Drs. Chris Ellis, Karel Tyml, and Michael Sharpe Help Patients Survive Sepsis

Research Divisions


Microcirculation & Cellular Biophysics 

The Microcirculation Research Group in the Department of Medical Biophysics is one of the largest in North America. The group is dedicated to studying the microvasculature, the network of the smallest vessels in the cardiovascular system that are responsible for maintaining the health and function of every organ of the body.

The microcirculation supplies oxygen and nutrients to every cell and then removes the excess heat and waste products that are produced. The microcirculation provides the access for the immune system to defend the body against invasion by infectious agents and foreign substances.

But the microcirculation also provides the route by which cells from a primary tumor are distributed throughout the body and establish new metastatic sites. And it is the growth of a new microvasculature into the tumor that enables the tumor to grow and endanger the life of the individual. The microcirculation plays a vital role in both health and disease. 

Members of the Microcirculation Research Group have an established record of developing new technologies for studying the microcirculation in animal models; of studying fundamental physiological question of microvascular function and of applying these technologies and the knowledge they have gained to investigate the role of the microvasculature in inflammatory diseases and tumor growth and metastases. Individual members are funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, The United States Army Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program, the National Cancer Institute of Canada and other national and regional granting agencies. Members are also involved in several collaborative grants including a CIHR Group Grant studying Systemic Inflammation, a $2.1M CFI grant for developing a new research facility for investigating the microvasculature and a CIHR Training Grant for Vascular and Cerebrovascular Disease. 

 

Our faculty and their graduate students conduct research in partnership with globally recognized faculty supervisors and clinicians at state-of-the-art facilities located at The University of Western Ontario, London Regional Cancer Program, Lawson Health Research Institute, Robarts Research Institute, and the London Health Sciences Centre. After graduation, students find rewarding careers in the healthcare sector, biomedical industry, and academia; others pursue further training in professional schools such as medicine, dentistry, or business. 


If you have a 4 year Honours Degree (or M.Sc.) in Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Biology, Medical Sciences or a related field, and are interested in biomedical research, you are invited to apply to our graduate program.



                                   Apply to Our Graduate Program On-line

Successful graduate applicants who choose Microcirculation and Cellular Biophysics as their area of graduate study are eligible to apply for traineeships in the CIHR Strategic Training Program in Cancer Research and Technology Transfer (CIHR-STP) and the Translational Breast Cancer Research Studentships and Fellowships
                


View the Medical Biophysics Graduate Supervisors' Websites 
whose microcirculation and cellular biophysics research groups
are at the
Lawson Health Research Institute
London Health Sciences Centre
London Regional Cancer Program
Western main campus

Microcirculation and Cellular Biophysics
Video Gallery 

Dr. Dwayne Jackson
Assistant Professor
Medical Biophysics

It's a common belief that there's a link between chronic stress and an increased risk of cancer. In new research published online by the International Journal of Cancer, scientists at The University of Western Ontario identified a particular neurotransmitter released in response to stress, that stimulates both cancer cell growth and migration in breast cancer. The research was led by Dr. Dwayne Jackson.


 
Dr. Ann Chambers,
Lawson Health Research Institute scientist,
speaks to how donor dollars support
research work she is doing in the area
of breast cancer  




Breast Cancer Society of Canada
and the London Health Sciences Foundation

Dr. Ann Chambers, head of the
Pamela Greenaway-Kohlmeier
Translational Breast Cancer Research Unit
at London Health Sciences Centre,
speaks about the breast cancer research
being conducted because of funding
from the Breast Cancer Society of Canada.

Video courtesy of
London Health Sciences Foundation
www.bcsc.ca and www.lhsf.ca 
 

Dr. Ann Chambers
Recipient of the 2011 Hellmuth Prize
for Achievment in Research


 The University of Western Ontario has many faculty members with outstanding international reputations for their contributions in research. The Hellmuth Prizes for Achievement in Research provide a way for all members of the Western community to appreciate and celebrate research achievement of our most distinguished faculty members.
There are two such prizes offered annually, one in the area broadly defined as the natural sciences and engineering (research that would be supported by NSERC or CIHR) and one in the social sciences and humanities (research that would in general fall under the mandate of SSHRC).
Cardiologist and Medical Biophysics
faculty member, Dr. Geoffrey Pickering,
describes a new strategy for stimulating
the formation of highly functional new
blood vessels in damaged tissue.
 
