Maziar Divangahi
Identifying Correlates of Protection Against TB for Novel Vaccine Development

Salman Qureshi
Functional characterization of novel fungal host resistance genes

Simon Rousseau (Priority Announcement)
Co-Investigator: Jun Ding
The evolving landscape of Long COVID: identifying dynamic molecular features to improve diagnosis, prognostication and identification of novel treatment targets

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What makes RAMEN innovative is its ability to build smart, disease-focused maps of clinical variables (called Bayesian networks) that not only find direct links but also reveal subtle, indirect connections that may be critical for diagnosis and treatment. The researchers tested RAMEN on thousands of patient records and found that it consistently outperformed existing methods in identifying key indicators of disease severity, some of which were later confirmed using gene and protein data.

Because RAMEN works across different diseases and doesn’t rely on prior assumptions, it holds promise for improving personalized medicine—helping doctors tailor care based on patterns hidden in patient data. Its speed and scalability make it especially valuable for analyzing large healthcare datasets, paving the way for faster insights into disease mechanisms and better patient outcomes.

Read More

Efficient and scalable construction of clinical variable networks for complex diseases with RAMEN. Xiong Y, Wang J, Shang X, Chen T, Fraser DD, Fonseca GJ, Rousseau S, Ding J. Cell Rep Methods. 2025 Apr 21;5(4):101022. doi: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2025.101022. Epub 2025 Apr 10. PMID: 40215965

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In total, nine research teams across Canada were funded to tackle new and existing threats to lung health.

Team Grant: Lung Health – Data Science, Policy and Lung Health

Title: Harnessing Data to Improve Lung Health in Canada: Data4LungHealth
Principal Investigators: Simon Rousseau, Sanja Stanojevic, Emily P. Brigham
Co-Investigators: Céline Bergeron, Cole Bowerman, Shawn D Aaron, Guillaume Bourque, Jeffrey R Brook, Pat Camp, Dany Doiron, Isabel Fortier, Andrea S Gershon, Carolyn McCoy, Mohsen Sadatsafavi, Benjamin M. Smith, Michael K Stickland, Katherine L Vandemheen, Ma’n Hilmi M Zawati.

The project will develop a new system, called ‘shAIRe’ and the website ‘Data4LungHealth’, to improve the safety and accessibility of data for lung health research. This initiative will ensure that data can be used across the country without it leaving the originating institution, enhancing collaboration while protecting privacy. The project includes building a toolkit for researchers, establishing a national participant registry, and developing a lung health assessment tool. Additionally, it will provide funding, training, and mentorship over five years, involving community partners and leveraging a multi-disciplinary team’s expertise to facilitate better lung health research in Canada.

Team Grant: Lung Health – Inflammation and Lung Health

Title: Immune dysanapsis: Updating the paradigm of inflammation and lung health trajectories in diverse populations to achieve lifelong health for all
Principal Investigators: Benjamin M. Smith, Jeffrey R. Brook, Dany Doiron, Qingling Duan, Zihang Lu, Donald Sin, Padmaja Subbarao.
Co-Investigators: Jean Bourbeau, Mylinh Duong, Rachel L Eddy, Meaghan J Jones, Miranda A Kirby,

This research proposal aims to explore how inflammation and lung growth interact, particularly in diverse populations, to develop better strategies for maintaining lung health throughout life. The concept of “immune dysanapsis,” which links impaired lung growth with prolonged inflammation and increased disease risk, will be examined. The study will involve a team of experts in various fields, including respiratory epidemiology and lung immunobiology, and will focus on a wide range of populations differing in age, genetic backgrounds, and living environments. The goal is to identify key exposures and critical periods that can be targeted to prevent lung disease and promote lifelong respiratory health.

Read More

$2 million dollars awarded to RI-MUHC team studying lung health: Dr. Benjamin Smith receives CIHR funding to lead research on inflammation and lung health in diverse populations. RI-MUHC News. July 18, 2024

Dal researcher leads national team awarded $3.5‑million CIHR grant to improve lung health. Dal News. July 18, 2024

Meet the research teams tackling lung health threats. CIHR News. July 22, 2024

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Monica Cella (PhD with Dao Nguyen). Bourses de réintégration à la recherche / Doctorat FRQS. Title: Analyses métagénomiques pour comprendre la dynamique de transmission des bactéries résistantes aux carbapénèmes dans les hôpitaux.

Monica Cella (PhD with Dao Nguyen and Jesse Shapiro). Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships. Title: Metagenomic analyses to understand transmission dynamics of carbapenem resistant bacteria within hospital settings

Fajri Gafar (PDF with Dick Menzies). Formation postdoctorale – citoyens d’autres pays FRQS. Title: Tracer le chemin vers un traitement individualisé de l’infection et de la maladie tuberculeuse.

Quazi Sufia Islam (PhD with Carolyn Baglole). Bourse Tremplin.

Sahar Mikaeeli (PhD with Jean Bourbeau and Simon Rousseau). Formation de doctorat FRQS. Title: Exacerbation aiguë de la BPCO : Variantes du gène CFTR et leur interaction avec les facteurs de risque environnementaux.

Kamila Romanowski (PDF with Jonathon Campbell). Formation postdoctorale -Citoyens canadiens et résidents permanents FRQS. Title: Distiller l’impact des séquelles post-tuberculeuses sur les décisions de coûtefficacité concernant le dépistage et le traitement de l’infection tuberculeuse au Canada.

