UNews - Gerlinde Metz

Canadian Space Agency grant will help further research into the health effects of space travel

caroline.zentner — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 16:35:05 +0000

Dr. Gerlinde Metz, a neuroscientist at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, and a team of researchers have received a $225,000 grant from the Canadian Space Agency to build a better understanding of how the human body adapts to life in space.

The grant was announced recently by the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, as part of $2.8 million in research grants to 14 Canadian post-secondary institutions.

“Canada’s investments in astronomy and planetary science are a powerful catalyst for scientific advancement and innovation,” said Joly. “These strategic commitments will empower Canadian researchers with the tools and opportunities they need to develop world-class expertise, driving cutting-edge discoveries and technological breakthroughs right here at home.”

“We are grateful for this funding, as it will allow us to determine the complex biological responses to long-duration spaceflight over time,” says Metz. “Our previous research has shown that space travel resulted in sex-specific changes in metabolites involved in energy metabolism, which may be linked to bone loss, muscle regulation and immunity dysfunction.”

Space travel imposes stresses on astronauts, including noise, vibration, loss of G forces and radiation exposure. Numerous studies have revealed physical complications from spaceflight, including loss of bone and muscle mass.

The grant enables the research team, including Tony Montina from ULethbridge’s Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and a collaborator from NASA/Pittsburgh, to participate in NASA’s first comprehensive multi-level analysis of the world’s largest existing group of astronauts.

The research project could also help identify protective factors and ways to counteract the negative effects of spaceflight.

Powerchair hockey tournament coming to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge

caroline.zentner — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 21:09:12 +0000

Powerchair athletes will descend on Lethbridge for the first-ever Alberta Powerchair Hockey Tournament at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Centre for Sport and Wellness from Aug. 8 to 10.

Powerchair hockey players display their jerseys while coach Chase Petruska holds the trophy.

Chase Petruska (BSc ’23, MSc ’24), a doctoral student studying neuroscience under Dr. Gerlinde Metz, has organized the tournament, and he expects 32 athletes with physical disabilities from Grand Prairie, Calgary, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Ontario will participate in the tournament. Hosted at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, the tournament is being run by the Lethbridge Powerchair Sports Association. The Calgary Flames and the Lethbridge Hurricanes are supporting the tournament by supplying jerseys for two teams each, as well as MVP awards, like signed game pucks and water bottles. The Calgary Powerchair Hockey League and the Alberta Cerebral Palsy Sports Association are also behind the tournament as they endeavour to grow the sport of powerchair hockey.

Petruska became interested in powerchair sports because he wanted to help his brother, who has cerebral palsy. His brother plays in the Calgary Power Hockey League, which Petruska coaches. Seeing his brother and the other players smiling, laughing and having a good time inspired him to conduct research into finding ways to support people with physical disabilities in participating in team sports.

He established the Lethbridge Powersoccer Program nearly four years ago, after his research found that individuals with physical disabilities were more susceptible to stressful situations like social isolation.

“Since starting up Lethbridge Powerchair Soccer and while coaching powerchair hockey in Calgary, I’ve seen players gain confidence, form close friendships, and feel a stronger sense of purpose and inclusion,” says Petruska. “Team sports can offer life-changing benefits for people who are often excluded from traditional athletics. One of the biggest inspirations for me is seeing these players come out every week, and, even with all the adversity they have to battle through, their faces still light up with joy whenever they make a save, a block, a pass or score a goal.”

Petruska plans to conduct research on the tournament to examine the immediate effects of powerchair sports as part of his PhD thesis. Along with collecting heart rate data and saliva and urine samples, the athletes will be asked to complete a questionnaire to assess how powerchair sports affect their stress levels, mood, social well-being and physiological responses. The goal is to deepen understanding of how adaptive team sports influence the mental, social, and biological health of individuals with physical disabilities.

In his previous research, Petruska has found heartening results. A study soon to be published, which examined the impact of powerchair sports over four months of participation, revealed a trend in increased social support and a significant metabolomic change with promising biological markers for positive social support and mental health outcomes.

