January 2015

Inside this issue….

Editorial

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The ORT Times A monthly newsletter featuring UHN Trainees

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The ORT Office of Research Trainees

Upcoming Events & Funding Opportunities

07 Recent Awardees

06 Conference Reports

2015 Hiring Guidelines for Research Summer Students

Research Support Services (RSS), the Office of Research Trainees (ORT) and Human Resources (HR) are pleased to announce that they will be offering the 2015 Hiring Guidelines for Research Summer Students information sessions starting at the end of January. These sessions will provide attendees with step-by-step instructions for hiring Research Summer Students and will help to clarify Research Summer Student training requirements and departmental financial obligations. **All those involved in hiring Research Summer Students are encouraged to attend this session given that many changes have been made to the 2015 hiring guidelines** To register, click here. All UHN staff and trainees are eligible to attend. Agenda: 1. Intranet Resources – presented by ORT 2. Hiring Process & Immunization Requirements – presented by HR 3. Exit Process for Summer Students – presented by HR 4. Training Requirements – presented by Training & Development 5. Research Computing Accounts – presented by Training &

Development 6. Volunteers in Research – presented by Volunteer Resources Dates & Locations: • Thursday, January 22, TMDT 4-204, 1:30-2:30pm • Wednesday, January 28, TWRI 4KD503, 11:00-12:00pm • Wednesday, February 18, TRI UC Lecture Room, 1:30-2:30pm • Wednesday, February 25, TGH 1N-130, 1:30-2:30pm • Thursday, March 19, PM Cancer Centre, 6-604, 2:30-3:30pm • Thursday, March 26, TWRI 4KD503, 1:30-2:30pm

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New wave of antibiotics: is it too late to turn the tide of resistance?

Written by Dr. Stuart Faulkner

The widespread introduction of antibiotics such as penicillin and streptomycin in the 1940’s changed the face of medicine. It was hailed as a success and provided cures for a range of prevalent diseases at the time. However, so-called “Superbugs”—bacteria which have developed resistance to almost all known antibiotics—are now rapidly appearing. Two well known examples are Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). There are several reasons for the widespread resistance to antibiotics. Firstly, most antibiotics are produced from cultivatable soil organisms. These represent only about 1% of all microorganisms, and viable antibiotics from these sources were quickly exhausted in the 1960’s. Secondly, synthetic antibiotics or those derived from non-microbial sources (eg, those derived from natural health products like Manuka honey—famed for containing potent antimicrobial compounds) have been unsuccessful or still require further validation. Antibiotics from these sources are thus insufficient to replace the traditional antibiotics that are now ineffective. As such, there have been no new classes of antibiotics discovered for nearly 25 years. Thirdly, the rapid rise in the use of antibiotics in healthcare, livestock and food production has created a social culture of antibiotic overuse—deemed an “unnecessary” use of antibiotics. This factor is possibly the biggest current accelerator of antibiotic resistance. Overall, this represents a real health crisis and a potential return to the “dark ages” of medicine, wherein once treatable infections will kill again. An estimated 99% of all external microorganisms are uncultured and not able to grow in laboratory conditions. This represents a vast unexplored and untapped source of antibiotic discovery. Recently, scientists in Boston (USA) published an article in Nature (access paper here) demonstrating several methods of growing uncultured organisms by cultivating them in situ (ie, in their natural environment) or by using specific growth factors. The scientists grew uncultured bacteria by using an isolation chip (iCHIP) device containing several hundred miniature chambers. Once bacterium was grown in each of the chambers. The chip was buried in soil that enabled the diffusion of growth factors, thereby mimicking the microorganism’s natural environment. The scientists found an exponential improvement in microbial recovery compared to conventional petri dish growth methods. After screening 10,000 uncultured bacteria, the authors found a new antibiotic, teixobactin. Teixobactin inhibits cell wall synthesis; this is promising as the main barrier that prevents antibiotics from working effectively is the inability to penetrate through the bacterial cell wall. Even more promising is that teixobactin is not toxic to mammalian tissue and successfully eliminates MRSA. While texiobactin is only one of about 25 antimicrobials recently discovered from uncultured bacteria using similar methods, it is among the most promising. Human studies are now needed to validate its efficacy. These recent findings signal a new wave of antibiotics that could change the tide of antibiotic resistance. However, it remains to be seen whether the “unnecessary” use of antibiotics will continue, and whether this will lead once again to a similar crisis in the future. To overcome widespread antibiotic resistance, much more than a few new antibiotics is needed. We must conserve our existing stock of antibiotics, improve hospital practice for patient care, change farming practices and champion government initiatives to encourage new therapies. Only time will tell—something we may not have a lot of.

Office of Research Trainees 02

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Conference ReportsConference ReportsConference Reports

Office of Research Trainees 03

Trainee: Kasey Hemington, PhD Student Supervisor: Dr. Karen Davis, TWRI Conference: The Society for Neuroscience 44th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, November 15-19, 2014 Abstract: Functional connectivity in salience and sensorimotor brain networks relates to pain and fatigue in ankylosing spondylitis Click here to read Kasey’s conference report!

Trainee: Lianne Rotin, MD/PhD Student Supervisor: Dr. Aaron Schimmer, PM Cancer Centre Conference: American Society of Hematology 56th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, December 6-9, 2014 Abstract: Ibrutinib and ethacridine synergize to induce ROS and cell death in acute myeloid leukemia Click here to read Lianne’s conference report!

Conference ReportsConference ReportsConference Reports

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Trainee: Carly Barbon, PhD student Supervisor: Dr. Catriona Steele, TRI Conference: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Conference, Orlando, FL, November 20-22, 2014 Abstract: Efficacy of thickened liquids at eliminating aspiration in head and neck cancer patients: a systematic review Click here to read Carly’s conference report!