Emily Wilson (PhD with Carolyn Baglole). Formation de doctorat FRQS. Title: L’activation des récepteurs d’hydrocarbures aryliques par les produits à base de cannabis inhalés régule l’inflammation pulmonaire.

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Quazi Sufia Islam (PhD with Carolyn Baglole). Formation de doctorat FRQS. Title: Le rôle de l’antigène R humain (HuR) dans le développement de la fibrose pulmonaire idiopathique (fpi).

Elizabeth Lapshina (MSc with Maziar Divangahi). Formation de maîtrise FRQS. Title: Le rôle des macrophages péritonéaux dans la défense de l’hôte contre l’infection par la grippe.

Clara MacMahon (PhD with Irah King). Formation de doctorat FRQS. Title: Caractériser le rôle du métabolisme intestinal de cholestérol alimentaire sur la Maladie D’Alzheimer.

Hamed Shieh (PhD with Dao Nguyen). Formation de doctorat en recherche FRQNT. Title: Conception d’un dispositif colorimétrique rapide pour la détection au point de service d’infections bactériennes et l’antibiogramme.

Maryam Youssef (MSc with Larry Lands). Formation de maîtrise en recherche FRQS. Title: Optimisation d’une formulation de nanoparticules lipidiques pour l’encapsulation et la délivrance améliorées d’ARNm.

Maddison Arlen (MSc with Carolyn Baglole). Master’s Award – CIHR. Title: Lung Inflammation Induced by Cannabis Smoke Regulated by Human Antigen R (HuR).

Patrick Greiss (MSc with Carolyn Baglole). Master’s Award – CIHR. Title: The effect of terpenes on immune inflammatory response in the lungs.

Zachary Grimard (MSc with Simon Rousseau). Master’s Award – CIHR. Title: A synthetic biology approach for the production of rare cannabinoids with anti-diabetic properties in yeast.

Kristina Nikolaou (MSc with Maziar Divangahi). Master’s Award – CIHR. Title: The mystery of BCG vaccine in protection against SARS-CoV-2.

Khaled Skaik (MSc with Sabah Hussain). Master’s Award – CIHR. Title: Manipulating Muscle Stem Cells for Health.

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Jonathon Campbell, PhD, for his Proposal Measuring the Economic Burden of Illness: Patient Costs Associated with Four Respiratory Conditions.

Maziar Divangahi, PhD, for his Proposal Promoting disease tolerance against pulmonary SARS-CoV2 infection.

Nicole Ezer, MD, and Simon Rousseau, PhD, for their Proposal Improving a lung cancer screening program via detailed proteomic signature of participants to the Quebec lung cancer screening program.

Sushmita Pamidi, MD, for her Proposal Defining gut microbiome dynamics across the lifespan during treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.

Salman Qureshi, MD, for his Proposal Neutrophil regulation of adaptive immunity against fungal pneumonia.

Bryan Ross, MD, for his Proposal Urolithin A supplementation during pulmonary rehabilitation participation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a randomized pilot and feasibility study.

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Dr. Rousseau obtained his Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology in 2000 from Université Laval in Québec City where he studied the Vascular Endothelial Growth factor (VEGF) signalling pathways leading to endothelial cell migration, under the supervision of Professor Jacques Huot.  He then joined the group of Professor Sir Philip Cohen at the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit in Dundee, Scotland, a world re-known scientific unit in the field of signal transduction to investigate the signalling pathways involved in pro-inflammatory cytokine production by macrophages. In January 2008, he was recruited as an assistant professor at McGill University and joined the Meakins-Christie Laboratories. To date, he has contributed to the training of more than 60 graduate students and post-docs.

The major focus of his research program is systems biology of host-pathogen interactions in lung diseases.  His research has been funded by many provincial and national agencies (CFI, CIHR, Cystic Fibrosis Canada, FRQ-S, NSERC) and he has published >80 peer-reviewed manuscripts leading to >9000 citations.

Currently, Dr. Rousseau is the director of the Québec respiratory health research network biobank and the co-director of the Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC19), a provincial initiative established by FRQ-S and Génome Québec to help the research community investigate and mitigate the outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infections.  In welcoming Dr. Rousseau, we wish to also acknowledge the extraordinary contributions that Dr. Shawn Aaron has made in creating and managing the CRRN. He developed a network of outstanding investigators and trainees who have proven the value of a network through their many scientific accomplishments and the creation of projects that would not be possible without a national team.  Last but not least, the network of multidisciplinary trainees supported by CRRN under Shawn’s leadership, forms the future generation of investigators that will continue to lead respiratory research in Canada. The community is enormously grateful to Shawn for his gentle and generous style, characteristics that motivated loyalty to him and the network, and that has created a legacy that can underpin Dr. Rousseau’s future leadership efforts.

About the Canadian Respiratory Research Network

https://respiratoryresearchnetwork.ca/

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• Dr. Simon Rousseau – awarded a Team Projects grant for his project: “Impact of prior coticosteroids therapy for airway diseases on COVID-19 clinical trajectory”.

• Dr. Jean Bourbeau – awarded a Priority Projects grant for his project: “Impact of the environment on the development and aggravation of obstructive and remodelling lung diseases”.

More about the Quebec Respiratory Health Research Network (QRHN).

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Read the McGill Reporter article here:

FRQ to create a province-wide COVID-19 Biobank

Read the RI-MUHC News article here:

FRQ to create a province-wide COVID-19 Biobank: RI-MUHC researchers take leading roles in the initiative

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