UNews - Nehal Thakor

Broad areas of research awarded federal funding

caroline.zentner — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 21:03:34 +0000

A spectrum of research projects at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge have been awarded nearly $2.6 million in federal funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)

The funding is part of $693.8 million for several NSERC research competitions recently announced on behalf of the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.

“This investment in ULethbridge research activities speaks to the excellence and nationally competitive research we do — everything from mapping fuels for wildland fires to bee behaviour and the dynamics of black holes,” says Dr. Dena McMartin, vice-president research. “Our researchers investigate topics that impact the ways we understand the world around us and the complex influences and interconnectedness of the natural environment, agriculture and food security, and deep space phenomena.”

In addition, Dr. Monique Giroux had her Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Métis Music renewed for $500,000 through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

In all, 14 ULethbridge projects are receiving funding support from NSERC through the Discovery Grant and Discovery Development Grant programs. Among them are the following projects:

Dr. Laura Chasmer, a professor in the Department of Geography & Environment, will use novel Earth observation and geospatial data to examine how variations in vegetation ecosystems, both in space and in time, may enhance and reduce wildfires in Western Canada. The research program, which will include Indigenous land managers and knowledge keepers, will develop new ways of understanding fire hazards and recommendations for ecosystem management to lessen the impact of fire and improve the resilience of ecosystems and communities.
Dr. Sergio Pellis, Department of Neuroscience, will investigate the role of rough-and-tumble play or play-fighting in the development of cognitive and social skills in non-human mammals. Based on preliminary findings, Pellis hypothesizes that species with more complex social systems that require them to negotiate more varied relationships will have patterns of play that train youngsters for the social skills they’ll need as adults.

Discovery Grants

The funding listed for the following projects is over five years:

Dr. Theresa Burg, Biological Sciences — Evolution of High Latitude Birds ($200,000)
Dr. Shelley Hoover, Biological Sciences — Interactions between social bee behaviour and health ($190,000)
Dr. Steve Wiseman, Biological Sciences — Toxicant Induced Dysregulation of Oocyte Maturation ($235,000)
Dr. Nehal Thakor, Chemistry & Biochemistry — Regulation of mRNA Translation During Cellular Stress and Apoptosis ($200,000)
Dr. Laura Chasmer, Geography & Environment — Spatio-temporal variations in wildland fire fuel connectivity and behaviour using multi-data analytics ($275,000)
Dr. Joy Morris, Mathematics & Computer Science — Unexpected Symmetries of Graphs ($135,000)
Dr. David Euston, Neuroscience — Risk, Reinforcement Schedules, and Dopamine ($165,000)
Dr. Sergio Pellis, Neuroscience — Social play, the prefrontal cortex and the development of socio-cognitive skills ($275,000)
Dr. Alexandra Tetarenko, Physics & Astronomy — Unravelling how black holes power explosive outflows ($145,000)
Dr. Stephanus Henzi, Psychology — Contingency and Specificity in the Structure and Dynamics of Social Behaviour in Baboons and Vervet Monkeys ($235,000)
Dr. Jean-Baptiste Leca, Psychology — Mechanisms and evolution of material culture in primates: Does object play facilitate tool use? ($268,690)
Dr. Jamal Mansour, Psychology — Measuring cognitive processes that predict eyewitness identification performance ($165,000)

Discovery Development Grants

The funding listed for the following projects is over two years:

Dr. Philip Bonaventure, Geography & Environment — Climatic, geomorphic and ecosystem-driven multi-scale permafrost modelling and testing ($40,0000)
Dr. David Morris, Mathematics & Computer Science — Arithmetic groups, orderability, bounded generation and automorphisms ($40,000)

The Research Support Fund supports a portion of the costs associated with managing the research funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, such as salaries for staff who provide administration support, training costs for workplace health and safety, maintenance of libraries and laboratories, and administrative costs associated with obtaining patents for inventions.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researcher continues his quest to develop a new treatment for brain cancer

caroline.zentner — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 17:31:50 +0000

Dr. Nehal Thakor, a ULethbridge professor of chemistry and biochemistry, is one of only two Canadian researchers to earn a grant from the American Brain Tumor Association as he continues his quest to find a new therapeutic target for glioblastoma, a deadly brain cancer.

