Linda Larcombe is an associate professor of internal medicine in the U of M’s Max Rady college of medicine and a trained anthropologist specializing in Indigenous history, health and collaborative research.
Her research explores how gene polymorphisms influence immune responses to infectious diseases, focusing on their interaction with environmental and socio-cultural factors within Indigenous communities.
“I’ve always been interested in working with First Nations communities and building capacity in the communities,” she said. “That’s taken different research avenues over the course of my career, whether it was cultural heritage management or working with the communities directly for health research.”
Her current research is interdisciplinary and it emphasizes enhancing youth mental and physical wellness by collaborating with Indigenous First Nations, Inuit and Dene communities in and around Churchill to explore effective strategies.
Instead of waiting for infectious diseases and physical or mental health issues to emerge, she has developed a research program focused on exploring potential uses of local cultural heritage. This includes investigating evidence of Indigenous land use from the past, which has been uncovered at archaeological sites in and around Churchill. The technologies and software employed are also from different disciplines utilized to expose youth training in these fields of cultural heritage and land management.
“Youth [are] involved in discovering, documenting, recording and doing some research around these archeological sites, and doing some innovative knowledge transfer, so [we’re] developing software or using software to develop different ways of seeing the sites,” she explained. “So, 3D and virtual reality we’re exploring so that people can visit these cultural heritage sites without actually being there.”
Larcombe has been collaborating with other communities in northern Manitoba to address specific infectious diseases.
Her previous research involved studying tuberculosis (TB) by examining the biological and environmental risk factors associated with TB in two northern Manitoba communities: Deni First Nation and Northlands Dene First Nation.
“The community asked us about the risk factor associated with housing conditions,” she said.
“Some time ago, we knew that there were things about the houses that were increasing people’s risk or changing the risk factor for TB transmission and not being able to provide a really good immune response for TB.”
Northern communities wanted to explore how housing in the region could be redesigned to better support health.
The existing three-bedroom bungalows, which reflect Euro-Canadian architectural styles, often do not accommodate the multigenerational living arrangements. These homes may fail to provide space for processing wild game brought into the house and may not effectively utilize or reflect local resources.
“There are lots of considerations about how homes were built and the style that they were built in,” Larcombe said.
The department of architecture, along with its students, participated in an exchange program involving youth from these communities to collaboratively design culturally appropriate housing aimed at improving health.
This initiative began with addressing TB, focusing on its biological factors while also considering the social and environmental impacts of the disease within the community.
The goal was to create housing solutions that not only reduce the spread of TB but also promote overall well-being, addressing other concerns like influenza and broader public health challenges.
Larcombe has conducted nutritional studies in northern communities focusing on vitamin D, examining dietary intake from both store-bought foods and traditional foods sourced locally through hunting, fishing and gathering.
The research also explored genetic variations in immune system responses related to vitamin D receptors.
She is leading the Northern HIV Journey Mapping project, which explores how Indigenous individuals in Northern Manitoba navigate the healthcare system with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
The study aims to develop strategies and policies that enable individuals to access care and live well with HIV while remaining in their communities. By engaging with patients and healthcare providers, the research seeks to make the healthcare system more accessible and responsive to the needs of Northern residents.
“Our role as researchers is to share the knowledge that we have about the specific research we’re doing, but also hear from them about what their priorities are and what their interests are and help them develop those in a way that can help them for the future,” she said.
“Community-based research is a priority for Indigenous health research in Manitoba, it’s a priority having community involved in the research, and not only involved but leading the research.”
