Dr. Ryan Hoiland is one of 21 neuroscientists in Canada who have been awarded $100,000 each in research funding, as part of Brain Canada’s 2023 Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research Program.
The Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program aims to accelerate novel and transformative research that will fundamentally change our understanding of nervous system function and dysfunction and their impact on health.
Dr. Hoiland completed his PhD and MSc in Interdisciplinary Studies with UBC Okanagan’s School of Health and Exercise Sciences. His graduate training focused on the physiologic mechanisms that regulate and preserve oxygen delivery to the human brain in acute and chronic hypoxic settings. As a postdoctoral fellow, he worked at both Vancouver General Hospital, under the supervision of Drs. Mypinder Sekhon and Donald Griesdale, and the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), under the supervision of Drs. Chris West and Brian Kwon. His research investigated the pathophysiology of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury as well as traumatic spinal cord injury, with a focus on mitigating secondary hypoxic injury. Collectively, his training involved studying how the central nervous system responds to hypoxia in pre-clinical disease models, healthy humans and patients.
Currently an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences (CPS) and Investigator with the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management (CCDPM), Dr. Hoiland conducts research along the translational continuum with the aim of determining neuroprotective strategies to improve outcomes for patients suffering an acute central nervous system injury.
His new research project – A physiologic-to-tissue level approach to characterize the pathophysiology of hypoxic ischemic brain injury in humans – will couple high-frequency patient physiology data with proteomic analysis of tissue samples including blood, cerebrospinal fluid and brain tissue. Through this, he hopes to determine the specific disease processes that are associated with brain injury due to low brain oxygen levels in humans.
“At present, there are no effective treatments for hypoxic ischemic brain injury following a cardiac arrest. A key knowledge gap is our currently poor understanding of how the molecular aspects of hypoxic ischemic brain injury are related to systemic patient physiology,” says Dr. Hoiland. “By better understanding the integration of tissue-level and physiologic responses to hypoxic ischemic brain injury, we hope to get closer to developing therapies that are effective within the highly complex clinical context of this devastating disease.”
The Future Leaders program is made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund, an innovative arrangement with the Government of Canada, through Health Canada, and Brain Canada, and the Azrieli Foundation, as well as numerous major donors who believe that solving the brain’s mysteries will significantly improve quality of life for people in Canada.
“Empowering the next generation of scientists is critical to improving health outcomes for people living with brain conditions and their families,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada. “We are confident that supporting these bold ideas will advance research and accelerate progress in ways that will benefit all of us. With this funding, we are building a strong pipeline of neuroscience leaders and laying the groundwork for future research excellence.”
