Recognizing Tigers’ Excellence Off the Pitch
Teamwork has taken Dalhousie students Andrew Chen and Ricky Schwarzkopf from the soccer field to the forefront of medical research.
In a compelling blend of academic curiosity, teamwork, and personal connection, Dalhousie University students Andrew Chen and Ricky Schwarzkopf have made a notable contribution to the field of hematology with their recently published research on immune neutropenia - a rare and often treatment-resistant condition.
Both defenders on the Dalhousie men's soccer team, Andrew and Ricky have been teammates for the past four years. This season, they helped the Tigers to their first AUS Championship since 2008.
Their research, now published in the Journal of Human Immunity by Rockefeller Press, focuses on two patients with immune neutropenia who failed to respond to standard treatments. Remarkably, both patients showed significant improvement after receiving ruxolitinib, a drug traditionally used to treat blood cancers. The findings offer renewed hope for patients with limited treatment options and underscore the growing potential of drug repurposing - using existing medications to address rare and underserved diseases.
The project was conducted under the mentorship of Dr. Luke Chen, a hematologist affiliated with Nova Scotia Health and the University of British Columbia, and founder of the Coastal Program for Rare Inflammatory Diseases (CoRID). Andrew, whose father is Dr. Chen, and Ricky both joined CoRID as volunteers, united by their shared ambition to pursue careers in medicine and advance rare disease research.
"Our research is the first to introduce a new treatment option for immune neutropenia in more than 25 years," the students explained. "Filgrastim, the current standard of care, doesn't work for everyone. Both of our patients were unresponsive, which made the success of ruxolitinib especially exciting."
The research process involved an extensive review of existing data and literature, a deep exploration of the disease's underlying biology, and the development of visual data illustrating the patients' clinical improvements. Following publication, the team also produced a video summary to make their findings more accessible to a broader audience.
Reflecting on the experience, Andrew and Ricky described the journey as both challenging and rewarding. "Learning how to write a publishable scientific paper and appreciating the level of precision required was eye-opening," they said. "We are excited to share about an important discovery that could help many other patients living with a rare disease."