New Record: 80 Grants to Outsmart Cancer
This year, the Cancer Research Society (the Society) will award 80 research grants valued at $9.6 million dollars; a new record for the organization! These grants are awarded to some of the most promising cancer research projects in Canada.
The Society receives hundreds of applications annually from researchers and clinicians in Canada, all seeking to obtain a $120,000 two-year grant for a cancer research project. Additionally, the Society awards special grants for the next generation of scientists, with the aim of supporting researchers who are at the start of their careers. This year, 4 researchers will receive this special grant. The Society is the only Canadian institution that has been offering such a grant and it has been doing so since 2013.
“As a leader in the field of cancer research in Canada, the Cancer Research Society is determined, now more than ever, to contribute to preventing, detecting and treating all types of cancer as demonstrated by the success of our annual grant competition. Each donor and partner can be sure that the donations collected will have a major impact for patients diagnosed with cancer, as well as for their loved ones.”
– Manon Pepin, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cancer Research Society
Discover some of the researchers’ profiles and their innovative proposals by clicking here.
The financial support offered by the Society is made possible thanks to the generosity of thousands of donors and partners that co-finance particular grants such as Ovarian Cancer Canada, the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation, the CURE Foundation, Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research (CIHR-ICR), Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (IMHA) and The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada, as well as one of the grants funded by the Bank of Montreal.
The research projects were chosen using a rigorous process; committees composed of over 95 researchers and clinicians generously gave of their time to select the most promising projects from among the 350 applications received.
“The Society thanks all the experts who conducted the exhaustive analysis of the projects and congratulates researchers and clinicians who were awarded a grant or bursary. They all have the potential of making remarkable progress to outsmart cancer.”
– Dajan O’Donnell, Director, Scientific Affairs and Partnerships, Cancer Research Society
Recall that the Society continues to finance grants and bursaries that began in previous years, in addition to particular special partnership research projects.
Here is the list of all the researchers selected.
Causes and prevention – the most effective approach to reducing the risk of developing the disease
Laura Anderson
McMaster University – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
Identifying changes in cancer risk factors during the COVID-19 pandemic and predicting population risk.
Parveen Bhatti
BC Cancer.
Metabolomic markers to target prevention of postmenopausal breast cancer among overweight and obese women.
Roberto Botelho
Ryerson University.
The importance of phosphoinositide acyl regulation in cancer cell biology.
Colin Collins
University of British Columbia.
Identification and functional validation of genes driving therapy-induced dormancy in prostate cancer.
Jean-François Côté
Montreal Clinical Research Institute – funded in partnership with The Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation.
A deadly kinase promotes triple-negative breast cancer progression: defining the functions of PEAK1 protein complexes in tumour growth and metastasis.
Michael Cox
University of British Columbia.
How prostate cancer subtypes impact bone microarchitecture in metastatic lesions.
Juliet Daniel
McMaster University.
Kaiso, intestinal inflammation and colon cancer.
John Di Guglielmo
University of Western Ontario.
Targeting the type II TGFß receptor as a novel strategy for lung cancer.
Savraj Grewal
University of Calgary.
Oncogenic Ras signalling, and the metabolic regulation of hematopoietic tumours and whole-body physiology.
David Hipfner
Montreal Clinical Research Institute.
A Drosophila model of cell-cell growth signalling through filopodia.
Pamela Hoodless
BC Cancer – funded in partnership with the Environment-Cancer FundTM of the Cancer Research Society and Read for the Cure.
Defining epigenetic alterations in liver cancer at single cell resolution.
Nina Jones
University of Guelph – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
Investigating the role of ShcD signalling in metastatic breast cancer.
Mathieu Laplante
Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec-Université Laval.
Defining the role of ZNF768 overexpression in lung cancer development.
Mohan Malleshaiah
Montreal Clinical Research Institute – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
Single-cell analysis of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in pancreatic cancer.
Nathalie Rivard
Université de Sherbrooke.
Exploring the role of Shp-2 in APC-mutated colorectal cancer.
Rola Saleeb
St. Michael’s Hospital – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
Tracing the origin of kidney cancer from renal stem cells, understanding tumour pathogenesis for effective cancer prevention.
Vivian Saridakis
York University.
Identifying substrates of a critical E3 ligase in prostate cancer.
Thomas Simmen
University of Alberta – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
Rab32 promotes autophagic elimination of a metabolism control centre in breast cancer.
Ulrich Tepass
University of Toronto.
Mitosis as a driver of epithelial tumour progression.
Hugo Wurtele
Centre de recherche de l’Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont.
Nascent chromatin structure as a modulator of cellular senescence in cancer.
Detection – early detection is critical to improving patient outcomes
Scott Bratman
University Health Network (Princess Margaret Cancer Centre).
Methylated DNA as a novel early detection test for oral squamous cell carcinoma.
