University of Alberta Medicine and Dentistry Laboratory Medicine & Pathology ProfessorAppointed: 1988 University of Alberta Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research Associate DeanAppointed: 2006 Héma-Québec Medical and Scientific Advisory Board Appointed: 2005 Heritage Multicultural Centre Board of Directors Appointed: 2003 | Canadian Blood Services Edmonton Stem Cell Transplant Program Laboratory DirectorAppointed: 2001 Canadian Blood Services Research and Development Adjunct ScientistAppointed: 1999 University of Calgary Medicine Surgery Adjunct ProfessorAppointed: 1994 University of Alberta Medicine and Dentistry Surgery ProfessorAppointed: 1989 |
Qualifications Ph.D., University of Waterloo, Physics, 1973. M.Sc., University of Waterloo, Physics, 1970. B.Sc., University of Waterloo, Applied Physics, 1969. Expertise and Research Interests Natural and engineered tissues are increasingly being used as effective and cost-effective approaches a wide variety of applications in transplantation medicine, other medical applications, toxicology testing, agriculture, and food engineering. Cryopreservation is often the only method for preserving physiological structure, viability and function in living tissues for long periods of time, so our research efforts are now exploring methods for cryopreservation of viability and function in complex cellular and tissue systems.
Members of the Biopreservation Research Group at the University of Alberta include Dr. Janet Elliott (Chemical and Materials Engineering), Dr. Jason Acker (Canadian Blood Services) and Dr. Nadr Jomha (Surgery). Research in the Biopreservation Research Group aims to understand the responses of living cells and tissues to freezing and desiccation. This Group has a significant history in the science of cryobiology and its applications in medicine, with research ranging from fundamental aspects of osmotic transport to clinical applications in transplantation. These studies involve developing and testing concepts on the nature and mechanisms of injury sustained during preservation, and applying these concepts to the development of strategies in the preservation of viability and function.
Fundamental Aspects of Low-Temperature Biology: We have been applying fundamental concepts to extending our understanding of osmotic transport across cell membranes, diffusion in tissue systems, and freezing in complex aqueous solutions. Our transport equations are implemented in mathematical models that are applied to enhance our understanding of living systems at low temperatures.
Osmotic Effects: Experimental measurements of cell volume change during osmotic excursions are tracked using electronic or optical measurements, and used to test and validate theoretical descriptions of osmotic transport. Osmotic parameters from measurements on a variety of cell types (including spermatozoa, hematopoietic stem cells, endothelial cells, and a variety of other normal and malignant cells) have been used to simulate osmotic responses during cryopreservation and cryosurgery. These simulations are used practically to optimize protocols for the addition and removal of cryoprotectants in a variety of living cells.
Modeling and Simulation of Low-Temperature Responses: We developed a thermodynamic approach to the prediction of phase diagrams for non-dilute aqueous solutions containing many solutes, including the cytoplasm of living cells. Coupled with our transport equations that do not make simplifyng assumptions, are have created analytical tools for predicting the conditions inside and outside cells during cooling and warming.This approach is being used to model osmotic and low-temperature responses in cells and tissues for comparison to experimental measurements.
Injury and Protection at Low Temperatures: Our research in this area explores multiple facets of cryoinjury, including damage related to osmotic stresses, intracellular ice, and cellular interactions with their environment. Our theoretical descriptions have contributed to the development of concepts related to the mechanisms of cryoinjury and cryoprotection.
Cellular systems: Studies on cellular systems use a wide variety of primary and cultured cells, including hematopoietic stem cells from bone marrow, peripheral blood, and the umbilical cord, spermatozoa from a variety of species, endothelial cells from various tissues, and isolated cells from the liver and pancreas. Some are used purely for experimental purposes, and others are target cells for cryopreservation.
The Cryobiology of Tissue Systems: Information on osmotic properties of cells in suspension, the incidence of intracellular freezing, and limits for toxicity have been used to design and optimize strategies for cryopreservation for a wide variety of cells. This approach, however, is not directly applicable to tissues, because the structure of tissues and the interactions between cells and the extracellular matrix add dimensions not present in cell suspensions.
