Dr. Bruce Vallance
The Faculty of Medicine’s Dr. Bruce Vallance, a professor in the department of pediatrics, has received funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) to advance research on the links between the microbiome and human health and disease.
Dr. Vallance and his colleagues were among seven research teams from across the country who were selected as part of an $18M federal investment in microbiome research over the next five years.
Dr. Vallance and his team will look specifically at the role of microbes in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) among youth.
“This investment will enable me and my colleagues across the country to develop novel and more effective therapies for IBD,” says Dr. Vallance, an investigator at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute. “We expect the removal of dangerous bacteria found in the intestines of our patients will offer real hope for improved quality of life and perhaps even cures for affected children.”
From their research to date, Dr. Vallance and his team have found several types of bacteria that are able to attach or invade the cells lining the human gut, triggering inflammation. His research will continue to examine how different bacteria cause disease, and develop new ways to target these bacteria.