Rehabilitation Medicine?s Edith Pituskin wins Alberta Cancer Research Institute award

06 October 2009

When Edith Pituskin received an e-mail from the Alberta Cancer Research Institute (ACRI) telling her she won the Graduate Studentship award, her first reaction was disbelief.

“Applications are weighted according to student performance, the proposed project, the supervisor’s support and reference letters,” says the Rehabilitation Medicine PhD student “It was a great feeling to know I won.” Pituskin will receive $40,000 over two years for her study.

The ACRI award goes to the strongest candidates who’ve shown support and promotion in the cancer research field. Pituskin’s research will use exercise testing and sensitive imaging modalities (cardiac MRI) to detect the prevalence and extent of early damage to the heart after various cancer treatments.

“One of the major problems associated with cancer treatment is that normal cells are often significantly damaged, along with the cancer cells. Improved knowledge of molecular biology has contributed to the development of ‘targeted’ therapies, so the new cancer drugs only treat the abnormalities seen in cancer cells,” she explains. “Unfortunately, there are still troublesome side effects observed. A major side effect that can cause long-term disability is damage to the heart or circulatory system.”

Pituskin will be looking at the specific kinds of cardiac damage that occur and the approaches to prevent or minimize damage. She will be studying a specific medication used for people with kidney cancer and seeing how much treatment-associated heart damage the medication may have.   

Pituskin’s supervisor is physical therapy professor Mark Haykowsky, PhD, who she says is an outstanding researcher. “Dr. Haykowsky contributes an excellent laboratory environment, world-class collaborations with multiple disciplines (cardiology, biomedical engineering) and an exceptional publication record.

I have found everyone here in administrative and teaching positions to be extremely helpful with any questions. They are responsive to issues identified by students,” she smiles.  “I have also observed that the multiple disciplines within the Faculty offer various viewpoints and strengths to discussions and research approaches.”

Photo by RMTG Staff

About the University of Alberta Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine
As the only free standing faculty of rehabilitation in Canada, the University of Alberta Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine balances its activities among learning, discovery and citizenship (including clinical practice). A research leader in musculoskeletal health, spinal cord injuries and common spinal disorders (back pain), the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine aims to improve the quality of life of citizens in our community. The three departments, Occupational Therapy (OT), Physical Therapy (PT) and Speech Pathology and Audiology (SPA) offer professional entry programs. The Faculty offers thesis-based MSc and PhD programs in Rehabilitation Science, attracting students from a variety of disciplines including OT, PT, SLP, psychology, physical education, medicine and engineering.