Vitaly Kazakov

His short videos on everything from flatulence to palliative care have captured more than 10 million views and his work has been discussed everywhere from network news broadcasts to the Netflix series Orange is the New Black. (See the video 23 1/2 Hours.)

Now, Dr. Mike Evans is taking on healthy eating – unveiling his latest video at the official campaign launch for the U of T Centre for Child Nutrition, Health and Development.

In the video, Evans highlights the challenges children and their families face in finding ways to eat healthily, as well as Canada’s growing childhood overweight and obesity problem.

“The centre is being built to rethink this cascade and build innovative solutions to help kids and their families eat better,” says Evans. As the centre’s chair in patient engagement in child nutrition, Evans is using his large online following and well-honed patient engagement skills to help the centre improve the health of children and families in Canada and around the world.

The video was presented during a meeting of the centre’s advisory council, attended by federal and provincial government officials including Ontario Deputy Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Dr. Bob Bell, senior leaders from the food industry, health-focused NGOs and academic institutions. Their discussion focused on exploring opportunities for the centre to have a national and international impact in child health.

“The researchers in our centre, together with our partners across disciplines and sectors, are working hard to answer key questions in child nutrition and health that continue to elude us,” said Dr. Harvey Anderson, the centre’s executive director and professor in the department of nutritional sciences. “These answers will help educate our health professionals, inform public policy, support better food production and processing and improve public awareness and engagement.”

For his part, Evans says he will continue to translate new discoveries made by his colleagues at the centre into engaging educational materials for kids and their families. The centre will share these resources through online channels, including its website.

“Food has a ripple effect in our society,” he says. “On the one hand, eating habits can lean towards too much, and too unhealthy. But on the other hand, food brings together families, builds communities and gives us health. The CCNHD wants to build a new platform that explores this balance, especially with respect to our kids, and tips it towards health.”

Vitaly Kazakov is a writer with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

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How expectant mothers' diets can affect offspring

sgupta — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 13:32:30 +0000

How expectant mothers' diets can affect offspring sgupta Fri, 03/20/2015 - 09:32

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Spinach is high in vitamins K and A (photo by Luminitsa via Flickr)

Vitaly Kazakov

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Breaking Research

Helping people with disabilities in Cameroon

sgupta — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 11:28:26 +0000

Helping people with disabilities in Cameroon sgupta Thu, 08/14/2014 - 07:28

Vitaly Kazakov

Author legacy

Vitaly Kazakov

If you have a special connection to a place, it lasts a lifetime. When Lynn Cockburn was 11 years old, her father got a teaching job at a school in a small village near Bamenda, the capital of Cameroon’s North West Region. Her whole family ended up moving to Africa for two years.

“At first, it was really difficult for a small town Ontario girl to adjust to living in an African village,” says Cockburn. “That was quite an experience, but I loved it.”

When she moved back to Canada, she knew she would return to Cameroon one day – and that day came a decade ago when she returned as an occupational therapist and University of Toronto scholar.

An assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Cockburn does mental health and community development work in Cameroon and has set up diversity, research and education programs in rehabilitation and disability.

“I was excited to go back and felt welcomed despite difficult circumstances. The access to health care there is expensive and limited by a low ratio of physicians and other health care providers to patients,” explains Cockburn. “The situation is even worse for those living with an impairment or a disability.

"Knowing the background and having personal relationships in Cameroon, I knew that I wanted to commit to working in this country I love for a long time. I decided to see what I could accomplish there in 10 years.”

Cockburn was a founding member of the International Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation (ICDR) at U of T in 2004. The centre is a hub for like-minded people who wanted to make a difference in disability and rehabilitation globally. Cockburn took charge of ICDR’s Cameroonian chapter, along with fellow occupational therapist Kate Suffling.

“Working in Cameroon is challenging. We hit many bumps along the road,” says Cockburn. “People with disabilities are marginalized and have very limited opportunities in their lives. What motivates me is the commitment of my colleagues both in Cameroon and Canada who are really trying to make things better for the people and for the country.”

Her approach to rehabilitation in Cameroon is three-pronged: help deliver direct care to people with disabilities, train local therapists and care providers, and carry out research.

