On this year’s National Indigenous Languages Day (March 31, 2025), we highlight Dr. Pat Camp’s important work in incorporating Indigenous language into culturally safe healthcare and research practices.
Dr. Pat Camp, a Principal Investigator at the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation (HLI), reflects on her research helping people manage chronic lung conditions through exercise, education, and support – a process called pulmonary rehabilitation.
Through collaboration with Carrier Sekani Family Services, Dr. Camp shares how her team is learning to respectfully incorporate Indigenous knowledge into pulmonary rehabilitation research. This includes using the Carrier (Dakelh) language to name body parts—an approach to make pulmonary rehab more culturally safe, respectful, and healing.
“There’s a lot more that we can do”
— Dr. Pat Camp, HLI Principal Investigator
Watch Dr. Pat Camp’s Story
Learn More
Learn about National Indigenous Language Day:
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New research on low-carb, high-fat diets earns a spot among the five most-read articles in one of cardiology’s leading journals.
A study led by Dr. Iulia Iatan and Dr. Liam Brunham at the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation (HLI) has been recognized as one of JACC: Advances’ Top 5 Most-Read Articles of 2024. Published in one of the most prominent cardiovascular journals, the study’s ranking underscores its impact and the global interest in its findings.
“It is an honour to see our study recognized among the most-read articles in JACC: Advances for 2024. This reflects the growing interest in understanding how dietary choices impact long-term heart health,” said lead author Dr. Iulia Iatan, a clinician-scientist and former postdoctoral fellow at UBC’s Centre for Heart Lung Innovation and the Healthy Heart Program Prevention Clinic at St. Paul’s Hospital.
“To our knowledge, this was one of the first studies to show an association between low-carbohydrate high-fat diets, increased cholesterol, and higher risk of cardiovascular events.”
— Dr. Iulia Iatan, HLI’s former postdoctoral fellow
“I hope these findings encourage both the public and healthcare professionals to consider the long-term effects of these diets, and also inform clinical practice and public awareness on the importance of heart-healthy nutrition.”
Trendy “keto-like” diet under scrutiny
Low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LCHF) diets have gained popularity for various health reasons, including weight loss and diabetes management, but their long-term effects on heart health have been uncertain. This study found that “keto-like” diets are linked to higher cholesterol levels and a twofold increase in major heart problems, including heart attacks and strokes over the next decade. The risk was highest for those with a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol.
To investigate this link, Dr. Iatan and the team analyzed data from the UK Biobank, tracking 305 participants who followed an LCHF diet—defined as <25% of daily calories from carbohydrates and >45% from fat—over an average of 12 years. They examined lipid levels and cardiovascular events, comparing outcomes to those on normal, standard diets.
A further finding from the study was that the risk of severely elevated cholesterol was highest among those individuals with an elevated polygenic risk score, suggesting a genetic predisposition to diet-induced increases in cholesterol in some people.
These findings emphasize the need for caution among followers of this dietary pattern, especially for those with high cholesterol or a personal or family history of heart disease.
What’s next?
Dr. Brunham and colleagues plan to continue examining how genetic differences influence response to various dietary patterns and their effects on heart health. Future research will also explore whether genetic testing can help create more personalized dietary recommendations and improve understanding of variations between individuals in response to different diets.
A big moment for HLI
This recognition reinforces HLI’s leadership in cardiovascular research and its role in providing strong, evidence-based guidance on health and disease prevention. With this study ranking among JACC: Advances’ most-read of the year, HLI continues to drive research that informs medical practice and public health.
“This is a great recognition of the quality of cardiovascular research taking place at HLI and our centre’s leadership in the field of lipid disorders.”
— Dr. Liam Brunham, HLI’s principal investigator
Further Reading
- Read the full study: JACC: Advances
- Check out Dr. Iulia Iatan’s CNN feature: CNN News Video
- Watch the 3-minute summary by Dr. Liam Brunham: PACE-CME Video
Media Coverage
Read our previous article on this study: ‘Keto-Like’ Diet May be Linked to Increased Risk of Heart Disease
Congratulations to Dr. Honglin Luo, Principal Investigator at the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation (HLI) and Professor in UBC’s Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, on her nomination for the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards in the Research, Sciences, and Technology category.
Dr. Luo is an internationally recognized leader in viral pathogenesis and virotherapy, a dedicated mentor and role model to women and minority groups, and a highly-respected member of the scientific community. She has published over 125 peer-reviewed articles in top-tier journals and has been recognized by Expertscape as Canada’s leading experts in enterovirus research, ranking in the top 0.21% of 25,997 experts worldwide.
Her innovative research focuses on developing therapies for viral myocarditis, neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS, and cancer. Her lab’s pioneering work in oncolytic virotherapy—harnessing engineered or naturally occurring viruses to target and destroy cancer cells—has led to two successful patents for lung and breast cancer treatments.
