From left: In this file photo, Brock University Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Canada Research Chair in Tissue Plasticity and Remodelling Val Fajardo (left) examines data from his team’s NASA work on muscle loss and weakness, alongside master’s student Ryan Baranowski, PhD student Jessica Braun, master’s student Briana Hockey and master’s student Emily Copeland.For Val Fajardo (BSc ’09, MSc ‘12), the saying “share and share alike” has particularly powerful implications in the world of science.
An expert on how muscles work, the Brock Associate Professor of Kinesiology and his students have spent more than six years studying physiological processes that fuel muscle development and decline.
Along the way, the Canada Research Chair in Tissue Remodelling and Plasticity throughout the Lifespan and his group have come up with innovative methods, procedures, tools and other research protocols that he’s all too happy to share with fellow scientists.
“I don’t think about competition, since there’s more than enough room for all of us in this field,” says Fajardo. “If more labs use these techniques that we’re specialized in, we’re enabling the scientific community to learn and move forward.”
For his enthusiasm in sharing his protocols and research data, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has awarded Fajardo its CIHR-IMHA Inclusive Research Excellence Prize.
“Brock University is highly committed to the principles of Open Science,” says Brock Acting Vice-President, Research Michelle McGinn. “This prestigious prize recognizes Dr. Fajardo’s major contributions to advancing knowledge and innovation for the benefit of other scientists and for society as a whole.”
The Canadian government defines Open Science as “a movement to make scientific processes and practices, including research methodology and outputs, more open and transparent.”
The idea is to have scientists take what’s been done to the next level so as to develop scientific advancements faster than having to reinvent the wheel.
Such knowledge is most commonly shared through open access publishing in which anyone has free, unrestricted online access to research outputs. Consistent with Brock’s Open Access Policy, Fajardo and team deposit copies of their publications in the Brock University Digital Repository. But their commitment to openness doesn’t stop there.
Fajardo and his team have made major inroads on understanding muscle health in a number of contexts, including muscular dystrophy, aging, obesity, menopause and most recently, spaceflight.
Most of Fajardo’s protocols and data sharing have arisen out of his team’s research with NASA on slowing the kind of muscle and tissue loss that happens to astronauts during space flight.
The research involves several physiological process and components including an enzyme called GSK3, which is involved in a cell’s metabolism, differentiation and immunity. GSK3 activity is associated with muscle and bone deterioration.
Fajardo’s team has provided their research information to NASA’s Biospecimen Sharing Program and Biological Institutional Scientific Collection, GeneLab and NASA Ames Life Sciences Data Archive.
Three studies published by scientists worldwide have used datasets Brock contributed to NASA’s Open Science structures.
He has also published his research protocols in the open access journal STAR Protocols.
“Our commitment to Open Science has resulted in exciting collaborations both within and beyond academia, expanding the reach of our research beyond national borders and enhancing its rigour and robustness,” says Fajardo. “It has facilitated the formation of new partnerships that are driving innovation and progress in a range of fields.”
The CIHR-IMHA Inclusive Research Excellence Prize was a special call to “recognize fundamental knowledge creation, knowledge mobilization, multiple ways of knowing, non-traditional research methods, and outputs.” The program concluded in 2024.
