Major Projects

1. Role of vascular-regenerative stem cells in diabetic complications

Long standing diabetes leads to structural and functional alterations in both micro- and macro-vasculature.  Blood vessel-lining endothelial cells represent the primary target of hyperglycemia-induced adverse effects. A major focus of our laboratory is to understand the cellular dysfunction and inadequate vascular repair mechanisms in diabetes.  

Our working hypothesis is that diabetes reduces the number of vascular regenerative stem cells, and that the complications of diabetes represent an impaired repair mechanism.
 
Projects
  1. Understand the alteration of vascular regenerative stem cells in diabetes.
  2. Investigate the vasculogenic potential of stem cells isolated from diabetic patients.
Collaborator(s)

Christopher Howlett, MD, PhD, FRCPC
Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Western University

 

2. Pathogenesis of infantile hemangioma

Infantile hemangioma (IH) is the most common tumour of infancy, and arises in 1 out of 100 newborns.  These tumours grow rapidly during the first year of postnatal life and then spontaneously regress.  We are investigating the cellular and molecular mechanisms that lead to hemangioma formation, unregulated growth, and spontaneous regression.  More specifically, we are studying the mechanisms that cause aberrant expansion of stem cells, and differentiation of these stem cells into an atypical endothelial cells during the proliferative phase and adipocytes during the later involutive phase.

Projects

  1. Understanding the cellular origin of IH.
  2. Studying the mechanism of hemangioma endothelial differentiation.
  3. Elucidating the mechanisms of IH regression.
Collaborator(s)

Nancy G. Chan, MD, FRCPC
Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Western University 

3. Other research interests

Research activities in our laboratory also include fundamental cell biological studies which seek purely to understand how cells/tissues/life works.

Projects

  1. Understand ovarian cancer development and response to chemotherapy.
  2. Role of inflammatory responses in chronic diseases.
  3. Identify therapeutic targets for metabolic conditions such as diabetes and obesity.
  4. Mechanisms of age-associated tissue deterioration.
  5. Stem cell differentiation mechanisms.
Collaborator(s)

Mark Darling, MSc, MChD (Oral Pathology)
Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Western University

Christina McCord, MSc, DDS, FRCDC
Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Western University

Michelle Weir, MD, FRCPC
Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Western University

Guang Liang, PhD
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, China

Yi Wang, PhD
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, China