Reasons to be hopeful: Four ways health research is making the world a better place

Feature Stories | 08 May 2025 | Read time: 4 min

Good news is still out there—you just have to know where to look. At Queen’s Health Sciences, faculty experts are asking bold questions that rethink and reimagine how we provide care for one another, with research grounded in curiosity, empathy, and purpose. Whether it's fighting to eradicate cervical cancer or learning from those on the front lines of the opioid crisis, here are four ways Queen’s health researchers are making the world a better place.

Answering the call to eliminate cervical cancer

Sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s highest incidence rates of cervical cancer; nineteen of the twenty countries with the greatest number of cases are in the region.

For Dr. Karen Yeates, confronting this staggering statistic means expanding access to screening and early detection resources, using a familiar, widely available technology. In fact, you might even be reading this on her solution right now.

Working with partners across the region, Dr. Yeates and her team developed WEMA, a mobile phone app that helps health providers conduct cervical cancer screenings and track patient results. Its success has enabled the team to expand the app’s use across several countries and apply it to other health challenges, like breast cancer screening.

In addition to WEMA, Dr. Yeates is leading a research program in Tanzania designed to increase the number of women screened for cervical cancer and its root cause: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection. So far, the program has screened and treated over tens of thousands of women.

Lessons from nurse practitioners on the front lines of the opioid crisis

Nurse practitioners (NPs) play a critical role in the ongoing effort to address the opioid overdose and poisoning crisis. One way they do that is through administering medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in primary care settings.

A study from Queen’s School of Nursing researcher Dr. Martha Whitfield examines the experiences of NPs in Canada and the U.S. and their conceptions of capability providing MOUD and safe supply. Those interviewed noted they did not receive much substance-use training during their initial NP education. Instead, they described learning as they practiced: adapting to shifting drug trends, filling gaps in clinical guidance, and working with patients as active partners in their own care.

The study underscores the potential for progress in how we treat opioid use disorder. With over 7,400 NPs across Canada, more supportive policies and education opportunities would strengthen their ability to deliver MOUD in primary care, making treatment for opioid use disorder more accessible, collaborative, and compassionate.

The next big breakthrough in bladder cancer treatment

Imagine going through treatment for bladder cancer, only to learn months later that the intervention didn’t work. For thousands of Canadians, this is the painful reality. The global standard treatment for bladder cancer—a groundbreaking immunotherapy developed decades ago at Queen’s—helps many but is unsuccessful in about half of all cases. Often, that leaves patients and their health providers grappling with the question: why does the vaccine work for some but not others?

With funding from the Terry Fox Research Institute, Dr. Madhuri Koti and a cross-disciplinary team of Queen’s researchers are working to answer this question. By studying patient tumours, blood samples, and immune responses, the team hopes to uncover why only some patients respond to treatment. Identifying those who are unlikely to respond to treatment means care teams can pursue alternative therapies earlier, with fewer surprises, fewer setbacks, and better outcomes for cancer patients.

Tackling asthma at the cellular level

Asthma affects millions of people worldwide, but we still don’t fully understand why some people develop it and others don’t. Treatment options remain limited, and there is currently no cure.

Dr. Eva Kaufmann is digging deeper into the fundamentals of asthma and other allergy sensitizations, looking for clues within stem cells that could uncover how allergies and immune responses take root. One of her projects, which supports the long-term goal of developing new targeted immunotherapies for asthma, recently received $500,000 in research funding.

"We're tucked away in the lab,” says Dr. Kaufmann, “but the work we’re doing has the potential to improve the lives of thousands of patients everywhere who may come to us in the future. Investing in fundamental research like this advances medicine in the long-term.”

Want to know more about these projects?

Share your research story!

Are you a Queen’s researcher part of an unfolding research story or bringing hope to the future of health? We’d love to hear from you. Pitch your story using this form, and your work may be featured in an upcoming column or shared across Queen’s Health Sciences social media channels.

Read time

4 min