Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases

09/16/2025

Pulmonary fibrosis is a devastating lung disease with limited treatment options. Snyder researchers, led by Dr. Bryan Yipp, are uncovering a novel approach: focusing not just on the immune system, but on how nerve cells influence inflammation in the lungs.

Their findings show that nociceptors (pain-sensing nerve cells) help regulate immune responses and may even limit lung scarring. This opens the door to new therapies that modulate the nervous system to treat chronic lung disease, a potentially game-changing direction in pulmonary medicine.

Read more about this work: https://www.ucalgary.ca/news/ucalgary-researchers-pursue-new-approach-manage-deadly-lung-scarring?mkt_tok=MTYxLU9MTi05OTAAAAGc8h9YhG6beFIWZkTleC-32TqWILgXXn9qMCyyTWB_2rQEHItKMW1ZzOOH1dRR1_jk-uAShZOE6XSpiECGgdfZl-kmPpkdwbSLxMOQIbRE9JUI_00jUg

University of Calgary University of Calgary's Cu***ng School of Medicine

Research into nerve cells opens opportunities to pursue new treatment of pulmonary fibrosis

08/25/2025

Alberta is now the only province in Canada where most people will have to pay out of pocket for a COVID-19 vaccine. Meanwhile, B.C. is offering free shots to any Canadian who qualifies, including Albertans.

As Craig Jenne puts it: "Pre-registering already lowers vaccine uptake—but adding a financial barrier forces families into tough decisions."

Read the full story here: https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/1.7615154

University of Calgary's Cu***ng School of Medicine

People who don’t qualify for free COVID-19 vaccinations in Alberta can get one in British Columbia, the province’s ministry of health confirmed with CBC News.

08/21/2025

We are proud to honor Dr. Valerie Taylor, MD, PhD, for being elected Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences! Her leadership in investigating the links between mental illness and chronic disease has influenced education, policy and public health in Canada. As a leader in gut–brain research, she's also spearheading clinical trials on f***l microbiota transplantation for depression.

Congratulations also extend to Dr. Mary Brindle and Dr. Robert Quinn on their election. Read more here: https://www.ucalgary.ca/news/three-ucalgary-scholars-named-fellows-canadian-academy-health-sciences

University of Calgary University of Calgary's Cu***ng School of Medicine

08/12/2025

Snyder Institute Research Day 2025 | Sept 23

Explore breakthroughs in chronic disease, pain, immunity & multi-omics with leading scientists.

Talks + lunch + reception = one exciting day of discovery!

Register by Sept 16: https://snyder.ucalgary.ca/news-events/snyder-research-day

University of Calgary University of Calgary's Cu***ng School of Medicine

08/07/2025

Congratulations to the CIHR Spring 2025 Project Grant awardees from the Snyder Institute!
We're incredibly proud to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our researchers, whose innovative work continues to advance science and improve health outcomes. Their funded projects span a wide range of impactful fields — from pain signaling and metabolism to neuroinflammation, trauma, immunotherapy, infectious disease and more.

Please join us in congratulating Drs. Christophe Altier, Simon Hirota, Raynell Lang, Andrew Leidal, Shalina Ousman, Elissa Rennert-May, Bas Surewaard and Christina Thornton.

Your research exemplifies the strength, diversity and impact of the Snyder Institute community. Congratulations again!

University of Calgary University of Calgary's Cu***ng School of Medicine

07/31/2025

Public Health Alert — As Alberta faces a growing measles outbreak, infectious disease expert Craig Jenne is sounding the alarm. “Clearly, whatever is being done now is not sufficient to bring this back under control,” he warns. With vaccination rates falling and misinformation on the rise, Jenne points out that “some of the hardest hit parts of Alberta have immunization rates of under 50 percent, well below the 95 percent threshold for herd immunity.”

Read more via The New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/world/canada/canada-alberta-measles-outbreak.html



University of Calgary University of Calgary's Cu***ng School of Medicine

Some doctors in Alberta have criticized officials for not declaring a health emergency in the western province where measles infections are surging.

