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needs and challenges of both clinical neurosurgery and
neuroscience research and can maximize outcomes on both Dr. Eve Tsai calls herself a translator:
sides. Tsai, who got into the University of Toronto’s medical she understands the needs and
school at age 19 with only two years of undergraduate
work completed, and then did her residency while she was challenges of both clinical neurosurgery
earning a PhD, does research for one reason: to improve
treatment for her patients. Which is probably why she and and neuroscience research and can
Hildebrand get along so well. Both want their lab work to maximize outcomes on both sides.
focus on fixing devastating health disorders.
Hildebrand’s work identifying the mechanisms of pain
processing in the spinal cord is particularly significant, says
Tsai, because it helps to bridge the gap between research “Now that we have gotten them this tissue, they are able
and clinical trials. Most pharmaceutical clinical trials occur to work out techniques that really have not been developed
after a long period of research, usually on animal tissue. But well because the reality is, we have not had access to this
what works in animals doesn’t always work for humans. tissue before. So now we can start to study things that we
Hildebrand, who’s now proving that at least some results have not really studied before, and see whether we can
from animal testing are applicable to humans, is helping to apply them to patients,” says Tsai, praising Hildebrand for
accelerate progress toward clinical trials for chronic pain his drive and enthusiasm. “You cannot really succeed as an
therapies, Tsai says, and also helping to inform her own individual. You have to have all the stars align around you.”
research into the human spinal cord and related research That’s another area where Hildebrand and Tsai agree. “A
around the world. Hildebrand has lab space at The Ottawa lot of what we’re doing is built on the foundational work
Hospital, thanks to Tsai’s support, so their teams can of lots of others,” he says. “Canada is a world leader in
coordinate receipt of donor tissue and share space and pain research. A lot of the biggest names in pain research
data. Tsai and Hildebrand also meet regularly to talk about are Canadian. I’m really blessed at having come from that
their work, she says, to their mutual benefit. training and exposure.”

Like her Carleton collaborator Mike Hildebrand, Ottawa Hospital neurosurgeon and researcher Dr. Eve Tsai is focused on fixing
devastating health disorders. “You cannot really succeed as an individual,” says Tsai. “You have to have all the stars align around you.”
Lab notes from a PhD student

Annemarie Dedek is on call 24/7 — and loves every minute of it

nnemarie Dedek doesn’t have the lab where it is cut into portions for pathways in human tissue. That’s huge.
much of a life outside her PhD biochemical and electrical recording It means hypotheses made about pain
Alab work these days. But she experiments. signals in the spinal cord, and tested
says that’s the price you have to pay Dedek takes her portion and then on animal tissue, can now be applied
for doing something no one else has slices it into very thin sections. That to human beings.
done and getting it right. takes hours. Those sections then go “It’s so valuable — the
Dedek, a 24-year-old from Ottawa, is into a warm water bath to wash out electrophysiology data is like the
studying neurons in organ donor spinal protective chemicals and bring the smoking gun,” says Dedek. “You can
cord tissue in an effort to identify tissue back to a more functioning show, with biochemistry, that yes,
possible causes and remedies for physiological condition. Then she places these proteins are there, but are they
chronic pain, under the supervision of a section on an electrophysiology doing anything? But in the moment, I
Carleton Neuroscience professor Mike machine, uses the built-in microscope can see, while it’s happening, that the
Hildebrand. to find a single neuron and guides a proteins and the receptor subtypes
Here’s why she’s so busy. When a tiny electrode on the end of a robotic that are involved in our hypothesized
donor becomes available, a research arm through the cell membrane. The pathway, we can see they are having
coordinator texts Dedek to tell her machine then records, on a digital the effect we expect them to have.
when to be at the hospital. She heads graph, the electrical currents through “In terms of my project, there’s
first to her lab at The Ottawa Hospital synaptic receptors. nothing short of excitement every step
Research Institute, beside the Civic While she, Hildebrand and many of the way. It’s an extreme amount of
Campus, no matter the time of day or other researchers have made these work. Sometimes the recordings take
night, prepares a solution to keep the recordings with animal tissue — 18 hours. It’s not easy. You’re on call
tissue viable and stable, then heads to and drawn conclusions about pain 24/7. It’s hard to make appointments
the operating room to wait. She usually processing in the spinal cord — this for things. But when you’re part of
receives a lumbar section about six is the first time anyone has been something like this, it makes it all
centimetres long and takes it back to successful recording those same worth it.”

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