More than 20 U of T occupational therapy students have learned about rehabilitation care delivery in Cameroon over the years, thanks to ICDR’s partnerships. “Our visiting students provide direct service to patients at a local rehabilitation centre, as well as take on at least one or two research or clinical projects, so that they see a bigger picture of international disability and rehabilitation work,” says Cockburn.

When it comes to working with the local health care providers, it is all about humility and openness for Cockburn and her Canadian colleagues and students.

“When you are trying to help patients or work on establishing specific programs, it can feel like there is not enough time for in-depth conversations, for understanding your partners and learning from each other,” she says. “One of the things that we've done really well in Cameroon is to provide spaces and opportunities for everyone involved to talk about issues related to rehab and disability.”

Cockburn hopes that there will one day be a rehabilitation program at the new University of Bamenda, which is the first state university in Cameroon’s North West Region. The school’s visiting scholar program – which Cockburn helped set up – may be the first step toward this goal. The program will provide opportunities for scholars around the world to teach and work in Cameroon.

Wherever the visiting scholars and doctors might come from, Cockburn hopes that, like her, they will make a long-term commitment to this country. She also hopes the program will help some Cameroonian health sciences professionals living abroad return to Cameroon.

"There are more Cameroon-trained physicians working abroad than in Cameroon,” says Cockburn. “We hope that this program will provide a mechanism for some of them to come back to teach and work with local patients.”

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Helping Botswana doctors build surgical capacity

sgupta — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 11:39:15 +0000

Helping Botswana doctors build surgical capacity sgupta Mon, 07/21/2014 - 07:39

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Surgeons at the Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone, Botswana, perform a laparoscopic procedure (photo courtesy Faculty of Medicine)

Vitaly Kazakov

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Vitaly Kazakov

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"Our results are now equal to, and in some areas, even better than those of our North American partners”

When Georges Azzie first arrived in Gaborone, Botswana, he was the only paediatric surgeon in that country. Not anymore.

Over the last decade, the University of Toronto associate professor has been spending three months a year in Gaborone performing surgeries and working with colleagues to address Botswana’s surgical care and education needs.

Azzie, who is an associate professor in the Department of Surgery and a surgeon at the Hospital for Sick Children, explains that a lack of surgeons, nurses and technical staff is a major health care challenge in Botswana. There are just a few general surgeons serving the country’s two million people, which means training Botswana’s next generation of health care providers is critical.

In 2005, two of the country’s hospitals had equipment for minimal access surgery, but lacked qualified surgeons who could use it. At the request of local officials, Azzie and his U of T partners helped develop a training program to increase the number of specialists in this area. Assistant Professor Allan Okrainec, also of the Department of Surgery, came up with the idea for cost-effective mentorship and improving skills. Using telesimulation, they taught 20 Botswana doctors the fundamentals of a minimally invasive surgical technique called laparoscopy.

Dr. Alemayehu Ginbo Bedada is one of the physicians who received that training. He works at the Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone and teaches at the University of Botswana’s School of Medicine. He was recently in Toronto to present a study that describes a model for establishing a contextually appropriate laparoscopic program in resource-restricted environments.

Bedada’s paper will be published in the Annals of Surgery this year. The study, co-authored with Azzie and a group of local researchers, highlights the success of the Botswana’s program: improved patient outcomes, increased confidence among local surgeons and the fact that it is fully financed by their Ministry of Health.

“The beauty of our program is that we do not rely on external funding,” says Bedada. “Our ability to use only the government’s budget ensures its sustainability. We learned to improvise with the resources we have to achieve the best outcome for our patients. Our results are now equal to, and in some areas, even better than those of our North American partners.”

Bedada and Azzie also focus on the future: they hope to help train a new generation of Batswana surgeons. Two postgraduate students are already training in Cape Town, South Africa, while Dr. Balisi Bakanisi will be completing his general surgical training at U of T in 2015. Four other local medical care specialists are preparing for international training in surgery soon.

“One of the unique things Dr. Azzie did here is pushing for opportunities for local doctors to get advanced surgical training. Young doctors like Balisi are going to come back here and take over from us,” says Bedada.

