Dr. Julia Uhanova is medical researcher with over 25 years of experience in the field. She is an Associate Professor at the Department of Internal Medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Uhanova’s research interests lie in the area of liver diseases, such as viral hepatitis and Metabolic-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD), with a focus on distinct epidemiology of liver diseases in Indigenous populations.

Dr. Uhanova earned the Doctor of Medicine degree from the Ural State Medical University in Russia, and her Master of Sciences and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the University of Manitoba in 2001 and 2010, respectively. She was the recipient of multiple scholarships, training awards, and recognitions. She has authored 82 peer-reviewed publications, 48 abstracts and over 90 presentations. Dr. Uhanova’s funding portfolio includes 19 grants, 9 of them as a Principal Investigator, with the total value of funds over five million. Of note, 3.3 million of those funds Dr. Uhanova received as a principal investigator. Dr. Uhanova’s research program in the first decade of her career centered on viral hepatitis, laying the foundation for her expertise in liver disease. Over time, her focus transitioned to Metabolic‑Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD)—formerly known as Non‑Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)—reflecting the growing global importance of metabolic liver disorders.

Some of the research highlights include the following projects:

Viral Hepatitis

Application of the Health Care System to the First Nations vs. Non-First Nations Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Viral Infection). Conducting this research, Dr. Uhanova uncovered important differences in hepatitis C epidemiology, such as that hepatitis C-infected First Nations, unlike non- First Nations, are more often female, younger, diagnosed <40 yr., and that despite different risk profiles, HCV infection progressed similarly in First Nations and non- First Nations. She co-designed a clinical trial, the first of its kind in Canada (Prospective Anti-HCV Trial of Peg-Interferon and Ribavirin in Subjects of First Nations and Caucasian Ethnicity, 2009-2012) and documented a differential response to therapy in FIRST NATIONS and Caucasians. Her continuing commitment to research on viral hepatitis in various populations, including FIRST NATIONS Manitobans, is evident in my 2013/2015 CIHR grant Identifying Demographic, Epidemiologic, Clinical Outcome and Health Care Utilization Trends in Canadians with Chronic Hepatitis C Viral Infections over the Past Two Decades.

MASLD

With the emerging NAFLD epidemic, Dr. Uhanova evaluated the prognostic value of biochemical markers for predicting the profile of NAFLD patients who might develop a more progressive disease . She studied (1) the time from clinical presentation to the development of cirrhosis in non-cirrhotic referred adult patients with NAFLD and (2) monitored temporal changes of various indexes of severity (MELD, FIB4 and APRI) in NAFLD patients referred to hepatologists. Both suggested that a clinically meaningful progression of NAFLD occurs within 5 years, supporting the timelines of the proposed study.
Dr. Uhanova’s cross-sectional analysis of the severity of NAFLD in First Nations and non- First Nations patients referred to hepatologists suggested that, while more common, NAFLD may be less severe in First Nations individuals.

A larger prospective study was required to confirm these findings. Hence, a CIHR-funded study ($2,031,075) “Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD): Defining the impact, severity and natural history of NAFLD in Canadian First-Nations and non-First Nations communities” – the Ookwin Study addressed various aspects of NAFLD in rural and Indigenous communities. At this time, a unique partnership between academic researchers, Island Lake Anisininew Nations, and the Four Arrows Regional Health Authority (FARHA) was established and made the successful implementation of the study possible. We recruited 900 non-Indigenous and 967 Indigenous participants, conducted 189 NAFLD clinics with a total of 4,677 participants’ appointments for 1,876 initial and 2,801 follow-up visits. We also observed that certain liver enzymes and scores (e.g. ALT, APRI) of Anisininew people who consumed traditional food often seems to be better than in persons who did not. We continued working with the Anisininew Nations’ team members and partners and designed another CIHR-funded project, “Traditional Indigenous Land-Based Diet and Chronic Inflammation: Does Adherence to the Traditional First Nations Diet Decrease the Severity of Chronic Inflammatory Diseases?” ($573,751) in order to investigate the relationship between the traditional land-based diet, weight, and chronic diseases with inflammation, and explore the mechanisms of potentially anti-inflammatory effect of a land-based diet.

Studies

• Traditional Indigenous Land-Based Diet and Chronic Inflammation: Does Adherence to the Traditional First Nations Diet Decrease the Severity of Chronic Inflammatory Diseases?. 
• Incidence – Prevalence – Natural History and Short-Term Outcomes of NAFLD in First Nations Community-Based Populations in Manitoba – Four Arrows Regional Health Authority