For the first time ever, a Queen’s University professor has received funding from the China-Canada Joint Health Research Initiative. Colin Funk has been awarded a three year grant of $223,275 to study issues surrounding cardiovascular health and disease.

Working with Ying Yu at the Shanghai Institutes of Biological Sciences, Dr. Funk will be exploring how aspirin and fish oils work to counteract problems during cardiovascular procedures. “Omega 3 fatty acids from fish oils and other sources have received widespread attention for their cardioprotective properties but how they do this has been debated over the past 30 years,” says Dr. Funk.

Dr. Funk and Dr. Yu’s research will focus on how fish oils and aspirin work to counteract platelets that attempt to clot the blood during the insertion of a stent into the heart, which can cause problems for the success of the procedure. A stent props open blocked blood vessels providing one defense against heart attacks.

The two doctors, who have been working collaboratively for the past 10 years, will travel to each other’s home lab once a year and their post doctoral fellows and students will take part in the exchange as well.

The grant is jointly funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.