Azzie’s international experience is extensive. His recipe for building productive, long-term international partnerships is the same wherever he goes: understanding, respecting and empowering your colleagues.

Another key to the success of Botswana surgical care and education initiatives is the team’s ability to work towards the same goal despite different backgrounds. Bedada, an Ethiopian, and his colleagues, who come from Egypt, Uganda, India, Canada, Botswana and other countries, all learn from each other and share the same dedication to their patients in Botswana.

“Longevity of the partnership, and the respect and thoughtfulness of everyone involved in it are the reasons the laparoscopic surgery program succeeded,” says Azzie. “We at the University of Toronto can now speak with significant authority on what it takes to establish a long-term relationship, how to sustain it and grow it further.”

The partnership also helped a number of U of T medical students learn about global surgery and international health in Botswana. In spring 2014, Dr. Stephanie Dreckmann spent six weeks in Gaborone doing a general surgery selective under the supervision of Azzie and Bedada. This experience helped Dreckmann hone her skills, expanded her medical expertise and gave her the chance to serve in management and health advocacy roles within a resource limited setting.

“I’ve been lucky to come along at a time where there is a ground swell of interest in global surgery and international health,” says Azzie. “I have benefitted from the guidance and the expertise of people who are ‘giants’ in this field, and I would like to pass my experience to others. There is a huge potential to expand our collaboration in Botswana to other kinds of surgical care and education.”

Vitaly Kazakov is a writer with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

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Helping solve Kenya's retinoblastoma challenge

sgupta — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 11:13:41 +0000

Helping solve Kenya's retinoblastoma challenge sgupta Wed, 07/02/2014 - 07:13

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U of T's Helen Dimaras (fourth from left) and Brenda Gallie (third from right) with several members of the Kenyan National Retinoblastoma Strategy group at the University of Nairobi, Kenya.

Vitaly Kazakov

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Vitaly Kazakov

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Global Lens

Harvard's Paul Farmer and U of T's Lynn Wilson on improving global health

sgupta — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 14:40:21 +0000

Harvard's Paul Farmer and U of T's Lynn Wilson on improving global health sgupta Tue, 06/17/2014 - 10:40

Vitaly Kazakov

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Despite the challenges of social inequality, war and natural disasters, global health equity is possible.

That message was delivered to a packed U of T auditorium last week by Dr. Paul Farmer, Kolokotrones University Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

The renowned international global health scholar was participating in the Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM) Global Health Speakers Series. The event also included talks by Professor Lynn Wilson, chair of DFCM, and Professor Howard Hu, Dean of the Dalla Lana Faculty of Public Health.

Farmer said he has never encountered a health problem that could not be solved with adequate resources in any of the places he has worked, which has included Rwanda and Haiti. He emphasized the need for diversified health care delivery that includes hospitals, health centres and community-based care to address pressing challenges.

“Investing in health care is an important means of investing into solving the problem of poverty,” said Farmer. “Without the support for adequate health care we will not be able to break the cycle of poverty and disease.”

An anthropologist and physician, Farmer co-founded Partners In Health – a non-profit health organization committed to improving the health of the poor and the marginalized around the world. He has written extensively on health, human rights and the consequences of social inequality. Farmer also serves as U.N. special adviser to the secretary-general on community-based medicine and lessons from Haiti, as well as chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Partners in Health’s work in Haiti spans over 20 years. One of their biggest challenges came after the 2010 earthquake which devastated that nation and left its health care and medical training systems in ruins. Partners in Health’s response to the challenge was building a teaching hospital in central Haiti. The University Hospital of Mirebalais, which opened last year, is proof that partnerships and a holistic approach can help effectively rebuild local health care and medical training systems. Today, the solar-powered hospital provides quality health services to the local population in Mirebalais, as well as secondary and tertiary care to patients from all of central Haiti. The University Hospital is also a training ground for the next generation of Haitian nurses, medical students and resident physicians.

“Universities are amazing institutions. They have the power to transform entire fields,” said Farmer. “Teaching hospitals and universities cannot afford to be ambivalent about linking community services provision with training and generating new knowledge. They have a beautiful mission: to do something good, take care of people, teach others and learn something in the process.”

