As Researchers Under the Scope marks its 100th episode, we hand the microphone to Dr. Linda Chelico, who recently accepted a five-year term as Vice-Dean Research, Biomedical Sciences, at the University of Saskatchewan's College of Medicine.

Originally from Melfort, Saskatchewan, the virologist and biochemist outlines her two main priorities: upgrading research infrastructure and raising the public profile of her colleagues' work.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, Chelico said biomedical researchers are now expected to team up producing multiple lines of evidence supporting the same conclusion, before publications accept their findings.

"Is it just specific to that cell? What about cells from other parts of the body, or other cancers?" she explained. "They might also want you to do the studies in an animal model."

Alongside a second vice-dean who will oversee the College of Medicine's clinical trial unit, Chelico wants to strengthen collaboration, pushing more discoveries toward real-world treatments.

She also says it's time to make biomedical research more visible to donors and the general public, through social media outreach and real-life tours of the Health Sciences complex.

"A lot of times people drive by this nice, shiny building, this new building that went up, you know, 10 years ago, on College Drive and they probably wonder, what are we doing in here?"

Chelico said connecting those dots should help boost health-related infrastructure investment from both the public and private sectors.

A yet-unnamed vice-dean will focus on clinical health sciences and population health, overseeing the College's clinical trial service unit. Together, Chelico says their goal is to more effectively link laboratory discoveries with investigator-led clinical trials that lead to new treatments for real-life patients.

She sees this as a time for renewal.

"I think it's a really great time to be here as a biomedical researcher, because there's a really big chance to have an impact on what the future will be," she said.

"People are really collaborative here."

Dr. Holly Graham never planned on nursing. She wanted a police badge, then a law degree and a judge's bench.

Instead, she followed her mother's wish and walked into nursing school as the only student from a reserve in a class of more than 200. The isolation was real. So were the health gaps she saw every shift.

In this episode, Graham traces her path from being the only Cree nurse in her graduating class, to becoming a professor of psychiatry, registered doctoral psychologist, and Indigenous Research Chair in Nursing at the University of Saskatchewan. Her curiosity about widespread health disparities for Indigenous people pushed her back to university, into a master's degree and a PhD focused on Indigenous health. She continues to provide mental health counselling for patients carrying deep-seated trauma and symptoms of PTSD.

She also explains why watching Grey's Anatomy during the pandemic inspired her to create a free pocket-sized 'CPR Racism' guide.

"CPR underscores the urgency of life," said Graham. "People are unfortunately not having the best health outcomes, and in some situations dying as a result of racism."

From that insight, Graham created a free CPR RACISM Guide that was mailed to every nurse in Saskatchewan. The goal is to name harmful behaviours, protect patients, and support colleagues without slapping labels on anyone. Along with founding a Professional Practice Group for Indigenous nurses and nursing students, she's found ways to turn loneliness and unanswered questions into mentorship networks, national training guidelines, and real-life tools that reshape the way nurses see their patients and themselves.

"Health really is wealth," she said. "If we want to address health disparities, we need a representative workforce and a culture of caring that doesn't repeat past harms."

Most childhoods don't involve sitting at the hospital for an infusion of medication, transfusions on weekends, or worrying that classmates will comment on the colour of your skin.

For one Saskatoon teen with an ultra-rare blood disease, that's everyday life. She was diagnosed with a form of anemia so uncommon only a handful of cases have been identified globally.

In this episode, Sarah Tehseen (MD) & Katie Felton (MD) share how they're working to change her "normal" by opening a phase 3 pharmaceutical trial and fighting for a better quality of life.

We hear how Tehseen and Felton each got into medicine, why they love working with kids, and what it's like to be there for families on "one of the worst days of their life."

"It's getting them through the next day, week, month and years ahead," said Felton. "So even though, yeah, I deal with blood disorders and cancer, which are really can be difficult conversations with families, we still have fun."

They pull back the curtain on the effort it took to bring a this drug trial for an ultra-rare form of anemia to Jim Pattison Children's Hospital. From having to respond to 40 or 50 e-mails a day, to forfeiting vacation time as their patient goes through blood draws and clinic visits, it's a heavy lift.

"Definitely, it requires some changing and plans for us at times, to be able to accommodate and facilitate that," said Tehseen. "Having two physicians doing it together, rather than being doing it alone, is has, has been super helpful."

They discuss the hidden financial realities of rare drugs, and the importance of blood and stem cell donation.

Both physicians say they find true joy in detective work, and in finding the right treatments for their patients. And even simple things like learning a child's favourite video game or doing bunny-hop races down the hall can help kids coping with rare diseases feel a little less alone.

Tehseen says it's worth learning more.

"If she's your classmate, if she's your student, know what it is, how it's affecting her. Because the more you know, the better you're able to show up in the life of that person," she said.

OneMatch Bone Marrow Registry - https://www.blood.ca/en/hospital-donors-and-volunteers/become-donor/one-match

Canadian Blood Services - https://www.blood.ca/en