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Dr. Marc Poulin in the exercise lab at the University of Calgary. Poulin's team is part of the CPSR-funded DOSE trial probing the optimal dose of exercise to promote recovery from stroke.
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Study determines exercise dose
for stroke recovery
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A Calgary lab is focused on the only medicine proven to prevent, manage and reverse the progression of chronic disease.
Exercise.
As part of a national study called DOSE (Determining Optimal post-Stroke Exercise) and funded by the HSF Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery (CPSR), Dr. Marc Poulin and Dr. Sean Dukelow at the University of Calgary are working with Dr. Janice Eng of UBC and Dr. Mark Bayley of Toronto Rehab to calculate the dose of exercise to give stroke patients the intensity required to achieve the best possible results.
“Exercise has a huge role in recovery and we are just starting to exploit and understand it,” says Dr. Poulin, who heads up the newly-opened clinical and translational research lab at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine.
The trial is examining three different levels of post-stroke exercise delivered over 20 days. The first group receives the standard of care, the second group gets a structured one hour of exercise a day, and the third receives a structured two hours a day. At the end, researchers measure changes in cardiovascular fitness, walking, mobility, cognition and quality of life.
The 75-patient study involves two sites in Calgary, four sites in Vancouver and one site in Toronto.
READ the full story HERE.
Learn more about DOSE HERE.
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Chris Duffield, who had a stroke at age 48, takes part in a study in the exercise lab at the University of Calgary.
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"I want to walk out of here”
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Calgary stroke patient says CPSR study rebuilds strength, confidence
At age 48, Chris Duffield, a Calgary-area technology consultant and father of three, was working at home when “it felt like someone put chemicals on my cheeks and eyes.”
He lay down for 20 minutes and the sensation went away, but a short time later the feeling returned and, this time, he was dizzy and began to slur his speech.
His 10-year-old daughter, who was with him at the time, tearfully accompanied him in an ambulance to the local hospital where doctors checked him out and sent him home. Hours later, Duffield collapsed again and, this time, instead of walking to the ambulance, firefighters had to carry him. A blood clot in his brain resulted in complete paralysis on his left side. A day after his August 2016 stroke, Duffield was transferred to Foothills Medical Centre.
“I’m very lucky it didn’t affect my cognitive skills but I couldn’t talk,” he says during an interview in the clinical and translational exercise lab at the University of Calgary’s Teaching, Research and Wellness Building. “My throat and vocal cords were paralyzed. I couldn’t move my tongue or swallow by myself.”
The progress Duffield has made in a short time is remarkable -- thanks in part to a rehabilitation program funded by the HSF Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery.
READ the full story HERE.
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CPSR National Trainee Association
Calling all Trainees! Looking for Mentorship? Expansion of the Mentorship Program for 2017!
In response to your feedback, we’ve made some changes to the program to make it more user-friendly and responsive to the needs of mentees, and mentors as well. This year, mentor-mentee pairings will now be mentee-driven!
Why find a mentor? What are the expected benefits? Overall, to help you in your career path. Benefits of mentorship highlighted by past members included the opportunity to network and receive guidance on research projects, publications, career trajectories, and future directions.
Interested in finding a mentor? Here what you should do:
- Search for a potential mentor - Browse the CPSR NTA membership list: ALL CPSR NTA members could be potential mentors – one of the benefits and expectations of being a CPSR NTA member. The NTA membership list contains details about a trainee’s status, geographical location, and research focus (basic/clinical) and a brief description about their research interests. Alternatively, if you are interested in finding a more senior mentor who is a scientist, browse the list of CPSR Scientists willing to be a mentor. We reached out to our CPSR scientists to identify those willing to be a mentor. Click on the link above to search for CPSR scientists who have agreed to be a mentor to NTA members.
- Send an initial email - Once you've found a possible mentor, send them an email. Need help crafting that first email? Click the following link to open up a draft email message: draft initial email @ potential mentor. You can also download the helpful draft email template for you use in your own email program, just fill in your details. Be sure to include information on how best to contact you. Please also cc training@canadianstroke.ca in the initial email, to help us keep track of mentor-mentee partnerships.
- Follow up - After the initial email has been sent and responded to, decide how you want to progress. Skype calls every few months? Monthly emails? Plan a face-to-face meeting at a meeting you are both attending (e.g., CPSR's annual Advances in Stroke Recovery conference, CPSR's Stroke Program in Neurorecovery (SPiN) Workshop, Canadian Stroke Congress - all three of which will be occurring concurrently in early Sept this year in Calgary). Consider using CPSR's Mentorship Meeting Plan as a guide to help you create a meeting plan with your mentor, which will help facilitate clear communication and expectations. However, it’s up to you and your mentor to decide how best to communicate!
