Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Research

How do we restore immunity against cancer?   🌟 Dr. David Brooks, Ph.D. explores why our body’s immune system struggles to combat chronic diseases and cancer. At University Health Network, his team is also working to restore patients' immune responses to fight cancer more effectively.   “What I like (about research) is the potential to have the ability to do things that will ultimately impact people and patient care, and make the world a better place.”   Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gx2ceA9C Research at UHN The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation

Using a collection of features derived from MRI images, a study led by Drs. Kathy Han and Benjamin Haibe-Kains at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PM), University Health Network showed that these features can predict disease-free survival in locally advanced cervical cancer. “These features can help identify patients at higher risk of recurrence prior to treatment, which is key to personalized cancer medicine,” says Dr. Han, a Clinician Scientist at PM and corresponding author of the discovery.   https://lnkd.in/gFC3CzNF   --------------- Published in Radiotherapy and Oncology. First authors: Joseph Marsilla and Jessica Weiss. Research at UHN The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation UHN Office of Research Trainees

Congratulations to our scientists Drs. Jennifer Bell and Mattea Welch, PhD, who have been named 2024 Fellows in Compassion and Artificial Intelligence by AMS Healthcare for their projects:   Jennifer Bell “Developing Ethical AI for compassionate delivery of precision medicine”   Mattea Welch “Developing a framework for equitable ML develop”   You can read more about the award here: https://lnkd.in/g4Pp5D9e

Congratulations to Drs. Jennifer Bell, Amanda Binns, Vincy Chan, Andrea Iaboni, Samir Sinha, and Mattea Welch, PhD, UHN's newest AMS Healthcare Fellows! These individuals are setting new standards for compassionate leadership in health care! #TeamUHN University Health Network The Institute for Education Research (TIER) at UHN Toronto Rehabilitation Institute Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Research

Congratulations to our Senior Scientists (L to R) Drs. Brian Wilson, Gang Zheng and Jonathan Irish. They received $7.5M from The Terry Fox Research Institute to advance research on porphysomes in photodynamic therapy, enhancing surgical removal and immune response against cancer. https://lnkd.in/gYrJz_p8 Research at UHN University Health Network

Studying tumours in their natural habitat🧬   To find therapeutic targets, a team led by Drs. Hansen He and Ming Tsao at University Health Network screened tumours in their microenvironment in addition to studying cancer cells alone.   They revealed a gene that influences cancer growth based on the surrounding tumour microenvironment – an observation missing in isolated cancer cells.   >> https://lnkd.in/gSeS_Phn   “Tumours thrive in complex tumour microenvironment,” says Dr. He, co-corresponding author of the study, “However, functional genomic screens, which are used to identify treatment targets, often overlook this microenvironment when using cancer cell cultures.”   The team compared functional genomic screens in cancer cells versus tumours in their microenvironment. They identified a gene named MEN1 that exhibited different effects depending on the context.   Deleting MEN1 in cancer cells showed no impact on cancer growth. However, with the presence of tumour microenvironment, missing MEN1 can make the tumour grow either faster or slower, based on what type of microenvironment is present.   “After deleting MEN1, the cancer cells produce proteins called cytokines, which can recruit nearby immune cells. It could be T cells, which attack and shrink the tumour; or neutrophils, which promote tumour growth,” says Peiran, one of the first authors of the study.   “The study not only revealed a therapeutic target, MEN1, that regulates the interaction between tumor and its microenvironment,” says Dr. Tsao, “but it also underscores the importance of including the tumour microenvironment when searching for therapeutic targets for cancer patients.” ----------------- Research at UHN Published on Nature Genetics on Sept 3, 2024. First authors: Peiran Su, Yin Liu and Tianyi Chen at UHN Office of Research Trainees Funded by The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, Canadian Institutes of Health Research | Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada, The Terry Fox Research Institute

🧬Last weekend at the Walk to Conquer Cancer hosted by The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, the research booth gave walkers a chance to extract DNA from cheek cells and learn more about our work. A special shoutout to UHN Office of Research Trainees and the fourteen volunteers, including graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and staff, for making this inspiring experience possible.

🚨 TFRI hits a major milestone awarding $20M to four PPG teams🚨 We're thrilled to announce that four Canadian research teams will receive nearly $20 million over the next four to five years as recipients of the prestigious Terry Fox New Frontiers Program Project Grants (PPGs), bringing the total number of active PPGs to a record-breaking 20! This landmark investment supports cutting-edge cancer research across the country, driving innovation in treatments for endometrial, ovarian, bladder, head and neck, lung and blood cancers. Read more about the impact of this funding: https://lnkd.in/g-bWM3Sh 📷 Top row, from left to right: Dr. Brad Nelson (Deeley Research Centre, BC Cancer), Dr. Madhuri Koti (Queen's University), Dr. Aly Karsan (BC Cancer). Bottom row: Drs. Brian C. Wilson, Gang Zheng and Jonathan Irish (Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network).

Congratulations to our researchers Drs. Jonathan Irish, Brad Wouters and Masoom Haider for being elected as Fellows of Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. >> https://lnkd.in/gwU-gvJ7 Research at UHN The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation

Eight UHN researchers were honoured as Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences 🎉 Congratulations to Drs. Jordan Feld, Eleanor Fish, Masoom Haider, Robert Inman, Jonathan Irish, Milos R. Popovic, Nicole Woods, and Brad Wouters. Read more > https://lnkd.in/gwU-gvJ7 University Health Network Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Toronto Rehabilitation Institute Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Research The Institute for Education Research (TIER) at UHN