As Researchers Under the Scope marks its 100th episode, we hand the microphone to Dr. Linda Chelico (PhD), who recently accepted a five-year term as Vice-Dean Research, Biomedical Sciences, at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine.
Connective Issue is the College of Medicine's digital magazine
Canada’s ability to respond to emerging infectious diseases depends not only on cutting-edge research, but on the development of a strong, well-trained scientific workforce.
Anna Martens-Koop first became interested in vaccine research while completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Saskatchewan (USask). What began as curiosity quickly grew into a desire to contribute to the field herself.
Dr. Linda Chelico (PhD) is the new College of Medicine vice-dean research, biomedical sciences.
It’s easy to take our hearts for granted. The strong muscle is powered by unseen electrical impulses that anchor our lives in a steady, reliable beat. But what happens when these electrical impulses misfire, and our hearts fall out of rhythm?
From greenhouse laboratory to teaching sites across the province, the University of Saskatchewan (USask) College of Medicine has been shaping health care in Saskatchewan and beyond for a century. This year the college celebrates two milestones—100 years since the two-year School of Medical Sciences was established and 70 years since students have been able to take their entire four-year medical degree at USask.
Eve Simpson knows from experience scientific research doesn’t always follow a linear path.
A new cell sorting hub at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) has received prestigious national-level funding through a joint, multi-unit effort.
Dr. Jessica Sheldon (PhD) is on a mission to starve out Acinetobacter baumannii—one of the world’s most virulent hospital-borne pathogens.
Two research teams from the University of Saskatchewan’s (USask) College of Medicine have received funding from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) for projects related to cancer. The funding was part of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s (CIHR) 2025 Spring Grant Competition.
Award-winning USask graduate Dr. Monique Simair (BSc’04, PhD’09) has leveraged her passion for science, innovation, and problem-solving into two successful environmental consultancy businesses
Researchers are still discovering more about the fundamental building blocks of human cells and a University of Saskatchewan (USask)-led research project is exploring microproteins and their role in defending against viruses.
The human immune deficiency virus (HIV) first entered public consciousness in the early 1980s, after cases of unfamiliar and deadly illnesses began to overwhelm medical centres across North America.
For many university students, Fall Convocation represents a culmination of hard work, perseverance and late nights.
Everybody ages – but new research at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) is exploring both how aging damages cells and how that aging might be countered.
A team of University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers believe that iron metabolism could be targeted to treat an aggressive form of cancer.
Understanding the interactions between microbes and their hosts can lead to new therapeutic strategies for major bacterial threats.
Dr. Linda Chelico (PhD) is the new head of the College of Medicine’s Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology.
A pediatrician, scholar, and esteemed educator, Dr. Sarah Forgie (MD) is the new dean of the University of Saskatchewan’s (USask) College of Medicine.
The College of Medicine is celebrating the staff and faculty recipients of its 2023-24 college awards.
Researchers from across the University of Saskatchewan (USask) have received funding for a variety of creative and innovative projects through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grants program.
Teaching excellence at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) will be celebrated on June 18 as part of the USask Staff and Faculty Awards event.
Improving patient’s cancer treatments and minimizing side effects is the focus of new research at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) which aims to explore an innovative and potentially life-changing treatment targeting the most aggressive form of breast cancer.
Health care research projects at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) ranging from breast cancer treatments to pandemic preparedness have been awarded funding in the latest round of Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) grants.
As the global fight against HIV and AIDS continues, this challenge is particularly evident in Saskatchewan, where HIV infection rates are more than five times the national average.
SASKATOON - University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers from a variety of colleges and departments have received funding for projects through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grants program.
Research on new ovarian and pancreatic cancer diagnostics and therapeutics among the projects to receive funding.
Dr. Scott Adams (MD, PhD) is creating artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to more accurately identify people at risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
Midway through his undergraduate degree at the University of British Columbia, a laboratory 'help wanted' poster caught Jeff Dong's eye. He applied, gaining invaluable practical experience that summer in Stephanie Borgland's lab.
Before we’re even born, our bodies begin to grow and train an army of spies and assassins, creating a crew of immune system fighters in the upper chest's thymus gland. While this production is dominated by T cells, other immune cells such as B cells and plasma cells can be generated within the thymus, albeit at a very low level.
