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Harold L. Atkins, M.D., B.Med.Sc. FRCP(C)
hatkins@ohri.ca
Telephone: 613-737-8303
Fax: 613-737-8861
 General Campus
(see Contact page for maps)
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Scientist, Cancer Therapeutics and Medical Director, Regenerative Medicine, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Physician, The Ottawa Hospital Blood Bone Marrow Transplant Program
Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Ottawa
Current Research Projects
Stem Cell Transplantation For The Treatment Of Autoimmune Diseases.
Multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases result from the dysregulation of the immune response in individuals with permissive immunogenetics exposed to poorly identified environmental initiating factors. Thus, the removal of a diseased immune organ using systemic therapy (chemotherapy, antibody therapy and radiotherapy) and replacement with a healthy new organ derived from purified hematopoietic stem cells could be a potentially valuable and curative treatment for patients with autoimmune diseases. This paradigm is currently being tested in clinical studies of patients with Multiple sclerosis.
I have initiated a multicenter trial to study the effects of dose-intensive immunosuppression on the immunological activity of MS using autologous T cell depleted hematopoietic stem cell support. Changes in the immune system are being monitored using both clinical and laboratory assays of immune function. Data on the changes in CNS destruction, lymphocyte subpopulations, repertoire complexity and antigen directed immune cell repopulation are being collected and will be correlated with clinical indicators of immune and MS activity. The alterations detected in the immune system will provide vital information about the immunological changes necessary for disease response and disease control. In the event that this therapy fails to curb recurrent MS activity in a patient, these studies will provide knowledge of the earliest immune alterations in the renewed activity of this disease.
Oncolytic viruses for the treatment of human marrow derived malignancies.
In collaboration with Dr. John Bell, I am looking at the effects of oncolytic viruses on acute leukemia, myeloma and lymphoma cells. Different cell types exhibit variable sensitivity to virus induced cytolytic effects. My current work is examining the spectrum of cytolysis and whether resistance to viral effects can be amplified or selected. Ultimately, the goal is to examine the molecular/genetic basis of the resistance. Coincident with this work, preclinical studies are being completed that will guide the use of oncolytic viruses in the clinical setting.
Most Recent Publications (provided by The Ottawa Hospital Library Database)
Takach S;Yang L;Ho J;Sabri E;Martin L;Halpenny M;Atkins H;Sabloff M;McDiarmid SA;Huebsch LB;Bence-Bruckler I;Giulivi A;Allan DS;, (2009 Sep 21), Monoclonal B cells detected in autologous PBSC grafts from patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma: impact on relapse and survival following transplantation, Bone Marrow Transplant, -> view abstract
McDiarmid S;Hutton B;Atkins H;ce-Bruckler I;Bredeson C;Sabri E;Huebsch L;, (2009 Nov 30), Performing allogeneic and autologous hematopoietic SCT in the outpatient setting: effects on infectious complications and early transplant outcomes, Bone Marrow Transplant, -> view abstract
Gupta V;Tomblyn M;Pedersen TL;Atkins HL;Battiwalla M;Gress RE;Pollack MS;Storek J;Thompson JC;Tiberghien P;Young JAH;Ribaud P;Horowitz MM;Keating A;, (2009), Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Positive Patients with Hematologic Disorders: A Report from the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research, Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Vol.15, Issue 7, 864-871 -> view abstract
Ho J;Yang L;Banihashemi B;Martin L;Halpenny M;Atkins H;Sabloff M;McDiarmid SA;Huebsch LB;ce-Bruckler I;Giulivi A;Allan DS;, (2009), Contaminating tumour cells in autologous PBSC grafts do not influence survival or relapse following transplant for multiple myeloma or B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Bone Marrow Transplantation, Vol.43, Issue 3, 223-228 -> view abstract
Atkins H;Freedman M;, (2009), Immune ablation followed by autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for the treatment of poor prognosis multiple sclerosis, Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N J ), Vol.549, 231-246 -> view abstract
Ho J;Yang L;Banihashemi B;Martin L;Halpenny M;Atkins H;Sabloff M;McDiarmid SA;Huebsch LB;Bence-Bruckler I;Giulivi A;Allan DS;, (2008 Sep 29), Contaminating tumour cells in autologous PBSC grafts do not influence survival or relapse following transplant for multiple myeloma or B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Bone Marrow Transplant, Vol.43, Issue 3, 223-228 -> view abstract
Nguyen TL;Abdelbary H;Arguello M;Breitbach C;Leveille S;Diallo JS;Yasmeen A;Bismar TA;Kirn D;Falls T;Snoulten VE;Vanderhyden BC;Werier J;Atkins H;Vaha-Koskela MJ;Stojdl DF;Bell JC;Hiscott J;, (2008 Sep 24), Chemical targeting of the innate antiviral response by histone deacetylase inhibitors renders refractory cancers sensitive to viral oncolysis, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, Vol.105, Issue 39, 14981-14986 -> view abstract
Labonte L;Iqbal T;Zaidi MA;McDiarmid SA;Huebsch LB;Tay J;Atkins H;Allan DS;, (2008 Sep), Utility of comorbidity assessment in predicting transplantation-related toxicity following autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for multiple myeloma, Biol Blood Marrow Transplant, Vol.14, Issue 9, 1039-1044 -> view abstract
Chen JT;Collins DL;Atkins HL;Freedman MS;Arnold DL;, (2008 Feb), Magnetization transfer ratio evolution with demyelination and remyelination in multiple sclerosis lesions, Ann Neurol, Vol.63, Issue 2, 254-262 -> view abstract
Reece DE;Leitch HA;Atkins H;Voralia M;Canning LA;LeBlanc R;Belch AR;White D;Kovacs MJ;, (2008 Aug), Treatment of relapsed and refractory myeloma. [Review] [72 refs], Leukemia & Lymphoma, Vol.49, Issue 8, 1470-1485 -> view abstract
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