The TARGET-KD program (The Application of Renal Genomics to Enhance the Treatment of Kidney Disease) is seeking to recruit subjects who are scheduled to undergo a kidney biopsy in the near future who are willing to donate a one-time urine and blood sample to the kidney disease biobank at the University of Calgary. Samples will be de-identified and used in future studies in order to discover and validate disease-classifying molecular and genetic indicators that may exist in the blood and urine. These discoveries could lead to the development of simple urine or blood-based diagnostic tests rather than requiring an invasive kidney biopsy to diagnose patients and treat them appropriately. We are also actively recruiting healthy volunteers without kidney disease to donate urine and blood samples on a one-time basis to be used as controls for comparison studies.

Women with antiphospholipid antibodies are more likely to have pregnancy complications, and antiphospholipid syndrome is a serious acquired blood clotting condition. Pregnancy complications may include recurrent or late pregnancy loss, placental problems like pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure and protein in the urine) or growth restriction (small babies), or blood clotting problems. Low-dose aspirin and/or injectable blood thinners called low-molecular-weight heparin are used for patients with antiphospholipid antibodies or antiphospholipid syndrome to prevent recurrent pregnancy complications or blood clots. However, pregnancy complications still occur despite our best therapies of aspirin and injectable blood thinners. The purpose of this research study is to find out whether a drug called hydroxychloroquine may help improve pregnancies in women with APS. This is a drug that is safe in pregnancy, and is used for other indications. This study is a randomized controlled trial, which means that a participant would either receive hydroxychloroquine or a placebo drug. This would start before pregnancy, and continue during pregnancy. Follow-up would occur before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and after pregnancy.

Invitation to share your recent hospitalization experience! Share your story of your recent hospital experience to help researchers understand why patients with arthritis may have to seek care in hospital. Through one interview, help the research team to understand: - what led to the need for care in a hospital or urgent/emergency care setting, - what health services you may have tried to access to avoid this visit, and - any other health factors might have contributed to the event. This study has been approved by the University of Calgary Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board (REB22-1316).

Our study goal is to recruit two groups of runners who are active, healthy females between the ages of 18-35 and 35-55 years old. We are including individuals who are both naturally menstruating (pre-menopausal) and those that have at least 9 cycles a year but may have changes in menstrual flow and in the length of the cycle (peri-menopausal). We are studying the tendon stiffness differences in hormone levels by age groups; and (2) whether there is an association between achilles tendon stiffness-ability to gerenerate force and hormone levels (estrogen and progesterone) regardless of age during a running treadmill protocol.

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 1 in 54 children in Canada. ASD is increasingly being associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, a condition that may intensify or influence ASD symptoms. Mitochondrial dysfunction in ASD can impact various biological processes, that influence the neurodevelopmental aspects of the disorder. This connection suggests that mitochondrial health may play a crucial role in the manifestation of ASD's core symptoms, such as difficulties in social interaction, communication challenges, and repetitive behavior patterns. Given the potential link between mitochondrial dysfunction and ASD, this study aims to utilize buccal swab samples to assess mitochondrial health in individuals with ASD. By analyzing mitochondrial function in a sample that is easy to obtain and does not cause harm is invasive, the study hopes to better understand the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in ASD. Our improved understanding of mitochondria function in ASD can lead to better and more effective ways to manage symptoms that create day-to-day set backs in an individuals life and creater more tailored intervention stategies.

The purpose of this study is evaluate heat, cold, and pressure pain thresholds in individuals who have suffered a sport-related concussion compared to control subjects (orthopaedic injured controls and uninjured controls). Sport-related concussion is a type of mild traumatic brain injury that may result in a wide variety of symptoms including physical, cognitive, and/or behavioral functional impairments. The mechanisms leading to many of the common symptoms (headache, dizziness, neck pain, etc) are not well understood, but it is generally accepted that the symptoms may represent changes in the physiology of the brain. A concussion may, in some cases, lead to increased pain sensitivity to otherwise tolerable stimulation. Studies involving relatable injuries such as whiplash and other neck injuries suggest it may be important to identify individuals with increased pain sensitivity, as these individuals may be more likely to experience a poor recovery outcome and be less responsive to conservative treatment. There is minimal research evaluating changes in pain sensitivity following a concussion, despite clinical presentations that suggest this may occur. Thus, we are aiming to highlight the importance of identifying individuals with increased pain sensitivity following concussion in order to ensure that these individuals are receiving early and appropriate treatment strategies, which would ultimately help to improve their recovery outcomes.

This study will look at how everyday physical activity levels relate to thinking and memory in 200 adults aged 45–59 with a family history of dementia. You will wear a small activity watch on your wrist for seven days to track your daily movement and sedentary behaviour (like sleep). During a lab visit, you will do some thinking and memory tests, where brain activity and brain blood flow will be measured using sensors placed over your head. Blood and stool samples will also be collected. We also want to see how your stress axis functioning may be related to your level of physical activity and how it is involved in how your brain works. In order to look at stress axis functioning, you will collect 5 saliva samples at specific times over two consecutive days. During the lab visit, you will also take part in a game that is known to temporarily and mildly increase stress. We will see whether these links between the brain, physical activity, and blood/stool/stress differ for females and males and across menopause stages for females. This is not an exercise program, rather we will observe your usual movement. Our goal is to learn if and how daily movement supports brain health in midlife so people can act early, before memory problems begin.

We seek to recruit healthy older adults for a research study on the therapeutic benefits of vestibular stimulation on balance and walking. You will be asked to come to the lab 3 times a week for 6 weeks, with 9-, 12-, 18-, and 30-week follow up visits. Each visit will last ~1 hour. All parking fees will be covered (please bring your receipt to the lab). During each visit, we will have you perform simple balance and gait tasks before and after experiencing 15 min of mild electrical vestibular stimulation.

Recruiting female athletes aged 18-35 yrs to participate in a study aimed at improving our understanding of the menstrual cycle in athletic populations. Participants will gain insights into their own menstrual cycle hormones. These hormones will be paired to training data. The study is open to athletes who are naturally menstruating or who are using the birth control pill or have an IUD (which can be copper or hormonal). Participants will track their training and menstrual cycle details for approximately three cycles. No lab visits are required; almost all of the measures can be completed at home. -At the beginning of the study, you would complete a baseline questionnaire. -Each day throughout the study, you would complete a short questionnaire (1-2 minutes) to report training details, symptoms, and bleeding. We will also provide you with an Oura ring to wear throughout the study that collects data on recovery. -Every three days, you would complete an at-home salivary test where you spit in a small test tube. We will provide you with a mailing kit for you to mail your samples to a lab that will assess your estrogen and progesterone hormone levels. -Around the middle of each cycle, you would take at-home urinary ovulation tests to determine ovulation date. -You may also be asked to perform some brief performance tests (bike and jump) to help us understand changes in performance throughout the menstrual cycle. The research team will provide a report at the end of the study that will show hormone levels patterns paired to the training data that you report. This could be used to help inform how you train throughout your menstrual cycle.

We are trying to see how blood vessels in our lungs react in low oxygen (hypoxia). And we want to see how the response differs between males and females. As a participant, you will come in for 2 separate visits. The first visit will involve a screening. Then you will become familiar with ultrasound scans of the heart. The second visit will involve a blood draw and then ultrasound scans in a low-oxygen chamber for 2 hours. We will take images of the heart every 40 minutes while in the chamber, and 30 minutes after exiting the chamber.