While significant advances are being made in biosynthetic constructs for a wide variety of applications in medical, agricultural, and food industries, our ability to preserve these constructs has lagged significantly. Our current focus is to extend understanding of preservation sciences for applications to systems where there is a demonstrated need, by consolidating a variety of disciplines to focus on the preservation of living systems.
The purpose of these studies is to investigate fundamental low-temperature responses of tissues, and correlate these responses with subsequent biological outcomes. A goal is to bridge fundamental and applied aspects by addressing some of the outstanding questions in the cryobiology of tissue systems, so that the results of these studies may be applied to the banking of natural and engineered tissues for transplantation and other uses in society.
Experimental Approaches: The experimental model tissues being used to investigate low-temperature responses include: 1. confluent monolayers of cells forming a 2-dimensional tissue, to study consequences of cell adhesions to other cells and to substrates (this system also models the corneal endothelium, a sensitive site for cryoinjury) 2. 3-D experimental model systems consisting of various cell types in a matrix, similar to many engineered tissues being developed for clinical use 3. engineered tissues 4. natural tissues, including articular cartilage, heart valves, corneas, islets of Langerhans, skin, arteries
Consequences of osmotic and low-temperature exposures are investigated using in situ assessments of cell integrity and function. Complementing mathematical modeling of responses, experimental assessments of morphological and quantitative biophysical and physiological assessments are used. These include cryomicroscopy with fluorescent markers to monitor low-temperature responses, confocal microscopy to examine responses as a function of location within tissues, mechanical and optical properties of tissues such as cartilage and cornea, and physiological responses such as insulin production in islets of Langerhans, metabolic activity in skin. Electron microscopy is used to assess structural consequences, and MRI to track diffusion, ice formation, and in vivo performance of transplanted tissues.
Applications in Medicine: These research efforts have contributed to the development of significant medical applications in Edmonton - the bone marrow and stem cell transplantation program; the Alberta Cord Blood bank for banking umbilical cord blood; and the Comprehensive Tissue Centre, a major Canadian tissue bank.
Other applications: We have also been involved in applying concepts and techniques to the conservation of biological diversity in endangered species, the freeze-texturization of food materials, and the management of human remains frozen in a glacier for centuries. Industrial Relevance The reproductive biology of many species is now central to the production of food in plants, fish, birds and animals. Preservation of reproductive tissues in these species is becoming increasingly critical to ensure the food supply keeps pace with the demand. In many cases, research is required to bring our ability to cryopreserve reproductive cells and tissues up to a standard that maximizes benefit to this industry.
Human stem cells are currently being altered and used in a variety of ways that include medical applications. Some stem cells have very low recovery after cryopreservation, and others, where the numbers are limited, could be far more effectively utilized with higher post-thaw recovery.
