Researchers Under the Scope

Miniature human brains grown in a Saskatoon lab are upending the way researchers see neurology and immunology. Neuroscientist Dr. Tyler Wenzel is using brain organoids to challenge decades of rodent-based research, charting a new course for precision medicine.   As a high school biology teacher, Wenzel's students learned how hearts pump blood and lungs move air. But apart from neurological electri...

As Researchers Under the Scope marks its 100th episode, we hand the microphone to Dr. Linda Chelico, who recently accepted a five-year term as Vice-Dean Research, Biomedical Sciences, at the University of Saskatchewan's College of Medicine.   Originally from Melfort, Saskatchewan, the virologist and biochemist outlines her two main priorities: upgrading research infrastructure and raising the publ...

Dr. Holly Graham never planned on nursing. She wanted a police badge, then a law degree and a judge's bench. Instead, she followed her mother's wish and walked into nursing school as the only student from a reserve in a class of more than 200. The isolation was real. So were the health gaps she saw every shift. In this episode, Graham traces her path from being the only Cree nurse in her graduatin...

Most childhoods don't involve sitting at the hospital for an infusion of medication, transfusions on weekends, or worrying that classmates will comment on the colour of your skin. For one Saskatoon teen with an ultra-rare blood disease, that's everyday life. She was diagnosed with a form of anemia so uncommon only a handful of cases have been identified globally.  In this episode,  Sarah Tehseen (...

Peter Hedlin (PhD, MD) recalls being a 'young, naïve medical student' when he asked a mentor a question that's stuck with him for years. "I remember asking how anaesthetics work on the brain," said Hedlin. "And he said, 'we actually don't really know'. And I thought that was crazy."   Today, Hedlin is an anesthesiologist and clinician scientist at the University of Saskatchewan's College of Medici...

In this episode, medical student and researcher  Vaidehee Lanke shares what large provincial datasets reveal about opioid use disorder, maternal mental health, and pregnancy. Armed with data, she hopes better support —before, during, and after birth—can change outcomes for mothers and babies.   Lanke spent her summer working with epidemiologist  Dr. Nadeem Muhajarine and the Saskatchewan Populatio...

As a student, Jack Walther's friends often came to him when they needed a listening ear, or help with relationship struggles. This summer, Walther took his fascination with the brain and mood disorders to Dr. Darrell Mousseau's psychiatry laboratory , learning to untangle some of the tiny molecular threads that might explain why depression so often shows up alongside dementia. Walther and the rese...

Eve Simpson knows from experience scientific research doesn't always follow a linear path. In the first of three student research episodes, the fourth-year biochemistry, microbiology and immunology student looks back at a summer spent decoding Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus (EEEV) in Dr. Anil Kumar 's lab. Simpson said she loved doing bench research, but felt frustrated in the moments where she...

Jessica Sheldon (PhD) is on a mission to starve out Acinetobacter baumannii — one of the world's most virulent hospital-borne pathogens. Notorious for its speedy evolution and multi-drug resistance, the hospital-borne bacteria lingers on dry surfaces and infects critically-ill patients, leading to sepsis, pneumonia and high mortality rates. In this episode, Sheldon delves into the real-life events...

Kirk Haan graduated from high school, thinking he'd study pharmacy at the University of Saskatchewan, and walk out five years later. After one summer at a pharmacy, Haan realized he was after a more 'hands-on' career in medicine. "I've kind of worked with my hands my whole life, just between rummaging around on a farm and always kind of building things," he said.  "Now it's using them to help peop...

Sébastien Gauvrit (PhD) was only ten when his family let him have his first tank of guppies. Within weeks, he was hooked. "I actually had to understand genetics directly by mixing these different fish together to get the colour or fin shape I was interested in," said the vascular biologist and genetic modelling pioneer. From his home in France, to post-doctoral work pioneering new models for vascu...

Stuart Skinner (MD) knew something was wrong three years ago, when patients started coming to him with vision loss, fever, rashes, and meningitis. Almost every case could be traced back to untreated syphilis — a sexually transmitted infection with caseloads exploding 1,200 per cent from 2017.   Saskatchewan saw this spike just as Covid-19 entered the picture. "With the pandemic, testing dropped dr...

Yi-Chun Chen (PhD) is taking a close-up look at some of the body's hardest-working cells — the ones often processing an overabundance of modern-day food and nutrients. "From an evolutionary point of view, our cells are not designed to deal with that," said Chen, who joined the department of Anatomy, Physiology, and Pharmacology at the University of Saskatchewan last year as an assistant professor....