The funding is a $50,000 US award from the association, with partial funding from the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada. The one-year grants support high-risk, high-reward innovative approaches that have the potential to change existing diagnostic or treatment standards. The association recently announced a $1.3-million investment to accelerate research into adult and pediatric tumours.

“I am extremely grateful to receive this funding,” says Thakor. “Frontline therapeutic agents are failing in the clinic, and there is an urgent need to develop novel therapeutic intervention strategies for treating patients with glioblastoma tumours. This is one of the deadliest cancers and even with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, the average survival rate is only 15 months.”

Thakor and his research team want to understand the mechanism that makes glioblastoma such an aggressive cancer. They have identified a protein that allows glioblastoma cells to survive under conditions that normally cause cell death. His research will help validate the protein as a target for therapeutics.

“Dr. Thakor’s research has the potential to benefit many people diagnosed with glioblastoma,” says Dr. Dena McMartin, ULethbridge vice-president (research). “His success in obtaining this funding speaks to the quality and value of his work, as well as the exceptional facilities and health and medical researchers at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.”

Dr. Nehal Thakor wins coveted Blue Jacket Award

caroline.zentner — Thu, 11 May 2023 17:00:28 +0000

Dr. Nehal Thakor, a professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, was chosen as RiboClub’s Blue Jacket Award winner. The Blue Jacket Award is RiboClub's highest recognition for service by RNA scientists to the Canadian RNA community. The award recognizes sustained and impactful contributions that have strengthened the RNA community and helped it to better achieve its goals in RNA research and education.

Dr. Nehal Thakor accepts congratulations after receiving the Blue Jacket Award.

“I feel honoured by this award and I look forward to continue serving and providing leadership to the RNA community in Canada,” says Thakor.

“As Chair of the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, I am delighted that RiboClub has celebrated Prof. Nehal Thakor for his important contributions to the field of RNA research,” says Prof. Paul Hayes. “This prestigious award also recognizes Thakor's unwavering dedication and steadfast commitment to the training of our next generation of scientists. Congratulations on a job well done!”

The Blue Jacket Award includes Thakor being appointed to the Scientific Advisory Board of RiboClub and more recently, being appointed to the organizing committee of RiboClub 2024, the organization’s 25th anniversary meeting.

“Further, with my active involvement in establishing RNA Canada and RNA Alberta, we hope to accelerate the discovery and development of RNA-based technologies in the province and Canada,” says Thakor.

The Blue Jacket Award celebrates Thakor’s extraordinary service and leadership to the RNA community including the following:

Being a co-organizer for the RiboClub 2019 Annual General Meeting – which marked it’s 20^th Anniversary. He was also instrumental in obtaining Alberta Innovates funding which supported five trainees from the chemistry & biochemistry department to attend.
Contributing as a member of the Program Committee and Executive Committee of the NSERC-CREATE-funded RNA Innovation program. This national program includes the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Sherbrooke and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Manitoba.
Serving on the Canadian Consortium of RNA Researchers (C2R2) Management Committee and Grants Committee (national committees).

RiboClub brings ribonucleic acid (RNA) researchers together to promote the study of RNA evolution, structure and function. Through regular meetings, the exchange of ideas and sharing infrastructure, the club creates and unique atmosphere for the recruitment and development of young researchers.

U of L scientists unveil a novel molecular mechanism underlying Alzheimer’s disease

caroline.zentner — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 16:44:06 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge genome scientists examining molecular changes in the brain of mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease have shed light on the mechanisms involved in this complex process — one of the first stages in understanding better the molecular basis of this debilitating disease. These preliminary findings can guide the way for future studies to look for new therapeutic targets.

