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Research Program
1) Drug and Chemical Safety
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Research Program
1) Drug and Chemical Safety
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Dr. Alastair Cribb is professor of clinical pharmacology at the Atlantic Veterinary College, UPEI, adjunct faculty in the Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Director of the Laboratory of Comparative Pharmacogenetics at UPEI and Interim Director of the PEI Health Research Institute. He was recently named Canada Research Chair in Comparative Pharmacology and Toxicology. In addition, Dr. Cribb is on the Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and is a CIHR Investigator.
Dr. Cribb completed his PhD in Clinical Pharmacology at the Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto in 1991, after completing his DVM degree at the University of Saskatchewan in 1984. During his PhD, he studied genetic susceptibility to adverse drug reactions. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University, where he investigated the regulation of cytochrome P450 enzymes during inflammation. He then spent four years in human drug development with Merck & Co, USA where he continued to assess the genetic basis for variable drug response. He joined AVC and UPEI in 1996.
Dr. Cribb's current drug and chemical safety research program focuses on molecular mechanisms of drug- and chemicaltoxicity in humans and animals and the role of comparative phamacogenetics in determining the response to drug and chemical exposure. By comparing and contrasting the molecular basis of drug-induced toxicities, particularly idiosyncratic toxicities, in humans and animals, a better understanding of molecular mechanisms of drug toxicity and genetic factors influencing susceptibility can be achieved. As part of this program, we are investigating how pharmacogenetic differences between and within species contribute to the occurrence of drug-induced toxicity. Drugs currently under study include antimicrobials, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and anticonvulsants. The program also focuses on the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress proteins in direct and immune-mediated toxicity. This research will ultimately lead to improved safety assessment of drugs and chemicals, and to improved safety of drugs and drug use in human and veterinary medicine.
The cancer research program is currently focussed on breast cancer and is investigating the effect of genetic polymorphisms in estrogen formation and disposition on the risk of breast cancer in women on PEI. This research involves identifying specific enzymes involved in the estrogen disposition, identifying genetic polymorphisms in those pathways, and determining in molecular epidemiology studies if these polymorphisms influence the risk of breast cancer is devoted to understanding the mechanism of and genetic susceptibility to drug and chemical toxicities, particularly immunologically-mediated toxicity.
Dr. Cribb is also involved in a number of clinical pharmacology studies. These programs are described in more detail under their separate headings and recent publications in each area are summarized. His laboratory currently supports undergraduate students, two Masters students, four PhD students, two postdoctoral fellows and three technicians.