Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

The lymphatic system is a one-way transit conduit that functions in conjunction with the vascular system to maintain homeostasis. Perturbations in the lymphatic system result in the accumulation of proteins and fluids within tissues, termed edema. When the cause of this fluid backup is attributed to a deficit in the lymphatic system, such as lymph node removal or vessel damage, this condition is more specifically called Lymphedema. Suffers of this disease are plagued by recurrent bacterial infections, loss of limb function and in rare cases death. Therapies for this disease are limited and in many cases unsatisfactory, generally employing a combination of massage and compression garments. The most common cause of acquired Lymphedema is breast cancer treatment surgeries, in which up to 40% of survivors will develop this disease. This treatment always involves the removal of at least one lymph node to determine if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Unfortunately, removal of even one of these nodes is enough to cause Lymphedema formation. Therefore, these studies will focus on a novel therapy, termed lymph node conservation, to prevent Lymphedema development. Specifically, we wish to determine which components of the lymph node, outer shell (capsule), interior (parenchyma) or the blood supply are required for Lymphedema prevention. Utilizing an animal model of Lymphedema (sheep hind limb), lymph nodes will be surgically manipulated and then edema formation will be monitored over 6 weeks. Edema can be measured simply through circumferential measurements of the affected limb. Ultimately, by establishing the basic nodal requirements to abolish Lymphedema formation, we hope that novel therapies can be implemented within clinical setting.