To find out more, visit the CPSR website under Training...Mentorship.
If you have any specific questions please send them to training@canadianstroke.ca.
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CPSR trainees Liam Kelly, left, of Memorial University and Cherie Kuo, right, of the University of Calgary will deliver this month's CPSR webinars on topics in stroke recovery research. Join via the link below!
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CPSR National Trainee Association Webinar Series
Monday, March 27, 2017@ 2-3PM (EST)
Cardio-Metabolic Demands of Task-Oriented Exercise Training in Stroke Survivors
Liam Kelly
Exercise Physiologist & PhD Candidate,
Recovery & Performance Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University
Supervised by Dr. Michelle Ploughman
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Intervention-Induced Intra-Cortical Plasticity in Hemiparetic Children with Perinatal Stroke
Dr. Cherie Kuo
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Calgary Pediatric Stroke Program, Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute,
University of Calgary
Supervised by Dr. Adam Kirton |
The CPSR NTA Webinar Series is held on the last Monday of the month between 2-3PM EST.
Each webinar will be approximately 30 minutes in length (15 minute presentations and 15 minutes for Questions & Answers).
2 speakers will present per session (one from 2:00PM – 2:30PM and the other from 2:30PM – 3:00PM).
Please join via ZoomConference: https://zoom.us/j/651533870
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Attention Trainees:
2017 Stroke Program in Neurorecovery (SPiN) Workshop
September 2017, Calgary, Alberta
This year’s CPSR Stroke Program in Neurorecovery (SPiN) is being planned for September 2017 in Calgary, Alberta (in conjunction with the CPSR Advances in Stroke Recovery meeting and the Canadian Stroke Congress). We are busy creating an engaging multi-day workshop full of activities specifically designed for trainees interested in stroke recovery research! Similar to last year, we are planning to have multiple hands-on lab demonstrations and interactive presentations, a keynote presentation, dedicated time with scientists and stroke survivors, and plenty of time for networking!
If you are a trainee working in stroke recovery research, this workshop is not to be missed!
Details will be announced as they become available. Stay tuned!
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Aphasia is a very common side-effect of stroke. About a third of people have a communication challenge -- trouble speaking, understanding language, reading or writing -- after stroke.
Recently, Heart & Stroke hosted a terrific webinar with Dr. Aura Kagan, Executive Director of the Aphasia Institute, focused on:
Practical methods for reducing language barriers for patients with aphasia.
Watch it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GioxutNQGYI&index=9&list=PLlLH6D8gy0OxINJHlfW6KIi_YssImeuZ1
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As part of the CPSR's ongoing series of profiles of members of our National Trainee Association, this month we meet Ayan Dey, left, of the University of Toronto and Kate Hayward, right, of the University of British Columbia and Australia's Florey Institute.
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Ayan Dey
Q: Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from?
A: I was born in Bangladesh and came to Canada when I was one year old. Although I moved around a lot when I was younger, I spent most of my life in Hamilton and attended McMaster University for my undergraduate degree in Psychology and Neuroscience before joining the University of Toronto in 2011 as part of the combined MD/PhD program. I am completing my PhD within the Institute of Medical Science (IMS) under the supervision of Dr. Brian Levine at the Rotman Research Institute (Baycrest). I am also mentored by my unofficial co-supervisor, Dr. Sandra Black (Sunnybrook).
Q: What compelled you to pursue stroke research?
A: I have long been interested in learning about the brain, and I found the study of neuroplasticity in the context of recovery from brain injury extremely fascinating. In light of our aging population and increasing number of stroke survivors, I decided relatively early on that stroke would be a valuable field to enter given growing demand for stroke prevention and rehabilitation. What also drew me to the field is the complexity and heterogeneity of stroke, its interaction with neurodegenerative disorders and the multidisciplinary approach used to study it.
Q: What is the focus of your research?
A: My research focuses on studying the relationship between cognitive impairment and mild to moderate cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) in older adults. CSVD sometimes referred to as “silent strokes” is a disorder of the brain’s small vessels that on imaging is characterized by the presence of widespread white matter damage and small subcortical (deep brain) infarcts referred to as lacunes. CSVD is among the most common causes of vascular cognitive impairment in the community and is associated with deficits in executive function and processing speed. How individuals are affected by CSVD can vary substantially as not all individuals with CSVD present with deficits. That said, my project focuses on using both advanced structural and functional neuroimaging techniques combined with comprehensive behavioural testing to explore factors contributing to individual differences in cognitive performance. I’m trying to answer the question as to why some individuals are better able to cope with CSVD compared to others after adjusting to age, education and lesion burden? The results of this investigation, I hope, will inform development and assessment of cognitive rehabilitation programs directed at this patient population.
