Heather Armstrong, MSc, PhD

Research summary

Dr. Heather Armstrong is an accomplished researcher working at the intersection of gut health and chronic diseases. Her research specifically focuses on understanding the underlying mechanisms of diet-associated inflammation in inflammatory diseases, such as Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), which are mediated by gut microbes. Dr. Armstrong's work has helped to identify the unique ways that gut dysbiosis in IBD leads to increased inflammation in select patients. Through her research, she aims to unravel the complex interactions between gut microbes, diet, and inflammation to better understand the pathology of these diseases and how they are linked to cancer. Her team utilizes cutting-edge translational models of microbiome and human biopsy tissues to investigate these interactions and to explore new strategies for personalized medicine. Dr. Armstrong's research is not only advancing our understanding of these debilitating diseases but also has the potential to improve the lives of millions of people affected by them.

Research themes

• Autoimmune disease
• Cancer
• Diet
• Epithelial barrier
• Fermentation
• Immunology
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Microbiome
• Multiple sclerosis
• Rheumatoid arthritis

Research groups

•  Manitoba Centre for Proteomics and Systems Biology
•  Manitoba IBD Clinical and Research Centre
•  Manitoba Multiple Sclerosis Research Centre (MMSRC)
•  The Canadian Children Inflammatory Bowel Disease Network (CIDsCaNN)

Research affiliations

• Canadian Association of Gastroenterology
• Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM)
• Cancer Research Institute of Northern Alberta
• Canadian Society for Immunology (CSI)
• Women and Children's Health Research Institute (WCHRI)

Dr. Heather Armstrong is an accomplished assistant professor of internal medicine with the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba, and a research scientist with the Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM). She is also a research scientist with the Manitoba Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Clinical and Research Centre and a founding member of the Manitoba Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Research Centre. Her past positions include an instructor role at the University of Alberta School of Medicine and Dentistry. Dr. Armstrong is dedicated to mentoring and supporting young scientists who are interested in learning more about complex co-culture techniques for use in translational research approaches to personalized medicine. She is involved in several national and international multi-disciplinary teams where she utilizes her translational models of microbiome and human biopsy tissues to better understand the pathology of diseases of dysbiosis, such as IBD, MS, and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), and their relationship to cancer.

Education

Doctorate of Medicine and of Philosophy (PhD-MED), Medicine, University of Adelaide, Australia (2016)

Masters in Science, (MSc) cell biology, University of Alberta (2012)

Bachelor of Science (BSc), biological sciences major with science psychology minor, University at Alberta (2010)

Awards