Pejman Jabehdar Maralani
Sunnybrook Research Institute.
Advanced MRI for non-invasive mapping glioma stem cells in glioblastoma.
Thanh Nguyen
The Ottawa Hospital.
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy as a non-invasive tool to diagnose and monitor gliomas.
Neil Renwick
Queen’s University – funded in partnership with the Steven E and Scott Drabin Research Fund.
Evaluating microRNAs as tissue and circulating biomarkers for gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms.
John Trant
University of Windsor.
Early identification of neuroendocrine-like prostate cancer using near-infrared light.
Maruti Uppalapati
University of Saskatchewan – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
Development of molecular imaging probes targeting Nectin4 (PVRL4) expression in cancer.
Treatment – the development of new treatments, including targeted or personalized therapies
Tommy Alain
CHEO Research Institute – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
Oral administration of Reoviruses for the treatment, prevention and early diagnosis of colorectal cancer.
Vincent Archambault
Université de Montréal.
Enhancing immunogenic nuclear assembly defects after cell division.
Steve Bilodeau
Université Laval.
Targeting the HSF1-regulated pathway in endocrine-resistant breast cancer to restore antiestrogen response.
Peter Black
University of British Columbia.
Assessment of IL-10 driven N-glycan branching as a regulator of CD8 T cell function in muscle-invasive bladder cancer.
Jeanette Boudreau
Dalhousie University – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
Immune evasion from natural killer cells by non-small cell lung cancer.
Marie-Claude Bourgeois-Daigneault
Centre de recherche du CHUM – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
Investigating the role of the immunoproteasome in the efficacy of oncolytic virotherapy against breast cancer.
Byram Bridle
University of Guelph.
Heat and cold adaptation of oncolytic rhabdoviruses to improve their clinical utility.
John Burke
University of Victoria.
Defining the molecular mechanism of activation of oncogenes in the PIP3/PDK1/Akt signalling pathway.
Steven Chan
University Health Network (Princess Margaret Cancer Centre) – funded in partnership with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada.
Targeting SYK signalling to overcome resistance to IDH inhibitors in acute myeloid leukemia.
Audrey Claing
Université de Montréal – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
Role of ARF1 as a key GTPAse regulating immune surveillance in breast cancer.
Marc Coppolino
University of Guelph – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
Preventing breast cancer metastasis by disrupting MT1-MMP trafficking.
Shoukat Dedhar
BC Cancer – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
The role of microbiota and immune microenvironment in breast cancer metastasis.
Javier Di Noia
Montreal Clinical Research Institute – funded in partnership with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada.
An orphan deaminase as a novel source of chemotherapy resistance in cancer.
Jean-Simom Diallo
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.
Discovery of novel liposarcoma antigens for immunotherapy development.
Phedias Diamandis
University Health Network (Princess Margaret Cancer Centre) – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
Exploring the role and therapeutic potential of hypoxia-driven AKAP12 expression in glioblastoma.
Pierre-Olivier Fiset
Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
Unlocking new options for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung.
Suresh Gadde
University of Ottawa – funded in partnership with The CURE Foundation.
RNAi-chemotherapy combination nanomedicines for the effective treatment of triple-negative breast cancer.
Etienne Gagnon
Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer of the Université de Montréal – funded in partnership with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada.
Optimizing and benchmarking novel modular CARs targeting leukemia.
Armin Gamper
University of Alberta.
Improving cervical cancer therapy with radiosensitizers for brachytherapy.
Jean-Philippe Gratton
Université de Montréal.
Role of PAK2 in tumour angiogenesis and in the tumour microenvironment.
Simon-Pierre Gravel
Université de Montréal.
The PGC-1 metabolic coactivators control immunosuppression and response to immunotherapy in melanoma.
Martin Guimond
Centre de recherche de l’Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont – funded in partnership with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada.
The effect of EGFL7 on graft-versus-host disease and graft-versus-leukemia effect.
Patrick Gunning
University of Toronto – funded in partnership with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada.
Development of selective HDAC inhibitors for the treatment of hematological malignancies.
Xi Huang
SickKids.
Tissue stiffness heterogeneity is governing the replicative potential and chemosensitivity of brain tumour-initiating cells.
Carolina Ilkow
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
Understanding the role of adipose tissue and fat cells in cancer virotherapy resistance.
Valentin Jaumouillé
Simon Fraser University – funded in partnership with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada.
Understanding and exploiting the mechanobiology of macrophages to promote clearance of lymphoma cells by phagocytosis.
Éric Lévesque
CHU de Québec – Université Laval.
Aberrant UGT2B28 androgen inactivation pathway predicts prostate cancer progression.
William Lockwood
BC Cancer.
Managing EGFR inhibitor resistance in lung adenocarcinoma through drug holiday- induced hyperactivation of oncogenic pathways.
