2023 PRiME-Unity Health Toronto Clinical Catalyst Program Award Winner

Congratulations to the winner of the 2023 PRiME-Unity Health Toronto Clinical Catalyst competition! 

The award recipient is Postdoctoral researcher Dr. Nashmia Zia, who will be co-supervised by PRiME Investigator Dr. Gilbert Walker from the Faculty of Arts & Science, and Principal Investigator Dr. Claudia dos Santos from Unity Health Toronto. 

In her research, Dr. Zia’s focus will be a: “Study of the Effect of microRNA Modulation on the Macrophage-Mediated Immune Regulation of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) in a Trans-Well Model”

Awardee Profile

Dr. Nashmia Zia is currently working as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Toronto in Dr. Gilbert Walker’s Lab. She has a Pharm-D (Pakistan) and a Ph.D. in Pharmacy where she worked on the development of chemotherapeutic loaded polymeric micelles for the treatment and diagnosis of liver fibrosis. Her diverse experience in nanoformulation, and cell and animal-based studies helped her in undertaking this cross-disciplinary collaborative research project between Dr. Walker’s (UofT) and Dr. Claudia Dos Santos's (UHN) labs, and PRiME is providing a perfect platform for that. She is very passionate about finding economical and innovative health solutions to improve the quality of life of patients and it is her motivation to stay in research.

1. What excites you about your research project?

   The potential of microRNA (miRNA) modulation to provide a more targeted and precise therapeutic approach to treating immunological disorders e.g., acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is enormous. By targeting specific miRNAs, we can regulate the expression of genes involved in the immune response, leading to more effective treatments. But our understanding of how our body’s immune system responds to miRNA modulation is still lacking. What excites me most, is that by understanding how macrophages respond to microRNA modulation we can potentially uncover new therapeutic targets and provide novel insights into the regulation of the immune response.

2. What do you look forward to learning and achieving in the next year?

   I am excited to learn about the underlying mechanism that governs the response of macrophages to miRNA modulation in ARDS and how miRNA-loaded Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) navigate and interact with immune cells. The development of a screening system to study the interaction between lung cells and macrophages in response to miRNA modulation, with precision, would be a great achievement.

3. How does your project bring together different disciplines?

   The research project titled "Study of the Effect of microRNA Modulation on the Macrophage-Mediated Immune Regulation of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) in a Trans-Well Model" is an exciting project that has the potential to make a significant impact on the field of immunology and respiratory diseases. This project is multidisciplinary as it brings the knowledge of nanoformulation, cellular biology, drug delivery, and genomics together. We will be using IP-protected miRNAs identified in patients recovered from ARDS with specialized LNPs to study the interaction of patient-derived macrophages and lung cells.

4. How will the PRiME-UHN Clinical Catalyst program benefit your training experience?

   PRiME-UHN fellowship is providing an excellent opportunity for me to work in a collaborative environment essential to carry out this crossdisciplinary project focusing on the use of clinical data-driven miRNAs and advanced LNPs for their delivery to study the immune cell-mediated response to miRNA modulation. Without PRiME it would have been difficult to undertake the project focused on interdisciplinary research.