Our partnership with the Centre for Blood Research (CBR) at the University of British Columbia (UBC) is helping to train the next generation of researchers in transfusion science. This blog post highlights just some of the achievements in education, training or knowledge mobilization accomplished by CBR trainees.  

This is an abbreviated repost that originally appeared on the Centre for Blood Research blog in June 2024. It was written by trainees Joyce Teodoro (PhD student in the lab of Canadian Blood Services’ adjunct scientist Dr. Hongshen Ma) and Kiran Toor (Masters student at CBR in the lab of Dr. Brown), with edits provided by Kaitlyn Chuong (communications and programs coordinator at CBR).  

On April 18th, 2024, the Centre for Blood Research (CBR) held their 12th annual Norman Bethune Symposium, a renowned research event that gathers scientists, clinicians, healthcare professionals, and trainees to discuss advancements in the field of blood research. The symposium was held at UBC Robson Square, on the traditional territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh people. 

The full day event consisted of expert talks on thalassemia, thrombocytopenia, sickle cell disease, and other bleeding disorders. Research trainees delivered impressive presentations on innovative topics including engineering cells for cancer immunotherapy and computational approaches to inhibit Klebsiella pneumoniae. The event showcased nearly 30 trainee research posters, demonstrating the breadth of ongoing research. 

CBR Director, Dr. Ed Conway, began with the opening remarks, followed by the presentation by Dr. Christian Kastrup, Professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Senior Investigator at Versiti Blood Research Institute. Dr. Kastrup’s presentation focused on his work on genetically modifying transfusable donor platelets using mRNA-lipid nanoparticles. Following this, there were a series of presentations on the topic of bleeding disorders. It was a research-filled day that honored the contributions of Drs. Don Brooks and Dana Devine. 

Blood research & reflections 

The symposium was an amazing opportunity to learn about the exciting advances in blood research. It also served as a great platform for speakers to share their personal experiences with blood disorders, as well as for scientists to discuss their professional path in blood sciences. 

Attendees were fortunate to hear Ritika Rakshit share her personal journey with thalassemia, a genetic blood disorder characterized by the body’s inability to produce enough hemoglobin. She detailed her experience from being diagnosed to her treatment plans including being on extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH) and switching to luspatercept. She offered insights into her hesitancy to switch medications and highlighted the invaluable support of her clinical team. Ritika continues to be an advocate for thalassemia in her role on the patient advocacy board. It was an eye-opening opportunity to be able to hear from a patient reflect on their own journey and understand their perspective on living with a blood disorder. 

Dr. Geraldine Walsh, a development scientist with Canadian Blood Services, also gave an insightful talk describing her career path in blood sciences. Drawing from her experiences, she shared several pieces of advice on navigating a career in science. She highlighted the importance of finding work that we are passionate about, building strong relationships, and learning from those around us. Dr. Walsh concluded her talk by encouraging attendees, especially research trainees, to explore various career opportunities, including those that may deviate from the conventional scientific career trajectory. 

Celebrating Drs. Don Brooks and Dana Devine 

One of the highlights of the symposium was the talk by Dr. Cedric Carter, which celebrated Drs. Don Brooks and Dana Devine’s achievements and contributions. Drs. Don Brooks and Dana Devine are two of the founding members of the Centre for Blood Research (CBR). In addition to their significant and impactful contributions to the field of transfusion science and medicine, they have been instrumental in promoting research and developing initiatives through various leadership roles. Dr. Brooks has served as Associate Vice-President, Research at UBC and Founding Director of UBC’s Support Programs to Advance Research Capacity (SPARC). He has also served as a member of the Board of Directors for TRIUMF, Provincial Health Services Authority, and BC Emergency Health Services. Dr. Devine has held numerous leadership positions, which include her role as chief scientist at Canadian Blood Services, director of the CBR, president of the Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies (AABB), and editor-in-chief of Vox Sanguinis, a transfusion medicine journal. Their dedication and commitment to scientific discovery through research and development serve as inspiration for future generations of scientists. 

Inaugural Don Brooks and Dana Devine Transfusion Science Innovation Address 

In honour of Drs. Don Brooks and Dana Devine’s scientific contributions to advancing transfusion science and medicine, the inaugural Don Brooks and Dana Devine Transfusion Science Innovation Address was presented by Dr. Stephen Withers. Dr. Withers, in collaboration with Dr. Jay Kizhakkedathu’s lab, worked on identifying efficient enzymes for cleaving terminal sugar structures on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs), which are responsible for determining blood types. By removing these terminal sugar structures, A and B type RBCs can be converted to the universal donor blood type O, which can increase blood supply for transfusion applications. By screening the human gut microbiome for enzymes that can cleave these terminal sugar structures, they identified a pair of enzymes (FpGalNAc deacetylase and FpGalactosaminidase) that can convert type A to type O blood.  

Posters & awards 

This year, there were 29 posters presented by various graduate trainees, postdoctoral fellows, clinical fellows and research associates! These included members within the CBR, but we also had the pleasure of having presenters come from out of town. Multiple trainees from the University of Alberta, University of Toronto & Queen’s University were able to attend the symposium with the support of the CBR Travel Award.  

The Best Poster Presentation went to Dr. Georgina Butler from the Overall Lab for their poster on “SARS-CoV-2 main protease 3CLpro (nsp5), regulates the formation of tunnelling nanotubes by coordinating cytoskeleton reorganization.”  

Our final speaker was Dr. Ed Pryzdial with an exciting talk on Dengue virus-induced thrombocytopenia. Afterwards, a reception was held and attendees got to network and socialize with each other to celebrate the end of another incredible symposium! 

A huge thank you to everyone who attended, to our speakers and all presenters! 

