The Faculty of Science’s new Computational and Data Systems Initiative will help researchers unlock the power of data-intensive research methods

If you follow science news, you will almost certainly have encountered the term ‘modelling’. From understanding climate change, to predicting the course of a pandemic, to developing the pharmaceuticals to fight one, scientists seem to have a ‘model’ for everything. But have you ever wondered just what the term means and how scientists go about creating models?

Published on: 29 Apr 2022

 

MONTREAL January 31, 2022 – A new initiative by McGill University’s Dementia Education Program is among the 15 projects that will receive funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada to raise awareness of dementia and promote dementia-inclusive communities, announced the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos today.

Classified as: hs-communications, dementia, Tamara Carver, David Eidelman, Caregivers
Published on: 31 Jan 2022

Congratulations to Dr. Adrian Dancea, co-director of the Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Management on receiving some well-deserved praise from Dr. Beth Foster, Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at McGill University. In addition to his role as co-director of the GCHM, Dr.

Classified as: Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Management (GCHM), Adrian Dancea
Published on: 15 Jan 2022

In addition to old age and certain underlying diseases, genetics can influence whether we become severely affected or only suffer mild illness from COVID-19. Previous studies on mainly people of European ancestry have found that individuals carrying a particular segment of DNA have a 20 percent lower risk of developing a critical COVID-19 infection. This DNA segment encodes genes in the immune system and is inherited from Neanderthals in about half of all people outside Africa.

Published on: 14 Jan 2022

Researchers at McGill University have made an important step forward in understanding the cause of a rare neurodegenerative disease noted for its occurrence in the Charlevoix and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean regions of Quebec.

Autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS) is a genetic condition that affects coordination and balance from early childhood. Most ARSACS patients require a wheelchair by the time they reach their 30s or 40s. There is no cure and current treatments provide only limited symptomatic relief.

Published on: 22 Dec 2021

The causes of psychiatric disorders are poorly understood. Now, in work led by researchers at McGill University, there is evidence that a wide range of early onset psychiatric problems (from depression, anxiety and addictions to dyslexia, bulimia, and ADHD) may be largely due to the combination of just three factors. The first is biological—in the form of individual variability in the brain’s dopamine reward pathway. The second is social—and points to the important role of early childhood neglect or abuse.

Classified as: Department of Psychiatry, Marco Leyton, Mental Illness, dopamine
Published on: 8 Dec 2021

A multidisciplinary team of researchers, including McGill's Scott Weichenthal, an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, has been awarded the Brockhouse Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

Classified as: climate change, air pollution, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
Published on: 17 Nov 2021

Type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer are just some of the disorders associated with specific genes not “turning on” and “turning off” as they should. By using new CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology, in a recent paper in Nature Communications, McGill University researchers have described a new technique that scientists across the world can potentially use to explore novel ways of treating diseases associated with dysregulation in DNA methylation.

Classified as: Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, moshe szyf, DNA methylation, medical research
Published on: 9 Nov 2021

Montreal, October 20, 2021 - A person who receives a life-changing diagnosis of dementia has many questions. What changes can I expect to my daily routine? How long can I remain independent? How will this affect my relationship with my loved ones?

Classified as: dementia, caregiver, Care Partner, Alzheimer, Claire Webster, Serge Gauthier, Jose Morais, Grace Dart Foundation, hs-communications, Medical Simulation Centre
Published on: 20 Oct 2021

Bacteria can store extra resources for the lean times. It’s a bit like keeping a piggy bank or carrying a backup battery pack. One important reserve is known as cyanophycin granules, which were first noticed by an Italian scientist about 150 years ago. He saw big, dark splotches in the cells of the blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) he was studying without understanding either what they were or their purpose.

Classified as: Department of Biochemistry, bacteria, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Martin Schmeing
Published on: 14 Oct 2021

A team of international researchers, including McGill Professor Stéphane Laporte, have discovered the working mechanism of potential drug targets for various diseases such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and even COVID-19. The findings published in Molecular Cell uncover the inner workings of cell receptors that are involved in cancer progression and inflammatory diseases.

Classified as: covid-19, drug targets, inflammatory diseases, Arun Shukla, Stéphane Laporte
Published on: 27 Sep 2021

McGill University co-editors Drs. Serge Gauthier, Pedro Rosa-Neto, José A. Morais and Ms. Claire Webster deliver the World Alzheimer Report 2021, 'Journey through the diagnosis of dementia'.

Classified as: hs-communications, Medical Simulation Centre, World Alzheimer Report
Published on: 22 Sep 2021

Mothers who smoke are more likely to deliver smaller babies even after a full-term pregnancy, increasing the risks of birth defects and neurological disorders later in life, say researchers from McGill University. The team of researchers, which includes Assistant Professor Michael Dahan and Ido Feferkorn of the McGill University Health Care Center, examined the effects of smoking on more than nine million deliveries in the Unites States over 11 years, one of the largest studies to date.

Classified as: smoking, Fetal, health, babies, risks, pregnancy, dangers, Michael Dahan, Ido Feferkorn
Published on: 20 Sep 2021

McGill University researchers identify proteins that drive cancer stem cells. Targeting and supressing a particular protein called galectin1 could provide a more effective treatment for glioblastoma, in combination with radiation therapy.

Due to its resistance to therapy, glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive cancerous brain tumour in adults. It grows fast and spreads quickly. While treatments such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy can help ease symptoms for a few months, in most cases tumour cells regrow after treatment and the cancer recurs.

Classified as: glioblastoma, brain, Cancer, tumour, treatment, therapy, Arezu Jahani-Asl
Published on: 31 Aug 2021

Dear Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Colleagues,

Classified as: hs-communications
Published on: 30 Jun 2021

Pages

Back to top