Dr. Victor Han, MD, FRCPC, FRCP


Children’s Health Research Institute
Director
Scientist, Fetal and Newborn Health Program


Lawson Health Research Institute
Program Leader, Children’s Health Research Institute


Children’s Hospital of Western Ontario
Chair, Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
Attending Neonatologist, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit


University of Western Ontario
Professor, Departments of Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Biochemistry, and Anatomy and Cell Biology
Associate Chair, Department of Paediatrics
Associate Dean, Research, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry


Other Appointments
Douglas and Vivian Bocking Chair in Fetal and Neonatal Growth
Canada Research Chair in Fetal and Maternal Health
CIHR University Delegate
Member, Institute Advisory Board, IHDCYH, CIHR
Chair, Selection Committee, Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program


Contact Information
Tel:
(519) 685-8500 Ext. 58306
(519) 661-2111 Ext. 86206
(519) 646-6100 Ext. 64798
Fax:
(519) 685-8186
(519) 661-3797
(519) 646-6123

E-mail:
Victor.Han@sjhc.london.on.ca
vhan@uwo.ca

Web:
http://www.chairs.gc.ca/web/chairholders/
http://www.cchcsp.utoronto.ca/selection.html
http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/24497.html

Brief Biography

Dr. Victor Han received his medical degree from the Institute of Medicine, University of Rangoon, in 1973. He trained in Paediatrics at the Universities of Southampton and Oxford, United Kingdom, and in the subspecialty in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at The University of Western Ontario. He then received research training in molecular biology and biochemistry of growth factors at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, between 1983 and 1987 as an MRC Research Fellow. He has received specialist certification in Pediatrics in the United Kingdom (FRCP), Canada (FRCP) and United States (American Boards), and a sub-specialist certification in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine in United States (American Sub-Boards).


He became an Assistant Professor of the Department of Paediatrics at The University of Western Ontario in 1987, an Associate Professor in 1992, and a Professor in 1996. He became the inaugural Douglas and Vivian Bocking Chair in Fetal and Neonatal Growth at UWO in 1999, and a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Fetal and Maternal Health in 2001.


He became the Director of the Children’s Health Research Institute in 1999, and was reappointed to this position for a further 5 years in 2004.


Research Interests

• Fetal, placental and newborn growth and development
• Low birth weight and intrauterine growth restriction
• Fetal/developmental programming
• Preeclampsia


Research Activities

Dr. Han is an internationally recognized researcher whose laboratory is recognized as one of the top research laboratories in the world in the field of fetal and placental growth research. He utilizes
(1) transgenic and gene targeting technologies to delineate the paracrine/endocrine role of IGF system in mice,
(2) models of manipulating nutritional and substrate supplies to the fetus in pregnant animals to study gene-environmental interactions in fetal and placental development and fetal/developmental programming, and
(3) genomic and proteomic technologies to determine the molecular mechanisms of preeclampsia. His research has attracted grants from MRC/CIHR (continuously since 1987). He has made invited presentations at over 100 national and international conferences and has published over 150 research articles. Dr. Han has trained over 40 undergraduate students, 14 graduate students and over 30 postdoctoral fellows.


Representative Publications

  1. Watson CS, Bialek P, Koshravi S, Anzano M, Yee SP, Han VKM. Increased circulating IGFBP-1 in the fetus is sufficient for a growth restricted phenotype. Endocrinology (in press).
  2. Carter AM, Nygard K, Mazzuca DM, Han VKM (2006). The expression of insulin-like growth factor (IGF) and IGF binding protein (IGFBP) mRNAs in mouse placenta. Placenta 27(3):278-290.
  3. Zygmunt M, McKinnon T, Lala PK, Han VKM (2005). Human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) promotes trophoblast migration by upregulating the recycling of IGF-II receptor. Hum Mol Reprod 11(4):261-267.
  4. Carter AM, Kingston MJ, Han KK, Mazzuca DM, Nygard K, Han VKM (2005). Altered expression of insulin-like growth factors and insulin-like growth factor binding proteins during intrauterine growth restriction in guinea pigs. J Endocrinology 184:179-189.
  5. Herr F, Liang OD, Scott CD, Lang U, Preissner K, Han VKM, Zygmunt M (2003). Angiogenic roles of insulin-like growth factor-II and its receptors in the uterine vascular adaptation to pregnancy. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 88(10):4811-7.
  6. Gratton R, Gluszynski M, Mazucca D, Nygard K, Han VKM (2003). Adrenomedullin mRNA expression in the placentae of normal and preeclamptic pregnancies. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 88(12):6048-55.
  7. Gratton R, Gluszynski M, Mazucca D, Nygard K, Graham C, Han VKM (2002). Reducing agent and tunicamycin responsive protein mRNA expression in the placentae of normal and preeclamptic pregnancies. Placenta 23(4):303-310.
  8. Gratton RJ, Asano H, Han VKM (2002). The regional expression of insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) in the placentae of women with preeclampsia. Placenta 23(4):303-310.
  9. Zygmunt M, Mazzuca DM, Walton J, Han VKM (2000). Local fetal signal is not required for maintaining insulin-like growth factor binding protein gene expression in the human decidua: Evidence from extrauterine pregnancies. Mol Human Reproduction 6(10):959-965.
  10. Green LR, Kawagoe Y, Hill DJ, Richardson BS, Han VKM (2000). Effect of intermittent umbilical cord occlusion on insulin-like growth factors and their binding proteins in preterm and near term ovine fetuses. J Endocrinol 166:565-577.
  11. Han VKM, Carter AM (2000). Spatial and temporal patterns of expression of messenger RNAs for insulin-like growth factors and their binding proteins in placenta of man and laboratory animals. Placenta 21(4):289-305.
  12. Han VKM, Carter AM, Chandarana S, Tanswell B, Thompson K (1999). Ontogeny of expression of insulin-like growth factor (IGF) and IGF binding protein mRNAs in the guinea pig placenta and uterus. Placenta 20:361-77.
  13. Han VKM, Bassett N, Walton J, Challis JRG (1996). The expression of insulin-like growth factor (IGF) and IGF binding protein (IGFBP) genes in the human placenta and membranes: Evidence for IGF-IGFBP interactions at the feto-maternal interface. J Clin Endocrinol Metabol 81:2680-2693.