The findings are confirmed by what Petruska sees on the court and the possibilities he envisions for powerchair sports.

“Seeing every player’s resilience, how they work together, encourage one another, and help each other grow both on and off the court, has made a significant impact on me,” he says. “As a result, we’ve begun expanding to other sports through my non-profit Lethbridge Powerchair Sports Association. We are running powerchair hockey in the fall, soccer in the spring and boccia in the summer. All events will be hosted at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and directly tied to my research."

The tournament begins Friday, Aug. 8, with an optional practice at 4 p.m., dinner from 5 to 6 p.m. and the first game at 6 p.m. between the Flames and Blasty. The tournament continues Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The finals are scheduled for Sunday, with the gold medal game from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. All games will be held in the north gym at the Centre for Sport and Wellness.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers awarded federal research grants worth more than $3 million

caroline.zentner — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 21:50:59 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers are among the successful applicants for federal grants announced by The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, and the Honourable Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health.

The more than $1.3 billion in funding supports over 9,700 researchers and research projects in Canada through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

“From brain plasticity and the mechanism of low-dose radiation to supporting newcomers through mentoring, these grants illustrate the diversity of research being done at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge,” says Dr. Dena McMartin, vice-president of research. “This funding not only helps established researchers continue their work but also helps our early career researchers build their research programs. Ultimately, our students benefit with increased opportunities to engage in research throughout their post-secondary careers.”

In total, ULethbridge received funding from NSERC for nine Discovery Grants and two Discovery Development Grants. The Discovery Grants will bring in nearly $475,000 a year for the next five years. The research projects include the following:

Dr. Gerlinde Metz (Neuroscience) will receive $96,000 per year for a study looking at the social determinants of experience-dependent brain plasticity.
Dr. Stacey Wetmore (Chemistry & Biochemistry) will receive $89,000 per year for a project involving computer modelling of modified RNA.
Dr. Olga Kovalchuk (Biological Sciences) was awarded $55,000 annually to study the fundamental mechanisms of low-dose radiation.
Dr. Borries Demeler (Chemistry & Biochemistry) is set to receive $47,000 yearly for solution studies of interacting biopolymer systems.
Dr. Hadi Kharaghani (Mathematics & Computer Science) will receive $32,000 a year for his project on special orthogonal matrices.

The remainder of the NSERC recipients are four early career researchers, each of whom received a Discovery Launch Supplement of $12,500 in addition to their Discovery Grant.

Dr. Corina Birghila (Mathematics & Computer Science) was awarded a yearly amount of $31,000 for a project titled Optimal Decision under Uncertainty.
Dr. Jessica Willi (Chemistry & Biochemistry) will receive $44,000 annually for a project on ribosome functions through synthetic biology.
Dr. Vineet Rathod (Chemistry & Biochemistry) will receive $38,000 annually to examine the structure-function relationship of natural and engineered amyloid proteins.
Dr. Dylan Girodat (Chemistry & Biochemistry) will receive $42,000 per year for a project on the structural dynamics of ribosomes during translation.

In addition, Discovery Development Grants, worth $22,000 each, were awarded to Drs. Christopher Hopkinson (Geography & Environment) and Marc Bomhof (Kinesiology and Physical Education).

Hopkinson will use remote sensing to model vegetation and snowpack response to wildland fire in headwater basins.
Bomhof intends to look at the interplay between exercise and dietary factors on appetite regulation.

ULethbridge social science and humanities researchers were awarded $645,000 in SSHRC Insight Grants.

Dr. Daniel O'Donnell (English) will work on a project involving Research Data Management and Research Data Infrastructure by humanities researchers.
Dr. Scott Rathwell (Kinesiology) wants to enhance sport participation, promote physical activity and improve health outcomes for aging adults by establishing a framework for effective sport programming in middle-aged and older adults.

Several ULethbridge researchers are the recipients of Insight Development Grants totalling more than $291,000.

