Profil de nouveau membre : Izna Mehmood – Faire carrière dans la transplantation d’organes
Nous sommes heureux d’accueillir au sein du Programme de recherche en don et transplantation du Canada (PRDTC) de nouveaux membres de divers domaines qui se joindront à notre communauté de chercheurs, de cliniciens, de patients, de familles, de donneurs et de stagiaires qui se consacrent à l’amélioration de la vie des donneurs et des receveurs d’organes. En tant que nouveau membre, les gens sont un élément essentiel de notre mission qui consiste à faire progresser la science du don et de la transplantation et à élaborer des approches novatrices fondées sur des données probantes afin d’améliorer les résultats pour les patients au Canada et dans le monde entier.
Nous sommes ravis qu’Izna Mehmood rejoigne la Plateforme d’éducation et développement de carrière du PRDTC en tant que nouvelle stagiaire. Izna a récemment obtenu son diplôme d’études supérieures en recherche clinique et souhaite maintenant faire une demande de maîtrise en sciences médicales dans la région de Toronto. Elle se joint au PRDTC afin d’élargir ses connaissances sur la transplantation d’organes et contribuer à sensibiliser le public à ce sujet. Elle souhaite également faire partie d’une équipe qui milite en faveur du don d’organes.
Nous avons posé à Izna quelques questions que vous pouvez lire ci-dessous.
Quels sont vos domaines d’expertise et vos centres d’intérêt en matière de recherche ?
Les neurosciences sont au cœur de mes études, et j’ai suivi avec assiduité de nombreux cours afin d’en comprendre toutes les subtilités. Ces cours m’ont non seulement permis d’acquérir une compréhension profonde du potentiel des changements physiques et chimiques au sein du système nerveux, mais ils ont également mis en lumière la remarquable capacité d’adaptation du cerveau. Dans ce domaine, mes recherches ont principalement porté sur le phénomène fascinant du recâblage neuronal et de la fortification des connexions synaptiques dans diverses régions corticales du cerveau. En outre, j’ai approfondi le domaine des périodes critiques, des fenêtres temporelles caractérisées par des niveaux accrus de plasticité au cours desquelles les expériences façonnent profondément les aspects structurels et fonctionnels du cerveau.
Mon exploration de la neuroplasticité a dévoilé un ensemble de mécanismes captivants qui sous-tendent ce phénomène. Un aspect notable que j’ai étudié en profondeur est l’impact de la signalisation de la phosphorylation sur la fonction des canaux sodiques, un déterminant essentiel de la perméabilité aux ions. La compréhension des subtilités de ce processus a permis d’élucider la manière dont de tels changements peuvent avoir des conséquences profondes sur la fonctionnalité globale des réseaux neuronaux. En outre, j’ai étudié l’interaction complexe entre les mutations aléatoires et les modifications épigénétiques, en découvrant leur potentiel à exercer des influences profondes sur la fonction des canaux sodiques et, par conséquent, sur l’efficacité de la conduction saltatoire.
En approfondissant ces domaines, j’ai élargi ma compréhension de l’interaction complexe entre les processus cellulaires et les mécanismes moléculaires, enrichissant ainsi ma compréhension de la nature dynamique du système nerveux. Cette approche à multiples facettes m’a permis d’aborder les neurosciences de manière globale et analytique, me poussant à percer les mystères qui sous-tendent les complexités du cerveau.
Quels sont les nouveaux domaines d’intérêt que vous souhaiteriez développer ou avec quelles disciplines ou quels spécialistes souhaiteriez-vous collaborer au sein du PRDTC ?