This significant study, led by Dr. Athan Zovoilis, a Canada Research Chair in RNA Bioinformatics and Genomics, was recently published in eLife, a prestigious biomedical and life sciences journal. The study is the result of work within the recently established Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Center (SAGSC) at the U of L, as well as part of the continuing contributions of the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN) to the field of neurodegenerative diseases.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of intellectual decline in the elderly population. More than 44 million people worldwide currently suffer from AD or related dementia and costs related to AD exceed $12 billion in Canada alone. Although some drugs may improve AD symptoms temporarily, no cure or reliable early indicator of increased risk currently exists. This is largely due to the fact that the molecular process underlying the excessive death of brain cells of AD patients is unclear and this is reflected by the current lack of comprehensive molecular diagnostic biomarkers and treatments for AD. Zovoilis and his team, funded by the Alberta Prion Research Institute and the Alzheimer Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories, has approached these unresolved questions from a new perspective looking at a set of biomolecules called SINE non-coding RNAs.

Graduate students play an important role in Zovoilis's research into Alzheimer's disease. Bottom row, left to right, are Luke Saville, Chris Isaac and Yubo Cheng. Top row, left to right, are Travis Haight, Cody Turner and Liam Mitchell.

Often referred as the “dark matter” of our genome and DNA, SINE non-coding RNAs have recently been discovered to be important players in physiological functions of cells and, thus, critical components of disease mechanisms. Now, Zovoilis’ team, in collaboration with Dr. Majid Mohajerani and his team, shows these biomolecules are connected with a neurodegenerative disease such Alzheimer’s disease.

“These RNA biomolecules are integral parts of the function of healthy brain cells and are modified as a response to adverse conditions to help our cells survive,” says Zovoilis. “However, in AD, SINE non-coding RNAs become over-responsive, creating a vicious circle that, instead of protecting the human brain, finally leads to death of brain cells. Finding a way to bypass this vicious circle is vital for finding ways to delay or even prevent the development of the disease. These findings constitute one more step in this direction”.

The success of this study is based on the application of novel genomics technologies, funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the province of Alberta, that can read all the pages of the DNA “book” in a matter of hours. Sophisticated computational bioinformatics were used to take a closer look at the complex architecture of the information stored in DNA and its SINE non-coding parts.

The study involved collaborations with other SAGSC members, such as Dr. Nehal Thakor, members of the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, the Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute and support from the Alberta Bioinformatics Network (BioNet Alberta), a new Genome Alberta and Genome Canada network established by the U of L, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta.

“Our results have revealed the broad role of SINE RNAs in molecular pathology in the brain and this has significant implications for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease,” says Zovoilis.

Zovoilis and his team are now investigating the impact of their finding in patients with Alzheimer’s disease in a study also funded by the Alberta Prion Research Institute and the Alzheimer Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories.

Thakor lab earns Cancer Research Society funding

trevor.kenney — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 17:43:51 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Dr. Nehal Thakor continues to receive support for his leading-edge research on one of the deadliest forms of cancer, glioblastoma (GBM).

The Thakor lab received a $120,000 grant as he looks to improve the efficacy of clinical treatments of glioblastoma.

Thakor, a professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Campus Alberta Innovates Program Chair of Synthetic Biology and RNA-Based Systems, has received a $120,000 grant from the Cancer Research Society (CRS) as he looks to improve the efficacy of clinical treatments of GBM. Thakor’s successful CRS application is the first of its kind for the U of L.

“This is one of the deadliest cancers, with a dismal prognosis and survival rate for those who contract the disease,” says Thakor, noting patients, on average, survive just 15 months after diagnosis. “This is a prestigious grant to win, with less than 17 per cent of applicants earning approval. Our proposal was one of just 17 in the country to receive a granting score above nine out of 10, so we are very pleased the CRS sees such great potential in our work.”

Thakor and his team are attempting to decode information about a key protein that allows GBM cells to evade programmed cell death during treatment, a function known as apoptosis. The protein, eIF5B, facilitates expression of anti-apoptotic proteins and allows GBM cells to survive under various treatment conditions. By better understanding how eIF5B works, Thakor and his team believe it will boost clinical management strategies of GBM, greatly benefitting all those who suffer from the disease.

“This research has the potential to uncover novel mechanisms of non-canonical translation initiation that lead to GBM survival, proliferation and angiogenesis, and ultimately to improve patient outcome,” says Thakor.

