Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

Research News

	MicroRNA for MS: Mouse study sparks potential new treatment approach June 26, 2025 - It’s easy to forget the delicate balance inside the human body until something goes wrong. For people with multiple sclerosis (MS), that moment comes when the immune system mistakenly attacks myelin—the fatty insulating layer that protects nerve cell
	Lab-grown “mini-kidneys” unlock secrets of a rare disease July 21, 2022 - Researchers have solved a medical mystery in a poorly understood disease by uncovering which cells cause tumours in patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC).
	Creating a new mouse model to study COVID-19 lung disease June 4, 2020 - Researchers are working to develop a mouse model of COVID-19 that mimics the severe lung disease seen in humans. The lack of good, accessible animal models of this disease is severely limiting research around the world.
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	COVID-19 research moving at ‘lightning speed’, thanks to generous community support May 8, 2020 - Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital are working around the clock to advance more than 50 potentially life-saving research projects to support the world-wide effort to find better ways to treat and prevent COVID-19. Now, nine of these projects have bee
	Researchers use lab-grown human tissues to understand secrets of COVID-19 infection, identify possible treatments April 29, 2020 - A team of Ontario researchers is using 3D lab-grown human tissue models to understand why COVID-19 makes some patients severely ill. They also hope to identify drugs that can reduce the severity of the infection.
	Harnessing stem cells and regenerative medicine to fight COVID-19 April 23, 2020 - Researchers from The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa have been awarded $490,000 from the Stem Cell Network for two research projects that could help in the fight against COVID-19. These peer-reviewed grants are part of an overall investm
	Discovery points to innovative new way to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy January 31, 2019 - Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa have discovered a new way to treat the loss of muscle function caused by Duchenne muscular dystrophy in animal models of the disease. As reported in Cell Stem Cell, the team restored mus
	Trainee receives Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Award September 25, 2018 - Marc-Olivier Deguise, a MD/PhD student in Dr. Rashmi Kothary's lab, will receive the 2018 Jim Glionna Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Award for medical students in a ceremony in Montreal on May 2, 2019. This award recognizes medical students with a tra
	Nerve cell structure plays a major role in kidney function July 24, 2018 - Dr. Chris Kennedy’s team has found that the nervous system controls how quickly the kidneys filter blood, and one protein is essential to this process. In the first study of its kind, the team found that a lack of the protein ubiquitin C-terminal hyd

Researchers

Name	Scientific appointment	Diseases, conditions and populations of interest	Research and clinical approaches
Addison, Christina PhD	Senior Scientist (Cancer Research)	Bone and joint degeneration, Cancer, Lung cancer, Lung disease, Pancreatic cancer, Prostate cancer, Breast cancer	Basic research, Clinical research, Cohort studies, Disease models, Drug development, Genetics, Imaging, Model organisms, Translational research, Molecular and cellular biology
Albert, Paul PhD	Senior Scientist (Neuroscience)	Mental health, Vascular cognitive impairment, Anxiety, Depression, Intellectual disabilities, Parkinson's, Schizophrenia, Stroke, Suicide	Basic research, Epigenetics, Exercise, Gene expression, Translational research, Disease models, Epigenetics, Genetics, Imaging, Molecular and cellular biology, Optogenetics, Transgenic/knockout models
