Michael R. Hayden
Genetics has allowed medicine to move beyond treating symptoms and start treating the underlying causes of disease.
“No diseases are hopeless anymore,” says Dr. Hayden. “The way I see them is that their secrets have just not yet been identified.”
Dr. Hayden’s work focuses on understanding the genetic roots of illness and using that understanding to develop better approaches to treatment for patients. He researches diabetes, coronary artery disease, and is part of a large collaboration to determine the genetic basis for adverse drug reactions in children. Much of his career has also been dedicated to understanding the development of Huntington disease and finding a way to cure it.
“When we started working on Huntington disease, the future was dark and patients and families felt hopeless,” says Dr. Hayden. “Today, that has all changed.”
Researchers in the Hayden laboratory have found a critical pathway in the development of juvenile forms of Huntington’s disease. Blocking the action of caspase-6 prevents the progression of the disease in mice. This finding could lay the groundwork for an effective approach to therapy for Huntington disease.
MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS & PUBLICATIONS
Doctor of Science in Medicine (DSc(Med)) (honoris causa), University of Cape Town, South Africa – 2024
Best Scientist in the World, Ranked #860 & Best Scientist in Canada, Ranked #19 Award by Research.com – 2023
Lifetime Achievement Award, Huntington Study Group, USA – 2023
One of the 100 Most Inspiring People in Life Sciences by PharmaVoice – 2022
Ranked # 52 Top Medicine Scientists in Canada, Research.com – 2022
Induction to the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame – 2017
One of 100 most inspirational and influential persons in Pharma, PharmaVoice – 2015
Honorary Doctor of Science, University of Gottingen – 2014
Luminary Award, Personalized Medicine World Conference – 2014
Named one of 50 Canadians born in the 20th century who have changed the world (along with Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Leonard Cohen, Oscar Peterson and John Kenneth Galbraith) – 2013
The Diamond Jubilee Medal, on behalf of HRH Queen Elizabeth II – 2012
Champions of Genetics, The Canadian Gene Cure Foundation (CGCF) – 2011
Aubrey J. Tingle Prize, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research – 2011
Killam Prize, Canada Council of the Arts – 2011
Margolese National Prize, University of British Columbia – 2011
Canada Gairdner Wightman, Gairdner Foundation – 2011
Genome BC Award for Scientific Excellence, LifeSciences British Columbia – 2011
Order of Canada – 2010
Order of British Columbia – 2009
Canada’s Health Researcher of the Year: Canadian Institutes of Health Research Michael Smith Prize in Biomedical and Clinical Research – 2008
Prix Galien (Canada) – 2007
Dylan V. Neel, M.Phill, Clara Baselga-Garriga, Molly Benson, Mackenzie Keegan, Marianne Chase, Derek D’Agostino, Kristin Drake, Jennifer Linn Hagar, Meredith Gibbons Hasenoehrl, Jennifer Kulesa-Kelley, Alex Leite, Silpa Mohapatra, Susanna Marie Portaro, Lindsay M. Pothier, Jesse Rosenthal, Alexander V. Sherman, Hong Yu, Alexandra McCaffrey1, Doreen Ho, Sarah Luppino, Richard Bedlack, Daragh Heitzman, MD, Senda Ajroud-Driss, Jonathan Katz, Kevin Felice, Charles Whitaker, Shafeeq Ladha, Gustavo Alameda, Eduardo Locatelli, MD, Irfan A. Qureshi, Michael T. Hotchkin, Michael R. Hayden, Merit E. Cudkowicz, Suma Babu, James D. Berry, Sabrina Paganoni. “Multi-center expanded access (EA) program for access to investigational products for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).” Muscle and Nerve. PMID: 36929648
David J. Ecker, Clarice D. Aiello, Joseph R. Arron, C. Frank Bennett, Amy Bernard, Xandra O. Breakefield, Timothy J. Broderick, Shawneequa L. Callier, Barry Canton, Janice S. Chen, C. Simone Fishburn, Banning Garrett, Sidney Hecht, Tobias Janowitz, Melinda Kliegman, Adrian Krainer, Chrystal Louis, Christopher Lowe, Joni Rutter, Alfica Sehgal, Yesim Tozan, Kevin J. Tracey, Fyodor D. Urnov, Daniel Wattendorf, Thomas W. Williams, Xuanhe Zhao & Michael R. Hayden. Opportunities and challenges for innovative and equitable healthcare. Nature Drug Discovery. PMID: 38409339
Caron NS, Aly AE, Findlay-Black H, Martin DDO, Schmidt ME, Ko S, Anderson C, Harvey EM, Casal L, Anderson LM, Rahavi RSM, Reid G, Oda MN, Stanimirovic D, Abulrob A, McBride JL, Leavitt BR, Hayden MR. Systemic delivery of mutant huntingtin lowering antisense oligonucleotides to the brain using apolipoprotein A-I nanodisks for Huntington disease. Journal of Controlled Release. 2024 PMID: 38215984