Farmer was enthusiastic about the passion of students he met at U of T, and also the mission of the Canadian chapter of his organization. Partners In Health Canada works with sister organizations in Haiti and Rwanda to deliver high quality health care and advance social justice.

In her remarks, Wilson highlighted the importance of long-term partnerships between organizations in solving global health equity challenges. She noted the long-standing Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration, a partnership between U of T and Addis Ababa University that builds capacity and sustainability in health care education and other professional programs in Ethiopia. Locally, faculty from U of T Medicine are actively involved in Toronto’s Inner City Health Associates’ programs, which provide health care and health-related services to Toronto’s marginalized population.

“We are proud of the work we do, but we have so much potential to do more,” said Wilson. “Partners in Health and Dr. Farmer’s work and accomplishments are truly inspiring. They show that if you dare to dream big, partner with the right people and work relentlessly, you can get remarkable results."

Vitaly Kazakov is a writer with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

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Catching breast cancer early in at-risk survivors of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma

sgupta — Thu, 29 May 2014 15:29:02 +0000

Catching breast cancer early in at-risk survivors of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma sgupta Thu, 05/29/2014 - 11:29

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(photo by Rosie O'Beirne via Flickr)

Vitaly Kazakov

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Breaking Research

New Government of Canada funding supports brain health research at U of T Medicine

sgupta — Mon, 05 May 2014 11:19:00 +0000

New Government of Canada funding supports brain health research at U of T Medicine sgupta Mon, 05/05/2014 - 07:19

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Mr. Chagnon of the Chagnon Foundation, Dr. Naomi Azrieli, U of T's Dr. Benoit Mulsant, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and McGill’s Dr. Nahun Sonenberg prior to the announcement by Brain Canada (photo courtesy CAMH)

Vitaly Kazakov

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University of Toronto researchers will benefit from new federal funding announced last week. The Canada Brain Research Fund will support several new research projects in the areas of Alzheimer’s disease prevention and autism.

“Brain health and neurosciences are research priorities for the Faculty of Medicine and our partners,” said U of T Faculty of Medicine Dean Catharine Whiteside. “Our researchers are solving mysteries of the brain to help reduce the global burden of neurodegenerative and mental health disorders. The new federal funding will help our researchers advance our understanding of brain disorders and expand human potential.”

One of the announced U of T projects will apply recent advances in brain science to the clinical treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Professor Benoit H. Mulsant of the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Physician-in-Chief at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is the lead investigator of the study. The study, called PACt-MD – Preventing Alzheimer’s dementia with Cognitive remediation plus tDCS in MCI and Depression – would prevent brain damage associated with Alzheimer’s by stimulating neurons in the brain and strengthening cognitive skills.

Professor Evdokia Anagnostou of the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Paediatrics and the Holland Bloorview's Autism Research Centre and Professor Jason Lerch of the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Medical Biophysics and the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) are also grant recipients. Their groundbreaking autism research will introduce the use of co-clinical trials to the world of neurodevelopmental research. Proven successful in the development of cancer therapeutics, co-clinical trials may help investigators isolate some of the individual causes of autism.

The CAMH research project will receive almost $10 million over five years: the largest-yet grant for Alzheimer’s disease prevention in Canada. The Holland Bloorview and SickKids’s autism research project will receive $2.5 million.

Brain diseases, disorders and injuries are one of the leading causes of disability in Canada. They are costly to patients, families, caregivers, communities and the health care system. The new research projects would find ways to decrease the strain of these diseases and disorders for both affected individuals and society at large.

The federal government’s Canada Brain Research Fund, with contributions from Brain Canada, the Azrieli Neurodevelopmental Research Program and the Chagnon family, will also support Alzheimer’s disease prevention and autism research projects across several other Canadian universities.

Vitaly Kazakov is a writer with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

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U of T Medicine inks major agreement in China

sgupta — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 13:15:40 +0000

U of T Medicine inks major agreement in China sgupta Mon, 04/21/2014 - 09:15

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U of T's Professor Cynthia Whitehead signing the memorandum with Professor Zhu Shanzhu, dean of the Department of General Practice, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University

Vitaly Kazakov

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The University of Toronto has signed an important agreement with China’s Fudan University, which will see the two institutions develop joint activities to build education capacity in primary health care and public health.