Dr. Toupey Luft (Education) has designed a project to address the gap in understanding how arts-based mentorship may enhance a sense of belonging for newcomer young adults.
Dr. Kenneth Holyoke’s (Geography & Environment) project investigates the nature and scope of climate impacts on the Wolastoqiyik and Wabanaki archaeological record in New Brunswick.
Dr. Justin Raycraft’s (Anthropology) objective in this project is to increase understanding of the social dimensions of human-carnivore coexistence in the Tarangire ecosystem of northern Tanzania.
Dr. Jeffrey MacCormack (Education) will develop a professional development intervention consisting of a community of practice for teachers and principals where they learn evidence-based practices to support students with profound and multiple disabilities.
Dr. Miranda Leibel (Liberal Education) will examine how the creation and maintenance of postal services are an important component of Canadian state- and nation-building.

Dr. Gerlinde Metz honoured with Chair in Neuroscience

caroline.zentner — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 19:57:34 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge neuroscience professor Dr. Gerlinde Metz has been named the Dr. Bryan Kolb Chair in Neuroscience.

The professorship honours the legacy of Kolb (DSc '15), one of the most influential figures in establishing the study of neuroscience and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience. The chair provides a seven-year, research-focused term with the option for reappointment once to a second seven-year term.

“The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is thrilled to bestow this tremendous honour on Dr. Gerlinde Metz,” says Dr. Dena McMartin, vice-president (research). “Gerlinde’s research is making impacts on both fundamental understandings of the brain, as well as applied analyses and identification of key biomarkers regarding stress impacts and how intergenerational trauma response is transmitted across generations. She is widely viewed as a leader in her field and a highly sought-after expert worldwide.”

“I am deeply honoured to be named the Dr. Bryan Kolb Chair in Neuroscience,” says Metz. “This recognition is especially meaningful to me, given Dr. Kolb’s extraordinary legacy in shaping the field of neuroscience and his role in building the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience. I am humbled to carry forward this legacy through research that advances innovation and translational impact in neuroscience, both in Canada and internationally.”

Metz’s research investigates the influence of experience and environment on behaviour and brain plasticity, and how the effects of stress can be effectively prevented. Her work has shown that stress affects the motor system, and that adverse experiences can become predisposing factors for motor system diseases such as Parkinson’s and stroke.

Many groundbreaking insights have emerged from her research, including a study that found touch therapy helped the brain recover from stroke and that male experimenters make female rats uneasy.

Working with a rat model, Metz and her team have become internationally recognized as pioneers in studying how prenatal stress can affect health over a lifetime. Metz discovered that the effects of prenatal stress can also be transmitted from one generation to the next, influencing the health of future generations. Her research has examined the impact of war trauma on biological health in the next generation, and the long-term health effects of natural disasters like Quebec’s ice storm in 1998 and the Calgary flood in 2013. Recently, she has been studying the effects of space flight on astronauts. This research is leading to the discovery of chemical signatures for risk prediction and early diagnosis of common human diseases.

Metz is also an adjunct professor with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta. In 2023, she was named a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, a first for a ULethbridge professor. In addition to being a neuroscience professor, Metz held a Board of Governors Research Chair in Healthy Futures and is one of the founders of the Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Centre.

After completing a BSc at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Giessen in Germany, she pursued graduate studies, earning a PhD from ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) in Switzerland. She also completed her habilitation in medicine at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Jena in Germany. Habilitation is the top level of higher education in Germany and some other countries; it qualifies individuals to independently teach and conduct research in the context of a university professorship.

Prenatal maternal stress has lasting effects on offspring

caroline.zentner — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 16:39:36 +0000

A ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge research study has shown that the effects of prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) can last for generations.

Drs. Gerlinde Metz and Stephanie King and a team of researchers used a rat model to examine the consequences of PNMS across four generations.