Thakor also recently earned an Exploration grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s (SSHRC) New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF). Working with Drs. Seyed Mehdi Jafarnejad (Queen’s ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Belfast), Marc Roussel, Stacey Wetmore and Paul Hayes, they will use expertise in several fields of research, such as mathematical biology, computational biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, chemical synthesis, as well as translatomics and metabolomics, to investigate therapeutic targets for the treatment of GBM patients.

“The awarding of this grant is testament to both the quality and potential of Dr. Thakor’s work. It indicates the Cancer Research Society sees the possibility of impactful results from this research, which is really exciting,” says Dr. Jackie Rice, associate vice-president (research). “We are lucky to have researchers of his stature, who are making an impact on the global stage, here at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.”

ABOUT THE CANCER RESEARCH SOCIETY

The Cancer Research Society is a national non-profit organization whose sole mission is to fund research on all types of cancer to help prevent, detect and treat this disease. Our vision is one of audacity: we are striving together to outsmart cancer.

U of L scientists receive two New Frontiers in Research awards

caroline.zentner — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 21:40:54 +0000

Two innovative ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge projects will bring together expertise from different fields to bring new light to promising research thanks to Exploration grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s (SSHRC) New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF).

“When only 20 per cent of applications for NFRF grants were successful across the country, having two come to our institution demonstrates that our researchers are advancing the frontiers of knowledge and creative activity,” says Dr. Robert Wood, interim vice-president (research).

Dr. Aaron Gruber, a neuroscience professor in the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, and his collaborators will use the grant to study how the active compound in magic mushrooms (psilocybin) may rewire the brain to alleviate depression and anxiety and boost creativity.

“The idea of this project is that psychedelics help the brain get out of a pattern of worry by changing brain connectivity in a positive manner,” says Gruber. “We’re going to use sophisticated analytical techniques often used for complex physical systems, such as galaxies, to test if psilocybin does weaken patterns of neural activity associated with previous stressful experiences in mice.”

Gruber and his fellow researchers, Dr. Jörn Davidsen (professor of theoretical physics with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary) and Dr. Michael Stingl (U of L philosophy professor with expertise in neuroscience ethics), suspect psilocybin will cause a long-lasting expansion in neural signaling, which may facilitate future creative problem solving. They are looking to evaluate the claim that psychedelics actually do expand the mind, as measured by the diversity of brain activity patterns. Their goal is to gather neurobiological evidence on this potentially useful class of compounds to treat the growing crisis of mood disorders.

The researchers will employ high-density imaging techniques to record the activity of thousands of neurons in the neocortex of mice before and after exposure to psilocybin. Once they’ve recorded the subsequent brain activity in mice, they’ll relate their findings to human use to see if the neural changes observed in mice explain the lived experience and therapy results reported in people.

“This kind of work highlights how modern neuroscience has become highly interdisciplinary,” says Gruber. “We are teaming up with physicists, engineers, neuroethicists and computer scientists to do this work.”

In his project, Dr. Nehal Thakor, a professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Campus Alberta Innovation Program Chair of Synthetic Biology and RNA-based Systems, and his co-applicants, Drs. Seyed Mehdi Jafarnejad (Queen’s ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Belfast), Marc Roussel, Stacey Wetmore and Paul Hayes, will use expertise in several fields of research to investigate therapeutic targets for the treatment of glioblastoma patients. The team also includes nine world-renowned collaborators.

Glioblastoma is one of the deadliest cancers and the average survival time is about 15 months after diagnosis. The standard of care for glioblastoma includes surgical removal, radiation and chemotherapy. Despite these treatments, the prognosis remains poor for the approximately 3,000 Canadians who are diagnosed with glioblastoma every year. New treatments are urgently needed.

“We are taking a paradigm-shifting approach and trying to find chemical compounds that can inhibit protein synthesis in glioblastoma. When we stop that type of protein synthesis, the cancer cells will succumb,” Thakor says.

The team will combine mathematical modelling, computational biochemistry, chemical synthesis, cell biology and multi-omics in the search for new targets. Multi-omics is an approach that uses data sets from different omics groups, such as genomics and metabolomics, to do a biological analysis. This approach allows scientists to study complex biological processes holistically.

