Bleeding disorders, Blood cancer, Bone and joint degeneration, Bone and joint injuries, Chronic disease, Musculoskeletal conditions, Osteoporosis	3D printing, Basic research, Bioinformatics, Biomaterials, Cell therapy, Gene expression, Gene therapy, Genetics, Genomics, Imaging, Immunotherapy, Molecular and cellular biology, Proteomics, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Surgery, Systems biology, Transgenic/knockout models, Translational research
Cowan, Juthaporn MD, PhD, FRCPC	Associate Scientist (Clinical Epidemiology)	Autoimmune disease, COVID-19, Infectious disease	Immunization, Immunotherapy, Patient engagement
El-Chaar, Darine MD, FRCSC, Msc	Scientist (Clinical Epidemiology)	Autoimmune disease, COVID-19, Diabetes, Infectious disease, Inflammatory bowel syndrome, Maternal and fetal health, Newborn and child health, Population health, Pregnancy, Women's health	Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Epidemiology, Health research methods, Health services research, Public health, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Systematic reviews
Santos, Marlise MD (FRCPC), MSc, MPH	Clinician Investigator (Clinical Epidemiology)	Alzheimer's, Anxiety, Ataxia, Autoimmune disease, Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system, Blood cancer, Brain and neuromuscular disease, Brain cancer, Cancer, Chronic disease, Concussion, Dementia, Depression, Global health, Head and neck cancer, Health equity, Health in disadvantaged peoples, Infectious disease, Intellectual disabilities, Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, Population health, Sickle cell anemia, Spinal cord injury, Stroke, Subarachnoid hemorrhage, Thrombosis / thromboembolism, Traumatic brain injury, Traumatic injuries, Vascular cognitive impairment, Vascular, heart and metabolic disease	Artificial intelligence and data science, Basic research, Behaviour, Biostatistics, Cancer biotherapeutics, Clinical decision rules, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Critical care, Epidemiology, Health economics, Health research methods, Health services research, Health technology, Imaging, Patient safety, Pragmatic trials, Prevention, Public health, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Shared decision making, Surgery, Surveys, Systematic reviews
Scott, Fraser PhD	Senior Scientist Emeritus (Chronic Disease)	Autoimmune disease, Chronic disease, Gastrointestinal disease	Basic research, Biomarkers, Disease models, Molecular and cellular biology, Translational research
Walker, Lisa PhD, C.Psych	Clinician Investigator (Neuroscience)	Anxiety, Autoimmune disease, Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system, Brain and neuromuscular disease, Dementia, Depression, Mental health, Multiple sclerosis	Behaviour, Biomarkers, Clinical research, Exercise, Imaging, Psychology, Psychometrics, Rehabilitation, Stem cells, Systematic reviews, Translational research

Related Resources

Information for patients: Chemo and blood stem cell transplantation for rare autoimmune diseases

Multiple sclerosis research at The Ottawa Hospital

Myasthenia gravis research at The Ottawa Hospital

Stiff person syndrome research at The Ottawa Hospital

Type 1 diabetes research at The Ottawa Hospital

Search for clinical trials at The Ottawa Hospital related to this disease or condition.