Dr.
Laura Arbour is Clinical Geneticist and Assistant Professor
in the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of British
Columbia. Her clinical practice and research focuses on northern
and aboriginal health issues as they pertain to genetics.
She received her medical degree at McMaster
University in 1991, and followed that with a pediatrics residency
and genetics fellowship at McGill University. Having already
received two Masters degrees in Medical Genetics at McGill (1988),
her research interests in the north developed during her residency,
fellowship and a brief tenure as a consultant pediatrician in
Inuit communities in Nunavik. It was here it became apparent
that the genetics component of health and disease in the north
was often neglected.
Her research focus is on
investigation of gene/environment interaction for complex conditions
particularly prevalent among Canadian Aboriginal populations.
She is currently investigating the nutrient and genetic basis
of congenital heart defects in the Inuit of Baffin Island, Nunavut
as well as the an autoimmune liver disease, primary biliary
cirrhosis prevalent in British Columbia First Nations. She is
funded by a CIHR Institute of Genetics Clinical Investigatorship,
as well as the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples Health as a "new
researcher in aboriginal health".
Dr. Arbour’s broad interests connect ethics,
genetics and clinical medicine to improve health. Thus, she
organized two Canadian workshops to explore the concept of a
"Tribal controlled DNA bank" which examined the ethics
of conducting biomedical research in aboriginal populations
and the concept of "DNA on loan”. In addition to the
Ethics, Law and Society Committee of the Institute of Genetics,
Dr. Arbour serves on the CIHR Scientific Advisory Council for
Rural and Northern Health Research, The Canadian Pediatric Surveillance
Program Steering Committee, The Canadian Longitudinal Health
Initiative-ELSI Advisory Committee and is on the executive councils
of the Canadian Society for Circumpolar Heath and International
Union of Circumpolar Health.
Recent Publications
Arbour L, Field L, Ross
P, Erikson A, Henderson H, Rupps R, Yoshida E. Characteristics
of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis in British Columbia’s First
Nations People. Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology (In Press
2005)
Arbour L, Gilpin C, Millor-Roy V, Pekeles G, Egeland GM, Hodgins
S, Eydoux P. Increased incidence of heart defects and other
malformations in the Inuit of Baffin Island and Arctic Quebec:
a baseline study. Int J Circumpolar Health 63(3)251-266, 2004.
Arbour L, Field L. Ross P, Erikson A, Yoshida E; The Mystery
of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis in British Columbia’s First
Nations People. Int J Cirucmpolar Health 63(Supp 2):185-188,
2004.
Arbour L. The researcher's perspective; Is there a research
imperative?" in; Glass K, Kaufert J, 2002, Continuing the
Dialogue: Genetic Research with Aboriginal individuals and communities
Proceedings of a workshop sponsored by the Canadian Commission
for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO), Health Canada and the National Council
on Ethics in Human Research, 2002.
Arbour L, Christensen B, Delormier T, Platt R, Gilfix B, Forbes
P, Kovitch I, Morel J, Rozen R. Neural Tube Defects, Folate
Metabolism, and Dietary Folate Intake in a Northern Canadian
Aboriginal Population. Int J Circum Health 61:341-349, 2002.
Arbour L. Genetic Research in Inuit and 1st Nations Communities:
Experiences from Baffin Island, Northern Quebec and British
Columbia in: Glass K, Kaufert J, Research Involving Aboriginal
Individuals and Communities: Genetics as a focus, Proceedings
of a Workshop of the Consent Committee, The National Council
on Ethics in Human Research (NCEHR), 2001.
Yoshida E.M., Caron N.R., Buczkowski A.K., Arbour L.T., Scudamore
C.H., Steinbrecher U.P., Erb S.R., Chung S.W. Indications for
Liver Transplantation in British Columbia's Aboriginal Population:
A Ten Year Retrospective Analysis. Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology
14 (9) 775-779, 2000.
Rahman L, Arbour L, Houlston R, Bonaiti-Pellie C, Abidi F, Tranchemontagne
J, Ford D, Narod S, Foulkes W, Pritchard-Jones K, Schwartz C,
Stratton M. Penetrance of Mutations in the Familial Wilms Tumour
Gene, FWT1. JNC1 92(8):650-2, 2000.
Arbour L, Silver K, Hechtman P, Treacy E, Coulter-Mackie, M.
Variable Onset of Metachromatic Leukodystrophy in Vietnamese
Sibs with Identical Novel Mutations in the ARSA Gene. Pediatric
Neurology 23 (2) 173-176, 2000.
Christensen B, Arbour L, Tran P, Leclerc D, Sabbaghian N, Platt
R, Gilfix BM, Rosenblatt DS, Gravel RA, Forbes P, Rozen R. Genetic
polymorphisms in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase and methionine
synthase, folate levels in red blood cells, and risk of neural
tube defects. Am J Med Gen 84(2):151-157, 1999.
email: laura.arbour@viha.ca |