Ardolino, Michele PhD	Senior Scientist (Cancer Research)	Blood cancer, Brain cancer, Breast cancer, Cancer, Colorectal cancer, Head and neck cancer, Liver cancer, Lung cancer, Ovarian cancer, Pancreatic cancer, Prostate cancer, Skin cancer, Soft tissue sarcoma	Basic research, Cancer immunotherapy, Cell therapy, Clinical research, Disease models, Immunization, Immunotherapy, Model organisms, Molecular and cellular biology, Transgenic/knockout models, Translational research
Aviv, Richard MBChB, FRCR (UK), FRCPC, dABR	Clinician Investigator (Neuroscience)	Brain and neuromuscular disease, Brain cancer, Head and neck cancer, Multiple sclerosis, Stroke, Subarachnoid hemorrhage, Traumatic brain injury, Vascular cognitive impairment, Vascular, heart and metabolic disease	Artificial intelligence and data science, Basic research, Big data, Bioinformatics, Biomarkers, Clinical research, Cluster randomized trials, Disease models, Health economics, Health technology, Imaging, Patient safety, Quality Improvement, Translational research
Burger, Dylan PhD	Senior Scientist (Inflammation and Chronic Disease)	Aging, Diabetes, Heart disease, Hypertension, Kidney disease, Maternal and fetal health, Obesity, Thrombosis / thromboembolism, Type 1 diabetes, Vascular cognitive impairment, Vascular, heart and metabolic disease	Basic research, Biomarkers, Disease models, Exercise, Extracellular vesicles / exosomes, Imaging, Model organisms, Molecular and cellular biology, Pharmacology, Proteomics, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Transgenic/knockout models, Translational research
Burns, Kevin MD CM, FRCPC	Senior Scientist (Inflammation and Chronic Disease)	Diabetes, Kidney disease, Vascular, heart and metabolic disease	Basic research, Biomarkers, Cell therapy, Clinical research, Disease models, Extracellular vesicles / exosomes, Gene expression, Molecular and cellular biology, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Transgenic/knockout models, Translational research
Chen, Hsiao-Huei PhD	Senior Scientist (Neuroscience)	Aging, Autism, Dementia, Depression, Heart disease, Maternal and fetal health, Mental health, Tourette's, Alzheimer's, Alzheimer's, Anxiety, Diabetes, Obesity, Schizophrenia, Stroke, Vascular, heart and metabolic disease	Disease models, Drug development, Gene expression, Neuro-stimulation, Optogenetics, Transgenic/knockout models, Basic research, Molecular and cellular biology, Translational research
Crawley, Angela Ph.D.	Senior Scientist (Inflammation and Chronic Disease)	Cancer, COVID-19, Hepatitis C, HIV, Infectious disease, Liver cancer, Liver disease	Basic research, Cancer immunotherapy, Clinical research, Disease models, Immunization, Immunotherapy, Molecular and cellular biology, RNA sequencing, Translational research
Gage, Blair PhD	Scientist (Regenerative Medicine)	Bleeding disorders, Diabetes, Liver cancer, Liver disease, Vascular, heart and metabolic disease	Basic research, Bioinformatics, Cell therapy, Disease models, Gene expression, Gene therapy, Genetics, Genomics, Model organisms, Molecular and cellular biology, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Translational research, Transplantation
Gray, Douglas PhD	Senior Scientist Emeritus (Cancer Research)	Aging, Cancer, Lung cancer, Parkinson's	Basic research, Disease models, Genomics, Imaging, Transgenic/knockout models, Genetics, Model organisms, Molecular and cellular biology
Kothary, Rashmi Ph.D.	Senior Scientist (Regenerative Medicine)	Neuromuscular disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Multiple sclerosis, Muscular dystrophy, Spinal muscular atrophy	Basic research, Disease models, Drug development, Epigenetics, Epigenetics, Gene therapy, Genetics, Imaging, Lipidomics, Model organisms, Molecular and cellular biology, Proteomics, Regenerative medicine, Transgenic/knockout models, Translational research
Lacoste, Baptiste PhD	Senior Scientist (Regenerative Medicine)	Stroke, Vascular cognitive impairment, Autism	Basic research, Disease models, Gene expression, Genomics, Stem cells, Genetics, Imaging, Model organisms, Molecular and cellular biology, Transgenic/knockout models