“The advantage of working with many teams with completely different expertise is that we are working from the ground up,” says Thakor. “We know the mechanism of how the protein synthesis machinery works and we want to pinpoint and validate a target in that machinery. These fundamental discoveries will provide knowledge that may be used for many other types of cancers.”

Research experience paved the way to medical school for two U of L students

caroline.zentner — Thu, 16 Jul 2020 16:46:24 +0000

Being involved in research as undergraduate students at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge confirmed their interest in medical school for both Dr. Harshil Patel and Kamiko Bressler (BSc ’18, MSc ’19).

While Patel completed his Doctor of Medicine at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary this spring, Bressler begins her coursework online at the U of C’s Cumming School of Medicine this month. As undergrads, they worked on research in Dr. Nehal Thakor’s lab in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry. Thakor is a Campus Alberta Innovation Program (CAIP) Chair of Synthetic Biology and RNA-based Systems.

Both found their participation in the research in Thakor’s lab helped them refine their career goals and gave them transferable skills.

Kamiko Bressler

“I knew I wanted to do something involving science and I always thought it would be really interesting to be in a health-care field, but research really helped me figure out definitely that I want to pursue medicine,” says Bressler.

“If I choose to do a research-based practice, where I could be a researcher and a clinician, having those skills and that early exposure at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge will help me set up any research projects that I want to do in the future,” says Patel.

Patel and Bressler were among the first students to work with Thakor when he arrived at the U of L in 2014, so they had the opportunity to participate in setting up the lab.

Dr. Harshil Patel

“It was great to understand the entire procedure of what happens behind the scenes,” says Patel. “A lot of it was learning how to be a little bit of a manager and figuring out what the day-to-day procedures are for running a lab, understanding the processes of how we actually get our products, chemicals and reagents to how we contact other labs for protocols, troubleshooting and sharing results.”

“Getting to participate in research really gives you hands-on experience that I think is so unique to U of L,” says Bressler. “You’re able to see how research you’re doing in the lab can actually make a difference, how it might one day progress to actually helping people in the real world.”

Along with lab techniques, Bressler says she learned how research works and contributes to science as well as other skills, like how to communicate and collaborate with others. She and Patel were co-authors on the lab’s first review article publication in 2016.

“In our lab in particular, there were undergrads working with grad students and our supervisor, Nehal, was always so excellent,” says Bressler. “He would help us in the lab, hands-on all the time, and we’d work with other labs and even other schools. It was really neat to see all that come together to form an idea.”

Patel, a graduate of Lethbridge Collegiate Institute, was accepted into the U of C’s medical school when he was in his third year. He began his residency this summer.

Bressler, who’s originally from Medicine Hat, has been working in the Registrar’s Office at the U of L since completing her master’s. In addition to her online coursework, she plans to move to Calgary in August to be ready for the possibility of more in-person work beginning in September.

Diverse experience as a post-doc opens doors to industry

caroline.zentner — Mon, 12 Aug 2019 15:45:41 +0000

Dr. Joe Ross, a post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Nehal Thakor’s lab, is poised to make the move to working in industry thanks to the many diverse experiences that came his way as post-doc, including the chance to work in Thakor’s lab beginning in 2016.

“I was doing RNA structure and function work at my previous post-doc, which was a two-year contract in Denmark that was coming to an end,” says Ross. “I started looking for something in Canada and I liked the idea of applying my RNA skill set toward Nehal’s biofuel project. That was what initially attracted me to Nehal’s lab, but I haven’t laid a finger on that project. When I got here, Nehal asked me to start working with cancer cells.”

His willingness to take on the work and expand his repertoire led him in new directions. His first post-doctoral position was with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada looking at antimicrobial resistance in soils. His post-doctoral work in Denmark was a departure from working in agriculture and a step into learning all about RNA structure and function.

“When I came here I really switched gears,” he says. “Now, I’m doing cancer biology. I’ve had all these experiences and all these different skill sets, and that was the main thing that helped me get an industry job. They needed a jack of all trades.”

Ross is taking a position as senior scientist at a company called Chinook Contract Research in Airdrie. He says the company has expertise in microbiological assays for use in the pharmaceutical industry, either veterinary or human pharmaceuticals, and running field trials to study effectiveness, safety or a new application for veterinary pharmaceuticals.

