Category: News

Read what the media has been reporting on Atlantic PATH and the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project.

Participant Town Hall – Nov 17th

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There are only three more days before the upcoming Atlantic PATH and CanPath Participant Town Hall! There is still time to register! On Monday, November 17th, you can learn about how we are “Preventing Cancer, Together: How your Data is Driving Discoveries.” Join us at the Town Hall to learn how the data and biological samples provided by our participants are used to study cancer and chronic disease and support exciting scientific discoveries. When: Monday, November 17, 2025 1-230pm Atlantic Time Where: Online Zoom Meeting Watch your email inbox for an invitation and additional details! If you have changed your contact information, please reach out: https://www.atlanticpath.ca/index.php/contact-us/ You can also register here (http://bit.ly/4nRdVHh) and submit your questions to be answered during our panel discussion. Please note, the webinar will be recorded and shared afterwards on YouTube.

World Diabetes Day 2025

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This year’s World Health Organization World Diabetes Day “recognizes that every person living with diabetes should have access to integrated care, supportive environments and policies that promote health, dignity and self-management. This campaign emphasizes the importance of a life-course approach to diabetes prevention, management and overall well-being.  World Diabetes Day provides an opportunity to raise awareness about diabetes as a critical global public health issue. Join us in raising awareness, spreading knowledge and creating lasting change for all affected by diabetes.” Data and biological samples provided by Atlantic PATH participants are being used in important diabetes research, including work by Dr. Roger McLeod and Dr. Vanessa DeClercq. Their research explored the relationship between adiponectin and apoB in participants with a history of diabetes in the Atlantic PATH cohort. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4oiwlks

Meet the HEAL & CHARM Team

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The HEAL and CHARM studies bring together an incredible team of researchers, coordinators, and collaborators from across Canada, all working to better understand how our diet, activity, and environments shape health and equity. The HEAL (HEALthy Eating and Supportive Environments) study is the  largest study on diet and physical activity in Canada! Atlantic PATH participants will receive an invitation to join the HEAL study, and what you share will help researchers understand how we eat, move, and live, leaving a legacy that will guide future health research, programs, and policies across Canada. Your participation matters. Each response helps build a foundation for healthier communities — now and for generations to come.  Team members answered “What aspects of the HEAL and CHARM studies are currently the most exciting or rewarding for you to work on?” Here’s what they had to say. https://canpath.ca/2025/11/meet-the-heal-and-charm-teams/

PEI’s Secure Island Data Repository Launch

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Congratulations to our colleagues in Prince Edward Island on the launch of the Secure Island Data Repository (SIDR)! “Operated by the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) Centre for Health and Community Research (CHCR), SIDR is a PEI-based data centre that securely houses de-identified administrative health data for research purposes. SIDR is joins a network of similar organizations across Canada through Health Data Research Network Canada (HDRN Canada), that supports world-leading multi-regional data use that drives improvements in health and health equity. This data enables transformative research that supports well informed, empowered, and healthy communities in PEI, and across Canada. SIDR provides researchers and knowledge users with a spectrum of services from research consultation and support to data access and analytics.” For more information: www.sidrpei.caSource: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chcr-sidr/posts/

DataNB Celebrates 10 Years of Research and Impact

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Our colleagues at DataNB are celebrating 10 years of Research and Impact. Their anniversary event will bring you together with researchers to highlight how our data and research have informed policies that touch the everyday lives of New Brunswickers — from health to education, population dynamics, and more. Date: Dec. 1, 2025, 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Location: Richard J. Currie Center Long Hall Registration: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/celebrating-10-years-of-research-impact-tickets-1765466912059?aff=oddtdtcreator

Participant Town Hall (Nov 17th)

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Less than two weeks before the upcoming Atlantic PATH and CanPath Participant Town Hall! On Monday, November 17th, you can learn about how we are “Preventing Cancer, Together: How your Data is Driving Discoveries.” Join us at the Town Hall to learn how the data and biological samples provided by our participants are used to study cancer and chronic disease and support exciting scientific discoveries. When: Monday, November 17, 2025 1-230pm Atlantic Time Where: Online Zoom Meeting Watch your email inbox for an invitation and additional details! If you have changed your contact information, please reach out: https://www.atlanticpath.ca/index.php/contact-us/ You can also register here (http://bit.ly/4nRdVHh) and submit your questions to be answered during our panel discussion. Please note, the webinar will be recorded and shared afterwards on YouTube.