Dr. Gerlinde Metz

“Prenatal maternal stress is a major driver of adverse pregnancy outcomes and a risk factor for chronic illness in adulthood,” says Metz. “The present study builds on our earlier finding that transgenerational and multigenerational PNMS causes adverse pregnancy outcomes and impaired development in offspring.”

The first- and second-generation mothers experienced shorter pregnancies and altered behaviours, and their pups had reduced weight and delayed sensorimotor development.

“In our new study, we found that the first generation of offspring revealed a moderate impact of PNMS, but we saw drastic changes in the second and third generations,” says Metz.

The disruption involved genes and biological pathways associated with neurological and psychiatric diseases, which may help explain why some non-genetic diseases carry a risk in some families. The placenta typically prevents fetal exposure to maternal stress hormones, but PNMS may affect the balance. If the stress occurs during a critical time of development, it can affect the eggs and sperm and potentially the health of future generations.

“Our study demonstrates the compounding consequences of PNMS across generations,” says Metz. “It also suggests the placenta could be a source of predictive biomarkers associated with neurodevelopmental health.”

Dr. Stephanie King

Using the placenta to identify markers associated with prenatal stress could lead to therapeutic interventions in early life that could mitigate the impact of some psychological and neurological diseases.

King, the lead author of the study and now an assistant professor and research director at St. Matthews ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ School of Medicine in the Cayman Islands, states that one of the most exciting aspects of this study is the identification of the placenta as a potential noninvasive biomarker for predicting a child’s neurodevelopmental health.

“We saw many of the same shifts in the placenta mirrored in the brain,” says King. “By analyzing placental tissue, we can gain insights into how prenatal stress can predispose individuals to mental or physical health issues later in life.

“Our findings underscore the importance of considering environmental stressors, like maternal stress, as key contributors to the rising rates of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. This research opens new avenues for early intervention and prevention strategies, potentially helping to reduce the transgenerational transmission of these risks.”

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers part of a global team studying the effects of space travel

caroline.zentner — Tue, 14 Jan 2025 20:50:08 +0000

A global group of researchers, including Dr. Gerlinde Metz from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN) and Tony Montina from the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, is examining the long-term effects of spaceflight.

Dr. Gerlinde Metz, a neuroscientist, has expertise in metabolomics.

Headed by Dr. Afshin Beheshti, a scientist from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Pittsburgh, Metz and Montina, with their expertise in metabolomics, aging and the effects of stress, are the only Canadian researchers in the group. They and a team of ULethbridge students previously collaborated with NASA on analyzing blood samples from astronauts on International Space Station (ISS) missions.

“This groundbreaking work has the potential to significantly advance the understanding of the biological pathways that determine health outcomes associated with human spaceflight,” says Metz, who co-leads the Metabolomics Platform of the Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Centre (SAGSC) with Montina. “Considering the enormous physical and physiological strain induced on the human body by spaceflight, this research is both timely and necessary as societies prepare for longer periods of space travel.”

The Human Adaptation to Spaceflight study will look at a massive amount of data collected over 12 years on the ISS involving more than 70 astronauts. The researchers will determine the key factors that impact astronauts during spaceflight. The health impacts can include bone loss, cardiovascular disease, renal issues such as kidney stones, disruption of circadian rhythms, potential cancer risks and eye disorders.

“Understanding the integrated human system response to spaceflight will exponentially increase our understanding of the risks and potential countermeasures for space travellers,” says Beheshti, director of the Center of Space Biomedicine, associate director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine and professor of surgery at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Pittsburgh.

Spaceflight affects mitochondria, which generate energy to power the cell, as well as other tasks like cellular differentiation and controlling the cycle, growth and death of a cell. The researchers suspect that spaceflight disrupts mitochondrial activity, which in turn affects many aspects of the health of astronauts.

The project will use the largest available amount of astronaut data in one analysis and produce new insight into the human response to spaceflight. Various disciplines will collaborate in an unprecedented collaborative effort to make groundbreaking discoveries about the impacts of long-term spaceflight on the human body. In addition, the researchers will use a new machine-learning technique to predict possible drugs that could target the key factors affected by spaceflight and diminish the metabolic changes that occur.