Lalu, Manoj MD, PhD, FRCPC	Scientist (Acute Care Research)	Blood cancer, COVID-19, Heart disease, Stroke, Vascular, heart and metabolic disease	Anesthesiology, Basic research, Cell therapy, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Disease models, Health research methods, Model organisms, Patient engagement, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Translational research
Liu, Johné PhD	Senior Scientist (Inflammation and Chronic Disease)	Aging, Cancer, Infertility, Maternal and fetal health, Pregnancy, Women's health	Basic research, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Disease models, Drug development, Translational research
Lorimer, Ian PhD	Senior Scientist (Cancer Research)	Brain and neuromuscular disease, Brain cancer, Cancer	Basic research, Cancer biotherapeutics, Cell therapy, Disease models, Molecular and cellular biology, Translational research
Megeney, Lynn PhD	Senior Scientist (Regenerative Medicine)	Heart disease, Muscular dystrophy	Stem cells, Disease models, Proteomics, Drug development
Mei, Shirley PhD, MSc	Investigator (Regenerative Medicine)	COVID-19, Infectious disease, Influenza, Lung disease, Septic shock	Basic research, Biomarkers, Cell therapy, Critical care, Disease models, Drug development, Epigenetics, Gene therapy, Knowledge translation and implementation research, Molecular and cellular biology, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Translational research
Picketts, David Ph.D.	Senior Scientist (Regenerative Medicine)	Autism, Brain and neuromuscular disease, Intellectual disabilities, Multiple sclerosis, Stroke, Vision	Basic research, Disease models, Epigenetics, Molecular and cellular biology, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Transgenic/knockout models
Rudnicki, Michael OC, PhD, FRS, FRSC	Program Director and Senior Scientist (Regenerative Medicine)	Muscular dystrophy, Neuromuscular disease	Basic research, Bioinformatics, Disease models, Epigenetics, Genetics, Genomics, Model organisms, Molecular and cellular biology, Proteomics, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Transgenic/knockout models
Sabourin, Luc PhD	Senior Scientist (Cancer Research)	Breast cancer, Muscular dystrophy, Skin cancer	Basic research, Disease models, Drug development, Gene expression, Genetics, Molecular and cellular biology, Proteomics, Stem cells, Transgenic/knockout models
Schlossmacher, Michael MD, DABPN, FRCPC	Program Director and Senior Scientist (Neuroscience)	Aging, Brain and neuromuscular disease, Crohn's, Dementia, Inflammatory bowel syndrome, Dementia, Parkinson's	Basic research, Biomarkers, Cohort studies, Disease models, Drug development, Genetics, Lipidomics, Molecular and cellular biology, Proteomics, Risk assessment, Transgenic/knockout models, Translational research
Scott, Fraser PhD	Senior Scientist Emeritus (Inflammation and Chronic Disease)	Autoimmune disease, Gastrointestinal disease	Basic research, Biomarkers, Disease models, Molecular and cellular biology, Translational research
Tsilfidis, Catherine PhD	Senior Scientist (Neuroscience)	Vision, Retinal disease, Glaucoma	Molecular and cellular biology, Disease models
Vanderhyden, Barbara PhD	Senior Scientist (Cancer Research)	Cancer, Infertility, Ovarian cancer, Women's health	Basic research, Bioinformatics, Biomarkers, Cancer biotherapeutics, Disease models, Drug development, Epigenetics, Gene expression, Genomics, Immunotherapy, Model organisms, Molecular and cellular biology, Oncolytic viruses, Stem cells, Transgenic/knockout models, Translational research, Viral therapy
Wang, Jing Ph.D.	Senior Scientist (Regenerative Medicine)	Alzheimer's, Multiple sclerosis, Stroke	Cell therapy, Disease models, Epigenetics, Imaging, Molecular and cellular biology, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Transgenic/knockout models
Brand, Marjorie PhD	Senior Scientist Affiliate (Regenerative Medicine)	Blood cancer, Sickle cell anemia, Thalassemia, Vascular, heart and metabolic disease	Artificial intelligence and data science, Basic research, Bioinformatics, Disease models, Epigenetics, Gene expression, Genomics, Imaging, Model organisms, Molecular and cellular biology, Proteomics, Stem cells, Systems biology, Transgenic/knockout models