Biographical
Sketch
Dr.Downey received his B.Sc. (Med) and M.D. from the Faculty
of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. He completed training in General Internal
Medicine at the Beth Israel and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University
in Boston, MA. He then undertook subspeciality training in Pulmonary and Critical
Care Medicine at the University of Colorado affiliated hospitals, followed by
research training in pulmonary immunology at National Jewish Medical and Research
Center in Denver, CO in the laboratory of Peter Henson. Dr. Downey is currently
Director of the Division of Respirology, and Professor and Vice Chair of the Department
of Medicine, University of Toronto, a senior scientist in the Toronto General
Hospital Research Institute of the University Health Network and the recipient
of a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Respiration Sciences.
University
Appointments
Director, Division of Respirology, The University of
Toronto, Professor and Vice-Chair, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto
Hospital Appointments
Staff
Physician, Division of Respirology, University Health Network and Mount Sinai
Hospital.
Physician, Multi-Organ Transplant Unit, Toronto General Hospital.
Associate Staff, Division of Respiratory Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children.
Clinical Activities
General
Respiratory Medicine
Lung Transplantation
Pulmonary Fibrosis
Rare
Lung Diseases (lymphangioleiomyomatosis, pulmonary alveolar proteinosis)
Pulmonary
Immunology
Pulmonary Vasculitis
Educational
Activities
Associate Director, Institute of Medical Sciences, University
of Toronto
Current Local,
Provincial, National and International Activities
Member of the
CIHR Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health Advisory Board
Chair,
CIHR Investigators committee
Member, Planning Committee, Assembly on Allergy,
Immunology, and Inflammation, American Thoracic Society
Chair, Assembly on
Allergy, Immunology, and Inflammation International Committee, American Thoracic
Society
Associate Editor, American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular
Biology
Member of the Rare Lung Diseases Consortium, National Institutes of
Health
Research Interests
Mechanisms
of inflammatory injury to the lung
Leukocyte activation in sepsis and lung
injury
Cell signaling in innate immunity
Focal Adhesion Regulation of Cell
Signaling
Regenerative Medicine
The innate immune system in Cystic Fibrosis
Current
Grant Support
Agency | National
Sanatorium Association | | Date
and Duration | 06/01-06/06 | | Title | Program
in Pulmonary Fibrosis | | PI | Downey,
G. | | Amount | $1,000,000 | Agency | Canada
Research Chair, Tier 1 | | Date
and Duration | 01/2001-12/2007 | | Title | Acute
Lung Injury and Inflammation | | PI | Downey
G. | | Amount | $200,000
per annum ($1,400,000 total). | | Agency | Canada
Foundation for Innovation | | Date
and Duration | 01/2001-12/2007 | | Title | Acute
Lung Injury and Inflammation | | PI | Downey
G. | | Amount | $330,000
total equipment award. | | | | Agency | Canadian
Institutes of Health Research Grant #MT-12255 | | Date and
Duration | 10/05-9/10 | | Title | Tyrosine Phosphatase
Regulation of Leukocyte Activation. Implications for Lung Injury | | PI | Downey
G. | | Amount | $129,993 per annum ($649,965 total). | |
| | Agency | Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Group Grant | | Date and Duration | 10/03-10/08 | | Title | Cellular
and Molecular Mechanisms of Organ Injury | | PI | Levy
G. Co-PIs Downey G, Marsden P, Rotstein O, Cybulsky M, Zhang L. | | Amount | $226,259
per annum ($1,131,295 total). | | | |
| | Agency | Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Grant # MT-10994 | | Date and Duration | 4/2004-3/2009 | | Title | Inflammatory
Injury to the Lung Epithelium; Implications for Acute Lung Injury | | PI | Downey
G. | | Amount | $122,295 per annum ($511,475 total) | |
| | Agency | Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Grant# MOP13187 | | Date and Duration | 3/2001-3/2006 | | Title | Signaling
of IL-1 through focal adhesions | | PI | McCulloch,
C | | Role | Co-PI with Dr. C. McCulloch | | Amount | $117,000
per annum ($585,305 total) | | | | Agency | Canadian
Foundation for Innovation | | PI | Arthur Slutsky | | Role | Project
Leader | | Date and Duration | 7/2001-6/2006 | | Title | Center
for Critical Care Research Excellence | | Amount | $5,000,000. | |
| | Agency | Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Training Grant | | Date and Duration | 4/2002-3/2006 | | Title | Regenerative
Medicine | | PI | Levy, G. | | Role | Co-PI
with Dr. G. Levy | | Amount | $225,000 per annum ($675,000
total) | | | | | | Agency | Canadian
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation | | Date and Duration | 4/06-4/09 | | Title | Defective
Clearance of Apoptotic Neutrophils from the Lung in Cystic Fibrosis | | PI | Downey,
G | | Role | Co-PI with Dr. S. Grinstein | | Amount | $96,866
per annum ($278,598 total) | | | | Agency | Canadian
Foundation for Innovation | | PI | Gary Levy | | Role | Project
Leader | | Date and Duration | 7/2004-6/2009 | | Title | Center
for Research in Immune Tolerance | | Amount | $12,000,000.
