London, ON. – Studies of sexual dysfunction,
health care management and proteomics are the
focus of three new Canada Research Chairs (CRC)
named today at The University of Western
Ontario. Cell biologist Lique Coolen, Biochemist
Shawn Li and Richard Ivey School of Business
professor Greg Zaric were among the newest CRCs
announced nationally in Québec City this morning.
“A Canada Research Chair is one of the most
prestigious academic awards a researcher in this
country,” says Ted Hewitt, Western’s Vice-President
(Research and International Relations). “Our
Chairs are recognized as leaders in their fields and
their collaborations, which span the globe, help to
provide answers to some of the world’s most
pressing scientific and social questions, while
enhancing southwestern Ontario’s profile as a
centre of research excellence.”
Lique Coolen, CRC in Neurobiology of
Motivation and Reward, leads studies examining
the neural systems that regulate sexual motivation
and reward. She is developing new therapeutic
tools for sexual dysfunction and, by comparing
structural and molecular changes in the brain that
result from sexual reward with those caused by
exposure to drugs, she hopes to better understand
the process of drug addiction. “Behaviour is
shaped by rewarding and aversive experiences,”
says Coolen, who comes to Western from the
University of Cincinnati. “I am looking at exactly
how the brain translates these reinforcing events
into the motivation to express behaviour.”
Greg Zaric, CRC in Health Care Management
Science, is using novel mathematical and
economic models to better understand resource
allocation and cost-effectiveness in health care.
In Ontario alone, more than 20,000 people are
waiting for joint replacement surgery. Wait times
can already exceed one year and, with an aging
population, demand for this type of surgery is only
expected to grow. Zaric is examining such issues
as directing patients out-of-province for surgery
and testing several policy options that could
lessen the burden on our health care
system. “This research will inform policy makers
about how to use limited health care budgets,” he
says. Zaric is also developing mathematical
models which explore the relationship between
injection drug use and the HIV epidemic in order
to determine which programs and strategies are
most cost-effective.
Shawn Li, CRC in Functional Genomics and
Cellular Proteomics, is exploring how proteins
encoded in the human genome are
interconnected within cells and how disruptions in
protein networks can lead to the onset of disease.
His research will lead to novel strategies for
disease diagnosis and treatment. “This research
promises to provide unique insights into the
pathophysiology of human diseases and to
identify drug candidates that target aberrant sub-
networks rather than individual proteins,” he says.
The Canada Research Chairs program is a
federal program that plays a critical role in
recruiting and retaining top research talent in
Canada.
Contact Information:
• Lique Coolen, Departments of Anatomy & Cell
Biology and Physiology & Pharmacology,
Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry: 519-
661-2111 ext 80285 or lique.c
oolen@schulich.uwo.ca
• Greg Zaric,
Richard Ivey School of Business, 519-661-
3415 or gzaric@ivey.ca
• Shawn Li, Department of Biochemistry,
519-850-2910 or sli@uwo.ca
•
Douglas Keddy, Research Communications
Coordinator, 519-661-2111, ext
87485 or dkeddy@uwo.ca