Rachid Mazroui
Université Laval.
Role of DDX3-ALKBH5 interaction in ATF4 mRNA translation: implications in chemoresistance.
Judith Andrea McCart
Mount Sinai Hospital.
Investigating the role of innate immune responses in the anti-tumor effects of oncolytic vaccinia virus.
Jane McGlade
SickKids – funded in partnership with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada.
GADS dependent signalling networks in BCR-ABL driven leukemia.
Peter Metrakos
Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre.
Role of innate immune cells in the development of vessel co-option.
Eric Milot
Centre de recherche de l’Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont – funded in partnership with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada.
Influence of Ikaros on treatment response in acute lymphocytic leukemia.
Christopher Mueller
Queen’s University – funded in partnership with the Helen Lenore Bailey Fund.
A Liquid Biopsy for Monitoring Treatment Response to Immunotherapy in NSCLC.
Yvonne Myal
University of Manitoba – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
The role of prolactin-inducible protein (PIP) in promoting breast cancer metastasis in the lung.
Michael Olson
Ryerson University – funded in partnership with Ovarian Cancer Canada.
MRCK in high-grade serous ovarian cancer: defining pathways promoting cell proliferation and mechanisms of drug resistance.
Ayman Oweida
Université de Sherbrooke – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis.
Targeting immunosuppressive chemokines for enhanced response to radiotherapy in squamous cell cancers.
Morag Park
McGill University – funded in partnership with The Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation.
B7-H4 as a therapeutic target in poor-outcome triple-negative breast cancers.
Moutih Rafei
Université de Montréal – funded in partnership with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada.
Enhancing endosome-to-cytosol import of antigen to augment antitumoral immunity.
Mir Munir Rahim
University of Windsor – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
Immunosurveillance of breast cancer by innate immune cells.
Gregor Reid
University of British Columbia.
Prospective characterization of relapse-driving blasts in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Francis Rodier
Centre de recherche du CHUM – funded in partnership with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada.
Evaluating new pharmacologically targetable molecular hallmarks of premature aging in childhood blood cancer survivors.
Philippe Roux
Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer of the Université de Montréal.
Targeting CDK12 to overcome melanoma chemoresistance.
Tanveer Sharif
University of Manitoba – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
Therapeutic exploitation of metabolic rewiring in tumour heterogeneity.
Trevor Shepherd
University of Western Ontario.
Therapeutic targeting of ULK1, a crucial regulator of autophagic stress in metastatic ovarian cancer.
Maya Shmulevitz
University of Alberta – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
Overcoming inactivation of oncolytic reovirus by proteases in breast tumour microenvironments.
Matthew Smith
Université de Montréal.
Structure-function analysis of a novel KRAS effector complex and its role in metastasis.
Sebastien Talbot
Université de Montréal – funded in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.
Tumour-innervating PDL1-positive neurons block cancer immunosurveillance.
Laura Trinkle-Mulcahy
University of Ottawa.
Contribution of a novel nuclear stress response to pro-survival signalling and stress adaptation.
Jim Uniacke
University of Guelph.
Ribosomal protein S24 isoforms in adaptation to hypoxia and cancer progression.
Barbara Vanderhyden
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.
Defining LATS1/2 as drivers of ovarian cancer and its immune suppressive microenvironment.
Franco Vizeacoumar
University of Saskatchewan – funded in partnership with the Charlotte Légaré Memorial Fund.
Developing novel targeted therapies for telomerase-overexpressing pancreatic cancers.
Donna Wall
SickKids.
Revisioning autologous transplant in pediatric solid tumors.
Gelareh Zadeh
University Health Network (Princess Margaret Cancer Centre).
Uncovering the oncogenic potential of CIC-fusions and JAK/STAT1/3 activation in CIC‑rearranged sarcomas.
Recipients of the Scholarship for the Next Generation of Scientists (SNGS)
Barbara Grünwald
University Health Network (Princess Margaret Cancer Centre) – funded in partnership with BMO Financial Group.
Part 1 : Fibroblast populations determining regional microenvironmental states in pancreatic cancer.
Part 2 : Divide and conquer: defining functional units in pancreatic cancer stroma.
Joshua Moreau
University of California, San Francisco.
Part 1 : Dissecting the functional role of layilin on tumour-infiltrating T cells.
Part 2 : Untangling the duelling pro- and anti-cancer potential of tumour-infiltrating B cells.
Dominic Roy
McGill University –Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute.
Part 1 : Metabolic regulation of oncolytic virotherapy.
Part 2 : Targeting glycolysis to improve oncolytic virotherapy.
Dheva Setiaputra
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute.
Part 1 : Uncovering the molecular mechanisms of DNA double-strand break repair.
Part 2 : Dissecting DNA double-strand break repair and its role in cancer biology.