Over the course of her career, Dr. Luo has demonstrated a sustained commitment to mentorship and service, dedicating herself to creating an equitable, diverse and inclusive environment. She actively supports the academic and research needs of her trainees—85% of whom are visible minorities—and encourages social dialogue and gender equity.
“Seeing Change Inspires Change”—YWCA
The YWCA Women of Distinction Awards celebrate women whose contributions drive innovation and mentorship. Dr. Luo’s nomination highlights her leadership in scientific research and her impact as a mentor, inspiring the next generation of women in STEM.
“As a woman in science, I have experienced the challenges of gender disparity in research. I advocate for Gender Equity because promoting equal opportunities in science empowers more women to lead and shape the future of technology.”
—Dr. Honglin Luo, HLI principal investigator
Show Your Support—Vote for Dr. Luo!
The YWCA Women of Distinction Awards also include a Connecting the Community category, where the public can vote for their favourite nominee. Cast your vote for Dr. Luo today before April 1, 12:00 PM!
🔗 Vote now: ywcavan.org/CCA-vote
Two HLI lung health researchers are being recognized with a prestigious national award.
Congratulations to HLI principal investigators, Dr. Pat Camp and Dr. Christopher Carlsten, who have been honoured with the King Charles III Coronation Medal—a national recognition of their contributions to Canada and the community.
This award, the first commemorative medal marking the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III on May 6, 2023, celebrates individuals who have made a significant impact in Canada. Recipients are recognized for their work in areas that reflect values shared by both King Charles III and Canadians, including service, environment and sustainability, and diversity.
- Dr. Camp is breaking down barriers to lung health care. As a physical therapist and researcher, her work focuses on making pulmonary rehabilitation and physical activity programs more accessible, particularly for people in rural and First Nations communities. By working directly with these communities, she helps co-design programs that reflect their needs and ensure their voices are heard.
- Dr. Carlsten is exposing the dangers in the air we breathe. His research focuses on how air pollutants, like diesel exhaust, harm lung health over time, working to better understand the risks of breathing in polluted air at work or in the environment. As a clinician-scientist, he treats patients affected by workplace and environmental toxins, translating research into real-world care.
Drs. Camp and Carlsten are among 39 distinguished Canadians nominated by the Canadian Lung Association (CLA) for their outstanding contributions to respiratory health research. In British Columbia, they are two of just three recipients of this national honour.
Congratulations again to Dr. Camp and Dr. Carlsten on this well-deserved recognition!
Read More
Connect
- Dr. Pat Camp on X (Twitter): @UBCPulmRehabRes
- Dr. Christopher Carlsten’s Lab
Providence Research’s recent report explores how biobanks fuel scientific and medical discoveries, highlighting HLI’s unique heart and lung biobanks as vital resources for research.
A single biospecimen, such as a heart tissue collected during surgery, has the ability to contribute to numerous research projects, leading to significant scientific and medical breakthroughs. Biobanking is the process of collecting biological samples along with clinical and demographic data, enabling researchers to study diseased tissues and disease development in greater detail.
A new Providence Research report, A Look Inside Providence Research Biobanks, explores the purpose of biobanks and their impacts on medical research and education. Among the biobanks featured in the report are the Bruce McManus Cardiovascular Biobank (BMCB) and the James Hogg Lung Biobank (JHLB)–western Canada’s largest heart and lung tissue biobanks–housed at the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation (HLI). Drs. Gordon Francis, Stephanie Sellers, Zachary Laksman, and Tillie Hackett are featured as researchers who have benefited from HLI’s biobank resources.
James Hogg Lung Biobank (JHLB)
Established in 1977, and now directed by HLI’s Dr. Tillie Hackett, the JHLB is the longest-running lung biobank in Canada and contains more than 90,000 specimens from over 3000 patients. It has been a significant resource for lung research, contributing to over 800 published research projects since its founding.
A global leader in lung biobanking, the JHLB has set internationally adopted protocols for tissue preservation. Its methods allow specimens to be studied structurally and at the molecular level, driving advancements in lung disease research, including COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, and asthma.
Bruce McManus Cardiovascular Biobank (BMCB)
Led by HLI’s Dr. Ying Wang, the BMCB holds more than 100,000 human cardiovascular biospecimens with detailed clinical data, including 544 explanted hearts from transplant patients, 14,000 heart valves, and 600 aorta specimens. Housed at St. Paul’s Hospital, the only hospital in British Columbia performing adult heart transplants, the BMCB has been a cornerstone of cardiovascular research and education since 1982.
“For almost the entire time that heart transplants have been performed at St. Paul’s, patients have been donating their removed hearts to our tissue bank. This is an incredibly precious and unique resource in the world.”
