CCHSA Faculty received the Department of Medicine Research competition awards

Dr. Joshua Lawson

Project title: An investigation of lung health and atopy among children in agricultural settings

Our overall objective will be to compare the respiratory health and exposures between children from Hutterite farms and from non-Hutterite farms. As part of this, we will investigate differences in asthma, atopy, and lung function between the two groups as well as levels of exposure to various environmental measures.

Dr. Catherine Trask

Project title: Participatory Ergonomic Evaluation of Bovine Veterinary Practice: Towards Developing Safety Interventions

Vets have high rates of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), and they can have a big impact on vet’s quality of life, productivity, and career longevity. Although it is often assumed that MSD is related to large animal tasks like rectal exams, there are no known ergonomic assessments or intervention evaluations for these tasks. To address this gap, this study will assess the scope of musculoskeletal disorders and frequency of rectal examination performance among large animal practitioners, and apply objective ergonomic assessment methods to describe upper limb exposures during common large animal vet tasks. See more on the study website.

Dr. George Katselis

Project title:  Use of Proteomics as a Diagnostic and Prognostic Tool for Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP)

The specific objectives for this pilot study are: 1) to use mass spectrometry-based proteomics to identify, characterize, and validate blood protein profiles in people with CLBP; 2) to compare blood protein marker profiles between people with CLBP and a sample of healthy volunteers to determine if they can predict CLBP diagnosis.