Research
Making discoveries that matter
In the Department of Pediatrics, we’ve maintained a long history of innovative clinical and basic science research, thanks to our abundance of grant support and our exceptionally productive and dedicated researchers.
We emphasize the importance of research to all faculty and this focus on research is demonstrated by our high number of published papers and presentations.
Areas of strength
Within the department, you’ll find an unusual combination of basic science, clinical researchers and clinician scientists. Our largest research groups are:
The Atlantic Research Centre: The majority of the centre’s research focuses on the synthesis and degradation of membrane lipids like phospholipids and cholesterol. Emphasis is placed on the relationship between lipid metabolism and human disease, including cancer, neurodegenerative, heart and infectious disease.
The Autism Research Centre (ARC): Researchers at the ARC are working to advance our understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), promote earlier detection of ASD, and develop better supports for individuals with ASD and their families. They are accomplishing this through developmental investigations, including longitudinal studies, and the implementation of system-, provider- and patient/family-level interventions.
The Canadian Center for Vaccinology (CCfV): An integrated, collaborative, interdisciplinary vaccine research team, CCfV is committed to developing, implementing and evaluating vaccine technologies and vaccines for infectious diseases that have a significant impact on Canadian and global health and training experts in these critical and evolving fields.
Maritime Intestinal Research Alliance (MIRA): Together with an interdisciplinary team at the IWK Health Centre, collaborators at Dalhousie, nationally and internationally, researchers focus in the field of pediatric gastroenterology. Our clinical research includes the development and validation of patient-reported outcome measures, as well as improving treatment options for children with inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis) through nutrition and clinical drug trials. Our translation research program studies the role of the gut microbiome in various GI disorders, with a particular focus on the impact of microbial metabolites on the intestinal immune system.
The Perinatal Epidemiology Research Unit (PERU): With a team of leading researchers and access to one of the world’s longest running, most extensive perinatal databases and other comprehensive data sets, the unit provides insight into pressing issues in women’s and children’s health. These include the growing problems of obesity and exposures to environmental toxins.
Technoscience and Regulation Research Unit: Researchers apply a variety of interdisciplinary approaches including actor network theory to local and globally-situated case studies to track the relationships of human and non-human entities in the regulation of emerging therapeutic and food products, such as GMOs, pharmaceuticals, biologics and vaccines.
The Immunology Research Group: An Immunology Research group was initiated in 1978-79 with the recruitment of two clinician scientists and subsequently additional clinical and PhD scientists. The research of these investigators and of their many trainees has been continuously supported by external peer reviewed grant awards since the establishment of the group. Major achievements have been the identification of the cytokine, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) having a key role in leukocyte invasion of joints in experimental arthritis leading to joint destruction. These findings contributed to development of therapeutics to block TNFα in adults and children with rheumatoid arthritis, therapy which has proven to be very effective in these patients. The identification in preclinical studies that the α4 integrin lymphocyte adhesion molecule is critical for lymphocyte migration into the CNS as well as to the GI tract formed the basis for development of blocking therapies for human α4 integrin. These are very effective for patients with multiple sclerosis(MS) as well as some forms of inflammatory bowel disease.
More recent research has shown that intravenous IgG (IVIG) therapy, often used to down-regulate serious autoimmune and hyperinflammation states, promotes expansion of "immuno-regulatory" NK lymphocytes and suppresses the cytotoxic NK cell functions. Other NK cell studies by our group focus on subsets of NK cells which modulate autoimmune liver diseases.
The role of peroxisomes in host response to infection, in inflammation and its resolution is another novel area of research. In relation to clinical studies, recently immune biomarkers have been identified in patients with rheumatoid arthritis which have predictive value for patients who are likely to respond to methotrexate therapy and those who will not. These predictors of non-responders may warrant fast-tracking them to next line treatment (e.g., anti-TNF therapy). Investigations of patients with B lymphocyte dysfunction and immune dysregulation are ongoing. Furthermore, in collaboration with national/international immunology groups we have, and continue to identify new and complex immune errors of immunity, which not only helps in diagnosis of patients but also provides new knowledge about how a normal immune system functions.