L’immunologie représente une voie intéressante pour mes recherches, car je suis profondément intriguée par la progression des troubles auto-immuns et par les mécanismes cellulaires et génétiques complexes qui les sous-tendent. Grâce à des études rigoureuses, j’ai acquis des connaissances substantielles sur l’immunité innée et adaptative, ainsi qu’une compréhension approfondie de l’étiologie de maladies auto-immunes spécifiques telles que la sclérose en plaques et le diabète de type 1. Afin d’accroître mon expertise dans ce domaine, je suis impatient d’approfondir le domaine des cellules inflammatoires, à savoir les macrophages, les cellules dendritiques et les neutrophiles, en élucidant leur rôle dans l’orchestration des réponses immunitaires. En outre, mon exploration des cours d’immunologie m’a permis de me familiariser avec les phénomènes intrigants de l’élagage synaptique et de la dégradation de la substance blanche, qui sont intrinsèquement répandus dans la sclérose en plaques. Pour approfondir ma compréhension, j’aspire à étudier les processus cellulaires sous-jacents qui sont à l’origine de ces phénomènes.
En outre, je porte un vif intérêt au domaine de la physiologie, avec un accent particulier sur les maladies liées aux systèmes circulatoire et respiratoire. Je cherche à comprendre les fondements moléculaires et génétiques d’affections telles que l’asthme, la fibrose kystique et la pneumonie. Mon cursus complet en physiologie a révélé le rôle essentiel joué par les cellules surfactantes alvéolaires de type 2 dans la régulation de ces troubles, ainsi que l’implication complexe des chimiosenseurs. En m’appuyant sur ces bases, je suis impatient d’élargir mes connaissances dans ces domaines, ce qui permettra de mieux comprendre les mécanismes complexes qui contribuent au développement et à la progression de ces maladies.
Racontez-nous un fait amusant sur vous !
Un fait amusant à propos de moi est que j’ai un large éventail de passe-temps qui me procurent de la joie et contribuent à alimenter ma créativité. Je suis une lectrice passionnée et je peux facilement me perdre dans les mondes captivants de la littérature. En outre, j’ai un don pour le dessin et j’aime exprimer mon côté artistique à travers divers supports. Les longues promenades dans la nature sont également une de mes activités favorites, car elles me permettent de trouver du réconfort, de l’inspiration et d’apprécier la beauté du monde qui m’entoure.
En outre, je dois avouer que je suis une accro du café autoproclamée. L’arôme et le goût d’une tasse de café parfaitement préparée me procurent un immense plaisir et un regain d’énergie pour démarrer la journée. C’est devenu un délicieux rituel pour moi, et j’éprouve un grand plaisir à explorer différentes saveurs de café et méthodes d’infusion pour créer la tasse parfaite.
Ces passe-temps et centres d’intérêt ne m’apportent pas seulement un épanouissement personnel, ils renforcent aussi ma créativité, mon souci du détail et ma capacité à trouver l’inspiration dans le monde qui m’entoure.
À propos de la Plateforme d’éducation et développement de carrière
La Plateforme d’éducation et développement de carrière offre des possibilités de formations et fournit des ressources en éducation pour répondre aux divers besoins de notre communauté de stagiaires en matière d’éducation et de développement de carrière. La plateforme fournit également aux stagiaires un aperçu global des connaissances et des questions liées au don d’organes et à la transplantation, tout en leur donnant des outils pour devenir de meilleurs communicateurs, gestionnaires, étudiants et professionnels. Les stagiaires ont la possibilité de participer à des initiatives nationales et internationales du PRDTC, de créer des relations entre eux et avec des experts de nombreuses disciplines, et de présenter leur travail à un public national.
ity of Alberta and has received training in patient-oriented research through the University of Calgary’s PACER (Patient and Community Engagement Research) Program. He is the Patient, Family, and Donor Partnerships & Education Manager with the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program. In this role, Manuel builds relationships patient partners with investigators and strengthens capacity among CDTRP patient partners.
Anders Billström 
Gareth Wiltshire
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Sherrie Logan 
born and raised in Edmonton, AB. With a degree in Music Performance (saxophone performance) and Education, Lindsey has taught for over a decade in the Edmonton Public School system. When she is not teaching, she is very involved in the music community, performing in the Edmonton Winds, conducting her own community ensemble (The Beer League Band) and on numerous musical boards across the province. For the past 5 years, Lindsey has had to take a break from teaching after having her amazing son, George. Maternity leave did not goes as expected as George was diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy at 5 months old and required 2 heart transplants before the age of 4. During this time, Lindsey has also began to dedicate her time building and expanding her charity: Big Gifts for Little Lives, where they raise money to fund Pediatric Heart Transplant research at the Stollery.