07/21/2025

U.S. medical research is under threat — and Canada should pay attention. Cuts to U.S. biomedical research funding could have serious ripple effects across the border, impacting collaboration, innovation and health outcomes.

Learn what’s at stake for Canadians in this piece:
https://news.ucalgary.ca/news/medical-research-us-chopping-block-whats-stake-canadians

University of Calgary University of Calgary's Cu***ng School of Medicine

As U.S. slashes medical research funding, tough questions emerge about Canada's own investment in science.

07/17/2025

Snyder member Dr. Brandie Walker shares expert tips on staying safe when air quality drops.

Check it out: https://ucalgary.ca/news/ask-me-something-how-stay-healthy-when-wildfire-smoke-air?fbclid=IwY2xjawLmC39leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFNQnRKbUlRTldDazYyVXZsAR453R3dza24tKN3IT-qUzEwc4Sf8dBieXFJvN6p6jQ_nsLilEDmRsImlxr4IQ_aem_EDG_AwFrLlxxHcggK7dezQ

University of Calgary University of Calgary's Cu***ng School of Medicine

07/15/2025

Experts warn that low vaccination rates are fueling the surge of measles, and it’s putting vulnerable populations at serious risk. "We know that per capita we have more measles cases in Alberta than really anywhere else in North America," says Craig Jenne while talking about the concerning spike in measles outbreaks.

Read more:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-s-measles-outbreaks-surpass-case-counts-reported-for-entire-u-s-1.7584490

Alberta has now confirmed more measles cases than the entire United States has reported this year.

07/09/2025

Join Having IMPACTT, an annual symposium focused on health microbiome research. This 2.5 day symposium will take place on Sept 22-24, 2025 at the Malcolm Hotel in Canmore.

Registration is capped at 175 and is available first-come, first-served, so don’t wait until the last minute to register or you risk missing out: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/having-impactt-5-advancing-microbiome-research-symposium-registration-939874980367?aff=oddtdtcreator

Early-bird registration & abstract submission deadline on July 15!

Submit your abstract here: https://www.impactt-microbiome.ca/having-impactt-2025-symposium/

Email impactt@ucalgary.ca for any questions.

07/08/2025

SUNY Oswego proudly honored Dr. Antoine “Tony” Dufour ’05 (left), a globally recognized researcher, with the 2025 Oswego Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award — the highest alumni honor!

A standout in both academics and athletics, Tony has led groundbreaking research in protease biology and drug discovery, earning international acclaim. Today, he's published in 90+ journals, cited over 4,400 times, and has secured over $8.2M in research funding.

Congrats to Dr. Dufour on this well-deserved recognition. Learn more about his journey and other 2025 alumni honorees: alumni.oswego.edu/alumniawards25

University of Calgary University of Calgary's Cu***ng School of Medicine

06/24/2025

Dr. Stephen Vaughan and Qeen Biotechnologies are at the forefront of the revival of phage therapy—a 100-year-old approach using bacteriophages to fight deadly antibiotic-resistant infections. Under his guidance, the team is employing these “virus hunters” to tackle life-threatening bacterial outbreaks when antibiotics fail.

“Bringing back phage therapy shows our commitment to bold, patient-centred medicine,” he emphasizes in leading this groundbreaking initiative.

Read more here: https://www.ucalgary.ca/news/ucalgary-infectious-disease-team-employs-century-old-approach-combat-life-threatening-infection?mkt_tok=MTYxLU9MTi05OTAAAAGbQYorkU0R5XTXi5yUOWJGYuYuOml_85ZJMdd4_rQ4VyqOv7snr04JQwfKiEBJdhfcky_Gqh6qe9ygUY-uCJwHf2HniFjbdrG1VWvaQQsKJvtS--2JzA


University of Calgary University of Calgary's Cu***ng School of Medicine

infectious disease team employs a century-old approach to combat life-threatening infection https://bit.ly/44vVdhd