Reilmann R, Anderson KE, Feigin A, Tabrizi SJ, Leavitt BR, Stout JC, Piccini P, Schubert R, Loupe P, Wickenberg A, Borowsky B, Rynkowski G, Volkinshtein R, Li T, Savola J, Hayden MR, Forrest Gordon M. Legato-HD Study: A multicenter randomized double-blind phase 2 study assessing the efficacy and safety of laquinimod as a treatment for Huntington’s disease. Lancet Neurology
Roussakis AA, Gennaro M, Gordon M, Reilmann R, Borowsky B, Rynkowski G, Lao-Kaim N, Papoutsou Z, Savola J, Hayden MR, Owen D, Kalk N, Lingford-Hughes A, Gunn R, Searle G, Tabrizi S, Piccini P. A PET-CT study on neuroinflammation in Huntington’s patients participating in a randomised trial with laquinimod. Brain Commun. 2023 Apr 3;5(2):fcad084. PMID: 37020532
Shao-Ming Wang, Hsiang-En Wu, Yuko Yasui, Michal Geva, MR Hayden, Tangui Maurice, Mauro Cozzolino, Tsung-Ping Su. Nucleoporin POM121 signals TFEB-mediated autophagy via activation of SIGMAR1/sigma-1 receptor chaperone by pridopidine. Autophagy 19 (1), 126-151 2023
Lopes C, Ferreira I.L, Maranga C, Beatriz M, Mota SI., Sereno J, Castelhano J, Abrunhosa A, Oliveira F, Rosa MD, Hayden MR, Laço MN, Januário C, Branco MC, Rego A.C. Mitochondrial and redox modifications in early stages of Huntington’s disease. Redox Biol. 2022 Oct;56:102424. doi: 10.1016/j.redox.2022.102424. Epub 2022 Aug 10. PMID: 35988447
Caron NS, Banos R, Aly AE, Xie Y, Ko S, Potluri N, Anderson C, Black HF, Anderson LM, Gordon B, Southwell AL, Hayden MR. Cerebrospinal fluid mutant huntingtin is a biomarker for huntingtin lowering in the striatum of Huntington disease mice. Neurobiol Dis. 2022 May;166:105652.10.1016/j.nbd.2022.105652. Epub 2022 Feb 7. PMID: 35143966
Shenkman M, Geva M, Hayden MR, Lederkremer GZ. Pridopidine reduces mutant huntingtin-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress by modulation of the Sigma-1 receptor. J Neurochem. 2021 Jul;158(2):467-481. PMID: 33871049
Naia L, Ly P, Mota S, Lopes C, Maranga C, Gershoni-Emek N, Geva M, Hayden MR, Rego AC. The Sigma-1 receptor mediates pridopidine rescue of mitochondrial function in Huntington disease models. Neurotherapeutics. 2021 Apr 1. doi: 10.1007/s13311-021-01022-9. Online ahead of print. PMID: 33797036
Wright GEB, Findlay Black H, Collins JA, Gall-Duncan T, Caron NS, Pearson CE, Hayden MR. Interrupting sequence variants and age of onset in Huntington’s disease: clinical implications and emerging therapies. Lancet Neurol. 2020 Nov;19(11):930-939. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(20)30343-4. PMID: 33098802
Caron N, Wright GEB, Hayden MR. Huntington Disease. 1998 Oct 23 [Updated 2020 Jun 11]. In: Adam MP, Ardinger HH, Pagon RA, et al., editors. GeneReviews® [Internet]. Seattle (WA): University of Washington, Seattle; 1993-2020. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1305/ PMID: 20301482
Kay C, Collins JA, Caron NS, Agostinho LA, Findlay-Black H, Casal L, Sumathipala D, Dissanayake VHW, Cornejo-Olivas M, Baine F, Krause A, Greenberg JL, Paiva CLA, Squitieri F, Hayden MR. A Comprehensive Haplotype-Targeting Strategy for Allele-Specific HTT Suppression in Huntington Disease. Am J Hum Genet. 2019; 105(6):1112-1125. PMID: 31708117
Wright GEB, Collins JA, Kay C, McDonald C, Dolzhenko E, Xia Q, Bečanović K, Drögemöller BI, Semaka A, Nguyen CM, Trost B, Richards F, Bijlsma EK, Squitieri F, Ross CJD, Scherer SW, Eberle MA, Yuen RKC, Hayden MR. Length of Uninterrupted CAG, Independent of Polyglutamine Size, Results in Increased Somatic Instability, Hastening Onset of Huntington Disease. Am J Hum Genet. 2019; 6;104(6):1116-1126. PMID: 31104771
Wright GEB, Carleton B, Hayden MR*, Ross CJD*. The global spectrum of protein-coding pharmacogenomic diversity. Pharmacogenomics J. 2018; 18(1):187-195 doi:10.1038/tpj.2016.77 PMID: 27779249 *These authors jointly supervised this work
Southwell AL, Smith-Dijak A, Kay C, Sepers M, Villanueva EB, Parsons MP, Xie Y, Anderson L, Felczak B, Waltl S, Ko S, Cheung D, Dal Cengio L, Slama R, Petoukhov E, Raymond LA, Hayden MR. An enhanced Q175 knock-in mouse model of Huntington disease with higher mutant huntingtin levels and accelerated disease phenotypes. Hum Mol Genet. 2016; (17):3654-3675. PMID: 27378694
Kay C, Collins JA, Miedzybrodzka Z, Madore SJ, Gordon ES, Gerry N, Davidson M, Slama RA, Hayden MR. Huntington disease reduced penetrance alleles occur at high frequency in the general population. Neurology. 2016; 87:1–7. PMID: 27335115
PRESS COVERAGE
CBC News, Glybera: World’s most expensive drug gets second chance, Vancouver, BC, 10/19
CBC News, The million-dollar drug, Vancouver, BC, 11/18