“It’s good to diversify,” Ross says. “The idea is to broaden your horizons and most successful ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ will tell you something similar — they started with one thing and that led to another and another and by the time they end up as a professor somewhere, they’re studying something totally different.”

Ross credits Thakor for giving him plenty of useful advice on what it’s like to work in industry and tips on getting a job.

“Joe has done stellar work in my lab and has taken on projects enthusiastically,” says Thakor. “He has also taken a leadership role in mentoring undergraduate and graduate students. He shows a positive attitude in all he does and I know he’ll do well in his new industry position.”

Based on his own experience, Ross says his best advice to students is keep an open mind and maintain a can-do attitude.

“Don’t turn down new opportunities even if, at the time, it seems frustrating,” says Ross. “I had quite a learning curve having completely changed fields, but if you put in the time and stay patient, then you’ll see it’s never bad to have a diverse skill set or a diverse set of experiences. Be open and be willing to move around and travel and be willing to change fields and maybe even be willing to change fields a couple of times.”

During his time at the U of L, Ross has published two original research papers, two review articles and a methods paper. In addition, two other research papers have been submitted for publication and are at the peer review stage.

Ross starts his new full-time position on Sept. 3.

RiboWest Conference 2018 brings together top RNA researchers from Western Canada and beyond

trevor.kenney — Sun, 10 Jun 2018 16:55:17 +0000

Leading investigators in the field of ribonucleic acid (RNA) research and genomics are gathering at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge (U of L), June 10-13, 2018, to attend the 14th Annual RiboWest Conference, organized by the members of the Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute (ARRTI).

Many of us have heard of DNA, the biomolecule that constitutes the letters of the book of life. However, few of us may have heard of DNA ‘s cousin, RNA, a similar biomolecule that during the last decades has emerged as a molecule of equal importance to DNA.

“We now know that RNA is implicated in many diseases ranging from infections, to cancer and Alzheimer’s disease,” says Dr. Nehal Thakor, one of the organizers and a member of the Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute (ARRTI) at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. “But RNA can also serve in the diagnosis and as a therapeutic agent of many diseases as well as a tool in bioengineering of cells to generate novel compounds.”

The RiboWest Conference brings together an interdisciplinary group of scientists, all of whom share the passion of deciphering and decoding the secrets of RNA and its role in numerous human diseases.

“This meeting is an excellent opportunity for networking, establishing new collaborations and having fun in sharing our enthusiasm for RNA,” says Dr. Athan Zovoilis, another member of ARRTI and an an assistant professor at the U of L. “This year’s conference is focussed on modern RNA genomics and epigenomics technologies that can provide detailed insights into the role of RNA in health and diseases. We’re expecting nearly 100 attendees and 5 invited speakers from 10 universities as well as representatives from multiple business enterprises.”

This year’s conference hosts five keynote and invited speakers, delivering talks that will be free and open to the public, in the Markin Hall Atrium.

RiboWest Conference 2018 will open with Dr. Sonenberg’s Gairdner lecture. Sonenberg is a James McGill Professor and Gilman Cheney Chair in the Department of Biochemistry and the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Centre at McGill ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. Sonenberg won the Gairdner International Award in 2008. His talk (Sunday, June 10, 6 p.m.) discusses how preparation of proteins, key molecules for cell survival, in normal condition and diseases such as cancer, obesity, diabetes and neurological diseases is controlled.

Dr. Steven Jones, the head of the Bioinformatics Department and Associate Director of the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre in Vancouver will follow with his talk about the recent advances in his laboratory at 7 p.m. on Sunday. His laboratory is at the forefront of new genomics technologies that help us to understand the causes of cancer and in applying revolutionary diagnostic tools for detecting and treating cancer.

The conference will continue on Monday, June 11 at 8 a.m., as Dr. Martin Hirst will present this year’s breakthrough talk in epigenetics, sponsored by the Alberta Epigenetics Network. Hirst, the head of epigenomics at the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre and an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of British Columbia, has had a profound impact on Canadian and international epigenomics research.