University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers have received more than $1.3 million for an unprecedented multi-year study of the development of bone structure, density and strength in children with Type 1 diabetes.
In 2022, an estimated 7,000 Canadians were diagnosed with leukemia, a term used to define cancer of the blood cells. Of that 7,000, it is estimated that nearly half will face mortality. University of Saskatchewan (USask) College of Medicine graduate student Ananna Arna dedicated a research project to examine how genetics and DNA replication play a role in leukemia development.
How cell mutations and mutagenesis took one microbiologist from Melfort to Malibu and back.
Before you got those nasty gut cramps that sent you scurrying to the washroom, or you came down with a fever, chills, and clogged airways thanks to pneumonia, various cells in your body were battling bacterial invaders who showed up armed with sophisticated toolbox to overcome the body’s defences.
Colour-changing reactions and small explosions punctuated life at Dr. Oleg Dmitriev's home, when he was a boy. He loved trying out chemical reactions, and experimenting. As a teenager, he was fascinated by the science fiction novels his father brought home.
A specific family of DNA-modifying proteins normally function as part of the human immune system to combat viral infections. But what happens when these proteins begin to modify DNA – and go rogue?
Lock up the silverware! According to new research from the University of Saskatchewan (USask), that’s how the body responds to Acinetobacter baumannii, a nasty pathogen commonly found in hospitals across the globe.
Three University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers have been awarded $430,000 in total by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to help purchase cutting-edge equipment that will advance research aimed at reducing environmental and health-care burdens for Canadians.
Even Dr. Scott Napper (PhD) uses words such as scary when describing the focus of his research—a group of diseases caused when otherwise innocuous proteins go rogue, creating conditions that are always fatal and currently untreatable.
Faculty members within the biomedical sciences departments voiced their enthusiastic support to nominate invaluable research facilitator Bruna Bonavia-Fisher in the Create-it category for the 2022 College of Medicine Staff Awards.
Research to explore the effectiveness of innovative targeted treatments for HIV infections, and the use of protein therapy to break down fibrous scar tissue are two of five new University of Saskatchewan (USask) projects awarded a total of $3.3 million in federal funding.
University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers have received more than $930,000 in provincial funding support from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) for research addressing pressing health challenges faced by the people of Saskatchewan and impacting global communities.
University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers in diverse disciplines were awarded over $7 million in federal government grant funding.
University of Saskatchewan (USask) research findings published in Cell Reports examine how a genetic mutation affects the body’s immune system response to viruses and its link to the development of two types of blood cancers.
USask research plays role in developing space radiation experiments for NASA Artemis I mission
To spread hope and cheer in Saskatoon, the Office of the Vice-Dean of Research typically runs a charitable donation campaign at the end of each year, during the Christmas break.
Two University of Saskatchewan (USask) research teams have been awarded more than $2.8 million in federal funding to address systemic inequities in the lives of Indigenous people in the areas of home life, mental and sexual health.
The Canadian Black Scientists Network (CBSN) is hosting the first annual Black Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Medicine and Health (BE-STEMM) conference, to be held virtually on Jan. 30-Feb. 2.
The Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) announced the winners of the 18th annual Santé Awards to celebrate top health scientists in the province.
Dr. Erique Lukong (PhD) grins, pointing to two bracelets on his wrist. One is inscribed with the word 'focus'; the other 'believe'.
On a recently published list, more than 130 University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers were featured prominently among the world’s top scientists, social scientists and academics, enhancing the university’s reputation as a world-class research university.
A University of Saskatchewan (USask) biomedical scientist is leading a research team in investigating how COVID-19 variants function and interact with a host’s cells.
Pewaseskwan - the Indigenous Wellness Research Group based in the University of Saskatchewan (USask) College of Medicine, is hosting the Sask Stories Provincial Conference on HIV and Hepatitis C Wise/Promising Practices on November 25 and 26, 2021.
A pair of University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers will receive in excess of $2.4 million for two projects using Indigenous ways of being and doing to influence change in the justice system and delivery of mental health and addictions services.
The revamped biomedical sciences (BMSC) degree program at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) is attracting significant attention from prospective students from around the world.
Six University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers will tackle a wide variety of health challenges—from developing new therapeutics for cancer to creating a culturally responsive research framework that supports Indigenous people in navigating their healing and wellness journeys—thanks to an investment of $720,000.
