Bio

Dr. Phyllis Paterson joined the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition at the University of Saskatchewan in 1989 after obtaining a Ph.D. in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute in Toronto. A Full Professor, she is a member of the Neuroscience Research Cluster and a Principal Investigator with the Cameco MS Neuroscience Research Center.

Research

Dr. Paterson’s research program has two streams:

  • Investigating how nutrition can be used to enhance recovery and reduce disability after stroke, and by what mechanisms. This research, funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, was recently featured in an interview with Global TV.

  • As part of the interdisciplinary Canadian Institutes of Health Research/Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada Team in Synchrotron Medical Imaging, Dr. Paterson is developing synchrotron-based spectroscopic imaging of brain biochemistry following stroke that is linked to recovery of function. These techniques can quantify metabolic changes across specific brain regions with high spatial resolution, which was not possible with the biochemical assays routinely used for this purpose. This technology is being applied to questions surrounding the limited ability of the brain to spontaneously recover after a stroke and how nutritional and rehabilitation strategies can interact to enhance clinical outcome.

Selected Publications

  • M. Alaverdashvili, M.J. Hackett, I.J. Pickering and P.G. Paterson, 2014. Laminar-specific distribution of zinc: Evidence for presence of layer IV in forelimb motor cortex in the rat. Neuroimage Sep 2. pii: S1053-8119(14)00720-4. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.08.046. [Epub ahead of print].
  • S.E. Smith, S.A. Figley, D.J. Schreyer and P.G. Paterson, 2014. Protein-energy malnutrition developing after global brain ischemia induces an atypical acute-phase response and hinders expression of GAP-43. PLoS One, Sep 26;9(9):e107570.
  • M. Alaverdashvili, X. Li, P.G. Paterson, 2014. Adulthood protein-energy malnutrition affects post-stroke skilled movements in rats. Advances in Stroke Recovery, Heart and Stroke Foundation, Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery, Ottawa, ON, June 9-10 (poster).
  • S.E. Smith, R. Andrade Ramos, R. Refinetti, J.P. Farthing and P.G. Paterson, 2013.  Protein-energy malnutrition induces an aberrant acute-phase response and modifies the circadian rhythm of core temperature. Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism 38: 844-853.
  • M.J. Hackett, S.E. Smith, P.G. Paterson, H. Nichol, I.J. Pickering and G.N. George, 2012.  X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the sulfur K-edge: A new tool to investigate the biochemical mechanisms of neurodegeneration. ACS Chemical Neuroscience 3: 178-185.
  • M.D. Dubyk, R.T. Card, S.J. Whiting, C.A.J. Boyle, S.H. Zlotkin and P.G. Paterson, 2012.  Iron deficiency anemia prevalence at first stroke or transient ischemic attack. Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences 39: 189-195.
  • A.M. Auriat, G. Silasi, Z. Wei, R. Paquette, P. Paterson, H. Nichol, and F. Colbourne, 2012.  Ferric iron chelation lowers brain iron levels after intracerebral hemorrhage in rats but does not improve outcome, Experimental Neurology 234: 136-143.