Bioengineered tissues are being developed for transplantation and for toxicology testing. Effective utilization of these engineered tissue products will require preservation at least for distribution. Cryopreservation would uncouple the production of these living tissues from the utilization. Memberships Canadian Biomaterials Society Canadian Blood and Marrow Transplant Group Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine International Society for Cellular Therapy International Society for Cryobiology Honors and Awards 2005, Alberta Centennial Medal, Government of Alberta, Canada 2005, Award for Excellence in Innovation, City of Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada 2004-2005, Killam Annual Professorship, University of Alberta 1988, Honorary Professor, Department of Pathophysiology, Jiamusi Medical College, Heilongjiang, China Previous Positions 2003-2006, Lifebank Cryogenics Corporation, Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee 1998-2000, President, International Society for Cryobiology 1998-2004, Chair, University of Alberta, Medicine and Dentistry, Medical Sciences Graduate Program Committee 1996-2003, Laboratory Director, Alberta Cord Blood Bank 1996-2000, Vice President, International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR), Commission C1: Cryobiology & Cryomedicine 1995-2001, Member, Westview Regional Health Authority, Board of Directors 1994-1999, Director, Capital Health Authority, Comprehensive Tissue Centre 1992-1994, Chair, International Society for Cryobiology, Finance Committee 1987-1991, Chair, University of Alberta, Health Sciences Animal Care Committee 1985-1998, Member, Cryobiology Journal, Editorial Board 1985-2001, Member, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Advisory Committee, Biological Sciences Program Patents Method of cryopreserving cells, Patent Number: (pending), 2005, Institution, United States of America. Transformation of zygote, egg or sperm cells and recovery of transformed plants from isolated embryo sacs, Patent Number: 6300543, 2001, Industry-owned, United States of America. Innocuous intracellular ice improves the survival of frozen cells,Patent Number: 60/308759, 2001, Industry, United States of America. Transformation of Zygote, Egg or Sperm Cells and Recovery of Transformed Plants from Isolated Embryo Sacs, Patent Number: 97/6074, 2000, Industry-owned, South Africa. Publications Lehr EJ, Hermary S, McKay RT, Webb DN, Abazari A, McGann LE, Coe JY, Korbutt GS, Ross DB (Jul 2007) NMR assessment of Me(2)SO in decellularized cryopreserved aortic valve conduits., The Journal of surgical research, 141 (1), 60-7 Sharma R, Law GK, Rekieh K, Abazari A, Elliott JA, McGann LE, Jomha NM (Apr 2007) A novel method to measure cryoprotectant permeation into intact articular cartilage., Cryobiology, 54 (2), 196-203 Elliott JA, Prickett RC, Elmoazzen HY, Porter KR, McGann LE (Feb 2007) A multisolute osmotic virial equation for solutions of interest in biology., The journal of physical chemistry. B, 111 (7), 1775-85 Laouar L, Fishbein K, McGann LE, Horton WE, Spencer RG, Jomha NM (Feb 2007) Cryopreservation of porcine articular cartilage: MRI and biochemical results after different freezing protocols., Cryobiology, 54 (1), 36-43 Jomha NM, Elliott JA, Law GK, McGann LE (2007) Evaluation of chondrocyte survival in situ using WST-1 and membrane integrity stains., Cell and tissue banking, 8 (3), 179-86 Elmoazzen HY, Poovadan A, Law GK, Elliott JA, McGann LE, Jomha NM (2007) Dimethyl sulfoxide toxicity kinetics in intact articular cartilage., Cell and tissue banking, 8 (2), 125-33 Jomha NM, Law GK, McGann LE (2006) Storage of porcine articular cartilage at high subzero temperatures, Cell and Tissue Banking, 7, 55-60 Jomha NM, Law GK, McGann LE (2006) Storage of porcine articular cartilage at high subzero temperatures., Cell and tissue banking, 7 (1), 55-60 Yang H, Zhao H, Acker JP, Liu JZ, Akabutu J, McGann LE (2005) Effect of dimethyl sulfoxide on post-thaw viability assessment of CD45(+) and CD34(+) cells of umbilical cord blood and mobilized peripheral blood, Cryobiology, 51 (2), 165-175 Yang H, Zhao H, Acker JP, Liu JZ, Akabutu J, McGann LE (Oct 2005) Effect of dimethyl sulfoxide on post-thaw viability assessment of CD45+ and CD34+ cells of umbilical cord blood and mobilized peripheral blood.,Cryobiology, 51 (2), 165-75 Elmoazzen HY, Elliott JA, McGann LE (Aug 2005) Cryoprotectant equilibration in tissues., 51 (1), 85-91 Yang H, Acker JP, Cabuhat M, Letcher B, Larratt L, McGann LE (2005) Association of post-thaw viable CD34(+) cells and CFU-GM with time to hematopoietic engraftment, Bone Marrow Transplantation, 35 (9), 881-887 Elmoazzen HY, Chan CCV, Acker JP, Elliott JAW, McGann LE (2005) The effect of cell size distribution on predicted osmotic responses of cells, Cryoletters, 26 (3), 147-158
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