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| Canada Research Chair in Inflammation and Immunity, Brent Johnston |
It脮s the middle of the night. You脮re at home, fast asleep, when suddenly, there脮s a loud banging at the door. It脮s the police 脩 somehow, they have mistaken you for a criminal and have come to arrest you!
According to Dr. Brent Johnston, this scenario is analogous to the action of the body脮s white blood cell "police" in inflammatory diseases like asthma and arthritis. Dr. Johnston, Canada Research Chair in Inflammation and聽Immunity, studies inflammatory diseases and the mechanisms that activate and regulate white blood cells. Having come to Halifax in January 2004 to join Dalhousie脮s research community, it脮s a fortunate coincidence that he conducts research in the province with some of the highest rates of arthritis, childhood asthma, and cancer in Canada.
The body脮s police
Inflammatory diseases involve white blood cells, the body脮s police. Normally, they patrol the bloodstream looking for criminals like bacteria and other foreign pathogens; when there脮s a problem, the white blood cells receive the "address" of the crime scene, and go to it immediately to apprehend the criminal. Arthritis, a primary focus of Johnston脮s research, typically involves pain and swelling in the body脮s joints. It happens when white blood cells receive the wrong address, and attack otherwise healthy joint tissue.
A fascination with the body脮s innate ability to identify and deal with foreign pathogens inspired Dr. Johnston to pursue this research area. Along with two Masters students employed in his lab, he's improving health and quality of life by learning more about the mechanisms that trigger white blood cells to target an injury, a foreign pathogen, or healthy tissue. The knowledge gathered through this research has applications for other diseases, like asthma, inflammatory bowel diseases, and even cancer.
The cancer connection
The connection between arthritis and cancer may not be immediately apparent, however, Dr. Johnston says, "If you want to kill a cancer cell, you脮ve got to get white blood cells to recognize and destroy the cancer cells. By understanding how white blood cells work, or don脮t work, in the case of arthritis, we can use this knowledge to enhance the body脮s own immune response and attack cancer cells more effectively." He脮s currently ramping up a new research project to investigate white blood cell populations and their response to cancer cells.
Dr. Johnston聽 works closely with other researchers in the Dalhousie Inflammation Group and doctors at Halifax脮s IWK Health Centre. He脮s also building partnerships with researchers at Stanford University, where he completed a post-doctoral fellowship, and New York University.