Dr. Sarah J. Childs

Dr. Sarah Childs is an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary. Born in Nottingham UK, she grew up in Southern Ontario and obtained her PhD from the Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto, working on molecules which are capable of transporting a wide-range of drugs, and therefore are causative of multidrug resistance of tumors. She then continued with 2 years of postdoctoral work at the BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver BC, before moving to for 4 more years of postdoctoral training at the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. There she developed a new interest in using genetic screening in fish to discover new genes. In 2001, Dr. Childs returned to Canada and since then has established her own laboratory and independent research career.

Dr. Childs’ research is currently focused on the identification of new genes involved in angiogenesis- the process by which blood vessels develop. In order to grow larger, tumors need to increase their blood supply. They do this by inducing new blood vessels to grow into the tumor. It is thought that by understanding the mechanisms by which normal blood vessels grow, and identifying the genes involved, we might be able to design new drugs which would target these growing blood vessels and prevent tumors from becoming well-supplied with blood.

Her research utilizes genetic screening to identify fish with embryonic defects in blood vessel formation. She then uses genomics, to identify the genes which are defective in these fish. The next stages are to look at the proteins encoded by the mutant gene, and to use a variety of techniques, including proteomics, to understand what other proteins might be interacting in this pathway. She frequently uses transgenic animals in which the blood vessels are marked with a fluorescent tag for easier identification.

Dr. Childs’ research might one day affect our understanding of how new blood vessels grow in tumors, but it may have impacts on several different disease areas. For instance in retinopathy, the blood vessels of the retina can sometimes grow out of control and cause blindness, a frequent complication of diabetes. Finding a way to stop these vessels from growing could lead to prevention or treatment for retinopathy. Dr. Childs also works on molecules which stabilize blood vessels. She has identified several mutant fish which have brain hemorrhages, similar to the those which can occasionally be seen in neonatal infants. Understanding the pathway of blood vessel stabilization might also lead to better treatment and prevention of stroke in infants.

Dr. Childs’ research is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation in the USA. The success of her research efforts has been recognized in a number of ways. She is a scholar of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, and of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. She also holds a Canada Research Chair in ‘Angiogenesis and Genetics’. She received the University of Calgary Young Innovator award in 2001 and has been an invited speaker at national and international meetings. Her publication record presently includes 17 peer-reviewed papers, and 15 abstracts.

For further information, please contact Dr. Sarah J. Childs using the Email contact form or by phone at 403 220-8277