“We are excited to conduct research as part of this international group,” says Metz. “The work we are doing will help us understand how spaceflight affects our bodies and, in addition, how stress can affect those of us who never leave the bounds of Earth.”

Studying the effects of maternal social isolation on the health of offspring

caroline.zentner — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 19:20:53 +0000

Dr. Gerlinde Metz, a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge neuroscientist, Dr. Gerald Giesbrecht from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary and Dr. David Olson from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta have received a One Child Every Child Strategic Catalyst Award worth $50,000 to look at maternal social isolation as a risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes and developmental trajectories in their offspring.

“We are extremely pleased to have received this award,” says Metz. “The more we know about the negative effects of prenatal stress on mothers and their children the better we can develop targeted strategies to mitigate those effects.”

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted an urgent need to improve mental health during an extremely stressful time. Recent studies have shown that pregnant mothers are at higher risk of experiencing social isolation as a stressor, with potential effects on their offspring.

“Our work in rat models has confirmed these findings,” says Metz. “Pregnant female rats are especially vulnerable to social isolation, with lasting impacts on their mental and physical health and that of their offspring.”

Metz and her collaborators will use a rat model to identify the physiological and behavioural consequences of social isolation in rat mothers and their male and female offspring. They plan to study the effects of oxytocin, the bonding hormone, in interaction with sex hormones and how it changes during pregnancy. They’ll also look at the development and behaviours of their offspring. A second goal of the study is to determine if social enrichment in offspring can help build resilience against prenatal stress.

Women in rural and remote areas may face more social isolation, especially in northern communities. If they have to travel long distances to access prenatal care and deliver their babies, they experience significant social distancing from their families and communities.

“While we are not working with human populations, our study can help identify new ways to build resilience to stress through social supports,” says Metz. “Like rats, humans are a social species and the biomarkers we find using a rat model can be translated to human populations at risk.”

In addition, the research will provide transdisciplinary training in the field of developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD), including virtual-reality and online tools for community engagement and the design and implementation of social support programs.

Dr. Gerlinde Metz named a Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Fellow

caroline.zentner — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 17:10:16 +0000

Acknowledging her exceptional contributions to health sciences, neuroscientist Dr. Gerlinde Metz has become the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s first professor to be named a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Fellow (CAHS). Fellows are recognized by their peers nationally and internationally for their contributions to health sciences and have demonstrated leadership, distinctive competencies and a commitment to advance health sciences.

“I am absolutely thrilled to have been elected to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences,” says Metz. “It is truly an honour to join the ranks of CAHS and it is also a recognition of the excellent research environment at ULethbridge and the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience and the neuroscience department in particular. Achieving milestones in innovative health research is only possible through collaborative efforts with our colleagues and through the significant accomplishments of our trainees. This recognition is a tribute to all of them!”

Metz was one of 48 Fellows to be elected to the CAHS for 2023. Election to the CAHS Fellowship is considered one of the highest honours for those who work in health sciences in Canada.

“I would like to personally congratulate all the applicants that were elected as a Fellow in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences for 2023. This recognition reflects their dedication and excellence in their field,” said Dr. Jan Sargeant, Chair of the Fellowship Committee, in a news release. “We look forward to having their expertise further enrich the work of our Academy.”

Metz focuses on the influence of experience and environment on behaviour and brain plasticity. Her research has indicated that adverse experiences at any time in life can raise the risk of disease. More recent research has concentrated on the effect of stress on subsequent generations where results have shown that the experiences of grandparents and parents can influence the health of their children.

One of the research streams for Metz and her research lab is the effect of stress on health. Their research has examined the effects of prenatal stress from events such as the Quebec ice storm in 2013 and the Fort McMurray wildfire in 2016. She and her research team have also looked at the importance of studying sex differences, the value of touch therapy following stroke, developing a urine analysis to diagnose concussion and enhance recovery, pre-term labour and the effects of space travel on astronauts’ health.

