Department of Medical Neuroscience

Faculty of Medicine

William Currie

Professor (Post-Retirement)

Medical_Neuroscience_Currie
Department of Medical Neuroscience

Email: wcurrie@dal.ca
Phone: 902-494-3343
Mailing Address: 
Room 12 H, Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building, 5850 College Street; PO Box 15000, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4R2
 
Research Topics:
  • Neuroscience
  • Molecular neurobiology
  • Cell biology
  • Heat shock response
  • Ischemia
  • Heart
  • Brain
  • Inflammation
  • Cytoprotection

Education

  • BSA (University of Manitoba)
  • MSc (University of Manitoba)
  • PhD (University of Manitoba)
  • PDF (Memorial University of Newfoundland)

Research interests

Dr. Currie’s research focuses on the heat shock response, and how cells in the heart and brain adapt to stress such as hyperthermia, ischemia and seizures, and express elevated levels of heat shock proteins.  Heat shock proteins provide cellular protection to subsequent stressful events, seem to be anti-inflammatory and enhance survival.

Selected publications

  • Chen, Y., Voegeli, T.S., Liu, P.P., Currie, R.W.  (2007)  Heat shock paradox and new role of heat shock proteins and their receptors as anti-inflammation targets.  Inflamm. Allergy Drug Targets  6: 91-100.
  • Li, G., Ali, I.S., Currie, R.W.  (2008)  Insulin induced myocardial protection in isolated ischemic rat hearts requires p38 MAPK phosphorylation of Hsp27.  Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol. 294: H74-H87.
  • Voegeli, T.S., Currie, R.W. (2009) siRNA knocks down Hsp27 and increases angiotensin II-induced phosphorylated NF-κB p65 levels in aortic smooth muscle cells.  Inflamm. Res. 58: 336-343.
  • Jones, Q., Voegeli, T.S., Li, G. Chen, Y., Currie, R.W.  (2011)  Heat shock proteins protect against ischemia and inflammation through multiple mechanisms.  Inflamm. Allergy Drug Targets. 10: 247-259.
  • Xin, L., Li, X., Deng, H., Kuang, D., Dai, X., Huang, S., Wang, F., He, M., Currie, R.W., Wu, T.  (2012)  Development of stable HSPA1A promoter-driven luciferase reporter HepG2 cells for assessing the toxicity of organic pollutants present in air.  Cell Stress Chaperones 17: 567-576.

Selected awards and honours

  • 1996-97: Visiting Scientist (sabbatical leave) Award of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.  With Dr. Giora Feuerstein, SmithKline Beecham Pharma, King of Prussia, PA.
  • 1997: Recipient of the Greg Bonner Memorial Award, New Brunswick Heart and Stroke Foundation, for the highest scoring research grant.
  • 2003: Recipient of the Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation's Max Forman Senior Research Prize ($10,000) for demonstrating dedication and commitment to excellence in medical research.   
  • 2003-04: Visiting Scientist (sabbatical leave) CIHR/CNRS International Scientific Exchange award.  With Dr. Andre-Patrick Arrigo, Laboratoire Stress Oxydant, Chaperons et apoptose, CNRS UMR 55334, Université Claude Bernard Lyon-1, Batiment Gregor Mendel, 16 rue Dubois, 69622 Villeurbanne, France.
  • 2011: Visiting Scientist (sabbatical leave).  October and November with Dr. Tangchun Wu, Institute of Occupational Medicine and the Ministry of Education Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 13 Hangkong Rd, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China.

Memberships

  • International Society for Heart Research
  • American Physiological Society
  • Society for Neuroscience
  • Cell Stress Society International

Employment

  • 1982-89: Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University
  • 1989-94: Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University
  • 1989-90: Visiting Scientist (sabbatical leave), Ontogénèse et Génétique moleculaire Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université Laval, Québec.  With Dr. Robert M. Tanguay
  • 1994: Professor, Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University.
  • 1996-97: Visiting Scientist (sabbatical leave) Award of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.  With Dr. Giora Feuerstein, SmithKline Beecham Pharma, King of Prussia, PA.
  • 2003-04: Visiting Scientist (sabbatical leave) CIHR/CNRS International Scientific Exchange award.  With Dr. Andre-Patrick Arrigo, Laboratoire Stress Oxydant, Chaperons et apoptose, CNRS UMR 55334, Université Claude Bernard Lyon-1, Batiment Gregor Mendel, 16 rue Dubois, 69622 Villeurbanne, France.
  • 2011: Visiting Scientist (sabbatical leave).  October and November with Dr. Tangchun Wu, Institute of Occupational Medicine and the Ministry of Education Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 13 Hangkong Rd, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China.

Teaching

  • Anatomy 5217, Functional Human Anatomy for 120 Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy students, 70 hours class time, Fall term.

Service & activity

  • Senior Editor (1 of 4), Cell Stress & Chaperones (2014 – present)
  • Editorial board member, Cell Stress & Chaperones (1996 – 2013)
  • Scientific grant review committees for:
  • Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Basic Science Stroke / Neurophysiology / Neuroregulation, committee III (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
  • Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Behaviour Science A (2003-06)
  • Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Basic Science Stroke / Neurophysiology / Neuroregulation, committee III (1999, 2000, 2001)