Identifying and evaluating the role of endotypes in sepsis diagnosis and treatment

Sepsis is a very complex disease, consisting of phenotypic clusters of patients, that constitute distinct endotypes, which are biologically-driven and relevant to clinical outcomes. We investigating whether genomics (RNA-seq and machine learning) can be used to diagnosis sepsis at time of admission, based on the 4 separate endotypes (subtypes) found in sepsis patients. We are currently conducting a multi-site study in colllaboration with institutions in Canada, Australia, Columbia, the Netherlands, USA, and Uganda.

Related Publications:

  1. Dhillon BK, Kortbeek S, Baghela A, Brindle M, Martin DA, Jenne CN, Vogel HJ, Lee AHY, Thompson GC, Hancock REW. Gene Expression Profiling in Pediatric Appendicitis. JAMA Pediatr. 2024 Apr 1;178(4):391-400.
  2. An AY, Baghela A, Zhang P, Falsafi R, Lee AH, Trahtemberg U, Baker AJ, Dos Santos CC, Hancock REW. Persistence is key: unresolved immune dysfunction is lethal in both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 sepsis. Front Immunol. 2023 Sep 26;14:1254873
  4. An AY, Baghela A, Zhang P, Falsafi R, Lee AH, Trahtemberg U, Baker AJ, Dos Santos CC, Hancock REW. Severe COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 severe sepsis converge transcriptionally after a week in the intensive care unit, indicating common disease mechanisms. Front Immunol. 2023 Apr 6;14:1167917.
  5. Baghela A, An A, Zhang P, Acton E, Gauthier J, Brunet-Ratnasingham E, Blimkie T, Freue GC, Kaufmann D, Lee AHY, Levesque RC, Hancock REW. Predicting severity in COVID-19 disease using sepsis blood gene expression signatures..Sci Rep. 2023 Jan 23;13(1):1247.
  6. Baghela A, Pena OM, Lee AH, Baquir B, Falsafi R, An A, Farmer SW, Hurlburt A, Mondragon-Cardona A, Rivera JD, Baker A, Trahtemberg U, Shojaei M, Jimenez-Canizales CE, Dos Santos CC, Tang B, Bouma HR, Cohen Freue GV, Hancock REW. Predicting sepsis severity at first clinical presentation: The role of endotypes and mechanistic signatures. EBioMedicine. 2022 Jan;75:103776

Project Details

Lead institution: University of British Columbia
Status: Active/Ongoing
Theme(s): Diagnosis, Management

Project Lead(s): Bob Hancock
Collaborators: David Sweet
Trainee(s): N/A

First Nations land acknowledegement

Action on Sepsis operates on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples — xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We invite everyone to reflect on the traditional territories and land that they currently work and live on.

Action on Sepsis Research Cluster

Research Excellence Clusters at UBC Vancouver is a joint initiative of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic, UBC Vancouver and the Vice-President, Research and Innovation. Funding support for the clusters is provided by Academic Excellence Funds – UBC Vancouver.

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