Metz completed a BSc at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Giessen, in Giessen, Germany. She did graduate work at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Giessen and ETH Zurich in Zurich, Switzerland and completed a PhD at ETH Zurich. She is a Professor of Neuroscience at ULethbridge’s Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, a Tier 1 Board of Governors Research Chair in Healthy Futures and Adjunct Professor with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta and an associate member of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute.

In its announcement, the CAHS provided a summary of her research.

“Her research investigates how experiences, both positive and negative, affect brain health from early development to old age. Her pioneering work has demonstrated that transgenerational stress affects the well-being of future generations, which is now leading to new tools for risk prediction and diagnosis of human disease. Devoted to interdisciplinary and translational research and training around the globe, her work advances precision health with benefits for the most vulnerable populations.”

The Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, a non-profit organization, works to ensure are appropriate expertise and best scientific evidence are available to provide advice for a healthy Canada.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge celebrates International Clinical Trials Day

caroline.zentner — Tue, 23 May 2023 17:55:25 +0000

Back in 1747, James Lind, a surgeon, started a clinical trial with sailors sick with scurvy aboard a Royal Navy ship. He gave them a variety of dietary supplements and saw a remarkable recovery in those who were treated with citrus fruits. Lind’s work not only saved the lives of sailors, but laid the foundation for modern clinical trials.

Today, clinical trials — a type of clinical research that involves voluntary human participants or their blood and tissues — involve interventions such as treatments, procedures, devices or changes to lifestyle. They are used to determine the safety and effectiveness of the intervention. International Clinical Trials Day on May 20 provides the opportunity to recognize the achievements of the clinical research community.

“Clinical trials are essential to the advancement of human health and well-being,” says Dr. Dena McMartin, vice-president research. “Clinical trials help us develop new treatments such as drugs and vaccines, as well as medical devices and procedures. ULethbridge researchers who conduct clinical trials help improve the quality of life for many people.”

While many pre-clinical research trials are conducted at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, many researchers work with human participants.

For example, Dr. Darren Christensen, a Faculty of Health Science professor with expertise in addictions, and a team of researchers are investigating the potential for naltrexone, a drug usually prescribed for people with alcohol or opioid abuse disorders, to treat disordered gambling.

“The results we gather in this study will give us important scientific evidence for an application to Health Canada to introduce the first regulated drug treatment for gambling disorders,” says Christensen.

Dr.Jon Doan and his team conduct research with people living with Parkinson Disease.

In the Department of Kinesiology & Physical Education, Dr. Jon Doan (PhD ’06) and his team have long examined the ability of people living with Parkinson Disease (PD) to retain their skating skills.

“Paradoxically, many people living with PD maintain their skating skills,” says Doan. “A recent clinical trial from our lab combined an ice-skating intervention with stickhandling a hockey puck or ringette ring and found that people living with PD had significantly improved functions in their upper extremities with the intervention.”

Dr. Bonnie Lee, a professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences’ Addiction Studies program, conducted a clinical trial in the provincial health system using Congruence Couple Therapy (CCT), a counselling model that treats the person with addiction and their partner together rather than separately. The results showed that CCT produces significantly better outcomes for clients with alcohol and gambling problems compared to individual treatment.

In the Department of Neuroscience, Dr. Robbin Gibb (BASc (BSc '77, MSc '01, PhD '04)and her team developed the Building Brains Together program to promote play-based activities for children and enhance adult capability around child development. The goal of the program is to improve executive function (EF) and resilience in both children and their families. Originally targeted at preschoolers, the team has recently developed an EF skill-building play program for adolescents that is now being tested in Lethbridge classrooms.

Chase Petruska, second row right, established the Lethbridge Powersoccer Program as a way to help relieve stress for individuals with physical disabilities.

