George and his collaborators are investigating whether dysregulation (deficiency or excess) of essential metals is linked to the development of such diseases as multiple sclerosis (MS) caused by demyelination—damage to the protective myelin sheath that covers nerves.
The research is a bold new approach, which builds on a hypothesis that imbalance of metals such as iron, zinc and copper might be important in MS, said George.
“We propose to develop new methods for super-resolution visualization of metals using the synchrotron,” he said. “If metals are involved in MS and other demyelinating diseases, our study may lay the groundwork for developing potential therapeutics to prevent, delay or reduce severity of demyelination in certain subsets of MS patients.”
Improved therapies are urgently needed for MS, which is a leading cause of disability in young adults worldwide. Saskatchewan and Alberta are hotspots for the incurable disease in Canada, which itself has a disproportionately high incidence rate of MS compared to the rest of the world.
George’s collaborators are: Dr. Bogdan Popescu (MD, PhD), assistant professor in USask’s College of Medicine; Dr. Ingrid Pickering (PhD), professor in geological sciences; and Dr. Yanbo Zhang (MD, PhD), associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Alberta.
Getting at the root of climate-resilient plants
As climate change causes more prolonged and severe droughts and floods that threaten global food security, Kochian’s group is studying plant roots at the molecular and functional levels to develop climate-resilient crops that absorb water and nutrients more effectively and sequester more carbon in soil.
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