Section of Translational Neuroscience

THE SECTION OF TRANSLATIONAL NEUROSCIENCES welcomes Dr. Gerald Zamponi and Dr. Ray Turner who switched into our department in order to increase their opportunities for translational neuroscience. Overall, section members are performing highly in the basic neurosciences, and several have intentions of translational medicine or are actively doing so.

Dr. Hedwich Kuipers is an Assistant Professor of neuroimmunology and has been a member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) Multiple Sclerosis (MS) NeuroTeam since April 2018, holding a membership at the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases as well. She currently is the Director of the HBI’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility program. Dr. Kuipers’s research is aimed at understanding the interaction between immune cells entering the central nervous system (CNS) and its resident cells. Her main focus is on astrocytes, whose role in neuroinflammation is often overlooked. She has shown before that these cells, which are highly abundant in the brain, can release factors that help T lymphocytes infiltrate into CNS tissue. She currently investigates how astrocyte functions change over the course of (experimental) MS pathogenesis, how they affect T cell function, and how they are affected by their microenvironment, using molecular and cell biology approaches, as well as animal models. Dr. Kuipers’s research is supported by MS Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and the HBI. 

Dr. Bin Hu is an endowed professor in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) research, whose scholarly work is focused on digital health, artificial intelligence (AI), and wearable technology. In the evolving landscape of health research, the intersection of artificial intelligence and education is redefining our approach towards research and student training, particularly in addressing challenges related to opportunity, accessibility, and EDI (equity, diversity, and inclusion). In 2022, Professor Hu founded the Open Digital Health (OpenDH) program, which is an AI literacy, training, and research initiative with the aim of facilitating translational neuroscience research and innovations by implementing large language models as a foundational platform for students and faculty. The platform has undergone significant expansion and now enrolls over 150 students and faculty around the world. OpenDH participants gain free access to the most advanced foundational AI models that are retrained for specific research areas and topics. Members are given unlimited access to AI tools intended to facilitate the entire process, from proposal conceptualization to data collection, analysis, and publication. Given the nature of the AI-based educational platform, OpenDH substantially diminishes barriers to access in research and education and reduces unintended biases embedded in traditional research training environments. OpenDH students most of whom are undergraduates have published 16 research articles since its inception. The core group of OpenDH trainees at the University of Calgary has also launched two transformational projects dubbed “Ava” and “Nova,” which are high-functioning AI agents capable of assuming multiple roles as critical reviewers, meeting organizers, data scientists, debate moderators, and health coaches in chronic disease management for people living with PD. The OpenDH program has attracted participants and collaborators from diverse groups in academia, governments, and non-profit organizations, including those in Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. 

Dr. Minh Dang Nguyen successfully transitioned from Associate to Full Professor during this reporting period. He is studying brain-body interactions in the context of neurodegenerative disorders. His lab received a the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) operating grant to study the gut microbiome in the pathogenesis and sexual dimorphism of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The translational aspect of the work performed in collaboration with Dr. Gerald Pfeffer is being funded by a CIHR Canada-Israel-Turkey international team grant, the Barry Barrett Foundation and the Rose Family Foundation. His other research program focuses on cerebrovascular dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease, with funding from CIHR, the Krembil Foundation, the Alzheimer Association USA and Brain Canada. Dr. Nguyen is finishing a three year-term as co-Director of the Graduate Program of Neuroscience.

Dr. Shalina Ousman is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Clinical Neurosciences and Cell Biology & Anatomy. She is also a member of the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and, Spinal Cord/Nerve Injury and Pain (SCNIP) Brain and Mental Health Teams at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI). She serves as Director of HBI’s International Strategy and co-Leads the SCNIP Neuroteam. Dr. Ousman’s research is focused on investigating endogenous protective mechanisms in MS and peripheral nerve regeneration. She is also identifying the mechanisms that contribute to progression of MS such as the gut microbiome and autophagy. Her peripheral nerve injury studies are focused on understanding why Schwann cells and macrophages become dysfunctional in the uninjured and damaged, aging peripheral nervous system. Her research is currently funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and MS Canada. In terms of highlights for the last academic cycle, Dr. Ousman sat on the Professional Development Committee (Inclusion and Diversity Programs Subcommittee) at the Society for Neuroscience, served as Scientific Officer for the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Post-Doctoral Fellowships Committee, served as a speaker for the Evren Neurological Association and the 2022 Jayman BUILT MS Walk, and is a member of MS Canada’s Medical Advisory Council. 

