Policy and Practice

In order to get a better perspective of the clinical applications of our project we interviewed Dr. Toni Winder who is a neurologist specializing in ischemic stroke. He elaborated on current stroke treatments and offered a clinical opinion on the use of genetic therapies for treating stroke and TBI patients. We also interviewed Dr. Randall Barley, a cell culture expert, to learn more about the mechanisms and techniques involved in genetic engineering and cell culture. These two interviews helped us become more aware of potential complication in our project and the clinical impact our work could have. The final interview was with a stroke victim, which allowed us to gain a better understanding of how this injury can affect a person’s daily life. This meeting made us more aware of the hardships faced by those afflicted by stroke and their receptiveness towards genetic therapies as potential methods of recovery.

Dr. Toni Winder. Neurologist. Lethbridge, Alberta.

An interview with Dr. Winder discussing brain injury and the effects it has on patients

Dr. Randall Barley. Ph.D. Experimental Surgery. Lethbridge, Alberta.

An interview with Dr. Barley discussing cell therapies and genetic engineering

Ethics & Human Practice

In an effort to conduct our research in an ethically responsible manner, we are utilizing tissue cultures rather than live animals for our initial tests (in accordance with the 3Rs principle defined by the Canadian Council on Animal Care). Additionally, we have collaborated with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and health care professionals to evaluate current legislation and sentiments regarding cell and genetic therapies.

With regards to human practice, because microglia can be derived directly from patient bone marrow cells, this study has the potential to provide a method of personalized, non-immunogenic neural rehabilitation [16]. In addition, we are also addressing the growing prevalence of bacterial antibiotic resistance around the globe [17]. Our antibiotic-free plasmid selection system will help curb the spread of antibiotic resistance by reducing the potential for horizontal gene transfer of antibiotic resistance from lab strains to wild bacterial strains and by reducing the amount of antibiotics in lab waste and thus decreasing selective pressure towards antibiotic resistance.

References

[16] Hinze, A. & Stolzing, A. (2012). Microglia differentiation using a culture system for the expansion of mice non-adherent bone marrow stem cells. Journal of Inflammation, 9, 12.

[17] World Health Organization. (2014). Microbial resistance: global report on surveillance. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/drugresistance/documents/surveillancereport/en/