Nathalie Vergnolle

CDHF Research Awards Advance Careers

In 2001, Dr. Nathalie Vergnolle received a two year New Investigator Establishment Grant from the Canadian Digestive Health Foundation (CDHF) that helped the young researcher advance her career.

Co-sponsored by the CAG and Altana, the award provided at a total of $100,000 and allowed Nathalie, who is now Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, to rapidly establish a fully functioning laboratory and begin her research in earnest.

Nathalie says the grant was extremely important because it relieved her of the burden of having to secure necessary funds to set up her facility and begin building solid, preliminary data. The funds were used to equip a newly established laboratory, pay the salary of a technician, and run experiments on the role of protease-activated receptors in colitis.

Nathalie notes that being a new investigator can be challenging. It takes time to become established because it is necessary to first secure funds to construct a lab before new experimental work can be conducted.

The grant provided by the CDHF had a definite impact. Nathalie says the funding influenced her decision to stay in Canada; allowed her the opportunity to gain time and confidence; provided good support for her research career; and, has enhanced ongoing opportunities to apply for larger operating grants from the CIHR.

Dr. Vergnolle's laboratory is currently investigating the role of proteases and their receptors in gastroenterological diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and Irritable Bowel Syndrome which represent an important burden on the Canadian economy. The general objective of the research is to define whether protease and their receptors can constitute targets for the development of new therapeutic avenues for the treatment of GI diseases.