When people think of spinal cord injury (SCI) they tend to focus on paralysis and body movement. But post-injury, the biggest health risk is actually cardiovascular disease— it’s the number one cause of disability and death in people with SCI. Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute scientists at ICORD (The International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries) are focusing on cardiovascular problems in SCI patients, in particular their inability to regulate blood pressure (BP). They’re especially interested in how BP dysregulation is linked to cognitive impairment.
The Vancouver Coastal Health Research Challenge for point-of-care nursing and allied health staff is designed to support point-of-care staff who do not have research experience. The Research Challenge is run in partnership with VCH Professional Practice and the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. Click here for more information.
It has been a decade since I stepped into my leadership role with VCHRI, and not a day has gone by during this time that I was not immensely proud and impressed with the dedication, tenacity and innovative spirit of our team of researchers, clinicians and staff. Since 2008, I have witnessed monumental growth in research capacity across Vancouver Coastal Health, as well as countless impactful discoveries that are changing the face of health care not only here in BC, but across the globe.
Given the hectic and often distraction-heavy lives many of us lead, it is no surprise that mindfulness practices are increasing in popularity. Mindfulness is now practiced in schools, in workplaces and by countless people around the world. To learn why, we got in touch with Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute clinician-scientist Dr. Fidel Vila-Rodriguez.
Vancouver, British Columbia - November 27, 2018 – A new clinical trial, opening across Canada, is considered a major advancement in precision medicine for prostate cancer and the first of its kind in the world. The IND.234 clinical trial, conducted by the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG), uses liquid biopsy technology to screen for genomic markers in prostate cancer patients.
A prostate cancer diagnosis is often not a death sentence, but one that can mean significant changes for men’s personal and professional lives. Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute researcher Wellam Yu Ko set out to learn more about this by studying how men navigate the decision to undergo a radical prostatectomy—when the prostate gland and surrounding tissues are removed.
Scientists with Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute have discovered an immune cell and immune growth factor in tumours that appear to play a pivotal role in preventing the spread and growth of cancer. Dr. Wilfred Jefferies and co-authors published their findings in Scientific Reports (Nature) in February 2018. They found that Type-2 innate lymphoid cell (ILC2)—only discovered within the past 10 years—could help the body’s immune system find and destroy cancer cells.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. While incidences of the disease are declining, roughly 21,000 Canadian men are still diagnosed each year, with 1 in 29 cases taking an aggressive and deadly form. At the Vancouver Prostate Centre (VPC), Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute scientists, Dr. Artem Cherkasov and Dr. Paul Rennie are combining teamwork and state-of-the art technology to try to bring those numbers down.
It is a $14 billion (and growing) worldwide market: wearable devices that record how many steps we take, how many calories we burn, and how fast our heart is beating. And these devices, which range from smart watches to smart glasses to in-ear monitors, are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Handheld devices and newly released smartwatches can even conduct electrocardiograms in the comfort of your home. But at what cost? Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute scientist Dr. Jason Andrade and his colleague Dr.