Dr. Gordon Francis, HLI principal investigator
Explore the Full Report
To learn more about the impact of biobanks in medical research, explore A Look Inside Providence Research Biobanks, and explore the Bruce McManus Cardiovascular Biobank and James Hogg Lung Biobank.
HLI researchers receive over $1.86 million from CIHR’s Fall 2024 Project Grant competition.
The Centre for Heart Lung Innovation (HLI) is proud to celebrate the achievements of 3 principal investigators who have been awarded funding through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Project Grants, Fall 2024 competition. This funding will drive innovative research in cardiovascular health, infection and immunity, and transplant medicine, advancing scientific discovery and improving patient outcomes.
Congratulations to the following recipients:
Dr. Scott Tebbutt – $229,500
Metabolomic biomarkers for early detection of acute cellular rejection in heart transplant recipients (HLI Co-investigator: Dr. Chengliang Yang) – CIHR Link
For people with severe heart failure, heart transplantation is a life-saving surgery. However, the body’s immune system may attack the new heart in a condition called acute cellular rejection (ACR). Currently, detecting ACR requires invasive biopsies.
Dr. Scott Tebbutt and HLI Co-investigator Dr. Chengliang Yang are looking into non-invasive blood tests to identify ACR after patients undergo a heart transplant surgery. The development of this test could help doctors quickly identify and treat rejection, improving the health of heart transplant recipients.
Dr. James A. Russell – $719,101
Development of Lipid nanoparticle RNA systems as novel therapeutics for endotoxemia resulting from severe bacterial infections – CIHR Link
Severe bacterial infections, which can lead to pneumonia and sepsis, are leading causes of death worldwide. While antibiotics are essential, some bacteria develop resistance (“superbugs”), making infections harder to treat.
Dr. James A. Russell’s team is developing RNA-based drugs that work by blocking harmful genes or boosting the body’s defenses during infections. These next-generation drugs delivered using lipid nanoparticles, a safe delivery vehicle, could enhance the body’s ability to fight infections, working alongside antibiotics to improve treatment outcomes.
As a commercialization grant, inventions can be patented (IP) and then transferred (“licensed”) to a company called Resolve Nanotherapeutics, that will drive clinical development of these urgently-needed drugs for severe infections.
Dr. Pascal Bernatchez – $914,175
Activation of the chronic endothelial function reserve for the prevention and regression of aortopathies (HLI Co-investigator: Dr. Scott Tebbutt) – CIHR Link
Aortopathies are a group of diseases that affect the aorta, the largest blood vessel in the body. These conditions can weaken the aorta’s walls, increasing the risk of life-threatening conditions like tears and aneurysms (ballooning of the vessel). While patients are often given medication to lower blood pressure to reduce the damage, these treatments do not always stop the disease from progressing.
Dr. Pascal Bernatchez and HLI co-investigator Dr. Scott Tebbutt are researching how to activate natural defenses of blood vessels to improve vessel health in aortopathies. Their previous studies suggest that increasing nitric oxide levels—a chemical released naturally in response to blood flow—may better protect blood vessels. They aim to study this further and are also working to develop blood biomarkers that can indicate whether a patient’s treatment is effective. This approach would offer a more precise way to monitor and personalize care.
We congratulate all the awardees on this well-deserved recognition and look forward to seeing their contributions to advancing health research.
Join us in welcoming Dr. Yuan Yao, Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine at UBC. Dr. Yao is the latest addition to our growing list of Principal Investigators (PIs), and her interdisciplinary interest in bioengineering approaches to regenerate vascular and cardiac tissues adds another dimension to our research efforts towards the prevention and treatment of heart disease.
What is your field of expertise?
My field of expertise is where engineering and medicine overlap. I’m primarily focused on biomaterials for soft tissue engineering, looking into diseases like coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction. My goal is to see how we can create biomaterial scaffolds, manipulating cell responses to build an engineered tissue model that we can test drugs and promote tissue regeneration with.
How did you develop your interest in bioengineering?
That’s actually a very interesting question because it’s a question I’ve been asking myself all the time. It’s kind of funny because my parents are both in biology, and when I was relatively young, I told them I would never step into biology, but now I’m here. My past training was more in the engineering, material science realm, but when I was looking into real world applications for all the materials we developed, I watched this drama called Westworld. In the beginning of that drama, there’s a robot arm printing muscle filaments. I thought it was really cool, and it gave me the idea to use our material to do something like that and make it into reality instead of just something we see in fictional movies or dramas.
What are you most looking forward to in your work at the HLI?
After joining the HLI, I realized that all of us do research in very cross-disciplinary fields. Our PIs are evenly split between being research-based and clinical-based, so the centre offers a really great opportunity not just to collaborate with others in terms of basic science, but also to translate our research into actual bedside knowledge. That clinical translation is something I look forward to working on here at the HLI.
What is one of the proudest moments of your career so far?