University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers have been awarded nearly $5.7 million from Canada’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council’s (NSERC) Discovery Grants Program to support 32 wide-ranging projects.
In 2016, the health of health research at the USask College of Medicine was failing. The school occupied the bottom rung in the Maclean’s university rankings for medical and science grants for medical/doctoral programs in Canada. And it accounted for just nine per cent of the university’s total research productivity, when the national average was closer to 40 or 50 per cent.
University of Saskatchewan (USask) and University of Regina (U of R) researchers are joining forces with scientists across the nation to undertake surveillance, sequencing, tracing and research-driven action on the COVID-19 virus variants that have been identified in Canada.
Findings from a new study on Alzheimer’s disease (AD), led by researchers at the University of Saskatchewan (USask), could eventually help clinicians identify people at highest risk for developing the irreversible, progressive brain disorder and pave the way for treatments that slow or prevent its onset.
A University of Saskatchewan (USask) biomedical scientist is aiming to identify and create cures for viruses before they evolve to make a deadlier impact.
As people around the world wait to receive one of several COVID-19 vaccines developed to help end the coronavirus pandemic, a timely new University of Saskatchewan (USask) course will explore interdisciplinary perspectives on infectious diseases and inoculation.
Even in the midst of a pandemic, University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers continue to make a positive impact through leadership and teaching.
New imaging equipment to help understand COVID-19 infection will soon be coming to the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization—International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask), thanks to a Canada Foundation for Innovation grant announced today by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Developing new therapies for the HIV virus, creating artificial substitutes for human tissue and organs, and predicting cyberattacks are some of the University of Saskatchewan (USask) research projects made possible through Innovation Saskatchewan’s Innovation and Science Fund (ISF).
With COVID-19 ravaging the globe, the race is on to accelerate therapeutics research and find effective treatment options.
A team led by University of Saskatchewan (USask) researcher Dr. Khan Wahid (PhD) has been awarded $250,000 from the federal New Frontiers in Research Fund to create a new pill-sized capsule that uses artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled sensing to diagnose gastrointestinal cancers and bleeding earlier and more precisely than is currently possible.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has awarded three University of Saskatchewan (USask) research teams a total of $900,000 to help strengthen Canada’s rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic which had killed more than 450,000 people worldwide.
The University of Saskatchewan (USask) will begin offering a revamped biomedical sciences degree program (BMSC) starting in May 2021.
It doesn’t garner the same mass media attention as the global health emergency of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, but there is another world health threat looming that researchers have been warning of for decades.
On the front line in the battle against deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria, Dr. Mirek Cygler (PhD) is exploring new tactics to combat the growing threat before it reaches pandemic proportions.
A University of Saskatchewan (USask) research team and collaborating scientists from across the country have been awarded almost $1 million over two years to develop animal models and test vaccine candidates for effectiveness and safety against the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).
If Dr. Christopher Eskiw (PhD) and his co-investigators are correct, the inner workings of brewing yeast could point the way to greater human longevity and the prevention of age-related illness, perhaps even the reversal of aging.
Much of Dr. Linda Chelico’s (PhD) success in her career as a biochemist at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) comes from having an eye for detail.
Achieving success by crossing traditional lines of collaboration, two partnerships at the College of Medicine offer insights into why these alliances are needed and how they can be fostered.
Achieving success by crossing traditional lines of collaboration, two partnerships at the College of Medicine offer insights into why these alliances are needed and how they can be fostered.
Five College of Medicine researchers and their teams have been recognized for their excellence in research by the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF).
SASKATOON — Eight University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers have been awarded $1.3 million by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) for state-of-the-art equipment to support leading-edge projects in human health, food security, environmental protection, public safety and computer technology.
Seven College of Medicine researchers have received SHRF establishment grants, which are designed to assist them establish health research programs in the province.
SASKATOON – Three new Canada Research Chairs (CRCs)—all held by female academics recognized as potential leaders in their fields—have been established at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) to carry out innovative research into air quality in cold climates, enhancing Indigenous health and well-being, and preventing cyberattacks.
Faculty across the University of Saskatchewan (USask) are working together to publish research on teaching.
Six College of Medicine (CoM) researchers with projects focusing on cancer, HIV and Indigenous health have received $4.85 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