Trainee: Madhur Nayan, MD, MSc candidate Supervisor: Dr. Robert J. Hamilton, PM Cancer Centre Conference: Society of Urologic Oncology Annual Meeting, North Bethesda, MD, December 3 - 5, 2014 Abstract: Outcomes of progression on surveillance for clinical stage I non-seminoma germ cell tumours Click here to read Madhur’s conference report!

Trainee: Nicole Forgione, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow

Supervisor: Dr. Michael G. Fehlings, TWRI

Conference: Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, November 15-19, 2014

Abstract: Bilateral contusion-compression model of incomplete traumatic

cervical spinal cord injury

Click here to read Nicole’s conference report!

Conference ReportsConference ReportsConference Reports

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Trainee: Seungmee Park, PhD Student Supervisor: Dr. Shuzo Sugita, TWRI Conference: Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, November 15-19, 2014 Abstract: The N-terminal peptide of syntaxin-1 differentially contributes to neurosecretion depending on the conformational state of the protein Click here to read Seungmee’s conference report!

Trainee: Kenji Chamoto, PhD, Postdoctoral fellow Supervisor: Dr. Naoto Hirano, PM Cancer Centre Conference: The 43rd Annual Meeting of The Japanese Society for Immunology, Kyoto, Japan, December 10-12, 2014 Abstract: Human peripheral invariant natural killer T cells are adaptive lymphocytes, whose TCR CDR3β regulates their antigen specificity and reactivity to avoid harmful autoimmune responses Click here to read Kenji’s conference report!

SUCCESS

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November 2014 ORT Conference Travel Award

Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (CBCF) Fellowship 2014 Program

Congratulations to Dr. Lynn Gauthier, winner of a CBCF 2014 Fellowship! “Pain and its treatment in the first year after treatment for breast cancer” Summary of Funded Project: Advances in the treatment for breast cancer are helping many more women to survive longer, but pain is a common consequence of treatment that can endure long after the treatment has ended. While most research has focused on surgery-related pain, less is known about the pain caused by chemotherapy, radiation or hormone therapies. As such, over 40% of women are not being adequately treated for pain 1 year after diagnosis. To improve the quality of women’s lives after breast cancer treatment, it is important to improve our understanding of pain in order to develop ways to reduce it. Dr. Lynn Gauthier, under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Jones, aims to assess treatment-related pain, its causes and women’s experiences obtaining pain relief in the first year after breast cancer treatment. She will ask 300 women to complete questionnaires immediately after treatment, at 6 months and at 1 year after treatment. She will further interview a smaller number of women to gather their experiences in their own words. This study will contribute to our understanding of how to improve pain management so that programs can be developed that better meet the needs of, and improve long-term quality of life for, breast cancer survivors.

The ORT would like to thank all of the applicants for this award. It is our pleasure to announce the recipients of the November 2014 ORT Conference Travel Award:

MSc Program: Susy Lam (TWRI—Dr. Robert Chen) PhD Program (alphabetical order): Fabian Yu (TGRI—Dr. Jeffrey Medin) Kinjal Desai (PM Cancer Centre—Dr. Mathieu Lupien) Postdoctoral Fellow (alphabetical order): David Chicco (PM Cancer Centre—Dr. Michael Hoffman) Oliver Ken (PM Cancer Centre—Dr. Robert Rottapel) Reza Rizvi (TRI—Dr. Tilak Dutta) Conference reports from our awardees will be featured in future issues of The ORT Times!

Congratulations to our awardees!

Trainee: Dr. Lynn Gauthier, Postdoctoral Fellow Supervisor: Dr. Jennifer Jones, PM Cancer Centre & TGRI

Fabian Yu

Dr. Davide Chicco

U P C O M I N G E V E N T S & F U N D I N G C A L E N DA R :

27/01 Research Fellowship

The Debbie's Dream Foundation-AACR Gastric Cancer Research Fellowships support

postdoctoral or clinical research fellows to conduct gastric cancer research and to

establish a successful career path in this field. Click here for details.

02/02 Research Award & Fellowship

The Parkinson Society Graduate Student Awards and Postdoctoral Fellowships

encourages promising young scientists to enter the field of Parkinson's research and to invest

in research training that offers promise for future work in the area of Parkinson's disease.

Click here for details.

05/02 Knudson Fellowship

The 2015 Knudson Postdoctoral Fellowship Program will be granted to outstanding

postdoctoral fellows working in any aspect of cancer research at the PM Cancer

Centre. Registration is due on February 5th. Full Application is due on March 16, 2015. Click

here for details.

17/02 Science Writing Workshop

The ORT is co-hosting a Science Writing Workshop facilitated by Dr. Joan Forder.

Click here for details.

27/02 Career Planning Workshop

The ORT is hosting a workshop for UHN Trainees, entitled, “It’s your career—What’s

your game plan!” facilitated by Dr. Philip Clifford. Click here for details.

Visit www.uhntrainees.ca for more events and funding information.

To print this issue, click here.

Office of Research Trainees 07

UHN Research in a Snapshot!

What makes UHN Research a success in research discoveries and developmental technologies is the rich research environment which

fosters strong training. Above is a snapshot of UHN Research.

“Piled Higher and Deeper” by Jorge Cham www.phdcomics.com

QUESTIONS? Please contact: ORT Coordinator

University Health Network ort.admin@uhnres.utoronto.ca

t. 416-634-8775

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PM Cancer

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TGRI TWRI TRI TECHNA

Researchers 376 256 161 118 50

Fellows 286 225 98 55 11

Graduate

Students

242 165 128 177 55

Publications 1224 1048 667 389 249

External

Funding

$150.1M $73.8M $36.6M $8.6M $2.4M

Source: 2014 UHN Research Report