Averi Chan
Project: Can a ketogenic diet reduce the negative outcomes associated with neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy?
“The most valuable piece of advice my supervisor has given me is that sometimes science does not work out the way we expect it to, but that does not necessarily mean the result is bad... It could open more opportunities and avenues that make for a more interesting investigation than what was initially intended.”
Summary: Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (nHI) is a severe acute brain injury caused by a lack of blood flow and oxygen. It can occur before, during or after birth and affects 1.7 out of 1,000 births. nHI is associated with severe outcomes such as seizures, cerebral palsy and death. However, these negative outcomes may be improved by capitalizing on a 72-hour window after initial injury, during which the condition can worsen due to inflammation, excitotoxicity (where nerve cells suffer damage or death), and oxidative stress.
Current treatments for nHI include therapeutic hypothermia, ventilation and medications to treat symptoms such as seizures. We aim to improve outcomes through alterations to diet content, ultimately affecting metabolism. Using the ketogenic diet, which is characterized by high-fat and low-carbohydrate foods, we aim to exploit its known neuroprotective effects to reduce negative outcomes associated with nHI. While the ketogenic diet has been studied in the context of ischemic stroke, where it decreased tissue damage in adult rat models, this cannot be applied to neonatal brains. Our project aims to tackle this knowledge gap and improve health outcomes for neonates affected by nHI.
Averi Chan was supervised by Dr. Cheuk-Him (Andy) Ng in the Department of Pediatrics in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, and her WCHRI summer studentship was funded by the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. She began a master of science in pediatrics this fall.
Read more about WCHRI’s training awards for students at all levels and generous grants for researchers. See the rest of the 2026 summer studentship recipients here.
