New London lab aims to detect childhood diseases before symptoms appear

Researchers in London, Ont., say a new laboratory equipped with cutting-edge technology will help them detect childhood diseases earlier and develop more personalized treatments for young patients.

The Children's Health Research Institute (CHRI), part of the London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute, has opened Canada's first pediatric laboratory certified to use Olink technology, allowing scientists to measure thousands of proteins from a single drop of blood.

The technology allows researchers to identify subtle changes in proteins before symptoms appear, helping them better understand how diseases develop, monitor their progression and identify opportunities for earlier diagnosis and treatment.

"This technology changes the way we study childhood disease," said Dr. Victor Han, scientific director of the Children's Health Research Institute, in a statement Thursday.

"Instead of waiting until children become sick, we can identify and detect changes in proteins much earlier, thus helping us to diagnose the disease before it becomes clinically apparent. More importantly, by analyzing the changes in proteins in the blood using bioinformatics and artificial intelligence, we will be able to delineate the disease process and develop more personalized and targeted treatments."

The laboratory is one of only a handful in Canada with Olink capabilities and is the country's first dedicated to pediatric research, according to the institute. It was funded through donor support to Children's Health Foundation.

Researchers say the technology is particularly important for infants and young children, where blood collection is often limited. While conventional testing methods can require several millilitres of blood, the Olink platform can produce detailed protein profiles from just a few microlitres.

"For premature babies weighing only one or two pounds, every drop of blood matters," Han, a newborn specialist, said.

"Being able to perform this level of analysis from such a small sample opens entirely new possibilities for infant and paediatric research."

The lab is already supporting research into preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication that can affect both mothers and babies. Scientists are studying protein biomarkers that could eventually lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment before complications develop. Future research will focus on chronic lung disease in premature infants, infections, rare genetic diseases and other pediatric conditions.

Researchers say the new facility will also benefit scientists across Canada by allowing protein analysis to be completed domestically instead of sending samples overseas, reducing costs and turnaround times while creating new opportunities for collaboration.

"Our goal is to predict diseases before children become seriously ill," Han said. "The earlier we understand what's happening inside the body, the sooner we can intervene and give children the best possible chance to recover quickly towards healthier lives."