Also in neuroscience, Chase Petruska, a student in Dr. Gerlinde Metz’s lab, is working with individuals with physical disabilities to better understand their personal stresses and mental well-being. This research aims to find areas where individuals with physical disabilities lack proper support and attempt to build resilience via a powerchair soccer intervention.

These are just a few of the many activities where ULethbridge researchers are using clinical trials to make important advances in their fields of study, enhancing the health and well-being of society.

Anyone interested in learning more about clinical trials can visit the Alberta Clinical Research Consortium or Be the Cure.

The Office of Research and Innovation Services also supports the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s research community in the pursuit of external grants and funding and helps them conduct their work with the highest academic, scientific and ethical standards.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge graduate student creates powerchair soccer league

caroline.zentner — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 20:37:01 +0000

One of the best things about attending the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge for Chase Petruska was the ability to pursue research he was keenly interested in. He found that freedom in Dr. Gerlinde Metz’s lab at the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience and his research led to the establishment of a powerchair soccer program for those with physical disabilities.

Chase Petruska, second row right, established the Lethbridge Powersoccer Program as a way to help relieve stress for individuals with physical disabilities.

“My brother has cerebral palsy, so I’ve always been interested in individuals with physical disabilities,” says Petruska, who’s now a master’s student in Metz’s lab. “We are really close and he’s pretty much my motivation for everything.”

Petruska coaches his brother’s team in the Calgary Power Hockey League (CPHL) and seeing the players laughing, smiling and having a great time spurred his interest in doing research to find more ways to help people like his brother and ensure the needed support and care is in place. The COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions were difficult for everyone, but it led to even more social isolation for people with physical disabilities.

“The pandemic made everyone a bit more on edge and was stressful for us all,” says Metz. “But the physically disabled community is particularly vulnerable, and was affected more than the average person in the population because they lack mobility to go out.”

Petruska wanted to investigate mental health and stress in people with physical disabilities, but he could find very few previous studies that looked at the relationship between these factors.

“When I came to Lethbridge and saw there was no specific activity for individuals in powerchairs to do, I thought it would be a good idea to look at this powerchair soccer intervention and then we could also measure the impact it made on their resilience and mental health,” he says.

Along with establishing the Lethbridge Powersoccer Program, he recruited participants for his research study where they responded to a questionnaire about their mental health and provided saliva and urine samples. The results became part of Petruska’s honours thesis.

“We found that individuals with physical disabilities were more susceptible to stressful situations like COVID and social isolation,” he says. “We also found that individuals who had non-family caretakers reported more depressive and anxiety symptoms, as well as a decrease in physical activity.”

Given those findings, Petruska suspects other factors may be involved, such as the type of caregiving situation, and he’s continuing his research as part of his master’s program.

When it began in the fall of 2021, the powersoccer program operated out of a community gym up until Christmas time. The new year found them without a place to play until the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ stepped up with both gym time and storage space.

“We are very grateful the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ makes research possible and, at the same time, enables this program for community members who are in dire need of an intervention and social support,” Petruska says.

The league currently has five players, with five more who are interested when the league starts back up this month. The league has received funding through the Alberta Cerebral Palsy Sports Association to cover the cost of gym rental and bumpers for the powerchairs. In addition, Petruska’s family and Dr. Jamshid Faraji, senior research associate in Metz’s lab, have pitched in to help with collecting samples and questionnaires.

Metz sees much potential in this type of research for people with physical disabilities, especially those who’ve experienced a sudden loss of mobility. Getting used to using a wheelchair comes with both physical and mental challenges and more research could help find ways to mitigate the stress that goes along with those challenges.

"Because our lifestyles are very complex and everyone experiences different levels of stress, we don't really know how stress and mental health affect our physical health," says Metz. "Therefore, we decided to also investigate biological signatures of stress, such as metabolic changes."

The results may also point to new interventions aimed at reducing stress, such as weightlifting or even virtual reality.

UNews - Gerlinde Metz

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��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge celebrates International Clinical Trials Day

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��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge celebrates International Clinical Trials Day

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge graduate student creates powerchair soccer league