From roots to research in advancing burn care and treatment
Fadi Khalaf was a toddler living in Iraq with his family when U.S. forces invaded in 2003. In search of safety, his family relocated to Syria when Khalaf was five years old, followed by a move to Canada when he was eight, where they settled in Burlington.
“I was very young, but those experiences shaped me into who I am,” says Khalaf, now a 23-year-old McMaster University student pursuing a master’s degree in biochemistry and biomedical sciences, with a focus on research aimed at helping burn patients. He’s investigating burns in older adults for his thesis, with an internationally recognized team of experts at the Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) Centre for Burn Research. The team’s research focuses on developing treatments and therapies to improve outcomes in people with severe burn injuries.
“We are one of few research centres in the world studying the impact of burns on older adults on cellular and molecular as well as genetic levels.” — Dr. Marc Jeschke, HHS vice president, research
Khalaf grew up listening to his family recount their experiences with explosions, traumatic injuries and limited access to health care, which inspired him to study burns and explore new and improved ways to treat them. Before starting his master’s degree, Khalaf worked for three summers at Dr. Marc Jeschke’s burns lab in Toronto and then Hamilton at the burn research centre where Jeschke’s lab is now based. Jeschke is a globally recognized burn surgeon and researcher, vice president of research for HHS and medical director of the regional burn program at HHS Hamilton General Hospital (HGH). He’s also Khalaf’s primary mentor.
The burn research centre is within the Thrombosis and Atherosclerosis Research Institute (TaARI), located in the David Braley Research Institute building. The Braley building is next door to HGH, where the Regional Burn Program is located, so researchers are right beside the patient population they’re working to help.
“It’s incredibly motivating to work in a research lab that’s next door to Hamilton General Hospital, where patients directly benefit from our lab’s new discoveries and treatments.” — Fadi Khalaf, master’s student
The HGH regional burn program is one of only two burn units in the province caring for adults with severe burns. The other is in Toronto.
The power of mentorship
“Research has found that many older adults, including younger seniors in their 60s and in good physical shape, don’t survive burns,” says Jeschke. “We are one of few research centres in the world studying the impact of burns on older adults on cellular and molecular as well as genetic levels.”
Fadi Khalaf, a master’s student working at the HHS Centre for Burn Research.
This means that Khalaf is on the front line of cutting-edge research that could advance care for burn patients worldwide. This unique learning experience has inspired him to follow in Jeschke’s footsteps, with a career goal of becoming both a medical doctor and a researcher exploring innovative new burn treatments.
Burns and older adults
Age-related factors that make older adults more susceptible to burn injuries include thinning skin, decreased sensation and deterioration of judgement and coordination. Yet it’s not completely understood why older adults haven’t benefited from the ongoing improvements in burn care, says Jeschke. It’s vital research, considering Canada’s aging demographic.
Over the next 20 years, Canada’s senior population is expected to grow by 68 per cent, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
“It’s not just a vulnerable population; it’s also an expanding one,” adds Khalaf. “We need to start figuring out ways to mitigate these poor outcomes. Part of my project involves figuring out why older adults don’t recover well from burns, and exploring treatments and drugs that could help them respond to that trauma.”
The research-patient connection
Khalaf is drawn to the field’s broad scope. “Burns are much more than a physical injury,” he says. “These patients need wide-ranging support in their recovery that includes wound care, plastic surgery, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, social work and mental health support.”
Researchers are a vital part of this circle of care, because they discover ground-breaking new ways to provide care and treatment. Across HHS, many doctors and health-care professionals are also researchers, so patients are cared for by the same people searching for new and better treatments and cures. As a result, HHS patients are often the first to benefit from such innovations.
“It’s incredibly motivating to work in a research lab that’s next door to Hamilton General Hospital, where patients directly benefit from our lab’s new discoveries and treatments,” says Khalaf. “That’s what really drives my passion for this work. Everything we do is ultimately helping patients.”
Khalaf’s future goals—beyond becoming a clinician-researcher—include revisiting his roots by helping developing countries, including those in the Middle East, establish their own burn centres.
“I’d like to help their doctors deliver cutting-edge treatment for patients, the way we do here,” says Khalaf. “While I’ve spent three-quarters of my life in Canada, my early years shaped me into who I am, and I want to be in a position to give back someday.”