Q: At what stage are you in your research, and what are your future plans?
A: I am currently in my 6th year of the combined MD/PhD program at the University of Toronto. Weaving in and out of medical school, I have so far completed 2 years of my medical training and am currently in my 4th year of PhD studies. Data collection for my dissertation was recently completed and I am currently working on writing my dissertation. After finishing my PhD, I plan to return to medical school to finish my clinical rotations. After graduating, I plan to pursue residency in a speciality that will enable me to continue my research in neurorehabilitation. I am currently considering neurology and physiatry (PM&R) but this could change as I make my way through the rest of medical school. Ultimately, I would like to become a clinician-scientist as part of a multidisciplinary team working to help improve the lives of stroke and brain injury survivors.
Q: How do you and others benefit from being part of the National Trainee Association?
A: Over the years, I have attended many events hosted by the NTA across the country. I found each of these experiences very insightful as it exposed me to the breadth of stroke research that is occurring across the country. It also provided me the opportunity to develop friendships with like-minded trainees across Canada – some of which I am in regular contact with still.
Q: What other interests do you have?
A: I have multiple interests outside of academia including a love of travel and photography, and an interest in quality improvement and refugee health. With respect to the former, I aim to travel somewhere new at least two or three times a year. Many years ago I came up with a list of 101 places to visit of which I am over a third of the way through. Travel highlights include my visits to Japan and Greece in recent years. In an attempt to merge my interest in photography with my interest in rehabilitation, I recently launched an introduction to photography workshop series for patients at Toronto Rehabilitation, which I run approximately once a month. At Toronto Rehab, I am also involved in a quality improvement project aimed at improving communication of medication lists between patients and clinicians. Finally with respect to refugee health, I co-founded a U of T medical student run group in 2011 called IREACH aimed at improving healthcare accessibility for new immigrants through creation of small wallet-sized health history cards. The group has been in operation for over five years now in collaboration with the Toronto District School Board.
Kate Hayward
Q: Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from?
A: I was born and raised in Australia – living the life of sunshine and warm days all year long, plus great espresso coffee! I went to high school on the coast of the Whitsunday Islands – gateway to the Great Barrier Reef! I then moved to Townsville and trained as a Physiotherapist at James Cook University. I subsequently left the tropics for Brisbane, where I worked as a Physiotherapist whilst completing my PhD at The University of Queensland.
Q: What compelled you to pursue stroke research?
A: I had an amazing neurology mentor, Dr Ruth Barker, who had a passion that was contagious! During my neurology training I was inspired by how much a stroke survivor could go on to achieve in their recovery, and that I could play an influential role in that journey. I did a research honours project with Ruth during my physiotherapy training. This experience ignited my passion to understand upper limb recovery (focusing on people with severe impairment) after stroke. I have been researching this group of stroke survivors ever since.
Q: What is the focus of your research?
A: My research focuses on people with severe upper limb impairment early after stroke. Our arms and hands are key to what we do and how we do it. But for 3 to 4 out of every 10 stroke survivors, severe impairment is a devastating reality that often persists. This group of people have the scope to make the largest improvement during rehabilitation. How we optimally facilitate such recovery remains unknown. My research attempts to fill this gap by exploring biomarkers of recovery, as well as response to novel rehabilitation approaches that attempt to harness an individual’s neurobiological potential for recovery.
Q: At what stage are you in your research, and what are your future plans?
A: I am an early career researcher currently doing my postdoctoral training. I have an International Early Career Fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. I am fortunate to spend 3 years with Professor Lara Boyd and her team of researchers in the Brain Behaviour Lab at University of British Columbia exploring biomarkers of recovery. At the end of 2017, I will return to Australia to work with Professor Julie Bernhardt and the AVERT team at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, where I will focus more on rehabilitation and training approaches.
Q: How do you and others benefit from being part of the National Trainee Association?
A: The National Trainee Association is a pioneering program that provides opportunities for research trainees to network, learn and receive funding support. I have benefited by attending the annual SPiN event, presenting my work to the trainee collective and have received a travel award to support a visit to Associate Professor Nick Ward at University College London.
Q: What other interests do you have?
A: I moved from Australia with 2 suitcases and my road bike! So clearly I love cycling! I have enjoyed clocking up the kilometers in Vancouver – albeit more from a stationary bike inside thanks to those rainy Vancouver days! I also love good coffee, red wine, hiking and spending quality time with family and friends.
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