Dr. Caigan Du is a scientist at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and an assistant professor in the Department of Urologic Sciences at the University of British Columbia. He received a Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry in UK and postdoctoral training in Immunology in USA. He is interested in the pathogenesis of kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury and transplant rejection, and molecular control of urinary malignancies. He has been studying the impact of kidney donor-derived factors on renal allograft rejection, and the molecular pathways of kidney injury and regeneration in experimental models. He is also interested in developing medical solution including drugs made from natural compounds for all kinds of health problems, including immune disorders, organ preservation, kidney failure and urinary cancer. He is the PI of many grant supports from the Kidney Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Heather Badenoch is a non-directed living liver donor and communications strategist. As the president of Village PR, she provides strategic communications direction and training to not-for-profit clients in community and health. An active transplant volunteer, Heather helps transplant candidates find living donors by running their public appeals, small and large, pro-bono. She also mentors potential living donors on the path to living donation. Heather is a volunteer with the UHN Centre for Living Organ Donation and the Canadian Donation and Transplant Research Program. She and her spouse adopt rescue dogs and volunteer together with Community Veterinary Outreach, a group providing free veterinary care to the pets of people who are homeless.
Sean Dicks is a clinical psychologist who has 20 years’ experience supporting both families of organ donors and transplant recipients. While it is rare for him to have contact with a donor family and recipient linked to the same organ donation-transplantation event, his contact with families who have lived experience with organ donation on the one hand, and patients who have received transplants on the other hand has provided opportunities to explore how their journeys become linked when they attempt to make sense of and find meaning in their respective crises.
Terri Hansen-Gardiner is a Cree speaking Metis woman from Northern Saskatchewan as well as a 10 year Breast Cancer Survivor. Her tireless spirit and dedication to her community is undeniable. Terri is a cancer survivor who travels around the province to provide assistance, information, and support to Indigenous patients who are trying to access and navigate the cancer care system.
Dr. Golnaz Karoubi is Assistant Scientist at the Toronto General HospitalResearch Institute and principal investigator in the Latner Thoracic Research Labs. She currently holds an Assistant Professor appointment in the department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology and a cross-appointment in the department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto. Dr. Karoubi received her PhD in Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto and joined the Lung Regenerative Medicine Program in the Department of Clinical Research in Berne University, Switzerland for a post-doctoral research fellowship. She stayed on as a Group Leader in 2008 to direct the basic and transitional science as related to Cancer Stem Cell and Lung Regenerative Medicine in the Department of Biomedical Research at the University of Berne until 2012. In early 2012, she joined the team of Dr. Tom Waddell at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute as a Senior Scientific Associate and was appointed to Assistant Scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute (University Health Network) in November 2019 and to Assistant Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology in July 2020.
Dr. Haykal graduated from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine in2007 as class valedictorian and silver medalist, and subsequently completed her residency training in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Toronto in 2016. During her residency, she completed a four-year Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and immunology with a focus on tracheal reconstruction. She obtained numerous grants and awards including a CIHR Vanier Scholarship. Dr. Haykal then pursued fellowship training in microsurgical reconstruction at the Albany Medical Centre in New York. Dr. Haykal joined the University Health Network and the Toronto General Hospital in 2018. Her clinical focus is on complex oncological reconstruction and microsurgical reconstruction of the breast, head and neck and extremity. She started a lymphedema program in 2019 where she offers microsurgical techniques for the treatment of lymphedema.