The Centre for Blood Research would like to thank their event sponsors, without whom the 12th Annual Norman Bethune Symposium would not have been possible: the Naiman-Vickars Endowment Fund, Canadian Blood Services, Novo Nordisk, GRIFOLS, CSL Behring, ALEXION, Sobi and Pfizer.  

Canadian Blood Services – Driving world-class innovation 

Through discovery, development and applied research, Canadian Blood Services drives world-class innovation in blood transfusion, cellular therapy and transplantation—bringing clarity and insight to an increasingly complex healthcare future. Our dedicated research team and extended network of partners engage in exploratory and applied research to create new knowledge, inform and enhance best practices, contribute to the development of new services and technologies, and build capacity through training and collaboration. Find out more about our research impact.  

The opinions reflected in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Canadian Blood Services nor do they reflect the views of Health Canada or any other funding agency. 

Dr. Donald R. Branch’s work as a discovery scientist at Canadian Blood Services focuses on immunotherapy, seeking to further enhance understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in autoimmune diseases. Based in Toronto, Dr. Branch’s laboratory develops models of rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and multiple sclerosis in mice. These models are particularly useful in examining how cells affected by these conditions respond to current therapeutic agents like intravenous immunoglobulin – a blood product made from human plasma commonly known as IVIg – and investigating potential alternative therapeutics.  

Over the years, Dr. Branch’s lab research findings have included the discovery of a special reagent that makes identification of antibodies easier by “zapping" autoantibodies,  answers around unexpected side effects of IVIg therapy, and insights around recipients’ responses to bone marrow transplantation. It has also earned him numerous awards and accolades, including four from AABB, the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies.

New knowledge about neutrophils

Recently, contributions from Dr. Branch’s lab helped a U.K.-based team of researchers discover new information about how neutrophil function and activity is regulated. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that are part of the body’s normal immune response. A person’s neutrophil levels may be affected by infections as well as chronic or acute illnesses. Patients who have very low neutrophil counts and/or persistent infections may receive a boost to their neutrophil levels via granulocyte transfusion therapy. However, in some diseases, overactivation of neutrophils can also create an inflammatory environment and harm healthy tissue.

The research has been published in the high-impact scientific journal, Nature. This publication has filled a gap in knowledge about the mechanisms involved in maintaining balance between neutrophils’ infection-fighting power and inflammation-causing potential. As Dr. Branch describes: “This research by Dr. Brown and team shows that the myeloid inhibitory C-type lectin enzyme, which is known as MICL, controls neutrophil activity in rheumatoid arthritis. It is likely that MICL also regulates neutrophil activity in general. This suggests that if therapeutics can be designed to target MICL, they may be useful in controlling inflammation and infection. It is a fundamental finding that will change our understanding of the biology of neutrophils.”  

Discovery research, like the study to which Don and Ruqayyah contributed, is essential to improving patient care in the long run. New biomedical insights are essential to crafting new drugs and new therapeutic approaches in a rational way.

Dr. William (Bill) Sheffield, Canadian Blood Services senior scientist and associate director of research

Discovery research expertise leads to new collaboration  

The special mouse model that Dr. Branch’s lab uses is known as K/BxN. In this model, two mouse populations are selectively bred to produce offspring whose genetic material carry an antibody that destroys bone cartilage. An arthritis-causing serum containing this destructive antibody can then be obtained from the mice for use as a reagent in research. This process is termed “serum-transfer arthritis” and has been used by many investigators in the study of treatments that may alleviate the condition. 

Knowledge of Dr. Branch’s lab’s expertise in this area prompted a connection to the team of researchers at the Universities of Exeter and Aberdeen in the U.K. for this study. Says Dr. Branch, “In 2021, I supported a successful application to Canadian Blood Services’ Blood Efficiency Accelerator Program (BEAP) by Dr. Maria Fernandes, a researcher from  Héma-Québec who works with neutrophils. Through this collaboration, Dr. Fernandes was aware that I work on rheumatoid arthritis with K/BxN mice, and she also knew that Dr. Gordon Brown in the U.K. was looking to collaborate with a researcher in this area for some planned neutrophil research. My lab, which included postdoctoral fellow Dr. Ruqayyah Almizraq at the time, contributed to Dr. Brown’s research by providing the sera from our K/BxN mice. With this sera, Dr. Brown and his collaborators were able to induce rheumatoid arthritis and show that it could be resolved by removing the inhibition of a specific enzyme.”  

Science that is never boring

The Branch lab is currently using these same mouse models to investigate whether a recombinant protein called IgG1 Fc hexamer could be an effective replacement for IVIg in the treatment of autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and ITP. While early results are promising, continued work is needed. In fact, back in 2018, Dr. Branch was asked in a previous R.E.D. blog post to describe what he found to be the most exciting part of science. Reflecting on the same question now, he reiterates that his response still rings true after 50 years in the field:   

The most exciting part of science is that when you do good science, you get more questions than you get answers, which means it is never boring. There is no end to imagination; new ideas, theories, experiments and discoveries occur often and provide a level of excitement to which many other professions cannot attest.

Dr. Donald (Don) Branch, Canadian Blood Services senior scientist

Canadian Blood Services – Driving world-class innovation 

Through discovery, development and applied research, Canadian Blood Services drives world-class innovation in blood transfusion, cellular therapy and transplantation—bringing clarity and insight to an increasingly complex healthcare future. Our dedicated research team and extended network of partners engage in exploratory and applied research to create new knowledge, inform and enhance best practices, contribute to the development of new services and technologies, and build capacity through training and collaboration. Find out more about our research impact.   

The opinions reflected in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Canadian Blood Services nor do they reflect the views of Health Canada or any other funding agency.