Dr. Geoffrey Pickering
Dr. Geoffrey Pickering's Hypothesis to
Tame Tumour Cells Is Circulating at Western. READ MORE ...... 

Faculty Member
(click on name to view his/her website)


The term 'Graduate Supervisory Privileges' infers that the faculty member has an active research program which may include
graduate recruitment for admission during
Summer and Fall Terms 2012
Geographical Location
in London

and

Keywords Describing
Research Expertise
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E-Mail Address
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Ann F. Chambers
Professor

Graduate Supervisory Privileges

Experimental Oncology
(cell/molecular biology
of metastasis)
London Regional Cancer Program


Keywords:

Dormant cancer cells,
intravital video microscopy,
cancer cell extravasation/intravasation
 
685-8652
Ann.Chambers@lhsc.on.ca

Gediminas Cepinskas
Assistant Professor

Graduate Supervisory Privileges

Critical Illness Research
Victoria Reearch Laboratory
6th Floor - Rm. A6-136


Keywords:

Systemic inflammatory response syndrome,
molecular mechanisms behind sepsis
not available
Gediminas.Cepinskas@lhsc.on.ca
Christopher G. Ellis 
Professor

Graduate Supervisory Privileges
 
Microcirculation
& Cellular Biophysics
4th floor - Rm 407
Medical Sciences Bldg., UWO 


Keywords:

Intravital video microscopy on animal models
for studying oxygen delivery
to skeletal muscle tissue
via microvasculature, role of the red blood cell
in regulation of oxygen delivery and hemodynamics
in the capillary network,
computational flow modeling
of vascular networks
661-2111

x 83100
or
x 85867 
cgellis@uwo.ca
Paula Foster
Associate Professor

joint researcher
with Dr. Ann Chambers

Graduate Supervisory Privileges

Imaging Research
Robarts Research Institute
UWO Campus
Keywords:

Cellular imaging using
iron-labeled cells and
magnetic resonance imaging,
imaging tissue inflammation,
traumatic spinal cord injury,
tissue histology
685-8300

x 34040
pfoster@imaging.robarts.ca
Dwayne Jackson
Assistant Professor

Graduate Supervisory Privileges

Medical Biophysics
Room 407
Medical Sciences Bldg.
UWO
Keywords:

Animal disease models,
skeletal muscle blood flow,
hemodynamics, sympathetic
nervous system effects on diabetes,
and breast cancer tumor progression
661-2111

x 85867
dwayne.jackson@schulich.uwo.ca
GH (Barry) Janssen
Adjunct Professor


(web page not available) 

Medical Biophysics

Room 407

Medical Sciences Bldg. 

UWO

Keywords:
Intravital video microscopy; regulation of oxygen delivery; hemodynamics of red blood cells; pulse oximetry and microfluidics
661-2111
x 86476
gjansse@uwo.ca

 
John Lewis
Assistant Professor

Graduate Supervisory Privileges

Experimental Oncology
(cell/molecular biology
of Metastasis)
London Regional Cancer Program


Keywords:

Non-invasive imaging and targeting
of angiogenesis and metastasis
using multivalent nanoparticles,
real-time imaging of tumor cell
invasion and metastasis
685-8500
x 57194
or
x 57193
John.Lewis@lhsc.on.ca
J. Geoff Pickering
Professor

Graduate Supervisory Privileges

Cardiovascular Research
Robarts Research Institute
UWO Campus


Keywords:

Slowing vascular cell aging,
characterizing communication pathways
between vascular cells
and extracellular matrix,
how endothelial cells and vascular
smooth muscle cells interact
to regenerate new blood vessels
in diseased hearts
685-8300
x 34214
or
x 34415 
gpickering@robarts.ca
Karel Tyml
Professor


Graduate Supervisory Privileges

London Health Sciences Centre
Rm A6-144
Victoria Research Laboratory


Keywords:

Intravital video microscopy
and laser Doppler flowmetry
to measure blood flow responses
to drugs applied locally to
capillaries/arterioles in
skeletal muscles,
investigating the disruption in
cell-to-cell communication
under systemic inflammation
and the protective role of
Vitamin C
in microvascular dysfunction
685-8300
x 55076
Karel.Tyml@lhsc.on.ca

Department of Medical Biophysics - Learning through Research