Paige Lacy

Area of Study / Keywords

Asthma Allergy Airway hyperresponsiveness Lung diseases Leukocytes Signalling pathways Airway inflammation Vesicular trafficking Cell secretion Cytokines Acute lung injury Biomarkers Eosinophils Respiration Neutrophils Macrophages Innate Immune Cells Wildfire exposure Occupational exposure Airway epithelial cells Super-resolution microscopy Environmental exposure Occupational lung diseases Wildfire smoke exposure in respiratory diseases

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About

• BSc (Hons) in Physiology and Biochemistry, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
• PhD in Molecular Endocrinology, Wellington School of Medicine, University of Otago, New Zealand
• Overseas Research Fellow, Wellcome Trust/Health Research Council of New Zealand, University College London, UK (1992-1997)
• Parker B. Francis Fellow in Pulmonary Research, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB (1998-2001)
• CIHR New Investigator Award, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB (2001-2006)
• AHFMR Visiting Scientist Award, Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia (2009-2010)
• Professor, Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB (2000-present)
• Adjunct Professor, Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB (2011-present)
• Director, Pulmonary Research Group and Alberta Respiratory Centre (ARC) Research, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB (2017-2021)
• 2019 Michelle Harkness Mentorship for Investigator Awardee, AllerGen NCE (January 2019)

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Research

Cytokine trafficking in innate immune cells

We are focused on molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate inflammatory responses in allergy, asthma, and lung diseases. Together with my trainees and collaborators, we have helped to advance our understanding of how inflammatory mediators are released by innate immune cells including eosinophils, neutrophils, macrophages, mast cells, and epithelial cells. We are investigating alarmin cytokine secretion mechanisms from epithelial cells and have determined that SARS-CoV-2 activates the release of the alarmin cytokine TSLP. We are also evaluating the production of alarmin cytokines in nasal tissue samples from patients with asthma. Our studies are supported by a Discovery Grant from NSERC (2021-2027), and two Investigator-Initiated Externally Sponsored Grants from AstraZeneca (2020-2026).

Epidemiological studies in asthma

In collaboration with Dr. Subhabrata Moitra, we are determining associations between socioeconomic factors and factors affecting allergy and asthma. We have found an influence of artificial light at night on allergic diseases, association between school absenteeism and allergic conditions among adolescents, an effect by the COVID-19 infodemic and health-related quality of life in patients with chronic respiratory diseases, and that less social deprivation is associated with a better health-related quality of life in asthma, among other studies. We also determined an association between influenza vaccination and healthcare utilization in asthma.

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Teaching

I am a course coordinator for Inflammation MMI 436/MED 536, a combined 4^th-year and graduate-level course directed towards trainees interested in the underlying mechanisms of inflammatory diseases, that is offered in the Fall semester of each year. I have been a facilitator for Discovery Learning sessions for over 15 years for 1^st and 2^nd year medical students enrolled at the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. Along with these I have been a supervisor for numerous laboratory-based courses to train postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduates in benchtop experimental work as well as clinical research.

BMC Medicine. 2024 January; 10.1186/s12916-024-03291-5

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Journal of Immunological Methods. 2024 January; 10.1016/j.jim.2024.113619

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Clinical and Experimental Allergy. 2024 January; 10.1111/cea.14424

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Milos Jesenak, Zuzana Diamant, Dagmar Simon, Ellen Tufvesson, Sven F. Seys, Manali Mukherjee, Paige Lacy, Susanne Vijverberg, Tomas Slisz, Anna Sediva, Hans‐Uwe Simon, Ilja Striz, Jana Plevkova, Jurgen Schwarze, Radovan Kosturiak, Neil E. Alexis, Eva Untersmayr, Martina Koziar Vasakova, Edward Knol, Leo Koenderman

Allergy. 2023 December; 10.1111/all.15884

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Ramses Ilarraza, Danny V Chao, James A R Bodman, Alexandra Chesley, Adam Humble, Farzana Shaheen, Gary Eitzen, Paige Lacy

Journal of Leukocyte Biology. 2023 July; 10.1093/jleuko/qiad032

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Subhabrata Moitra, Paige Lacy

The Lancet Regional Health - Americas. 2023 July; 10.1016/j.lana.2023.100526

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Luke Gerla, Subhabrata Moitra, Desmond Pink, Natasha Govindasamy, Marc Duchesne, Eileen Reklow, Angela Hillaby, Amy May, John Lewis, Lyle Melenka, Tom C. Hobman, Irvin Mayers, Paige Lacy

Viruses. 2023 February; 10.3390/v15020556

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Frontiers in Public Health. 2023 January; 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1235189

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Journal of Global Health. 2023 January; 10.7189/JOGH.13.06045

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American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine. 2023 January; 10.1164/rccm.202206-1183OC

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Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. 2023 January; 10.1016/j.jaip.2023.03.052

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Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology. 2023 January; 10.1007/164_2022_614

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SSRN. 2023 January; 10.2139/ssrn.4485605

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SSRN. 2023 January; 10.2139/ssrn.4619894

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Moitra S., Tabrizi A.F., Henderson L., Khadour F., Osman M., Melenka L., Lacy P.

ERJ Open Research. 2022 April; 8 (2) 10.1183/23120541.00095-2022

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Salter B., Lacy P., Mukherjee M.

Frontiers in Pharmacology. 2022 January; 12 10.3389/fphar.2021.793409

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International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022 January; 10.3390/ijerph19148522

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European Respiratory Review. 2022 January; 10.1183/16000617.0021-2022

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medRxiv. 2022 January; 10.1101/2022.12.12.22283365

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Canadian Journal of Higher Education. 2022 January; 10.47678/cjhe.v52i2.189683

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Frontiers in Immunology. 2022 January; 10.3389/fimmu.2022.975914

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ERJ Open Research. 2022 January; 10.1183/23120541.00095-2022

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Frontiers in Pharmacology. 2022 January; 10.3389/fphar.2021.793409

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Moitra S., Tabrizi A.F., Fathy D., Kamravaei S., Miandashti N., Henderson L., Khadour F., Naseem M.T., Murgia N., Melenka L., Lacy P.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021 November; 18 (22) 10.3390/ijerph182211787

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Dunsmore G., Rosero E.P., Shahbaz S., Santer D.M., Jovel J., Lacy P., Houston S., Elahi S.

PLOS BIOLOGY. 2021 August; 19 (8) 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001387

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