Well, I would say that I’m not someone who’s easily satisfied, so I would probably say that moment hasn’t come yet. I mean, it’s been a long journey since I graduated from undergrad and I’ve completed quite a number of milestones, but I just started my first independent academic position as an Assistant Professor, so there’s a lot for me to look forward to still. Maybe if you asked me 20 years later, I would have a better answer.
You answered this question very similarly to Dr. Yasir Mohamud, who is also a young researcher at the HLI. Is a forward-looking mentality crucial for anyone trying to make it in the scientific field, since it’s so competitive and difficult?
I think it’s a pretty common mentality for people in research, since we are always looking into something that is not achieved yet, so we can’t stop and settle with what we have. We need to explore further, dive deeper, and that acts as motivation for people to push their careers forward.
Unfortunately, it is common for teachers, professors, doctors, “professionals”, to be looked down upon when they are young due to a perceived lack of expertise. Have you faced any barriers in this regard? How did you overcome it?
Actually, one of the most frequent comments I’ve gotten, maybe 20-30 times in the last three months, is people see me and they say “Oh, you look like a student”. I mean, I appreciate that, I’m happy I look young, but at the same time, it means they don’t see you as an independent professor or researcher, which can be a little frustrating. But when I talk to my senior colleagues, they tell me that this is really a moment to cherish, because this is when you don’t have that big of a generation gap between you and the students. So you can be relatively closer with them and communicate better, which is a good thing.
You’ve studied and worked at universities in China, Ontario, and now British Columbia. How do you compare these different institutions?
In Canada, courses are generally more interactive and students have more opportunities to communicate with course instructors. Comparing my experience in Ontario to Vancouver, I’ve noticed that UBC has a stronger emphasis on undergraduate education. Beyond the institutions, though, the cities feel pretty different. I was told Vancouver has really good weather with milder winters, but I’ve noticed that the trade off is the all the rain we get. People in Toronto also speak a lot faster, whereas people in Vancouver are more chill and laid-back.
What do you like to do outside of work?
Right now, I feel like I don’t have much free time, but I used to like watching stand-up comedies. When you’re doing any kind of work, there will be some frustrations from time to time, so it’s important to take things easy and learn how to be light-hearted.
From November 18-22, the HLI hosted the fall edition of its biannual High School Student Science Week program (HSSW), which invites Grade 11-12 students from the Lower Mainland to tour HLI laboratories and facilities and gain valuable hands-on experience in molecular biology techniques. This included an introduction to the Bruce McManus and James Hogg Biobanks, where the students were able to handle human heart and lung samples for the first time, a lesson in Histology, where they learned how to use a microtome to make thin slices of tissue samples embedded in paraffin blocks, as well as tours and presentations in our other cores and facilities.
The students also got the unique chance to explore the Anatomical Pathology Lab at St. Paul’s Hospital, where an examination of an excised colon with cancer captured their full attention. The colon, which had tumours the size of tennis balls, was a rare specimen even to Helena Froberg, Pathologist’s Assistant (Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, SPH).
“It takes a village to raise a child,” says Dr. Gurpreet Singhera, HLI Research Associate and Manager of the Bruce McManus Cardiovascular Biobank. Dr. Singhera, who has organized and supervised HSSW for 16 years, knows that the program requires helping hands from folks all around the hospital.
“I just want to extend a big thanks to all the volunteers who made the Fall 2024 edition of HSSW a great success. Everyone from our various cores and labs chipped in, from trainees, staff, to PIs, and HSSW wouldn’t run without your help.”
The result of their hard work is an unforgettable experience for the students.
“My favourite part of the week was the Anatomical Pathology Lab,” says Julia, a Grade 12 student. “I loved being able to see the tumourous colon, the microbiology part of the lab, all the blood cultures, and just how everyone worked, because it was my first time in a professional lab setting and seeing active work with real patients. It really made me think about how I want to pursue a career in microbiology in the future.”
“What’s interesting is that you get a lot of insight and knowledge of careers that you wouldn’t really see,” adds Jushin, another Grade 12 student. “We learned a lot about the research that goes behind the scenes to make everything work. It shows how in-depth the scientific world is and gets me thinking about my career choices.”
Although HSSW is only a week-long crash course, its benefits extend far beyond the short time the students spend at the HLI. Julia, for example, is already thinking about the gaps in current research and what she can do to fill them.
“I find that research is very subjective,” she muses. “You can’t quantify it; even if there’s a big, groundbreaking piece of research, like if there was an amazing new drug, what if it’s really expensive and no one can use it? It needs to get incorporated into everyday life. I’d like to learn how to do that, maybe by exploring the business side of research too.”
By introducing the students to the interdisciplinary nature of science and knowledge translation, the HLI ensures that its mission will continue being upheld through the next generations, the way it has been since 1977.
