Principal Investigator
B.Sc. [Microbiology] (University of Alberta), Ph.D. [Microbiology] (University of British Columbia)
Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia
Research Interests
Aging; lipid metabolism; Neurodegeneration; neuroscience; pathologyDr. Wellington’s major research interests are on both genetic and environmental factors that modulate risk for Alzheimer Disease (AD), the most common dementia. An increasingly recognized environment risk factor for dementia includes a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Current projects include understanding how injury severity, number of injuries, and age at injury all affect dementia risk, and understanding how the neuropathology and clinical presentation of TBI-related syndromes overlap with classical dementias. Over two million TBIs occur annually in North America, with rapidly increasing public concern over the long-term effects of concussion on brain health during development and aging. Existing animal models of TBI, however, fail to replicate the mechanics of most real-life human TBIs, which are caused by sharp, angular and/or linear accelerations or decelerations of a freely moving intact head.
Photo courtesy of the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health
Working with biomechanical engineers at ICORD, Dr. Wellington and her colleagues have developed a transformative new model of rodent closed head TBI, called CHIMERA (Closed Head Injury Model of Engineered Rotational Acceleration) that was specifically designed to overcome the caveats that limit the translational relevance of existing TBI models. CHIMERA’s innovation lies in its ability to generate, in a biomechanically controlled and reproducible manner, a wide range of TBI severity with completely free head movement, where head motion analyses are integrated with behavioral and neuropathological outcomes.
Current Lab Members
| Ph.D. Students | Masters Students | Research Staff |
|---|---|---|
| Pantea Azadpour | Elyn Rowe | Anna Wilkinson |
| Emily Button* | Lexi Busse | Sophie Stukas |
| Tiffany Cameron | Jasmine Gill | Jerome Robert |
| Asma Bashir* | Tara Caffrey | |
| Jianjia Fan | ||
| Jennifer Cooper | ||
| David Baron | ||
| Andrew Agbay |
Trainee Awards
| Year | Name | Award |
| 2019 | Elyn Rowe |
|
| 2019 | Emily Button |
|
| 2019 | Pantea Azadpour |
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| 2016 | Iva Kulic |
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| 2016 | Jerome Robert |
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| 2016 | Emily Button |
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| 2016 | Asma Bashir |
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Recent publications
- Robert, J et al.. 2020. An in vitro bioengineered model of the human arterial neurovascular unit to study neurodegenerative diseases.. Mol Neurodegener. doi: 10.1186/s13024-020-00418-z.
- Stukas, S et al.. 2020. The Association of Inflammatory Cytokines in the Pulmonary Pathophysiology of Respiratory Failure in Critically Ill Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019.. Crit Care Explor. doi: 10.1097/CCE.0000000000000203.
- Cooper, J et al.. 2020. Quantification of Neurological Blood-Based Biomarkers in Critically Ill Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019.. Crit Care Explor. doi: 10.1097/CCE.0000000000000238.
- Hoiland, RL et al.. 2020. The association of ABO blood group with indices of disease severity and multiorgan dysfunction in COVID-19.. Blood Adv. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2020002623.
- Zlokovic, BV et al.. 2020. Vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID): A report from the 2018 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Workshop.. Alzheimers Dement. doi: 10.1002/alz.12157.