Centre for Innovation open funding opportunities and kudos Plasma Stem Cells Transfusion Blood Thursday, May 13, 2021 Dr. Geraldine Walsh Through the Centre for Innovation’s competitive funding programs, Canadian Blood Services conducts and supports researchers and research projects in key areas. Recipients for one of our most dynamic programs, the BloodTechNet Award, were recently announced, and several other funding opportunities are now open for applications.  BloodTechNet Award Program recipients BloodTechNet funding supports the development of…

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Building resiliency in health care Transplantation Organs and Tissues Tuesday, April 27, 2021 Jessica Cunha Organ donation coordinators endure high rates of burnout. Canadian Blood Services and CHEO aim to change that. Before Ken Lotherington joined the organ and tissue donation and transplantation (OTDT) team at Canadian Blood Services, he was employed within a hospital in Halifax. There, he worked directly with patient families as a tissue specialist and supported the donation program during organ…

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Stories worth sharing - Meet the researcher: Dr. Peter Schubert Transfusion Blood Thursday, April 15, 2021 Guest Author This is an edited repost of a profile written by Andy An, MD/PhD student in the Hancock Lab and Cecilia H. Kim, CBR-SBME Summer Studentship Program alumna. The original article can be found on the Centre for Blood Research blog here. Dr. Peter Schubert is a principal investigator with the UBC Centre for Blood Research (CBR) and…

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Improving patient safety: preventing a harmful side effect of IVIg treatment Plasma Transfusion Blood Friday, April 09, 2021 Guest Author By Dr. Donald Branch and Dr. Jacob Pendergrast Dr. Donald Branch is Senior Scientist, Canadian Blood Services Centre for Innovation, and Professor in Medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Jacob Pendergrast is Associate Medical Director, Blood Transfusion Laboratory, University Health Network, and Assistant Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of…

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The Canadian Blood Services Lifetime Achievement Award 2021: Nominations now open Transplantation Organs and Tissues Plasma Stem Cells Transfusion Blood Tuesday, April 06, 2021 Dr. Geraldine Walsh The Canadian Blood Services Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes individuals whose landmark contributions are both extraordinary and world class in the field of transfusion or transplantation medicine, stem cell or cord blood research in Canada and/or abroad. This prestigious award is now open for nominations for 2021. Read on…

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2020: The year no one expected - Challenges researchers face during a global pandemic Plasma Blood Tuesday, March 30, 2021 Sarah Longo Imagine starting a new research position where you are confined to working from home, you have only met coworkers virtually, and there is no disconnect between work and personal life. Welcome to the year 2020. Every new position comes with its struggles; however, I never imagined I would begin and complete my undergraduate…

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Improving platelet transfusion practice: examining the quality of guidelines Transfusion Blood Friday, March 26, 2021 Tricia Abe We need platelets to perform vital functions in our bodies: they help heal our wounds and prevent us from bleeding excessively. We also need a certain number of them—what’s referred to as our platelet blood count—for these functions to be carried out effectively. Faced with an increased risk of bleeding, people with a low platelet blood count, such…

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Lost in lab: deciphering blood immune cells to fight COVID-19 Plasma Blood Tuesday, March 23, 2021 Melina Messing We are delighted to publish the entries that were awarded joint first place in this year’s Lay Science Writing Competition. Read on for Melina Messing’s sobering but ultimately hopeful entry describing her experiences as a immunology researcher during the pandemic. The immune system is a civilization that lives within us. Our organs are its home. Our arteries…

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Developing cell biology lessons for seniors in the age of COVID Tuesday, March 23, 2021 Polina Petlitsyna We are delighted to publish the entries that were awarded joint first place in this year’s Lay Science Writing Competition. Read on for Polina Petlitsyna’s engaging entry about her work as a summer student at the Centre for Blood Research and the importance of good communication to build trust in science.  “I don’t trust all this science stuff,” grumbled…

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Challenges 2020: Lay science writing winners announced Plasma Transfusion Blood Thursday, March 11, 2021 Dr. Geraldine Walsh The Centre for Innovation was thrilled to once again partner with the Centre for Blood Research at the University of British Columbia to deliver our annual Lay Science Writing Competition. And with this year’s theme of “Challenges 2020”, it’s no surprise that the competition received many interesting, heartfelt and inspiring entries. A huge thank you to everyone who entered. Our…

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