Dr. Ahmed is a Professor in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. The recipient of the 2022 Hypertension Canada Senior Investigator Award, she is a nephrologist and clinician-scientist with a focus on sex and gender differences in human cardiovascular/kidney physiology and clinical outcomes. Dr. Ahmed is the Vice Chair (Research) for the Department of Medicine, Lead of the Libin Institute Women’s Cardiovascular Health Research Initiative at the University of Calgary and Lead of the Alberta Strategy for Patient Oriented Research Capacity Development Platform. Dr. Ahmed is an Advisory Board member for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Gender and Health, a member of the Canadian Medical Association Journal Governing Council and the President-Elect for the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences.
r. Christopher Nguan is an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Urological Sciences, Surgical Head of Kidney Transplantation at Vancouver General Hospital and the Director of the Surgical Technologies Experimental Laboratory & Advanced Robotics (STELLAR) facility at Vancouver General Hospital.
r Caroline Lamarche is a clinician scientist and transplant nephrologist at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital. She is an assistant clinical professor at the Université de Montréal. After her nephrology training at the Université de Montréal (2015), she completed a Master degree on the use of adoptive immunotherapy to treat/prevent BK nephropathy in kidney transplant recipients. She then pursued a post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Megan Levings at the University of British Columbia on the use of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) regulatory T cells (Tregs) to induce transplant tolerance. Her lab is working on the development of adoptive immunotherapy in nephrology and understanding Treg dysfunction.
Dr. Tandon is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Co-Director of the Cirrhosis Care Clinic, Transplant Hepatologist and lead of the Cirrhosis Care Alberta quality improvement program. She obtained her training at the University of Alberta, the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona and Yale University. Her clinical practice and research are focused on cirrhosis with research interests including cirrhosis related complications, malnutrition, frailty, exercise therapy, palliative care, integrative health approaches such as meditation and knowledge translation. It is her career goal to provide wholistic, interdisciplinary, evidence based, patient-centered care through education, empowerment, engagement and team-work.
Emily is a PhD student at the University of Alberta, where she completed her Master of Science (MSc) degree in medicine. With a passion for patient-oriented research and a commitment to improving health outcomes, Emily’s doctoral project focuses on EMPOWER, a 12-week online mind-body wellness program designed for adults living with chronic health conditions.
Dr Basil S. Nasir, M.B.B.Ch
Dr. Victor Ferreira is an Assistant Scientist in the Ajmera Transplant Centre at the University Health Network (UHN) and the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute (TGHRI). He is also an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology (LMP). He completed his PhD in Medical Sciences – Infection and Immunity Specialization at McMaster University in 2014 and post-doctoral training at UHN. His research program is focused on three pillars: I) using systems vaccinology to reveal insights into vaccine responses in immunocompromised individuals like transplant recipients; II) characterizing the impact of chronic viral infection on host immune responses; and III) developing novel methods for eliminating latent viruses in human organs. His work has been cited >2,500 times and is published in journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Immunology, the Lancet Infectious Diseases, Clinical Infectious Diseases, the American Journal of Transplantation and Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Chemical Engineering as an Assistant Professor in August 2014. She is a biochemical engineer with expertise in bioprocess development, high‑throughput screening and stem cell culture optimization. Her research aims to develop bioprocesses to produce and transplant therapeutic cells to treat diabetes and cardiovascular disease. She notably developed new methods to encapsulate pancreatic islets, as well as vascular biomaterials surface modification strategies which are now applied by other researchers around the world. Her emerging leadership in bioengineering was recognized through the 2014 Martin Sinacore Outstanding Young Investigator Award from Engineering Conferences International & Biogen Idec, as well as the “Étoiles effervescence” award from Montreal InVivo.
Chantal Bémeur is a nutrition specialist in relation to liver disease and its many complications. Professor Bémeur trained as a dietitian/nutritionist and completed her graduate studies and two post-doctoral fellowships in nutrition, focusing on conditions affecting the hepatic and nervous systems, such as hepatic encephalopathy and Leigh Syndrome French Canadian. Professor Bémeur’s research activities are generally of a fundamental and clinical nature, including a collaboration with CHUM’s Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology. As an expert member of the International Society on Hepatic Encephalopathy and Nitrogen Metabolism, Dr. Bémeur has participated in the development of guidelines on nutrition and liver disease. She is also part of a team of Canadian experts who developed an evidence-based nutritional education guide collaborating with people with chronic liver disease and their caregivers. She received an award from the Ordre professionnel des diététistes du Québec in 2018 for her work on this guide. Dr. Bémeur has published several book chapters, 30 scientific articles and over 100 scientific abstracts. Dr. Bémeur’s co-directs the HepatoNeuro Laboratory in the Cardiometabolic Axis of the Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CRCHUM). Several organizations, including the Donation and Transplantation Research Program of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research fund Dr. Bémeur’s research.
