The global rally to stop the spread of COVID-19 has spurred the discovery of new approaches to streamline and enhance disease detection and triaging. A recent study led by Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) researcher Dr. Teresa Tsang summarizes evidence for why point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) technology could be a leading, next-generation part of COVID-19 care. 

The loss of her brother sunk lawyer Lisa Ridgway into a deep depression that was resistant to standard treatments. Open to alternative options, Ridgway received the novel repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) therapy, which gave her hope and set her on a path to becoming a patient partner in a first-of-its-kind study led by Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute researcher Dr. Fidel Vila-Rodriguez.

Face coverings have become a ubiquitous part of pandemic life, and for good reason. The barrier they place between us has kept influenza rates low in Canada and helps reduce the transmission of COVID-19.

As a newly appointed rehabilitation worker with a program for older adults with mental illness at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH), Jeffrey Dela looked forward to leading activities with his patients: going on field trips, watching movies and having tea times. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the physiotherapist and occupational therapy assistant had to switch gears.

Post-holiday recovery in the midst of a prolonged pandemic can put a strain on our mental well-being. To prevent life pressures and responsibilities from getting the better of your emotions, lend an ear to our expert and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute researcher, Dr. Kamyar Keramatian, who explains why many of us might be feeling blue, and shares strategies to wrangle in a plummeting mood.

Research Infosource Inc., a Canadian R&D consulting firm, has released its annual ranking of Canada’s top 40 research hospitals. The Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI), combined with Providence Research, is ranked fifth, with $164.7 million in research funding for 2021.

Researchers at the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD) are part of a new, multidisciplinary team working to better treat people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Their project, Mend the Gap, is investigating the use of biomaterials — soft gels in particular — to heal SCI.

The idea of 3D printing a patient’s stem cells to develop and test personalized treatments is one step closer to becoming a reality. In her pioneering study, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute researcher Stephanie Willerth lays the groundwork for a personalized medicine approach that could be applied to finding treatments for neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

For the first time, researchers have identified a link between the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet and a later onset of Parkinson’s disease. 

“We were really astonished by the results that we saw,” says Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute scientist, Dr. Silke Appel-Cresswell, who led the study published in the journal Movement Disorders.