Kirk Haan graduated from high school, thinking he’d study pharmacy at the University of Saskatchewan, and walk out five years later.

After one summer at a pharmacy, Haan realized he was after a more ‘hands-on’ career in medicine.

“I’ve kind of worked with my hands my whole life, just between rummaging around on a farm and always kind of building things,” he said. “Now it’s using them to help people in a direct way.”

Then, Haan found his passion — inside the laboratory.

In 2018, Haan landed a summer position in Dr. Thomas Fisher’s lab, studying osmoregulation — the mechanisms that govern our bodies’ salt and fluid intake and output.

He never looked back.

By the time he entered medical school, Haan had completed two summer research projects, his honours degree, and his master’s thesis in osmoregulation, all under Dr. Fisher’s supervision.

“He was a really good role model,” Haan said, noting he returned to Fisher’s lab for up to 30 hours a week during his first and second year of medical school.

Haan is set to resume his work at medical school next summer, after he’s completed his PhD.

Until then, he and Fisher are unravelling mechanisms involved with Synaptotagmin-11, and later Endophilin-A1, proteins associated with keeping the body’s fluid-salt balance in check.

Changes in those complexes are often seen in patients with neurodegenerative conditions, such as Parkinson’s, ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and Alzheimer’s disease.

Dehydration and fluid imbalances also become more common as patients age.

Haan calls this “low-hanging fruit” when patients arrive at Emergency Departments, worried about pharmaceutical interactions.

“The more drugs you take, the more likely you are to have a drug interaction that causes a perturbation in this system,” said Haan.

He believes Synaptotagmin-11 and Endophilin-A1 may play “a massive role” in the long-term regulation of our body fluids.

Haan also credits his wife — who just entered medical school with her own PhD — and an “incredible community” of friends in Saskatoon for their support during his decades-long journey through two academic worlds.

Although they will likely have to leave Saskatchewan to pursue his residency as an ear, nose and throat surgeon, Haan said the plan is to return.

“With some of the things that I've learned and my passion for blending this basic science with clinical medicine, maybe somewhere down the line we find something that's really cool that can really help people,” he said.

Sébastien Gauvrit was only ten when his family let him have his first tank of guppies. Within weeks, he was hooked.

“I actually had to understand genetics directly by mixing these different fish together to get the colour or fin shape I was interested in,” said the vascular biologist and genetic modelling pioneer.

From his home in France, to post-doctoral work pioneering new models for vascular disease in Germany, to his current position as an assistant professor of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine — tropical fish tanks remain a constant in Gauvrit’s life.

This year, two grants from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) totalling $340,000 mean Dr. Gauvrit will expand the University of Saskatchewan’s zebrafish aquariums — and refine his laboratory’s modelling work and research on vascular development.

Zebrafish are transparent in their first hours and days, which allows scientists to watch them forming vascular cells in real time.

“Most genes that trigger vascular disease in humans are present in zebrafish,” Gauvrit said, noting they share 70 per cent of of their genes with humans.

Using both fish and rodent models, Gauvrit will do a deeper analysis of the transcription factor HHEX [Hematopoietically Expressed Homeobox], because of its cascading effect on the cells that eventually determine lymphatic health.

“If you understand how this gene regulates others, we can identify new genes involved in lymphatic disease, and understand a bit more the process behind all these events,” Gauvrit said.

He’s also looking at VEGF-A [vascular endothelial growth factor], a gene implicated in vascular diseases, including age-related macular degeneration [AMD]. Right now, patients with blurred vision and an overgrowth of blood vessels are treated with multiple injections to the eye, with the hope of limiting damage.

“A high proportion of patients develop resistance against this therapy, which is a big issue,” Gauvrit said. “It’s also very costly.”

Mice die quickly without VEGF-A, but zebrafish without it survive — even thrive. Gauvrit wants to know what processes help zebrafish compensate, and where mammalian cells diverge.

Gauvrit said the broader implications of vascular research will have ripple effects in treating lymphedema, strokes, and age-related macular degeneration.

“We still discover new things,” Gauvrit said. “Just by serendipity and by randomness, sometimes you can find a bit greater science than when you have a very specific question.”

Stuart Skinner (MD) knew something was wrong three years ago, when patients started coming to him with vision loss, fever, rashes, and meningitis.

Almost every case could be traced back to untreated syphilis — a sexually transmitted infection with caseloads exploding 1,200 per cent from 2017. Saskatchewan saw this spike just as Covid-19 entered the picture.

“With the pandemic, testing dropped dramatically,” Skinner said, noting this wave of syphilis entered north-western Saskatchewan from Alberta, often travelling alongside HIV. Syphilis often spreads through sores, and can remain unnoticed for months or years on end, making early detection difficult.

“If you don’t see it, you won’t be seeking care for it."

When the infectious diseases physician and the Wellness Wheel team began treating mothers with severely ill newborns, stillbirths and birth defects, Skinner knew he had to act. Treating syphilis usually means a series of clinic and laboratory appointments, followed by intramuscular Bicillin injections, and intense contact tracing.

Instead, Skinner, Dr. Sean Rourke, Cara Spence and their teams pared that down to a one-hour stop.

They approached tribal councils and Indigenous-led health organizations, asking for help setting up mobile locations where anyone could be tested, diagnosed, and offered treatment.

Nursing teams drove vans to powwows, festivals, even pharmacies, offering quick, confidential finger-prick tests and results.

“The whole concept was to be flexible and mobile and adaptable . . . . so that we weren't the barrier,” said Skinner. “It wasn't easy for the nurses to set up and read the results or draw the blood in a less comfortable environment, but they did an amazing job.”

In Saskatchewan, a total of 1,797 people agreed to be tested, uptake Skinner calls ‘phenomenal’. Roughly three per cent were infected with HIV; 16% had syphilis.

“The majority were willing to get treated right then and there,” Skinner said.

Those teams have now visited more than 50 locations across the prairies, through a $4M national partnership called the ‘Ayaangwaamiziwin’ Centre — which translates to ‘be careful, be prepared’ in Anishinaabe. Health officials and private donors recently extended those grants for an additional year.

Skinner's colleagues keep fielding requests for the point-of-care service, which in turn has created a network of trusted Indigenous health leaders. This web, he said, could create the backbone of targeted outreach and screening for other diseases, such as diabetes or cancer.

But it only works with mutual respect, he warned.

“This isn't going to First Nations just to help them,” Skinner said. “I've learned so much from the cultural values that are built on what happens in First Nations. We have a lot to learn."

Skinner said mutual respect also means predictable paycheques — not just the odd grant.

He said health budgets need to pay for health promotion workers employed at Indigenous-run organizations and non-profits, the ones who stick around after the testing van leaves. Patients are more likely to stay in touch with familiar faces and staff, he said.

“It’s about respect, kindness, and building trust,” he said. “That is really critical.”