Having written several “my favourite blog posts” over the years, I decided to turn this very important responsibility over to my communications colleagues at CCRM. I asked Cal Strode and Tannen Horber, who are both contributors and have bios on the site, to pick their favourite posts and explain their choices.
Cal Strode’s top Signals blog posts of 2022
Diabetes research in Canada: 100 years later
This post from January blends past and future, highlighting Canada’s continued leadership in diabetes research while paying homage to where it all started. It gives readers (like me, as a non-Canadian) who might not know the full story of how insulin was invented in Canada an opportunity to reflect on this tremendous feat, 100 years after bovine insulin first began being administered to patients. It highlights four Canadian researchers across four provinces who are making a difference by advancing the field of diabetes research today.
Right Turn: Mooove over meat. Is cellular agriculture here to stay?
Everyone knows about the potential of cellular technologies to transform medicine by now, but did you know that these technologies could be on track to address environmental and global food security challenges too? In June, Signals checked up on the race to produce lab-grown food, revealing ongoing work to overcome challenges around scaling-up the production of cellular agriculture. CCRM is helping Canadian company CELL AG TECH scale-up its cell manufacturing process for cell-based fish products, and as this RBC special report – The Next Green Revolution – highlights, by leaning on its existing strengths, Canada can become a leader in developing emerging agriculture technologies that will define the future of global food systems. The report specifically cites CCRM’s work with CELL AG TECH as a case study example.
It’s inspiring to read about people who use their lived experience of illness to pursue change that will help others going through the same thing in the future. In this blog post, readers learn about the story of Chip Wilson, the billionaire behind activewear company Lululemon, who is using his money to find a cure for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) – a rare disease he has been living with for over 30 years. The blog includes a CP24 News interview in which Chip shares his experience of being diagnosed, and how he is using his astute, business decision-making skills to ensure the $100 million he’s committed to spending to advance research is used judiciously.
Right Turn: Celebrating a monumental anniversary
A lot of regenerative medicine-related media focuses on the potential and future of the field, but this post celebrates just one example of a life-changing outcome that has already come to fruition for one patient (with significance for many others). I found it encouraging to learn about the 10-year anniversary of Emily Whitehead’s first infusion of CAR T cells to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), which she was diagnosed with at the age of five. Reading this blog brought home why this treatment anniversary is meaningful and brings hope to so many around the world.
(I’m blushing Cal. Yes, your performance review will be extra good this year.)
Tannen Horber’s top Signals blog posts of 2022
When I was first tasked with deciding which blogs of 2022 were my favourites, I thought, “That’s easy.” I knew exactly which blogs had left an impact on me, yet when the time came to put “fingers to keys,” I thought I’d better do my due diligence and review. Thus, I went down the rabbit hole of reading more than a few Signals’ blogs (and to boot I’d read almost all these blogs when they were originally published!) Of course in doing so, it made my job that much more difficult. Needleless to say, these are just a few of my favourite blogs from 2022.
My colleague Cal Strode’s blog, In the court of public opinion, patient stories pave the way for RM, takes the number one spot (and no he didn’t pay me to say that!) As a relatively new person to the field of regenerative medicine (RM), having only begun my professional journey in the field a little over a year ago, this blog shed light on an important moment in the field’s history that I was unaware of (plus I was very young at the time). That being, the U.S pulling federal funding for embryonic stem cell research in 2001. This sparked a movement to lift the ban by raising public awareness and shedding light on patients’ stories, which highlighted the impact that public opinion can hold in creating real change.
The advertisement of stem cells used in skin products and clinical treatments explores the fascinating topic of “scienceploitation,” a stem cell research phenomenon. If you want to find out what scienceploitation means, you’ll have to read Krystal Jacques’ blog. I can tell you this, I’ve fallen into the scienceploitation trap more times than I’d like to admit, and this article has lingered in my mind as a reminder to be more consumer conscious. As a person who works in the field of communications, I know all about how some unscrupulous actors can editorialize messaging to be in one’s favour; however, this article reminded me of the importance of being a purposeful consumer while questioning and researching the standards of social responsibility that companies are held to.
Coming in at #3 is Stem cells’ role in better understanding schizophrenia. This blog left me in disbelief – and not for its content, which is amazing by the way – but merely for the fact that it was written by a 16-year-old: Parmin Sedigh. I don’t know about you, but I was not having my work published in a science blog at 16; my hobbies at the time were much less…studious shall we say. All jokes aside, this blog impressed me as Sedigh explores a topic rarely discussed in the regenerative medicine field: the role of stem cells in possibly helping to treat psychiatric disorders.
So there you have it. Do you agree with their choices? What would you have selected? Let us know below.
Next week I will post the most popular blogs in 2022 based on readership. It will be interesting to see if there is any overlap.
Stacey Johnson
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