Only three per cent of all physicians in China are family doctors — a situation that strains the Chinese health care system generally, and hospitals in particular. To help remedy this, the Chinese government plans to train 100,000 family physicians by 2020.

“This formalized partnership with Fudan University is an outcome of close collaboration benefitting both countries, as evidenced by the presence of health ministers from Canada and China,” said Professor Cynthia Whitehead, the acting chair of U of T’s Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM) who headed the delegation to China. “We are thrilled to expand our cooperation with Fudan University across several activities and continue finding collaborative ways to solve health care issues in both countries.”

Under the agreement, DFCM — the largest family medicine training program in North America — will work with Fudan University’s Department of General Practice to improve the quality of its general practice training. This work will include an exchange of faculty members between Toronto and Shanghai.

In addition, DFCM will develop a partnership with two community health services centres in Shanghai to assist with delivery and management of primary health care. Both parties agreed to strengthen ties and cooperate in the prevention and control of chronic diseases, with a focus on health management for high-risk populations.

The agreement — formally called a Memorandum of Understanding — adds to an already strong partnership between U of T and Fudan University. The Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Molecular Genetics also has long history of cooperation with partners in Shanghai.

“This agreement is a critical step forward that signifies a deepening of the relationship between the Faculty of Medicine and Fudan University,” said U of T Medicine's Dean Catharine Whiteside. “International collaborations like this one help build and improve learning networks, create unprecedented opportunities for collaborative research, and provide exciting cultural opportunities for our students and faculty — all aligned with the mutual commitment to improving health.”

Vitaly Kazakov is a writer with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

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Art + Science + Technology = Virtual Dreams and Healthy Brains

sgupta — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 13:28:31 +0000

Art + Science + Technology = Virtual Dreams and Healthy Brains sgupta Fri, 10/04/2013 - 09:28

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An artist's rendering of the My Virtual Dream dome at Scotiabank Nuit Blanche

Vitaly Kazakov

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U of T and Baycrest scientists join with artists to transform brain health, Toronto streets, at Scotiabank Nuit Blanche

People attending Nuit Blanche in Toronto this Saturday will have an opportunity to experience ground-breaking neuroscience research led by University of Toronto and Baycrest Health Sciences through My Virtual Dream.

One part art exhibit, one part science experiment, this installation brings together art, science and technology by synchronizing brain waves to create a multi-sensory experience—a virtual dream—inside a 60-foot dome. (See video preview at bottom of article.)

“My Virtual Dream allows for people from different disciplines and industries, both in arts and science, to come together to unlock brain’s potential and find cure for neurological diseases,” said Alison Buchan, Vice Dean of Research and International Relations in U of T’s Faculty of Medicine.

My Virtual Dream will make the newest technologies in neuroscience available to the general public. “Community involvement and outreach is a big part of our mandate at the Faculty of Medicine. This exhibit is a great way to engage the general public in our scholars’ projects,” said Buchan.

Nuit Blanche visitors will connect their brain waves to The Virtual Brain, a research tool that replicates the complex functions of a human brain. By relaxing or concentrating, The Virtual Brain will record participants’ brain waves which will in turn alter images appearing on the walls of the dome and create their very own dream.

“What would you say to your own brain if you could talk to it?” is just one of the philosophical questions Randy McIntosh asked when he began work on this exhibit.

McIntosh is a Professor in U of T’s Institute of Medical Science, Vice-President of Research at Baycrest Health Sciences and Director of Baycrest’s Rotman Research Institute. He aims to develop software based on The Virtual Brain that would interpret brain activity and help doctors better understand how a patient’s brain has been damaged by dementia, epilepsy, stroke and other disorders, pointing to more effective, targeted treatments.

“We are only starting to understand how to interpret the brain activity and how we could use it in practice. It is exciting for us to collaborate with artists on the My Virtual Dream project as together we can inspire people of all backgrounds to become aware of the brain’s potential and contribute to our research,” said McIntosh.

My Virtual Dream premiers at Scotiabank Nuit Blanche on October 5 at 7 p.m. and ends at 7 a.m. on October 6 at the corner of University Avenue and College Street.

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