James Stempien (MD) has navigated some of the most challenging corners of emergency medicine, from the frigid isolation of Inuvik to the bustling corridors of Saskatoon's emergency departments.   His experience in low-tech outposts has shaped his approach to modern emergency care.   "When things aren't going well you see it in the emergency department first," Stempien said. "We're the front door....

As the world aims to eradicate hepatitis C (HCV) by 2030, Carrielynn Lund and Dr. Alexandra King's team created a how-to guide.  Journeys to Wellness: Prairie Hepatitis C Roadmap  is a step-by-step guide to tackling a spike of new infections across the three Canadian prairie provinces. Hepatitis C (HCV) causes severe liver disease, and was notoriously difficult to treat until the introduction of d...

Brianne Philipenko (MD) was midway through her respirology fellowship in Calgary when the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the city.   She started interval workouts at home using Nike's fitness app — when inspiration struck.   "Coming up with a creative, innovative way to allow people to access an exercise program outside of the typical organized pulmonary rehabilitation in a gym setting was something...

In this episode, we gain insight into Dr. Sarah Forgie, the new Dean of the College of Medicine. She discusses her innovative teaching methods, her career as a pediatric infectious disease specialist, and her vision for advancing Saskatchewan's College of Medicine. Dr. Forgie also shares the story behind her decision to learn the ukulele. Born to family physicians, Dr. Forgie grew up in Lynn Lake,...

A behavioural neuroscientist in Saskatoon is uncovering marijuana's effects on fetal brain development.  After recently winning a five-year CIHR grant of $960,076 in the spring of 2024, Dr. John Howland's lab at the University of Saskatchewan is expanding its work examining prenatal exposure to cannabis smoke. Howland's teams will assess the way cannabis exposure alters higher brain functions like...

Growing up in Columbia had a profound impact on Dr. Juan-Nicolas Pẽna-Sànchez. In this episode, hear why the former family physician pivoted, becoming Saskatchewan's lead in finding the best ways to treat Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in rural and Indigenous patients.   Even as a teenager, Juan-Nicolás Peña-Sánchez could see stark differences in health for those who had medical coverage —...

"When I got into medical school, the last thing in the world I wanted to be was a surgeon because I couldn't stand the sight of blood," said Dr. Mike Moser. Fast-forward to the present day, where Moser is now one of Saskatchewan's top kidney transplant surgeons, winning last year's Golden Scalpel Award for Pre-clerkship Education, the 2022 Logan Boulet Humanitarian of the Year Award, and numerous...

As an undergrad, Daniel Fuller didn't have a car, nor was he keen on taking the bus.    "I rode my bike to university every day in the fall and then just kept on going and never stopped," said Fuller, a former national and international canoe/kayak athlete.   As he pedaled, Fuller watched the way people used trails, sidewalks and roads.   "I really started to get into active transportation, how pe...

From the laboratory to saving lives, this episode brings together three outstanding researchers from the University of Saskatchewan's Department of Anatomy, Physiology, and Pharmacology (APP) as they discuss their work and its implications for cardiac care.   Dr. Michelle Collins, Dr. Scott Widenmaier, and Dr. Changting Xiao are all recent recipients of research grants from Heart & Stroke (formerl...

"Pushing politicians to do what is good for the health of the people, there's no way around it," said Dr Jacob Alhassan. Born and raised in a rural Ghanaian village, Alhassan grew up without electricty and paved roads. He watched women die in childbirth. He grew resentful of health systems that left the poorest people to fend for themselves, while the rich thrived. Alhassan decided to take action....

  Dr. Sabira Valiani was one of the frontline physicians working inside Saskatoon's critical care units four years ago, during the initial lockdowns of the Covid-19 pandemic.   "It was really weird," said Valiani.   Valiani said 'a lot of light bulbs went off in my head' amid the automated stillness of the unit, as she watched ventilators breathing for heavily sedated patients.   Covered in head-t...

Daphne Yau can trace her interest in endocrinology back to a beta-cell physiology experiment during her master's degree,   working with laboratory mice with Type 2 Diabetes. "It was the part of the pancreas that makes insulin," she said. "It was fascinating. It also made me realize that maybe pure laboratory research wasn't quite for me." From there, her interest in hormones and fluctuating blood...