Two York University research teams have received close to $1.5 million combined to support new investigations into heart health and women’s health research.
Funding, provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s (CIHR) Spring 2025 Project Grant competition, is part of a national investment to support health research across Canada.
“York’s success in this highly competitive program highlights the University’s growing leadership in interdisciplinary health research that addresses complex medical and social challenges,” says Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation.
In the Faculty of Science, Gary Sweeney was awarded $998,326 for a five-year study examining how iron and lipid imbalances contribute to heart failure. His project, titled “Mechanisms regulating ferroptosis susceptibility and consequences on cardiac remodeling and function,” will explore how excess iron and unhealthy fats trigger cellular changes that impair heart function, particularly in individuals with obesity or diabetes.
The research focuses on ferroptosis – a form of regulated cell death – and its role in cardiac remodelling, a process that can lead to heart failure following a heart attack. This innovative study aims to improve understanding and treatment of heart failure and related conditions, and uncover new therapeutic targets to prevent or reverse heart damage.
“Heart failure is a common and devastating event,” Sweeney says. “Our research contributes to understanding why this occurs and how it can be prevented or treated.”
The goal is to uncover the detailed processes behind heart failure so novel treatments and preventions can be developed, leading to better outcomes for people at high risk of heart disease.
In the Faculty of Health, Karen Campbell, along with co-investigators and York faculty members Mia Biondi and Roya Haghiri-Vijeh, will lead the four-year study "Exploring the Relationship Between Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and Health in Women with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).”
“Canada has the highest rate of MS in the world and approximately one in four Canadian women have experienced partner violence,” says Campbell. “This is a public health issue that needs to be addressed urgently.”
Living with a disability can substantially increase a woman’s risk of experiencing violence, notes Cambell. Women living with MS – a chronic, often disabling neurological condition – may face unique vulnerabilities that heighten their risk and consequences of intimate partner violence.
The study will explore how intimate partner violence affects the health and well-being of women with MS, how they manage their safety and care, and how prepared MS health practitioners are to help. The research team will use surveys and interviews with women across Canada and with health-care providers who treat MS.
“The goal is to better understand women’s experiences and to improve care by supporting clinicians,” says Campbell. “The findings will help create more supportive, trauma- and violence-informed care for women with MS who have experienced intimate partner violence.”
The funding was announced July 18.