Dr Thozama Siyotula is a distinguished paediatric surgeon at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. With a profound interest in hepatobiliary, transplant, thoracic and neonatal surgical outcomes. She completed her undergraduate training in 2011 at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Furthering her studies she went on to specialise in paediatric surgery through the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa, completing her FCPaedSurg (SA) in 2021 and a master’s in medicine (Paediatric Surgery) in 2021 at the University of Cape Town. She currently works as a paediatric surgeon and transplant surgeon. A senior lecture at the University of Cape Town and course convenor for the 5th year undergraduate paediatric surgery program at the University of Cape Town.
David Thomson is a critical care subspecialist and abdominal transplant surgeon at Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town. His interests are deceased donation, ECMO, medical education and system improvement. He created the massive open online course Organ Donation: From Death to Life hosted on Coursera.org to improve education around organ donation and transplantation. He is the immediate past President of the Southern African Transplantation Society and led development on a report on Organ and Tissue Donation in South Africa: Creating a National Strategic Roadmap in collaboration with the International Society for Organ Donation and Procurement. He worked on the World Brain Death Project and is the lead author on the South African Guidelines for Determination of Death published in 2021.
About Dr. Julie Ho
Dr. Tom Blydt-Hansen completed his MD at McGill University, and his Pediatric and Nephrology specialization at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, followed by further specialization in transplantation at the University of California, Los Angeles. He began his Nephrology career at the University of Manitoba in 2001, where he was Division Head of Nephrology from 2005-2014.
Monica Bronowski completed an undergraduate degree in neuroscience at Dalhousie University, with a focus on innovative neurotechnology. Before starting her PhD, she worked in hematology, oncology, and bone marrow transplant (BMT), conducting clinical trials across various study phases for multiple myeloma, bone marrow transplant, and CAR-T therapies. This experience exposed her to both early and late-phase clinical trials, deepening her interest in translational research.
Angela Hamie has just graduated from the University of Alberta and holds a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Immunology and Infection. Her presentation will summarize her research conducted throughout her fourth year undergraduate thesis project, which focuses on the Age, Thymus Excision, Organ Type, and Immunosuppression on Lymphocyte Subpopulations in pediatric transplantation.
Mitchell Wagner is currently a first year medical student at the University of Alberta. He graduated from the U of A in 2022 with an Honors degree in Immunology and Infection with a certificate in biomedical research. He recently defended a Master of Science in Experimental Surgery, focusing on the optimization of out-of-body heart perfusion. Mitchell’s main research interest is on strategies that improve donated organs through ex-situ heart perfusion apparati, however has also been involved in clinical research within the areas of radiology, respiratory medicine, and cardiology. Mitchell is the recipient of multiple prestigious awards such as the Canada Graduate Scholarship – Masters and the Cote Biomedical Research Studentship. As an aspiring surgeon-scientist, he intends on completing an MD/PhD program focusing to further improve out of body heart perfusion protocols.
Sarjana Alam is an undergraduate science student at the University of Alberta, where she is a research trainee under the supervision of Dr. Esme Dijke in the Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology. She is involved in a project investigating the cryopreservation of T regulatory cells for tolerogenic cell therapy.
Marie-Pier joined Dre. Marie-Josée Hébert’s lab in the nephrology, transplantation and renal regeneration research unit at the CRCHUM in 2024. She obtained her BSc degree in biology at McGill university and is now pursuing a Masters degree in the Molecular Biology program at l’Université de Montréal. She is currently working on evaluating the pro-angiogenic potential of RNAs enriched in apoptotic exosomes and whether these RNAs cooperate to modulate endothelial function. Marie-Pier is also a trainee in the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research program (CDTRP).Outside of the lab, Marie-Pier loves to read, go to spin classes and play word games like Scattegories and Bananagrams.