Dr. David Park is Professor and Director of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI). His research program focuses on the mechanism of neural injury in stroke and Parkinson’s disease (PD). He leads the Brain and Mental Health Strategy for the University of Calgary and he chairs Campus Alberta Neuroscience, which knits together the three major sites of brain research in Alberta (Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge). His current interests seek to understand how genes associated with PD function or dysfunction to lead to disease progression. In this regard, he has recently shown that the LRRK2 gene may play a critical role in immune function and regulation, and he is currently screening drugs for potential candidates for human trials. His lab is also interested in mechanisms of Pink1 function in Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Aaron Phillips is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, as well as the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and Libin Cardiovascular Institute, at the University of Calgary. He is internationally recognized for his translational research program focused on autonomic nervous system function after spinal cord injury. His laboratory combines human and preclinical models to develop and deploy electrical spinal cord stimulation technologies aimed at restoring autonomic function. His group has published groundbreaking work in Nature, Nature Medicine, and Nature Biotechnology. He holds several licensed patents, including those being commercialized by a publicly traded company. In addition to his academic leadership, Dr. Phillips serves as Associate Dean of Commercialization and Innovation at the Cumming School of Medicine. He has co-founded ventures in the mobile health and artificial intelligence space. His interdisciplinary program receives support from major funding agencies, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the US Military (DARPA, Department of Defence), and other international partners. Dr. Phillips’s work exemplifies the translational neuroscience mission by integrating engineering, clinical and preclinical science, and commercialization to deliver health solutions with tangible patient impact. Dr. Phillips is a Member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars and a recipient of the Science and PINS Prize for Neuromodulation from Science. He has also received the Arthur Guyton Award from the American Physiological Society and was named one of Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40.

Dr. Scott Ryan joined DCNS in May 2023. In his first year, he established a cutting-edge research laboratory that is now fully staffed and operational. Moreover, he has already made great strides toward the major research and academic goals that he set upon arrival. He now co-leads both the Calgary Parkinson Research Initiative (CaPRI) team and the HBI Movement Disorders team – bringing a critical understanding of the most influential research findings in the field of Parkinson’s Disease that are on the cusp of clinical translation. Dr. Ryan’s research specifically focuses on understanding of how the protein synuclein contributes to the degenerative process in Parkinson’s Disease. His research goals encompass three major areas: 1. Achieving a better understanding of Parkinson’s cause, with a focus on the role the protein alpha-synuclein plays in the onset and progression of Parkinson’s disease. 2. Developing biomarkers for more accurate diagnosis and tracking of Parkinson’s disease trajectory, and 3. Finding new therapeutics that protect the brain in those already living with Parkinson’s. Recent publications include: Parmasad et al., Cell Death and Disease, 2024; Stykel and Ryan Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Res, 2024. Dr. Ryan also recently received a Calgary Parkinson Research Initiative grant.

Dr. Ray Turner is a Full Professor and new member of the DCNS Translational Section. He is also a member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) & Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI). Dr. Turner joined the faculty in 1991 and has made long-standing contributions to the Dept. Neuroscience graduate program, HBI and ACHRI research Institutes, and the Cumming School of Medicine as a past Associate Dean Research Grants. His work focuses on neuronal membrane excitability through studies at the molecular to physiological levels in animal models, and on a new potential therapeutic treatment for the genetic disorder Fragile X Syndrome (FXS). Work is now focused on the potential to reverse symptoms of FXS by building on their findings that fragments of the missing protein FMRP can be reintroduced by attaching a cell permeable peptide (tat), allowing for rapid transport of the molecule across the blood brain barrier. Remarkably, FMRP N-tat restores ion channel function in the cortex and cerebellum and circuit level output (EEG) in the neocortex of FXS mouse model for days after a single injection. The success of this work has attracted a motivated donor that has formed a company (BowensFX) to rapidly push these fragments towards initial clinical trials to achieve a translational outcome. To complement this work Dr. Turner established collaborative interactions with Drs. David Schriemer and Sorana Morrissy to apply proteomics and spatial transcriptomics to measure the effects of FMRP-tat fragments at the molecular level. This work was funded in part by a Pilot Grant co-sponsored by the DCNS and HBI, providing valuable preliminary data towards grant applications submitted to CIHR. Dr. Turner’s research is currently funded by CIHR, NSERC, DCNS/HBI, and FRAXA.

Dr. Wee Yong is a Professor who co-directs the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Brain and Mental Health Team at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI). He also directs the Alberta MS Network and the Americas and Global Schools of Neuroimmunology for the International Society of Neuroimmunology. These activities underscore Dr. Yong’s passion for mentoring the next generation. Indeed, 35 of his past trainees have gone on to professorships worldwide, 7 of them in the past seven years. Dr. Yong’s research interests have been guided by MS, intracerebral hemorrhage and glioblastoma, and his findings have been translated into 8 clinical trials. During this reporting period, Dr. Yong was named one of Clarivate Web of Science’s Highly Cited Researcher; he co-authored two Nature papers; senior-authored 25 manuscripts; and he co-authored expert opinion papers by international MS federations to redefine multiple sclerosis (Lancet Neurology 2023) and chart the Pathways to Cures in MS (Multiple Sclerosis J 2024). Dr. Yong’s research activities are supported by CIHR (Foundation grant), MS Canada, and the USA Department of Defense. He is a fellow of both the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. 

Dr. Gerald Zamponi is a Professor and served as Senior Associate Dean for Research. His lab’s research interest has focused on the roles of ion channels in controlling the electrical activities of neurons and how they are compromised in neurological disorders such as chronic pain. His work to date has resulted in >375 career publications that have been cited over 27,500 times, and he has given over 295 invited lectures across the globe. Dr. Zamponi has graduated 20 students and supervised 26 PDFs, with seventeen of his former trainees now holding academic appointments. These contributions were recognized with a Killam Award for Outstanding Graduate Supervision. Dr. Zamponi co-founded two spinoff companies, including University of Calgary spinoff Zymedyne Therapeutics, which focuses on the development of new pain therapeutics. Dr. Zamponi continues to hold a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and the National Academy of Inventors (USA).