Behind the Breakthrough

In this episode, Dr. Pamela Ohashi takes listeners on a journey through groundbreaking advances in immunotherapy, a treatment that activates or triggers your body’s own immune cells to seek out and kill cancer. Dr. Ohashi has witnessed the field blossom into the next frontier in cancer treatment, in part thanks to some of her own discoveries. Listen in to find out what barriers her lab is tackling next, her approach to mentorship, and what she thinks about patients that decide to take part in immunotherapy clinical trials.

Read more at www.behindthebreakthrough.ca. 

Dr. Taufik Valiante joins the podcast to talk about his amazing invention of an implantable computer chip designed to monitor brain waves and stop epileptic seizures before they ever occur. In this compelling and wide ranging interview the award winning UHN neurosurgeon and scientist also talks about burnout in healthcare workers, revealing his struggle with depression and journey to achieve mental wellness.

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In this episode of Behind the Breakthrough, we sit down with Dr. Stephanie Protze, Scientist at UHN’s McEwen Stem Cell Institute, to hear the story of how a high school class field trip to Dresden, Germany, led her to become an award-winning scientist pioneering the creation of new heart cells to restore the heart's pacemaker function. The ultimate goal — to develop biological pacemakers that one day work better than the electronic devices that are the current standard of care.

EVP of Science and Research and award winning cancer researcher Dr. Brad Wouters on UHN's COVID-19 research, leadership during the pandemic, and anti-vaxxers.

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Behind the Breakthrough is back! Join us every Tuesday & Thursday starting Tuesday, October 27, 2020 for a brand new Season featuring the people behind world-leading research at UHN.

Our first episode features Dr. Brad Wouters, Executive Vice-President of Science and Research at UHN, with a provocative COVID-19 special, exploring leadership during the pandemic, it’s effects on research and his fears over anti-vax influence when a vaccine is finally found.

In the final episode of Season One of Behind the Breakthrough we hear from Dr. Donald Weaver, Director of the Krembil Research Institute. Dr. Weaver talks about his groundbreaking research into Alzheimer’s disease, and explains how drug research works and the challenges of getting to a clinical trial. He also talks about why his response to questions about “What next?” is a cheery “More failure!,” the purpose of his weekly story-telling in team meetings, and talks about his poetry career.

In this episode of ‘Behind the Breakthrough’ Princess Margaret Cancer Centre scientist Dr. Michael Hoffman explains how he leverages the power and speed of computers to understand the origins of cancer. He says cancer is a disease of the DNA –the genetic code that determines our individual characteristics. Essentially, our DNA acts as a program telling our cells what to do. In the case of cancer the wrong program gets run and cells divide in an unrestricted manner. The goal of Dr. Hoffman’s lab is to determine if there is a way of predicting when the wrong program gets run –before it ever happens.

We also learn that from age 4 Dr. Hoffman was in awe of the magic of computers, and how he turned his love for computers into a career in the emerging field of computational biology. He also speaks to the critical importance of training the next generation of cancer researchers, and how he views Twitter as a virtual meeting place for scientific exchange

Dr. Kristin Musselman is a pioneer in research designed to get patients with partial spinal cord injury up and walking again. She joins UHN’s ‘Behind the Breakthrough’ podcast to talk about her latest research, how it relies heavily on patient input, and the satisfaction of seeing those same patients try new strategies to regain mobility and maintain their balance.

 Dr. Valerie Wallace is on a mission to reverse blindness. The award-winning senior scientist and co-director of the Donald K. Johnson Eye Institute at UHN’s Krembil Research Institute sits down with Behind the Breakthrough to discuss the serendipity of science, the curiosity that drives her and the changing landscape of women in STEM.

“If you don’t ask the hard questions, you won’t get amazing answers,” she says. Hear more from Dr. Valerie Wallace about her career, inspirations and why she calls herself an explorer.

In this episode of Behind the Breakthrough, we hear from cardiac pathologist and award-winning principal investigator at the McEwen Stem Cell Institute Dr. Michael Laflamme. His mission: to restore the function of injured hearts by replacing scar tissue with healthy heart muscle cells made from stem cells.

He shares why it’s important to put your career aspirations to paper early on, what it’s like to co-found a company that’s been acquired for $1US billion, and why researchers should try to be scientifically fearless.