|
|
| Agency |
National Institutes of Health grant #HL-04-001 |
| PI |
Slutsky, AS. Co-PIs: Dorian P and Morrison L. |
| Role |
Scientific Consultant |
| Date and Duration |
7/2004-6/2009 |
| Title |
From Bench to Bedside to Curbside. University of Toronto regional clinical center application to: Clinical research consortium to improve resuscitation outcomes. |
| Amount |
$2,454,201 US over 5 years.
|
|
Selected Recent Publications
- Click
here for search results from PubMed
Chapters
and Monographs
Book Chapters and Reviews 2001-2007.
Chow C-W, and GP. Downey. The Battlefield: Cells and Mediators. In Sepsis and
Organ Dysfunction; From Chaos to rationale. Baue AE, Berlot G, Guilo A, and Vincent
J-L (Eds). Springer-Verlag Italy. pp 67-76, 2002. SRA
Chow CW, Downey
GP, Grinstein S. Phacocytosis. Current Protocols in Cell Biology. Publisher: John
Wiley and Sons Inc. Supplement 22. 15.17.7-15.17.31. 2004.
Moraes T,
Suzuki T, Downey GP. The Neutrophil; Balancing Antimicrobial Effectiveness and
the Potential for Damage to the Host. In 'Textbook of Critical Care, 5th Edition.
Fink, Abraham, Kochanek, and Vincent Editors. Elsevier Saunders, Philadelphia
PA. pp 133-139, 2005. SRA
Chow CW, Downey GP. Inflammation. Clinical
Critical Care Medicine. Editors. Albert, Slutsky, Ranieri, Takala, Torres. Chapter
1, pages 1-12.2005. Publisher: Elsevier, Philadelphia, PA.
Moraes T,
Downey GP. Non Immune Host Defenses of the Lung. In: Respiratory Infections -
Edited by Torres, Ewig, Mandell & Woodhead. In press, 2005.
Moraes
TJ, Zurawska J, and Downey GP. Neutrophil Granule Contents in The Pathogenesis
Of Lung Injury. Current Opinion In Hematology. 13:21-27, 2006.
Herridge
M, Downey GP, Darling G. Bacterial Infections of the Lung. In: Textbook of Thoracic
Surgery. Third Edition Ed. Ginzberg R. 2006. Co-Author.
Research
Laboratory
The focus of research in my laboratory is on transmembrane
signaling events regulating leukocyte activation. The relevance of this is to
diseases characterized by inflammatory injury to the lung including acute lung
injury and ARDS, cystic fibrosis, and asthma. State of the art techniques in cell
and molecular biology including single cell microfluoresence imaging, microinjection,
molecular cloning and DNA sequencing, reverse transcriptase PCR, fusion protein
expression and mammalian cell transfection with dominant negative proteins, and
the generation and study of knockout mice are currently in use in our laboratory.
Specific projects currently ongoing include:
1. Genomic and functional
characterization of tyrosine and lipid phosphatases expressed in leukocytes. We
are focusing on the study of these key signaling molecules including SHP-1, SHP-2,
MEG-2, SHIP-1, and PTEN.
2. Interaction of neutrophils with lung epithelial
cells related to mechanisms of epithelial dysfunction in lung injury.
3. Determination
of the role of tyrosine phosphatases in focal adhesion-dependent signaling in
fibroblasts.
4. Mechanisms of clearance of apoptotic cells in inflammation |