The federal government’s Canada Research Chairs program invests up to $311 million per year to attract and retain some of the world’s most accomplished and promising minds. Chairholders are recognized to be national and international experts in the fields of engineering and the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities and social sciences. Brock University has 10 active Canada Research Chairs, with more to be announced. This monthly series profiles the work, and lives, of Brock’s Chairholders.

When Newman Sze was eight years old, he took apart a clock — only to put it back together again.

His parents were mildly annoyed but were used to their son’s fascination with mechanical structures and processes. He frequently disassembled and assembled household objects to understand how all the parts worked together.

During high school and university, Sze became interested in many disciplines, including chemical physics, computer programming, analytical chemistry, protein science, proteomics, life science and systems biology. He eventually earned a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Hong Kong.

“This diverse background equips me with the essential skills required for innovative scientific research, particularly in investigating complex biomedical problems,” he says.

As Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Mechanisms of Health and Disease, Sze continues with his passion for exploring how complex systems work through “unraveling the intricacies of the human aging process” and how aging is connected to chronic conditions.

“As life expectancy rises, so does the prevalence of age-related diseases and associated health-care expense,” says Sze. “Understanding the complexity of the biology of aging and related disorders will be crucial to combating this rapidly growing problem.”

Sze and his team study how proteins in tissues are damaged through several spontaneous chemical reactions, including oxidative stress. This damage, collectively called degenerative protein modification (DPM), causes proteins to malfunction and even take on harmful new functions.

While it’s well known DPMs play a critical role in aging, Sze says that understanding precisely how damaged molecules modify biological functions “is not straightforward.”

Over the past two decades, Sze and his team have developed innovative methods to measure protein levels and DPM profiles in human cells and tissues, testing their functions to gain insights into the aging process and its role in causing human diseases.

Central to Sze’s work is how diet and exercise interact with DPMs to impact aging and health conditions such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes.

In recent research, Sze showed high levels of salt in the diet cause hypertension and peel away the protective layer on the surface of blood vessels as well as the cells that line blood vessels. This damage can progress to stroke and coronary heart disease among other issues.

To carry out this research, Sze and his team devised new ways of studying the structure and function of blood vessels that experienced diet-induced hypertension compared to those of healthy diets to observe critical changes in the blood vessel structures.

In research published late last year, the team described a groundbreaking immunotherapy method they discovered that could potentially add years to healthy aging.

They engineered monoclonal antibodies that boost the body’s ability to detect and clear abnormal harmful molecules, thereby reducing chronic inflammation. These laboratory-created antibodies can direct the immune system to destroy damaged proteins like it does harmful bacteria in the body.

Following promising results in animal models, the team is in the process of developing and commercializing their monoclonal antibody drug for potential use in humans.

“By shifting the emphasis towards preventive care, along with the introduction of more effective therapeutics and prophylactics, our research takes direct aim to reshape health-care systems, ease financial strain and potentially transform our society,” says Sze.

Sze credits his team of students and funding from various federal government agencies for the research advancements he has contributed to during his career.