Dr. Michelle Scott will present on Tuesday, June 12 at 8 a.m. and discuss her work on the effect of mid-sized RNAs in health. She is an associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Sherbrooke. Scott is recognized internationally for her work in bioinformatics of small non-coding RNAs and her research involves the development of computational tools for the analysis of the transcriptome.

World-renowned RNA researcher, Dr. Jennifer Kugel, will close the event with a talk on Tuesday at 4:45 p.m., discussing regulation of RNA polymerase II by SINE encoded ncRNAs. She is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Colorado at Boulder, and has been a leading force in current RNA research and understanding of the role of mobile repetitive elements in the genome.

Stephen Rader of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Northern British Columbia organized the first RiboWest Conference in 2005. Since 2008, ARRTI hosts the event every second year.

For a complete look at RiboWest 2018, visit https://www.ribowest.org/

U of L appoints Dr. Nehal Thakor as its fourth CAIP chair

caroline.zentner — Mon, 17 Nov 2014 17:25:11 +0000

Dr. Nehalkumar (Nehal) Thakor’s research into the regulation of gene expression has implications for many fields, from biofuel production to cancer treatment.

One arm of Dr. Nehal Thakor’s research program explores the uses of gene expression regulation in the field of sustainable energy.

Thakor, a microbiologist, brings his expertise in synthetic biology to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge as a Campus Alberta Innovation Program (CAIP) Chair of Synthetic Biology and RNA-based Systems. He was appointed to the seven-year position in September.

“Government’s commitment to the Campus Alberta Innovation Program helps attract leading edge professors to our province. Dr. Thakor’s work has the potential to make significant discoveries in energy and the environment that will benefit not only Alberta but people around the world,” says Don Scott, Minister of Innovation and Advanced Education. “We welcome him to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge."

Synthetic biology involves the engineering of biological systems to produce new outcomes. One arm of Thakor’s research program explores the uses of gene expression regulation in the field of sustainable energy.

“Mankind is being challenged right now because we are running out of our fossil fuel supply, and we need an alternative energy source,” says Thakor, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “My general objective is to study RNA-based system biology, particularly in the area of energy and environment.”

RNA (ribonucleic acid) is a molecule that, along with DNA and proteins, is essential for all known life forms. RNA is involved in gene expression and regulation and Thakor investigates the use of RNA to adjust gene expression in microbes to consume plant waste and convert it into glucose, a core ingredient of biofuel. This type of biofuel is more sustainable because it doesn’t compete for land used to grow food. Ultimately, Thakor’s research could also have implications for the production of antibiotics and biodegradable plastics.

Thakor’s other area of research concentrates on the regulation of gene expression during oncogenesis, or the formation of cancer. He wants to uncover why cancer cells survive after being exposed to stress that kills regular cells.

"By learning more about how protein translation occurs in cancer cells, it may provide us with insights into how we can create more effective cancer treatments,” he says.

Dr. Lesley Brown, interim vice-president (research), sees a bright future for RNA-based research at the U of L. Thakor joins a strong team, including Dr. Hans Joachim Wieden, who was named the iCORE (Innovates Centre of Research Excellence) Strategic Chair of Bioengineering by Alberta Innovates-Technology Futures (AITF).

“The number of problems that can be addressed through synthetic biology and biomolecular engineering will only continue to expand,” says Brown. “Dr. Thakor is a welcome addition to our team of researchers in synthetic biology.”

Before coming to the U of L, Thakor was a senior scientist at BioVectra, a supplier to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, in Prince Edward Island. Originally from India, Thakor obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in microbiology from Sardar Patel ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Gujarat, India. He did his doctoral work at Sardar Patel and at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Munster in Germany. Thakor also worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta and at the Apoptosis Research Centre in Ottawa.

Thakor is the fourth and final CAIP chair allocated to the U of L as part of the provincial government’s commitment to provide 16 research chairs to Alberta’s four comprehensive universities. The CAIP Chairs program is designed to bring new research leaders to Alberta to work in four strategic areas, including energy and environment, food and nutrition, neuroscience/prions, and water. At the U of L, the government is contributing $1 million for four Chairs over the course of seven years, for a total investment of $7 million.

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