Breast Cancer Research in Canada

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Empower yourself with knowledge: How CanPath is reshaping breast cancer research in Canada  For decades, race and ethnicity have been largely missing from breast cancer research in Canada. The Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath) is working to close that gap by studying how screening participation, treatments, risk factors, and outcomes differ across racial and ethnic groups, with the goal of informing more equitable, evidence-based screening guidelines.  CanPath is Canada’s largest population health study, supported by over 330,000 participants across Canada who provide life-changing health data to help our researchers uncover important links between lifestyle, genetics and health.   This October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and with a recent $300K investment from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), CanPath is highlighting the amazing work from our researchers to examine differences in breast cancer screening participation, treatments, and outcomes by race and ethnicity, and identify how risk factors vary across groups.  Through this research, CanPath plans to inform more equitable screening guidelines and prevention approaches by providing currently missing data on race and ethnicity, helping to ensure that breast cancer screening reflects the diverse needs of all Canadian women.  “Empower yourself with knowledge about your personal risk factors, family history of disease and seek out regular screening given that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed in their lifetime,” advises Prof. Victoria Kirsh, CanPath’s Scientific Coordinator and Assistant Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH). “CanPath is an amazing resource with a rich data set on lifestyle, environment, genetic, and dietary data so the research possibilities are really endless”.  CanPath is committed to a future without cancer and is dedicated to providing the necessary research to transition this goal into reality for all women.  What has been missing  Canada’s population continues to change with a growing diverse population, yet little information is out there about the effects of race and cancer outcomes. Genetics, lifestyle and environment all play key roles in risk for cancers however the effect of race remains understudied. “I think the project as a whole is inspiring to begin with, we’re looking at racial disparities in breast cancer outcomes, and that’s something that has been on the back burner or not even investigated for a really, really long time,” highlights Fatima Zulfiqar, a CanPath practicum student who spent her summer supporting this project’s development. “I know that there are various women of color who have certain predispositions when it comes to breast cancer and so having this conversation and looking at the nuances that race plays in breast cancer outcomes is important.”  Historically, marginalized groups have been left out of research, leading to issues with generalizing findings to a larger population. Issues with accessibility to breast cancer care continue to persist and require a deeper dive to tear down the barriers within healthcare.  “It’s very important to study [breast cancer] and look at it and understand it from a real life perspective of how it’s impacting women, who are seeking care or not seeking care and what those differences are and how we can probe them and explore them and hopefully make breast cancer care and diagnosis more accessible to all of them,” said Marilla Hulls, an MPH Epidemiology practicum student who supported another CanPath project objective related to breast cancer screening. Be the link that bridges the gap  Much remains to be uncovered in breast cancer research, and CanPath is committed to supporting young researchers in their journey to create a long-lasting impact within the field. These upcoming researchers are working to close evidence gaps in breast cancer risk, screening and outcomes across racial and ethnic groups in Canada.  “If you’re looking for an area that’s really impactful, we know that breast cancer affects a lot of people in Canada. Even if it’s not yourself that has breast cancer, you probably know someone who has breast cancer or who has been affected,” says Ashley Mah, a doctoral student working on the project. “This is a really great area of research to work in and it’s really collaborative and you get to meet so many amazing people including clinicians, other researchers, students, trainees as well as patients”.  Breast cancer research is only made possible by the participation of Canadians who offer their information to provide the necessary data to drive new discoveries. Our participants make it possible to analyze patterns in screening, diagnosis and treatment across diverse communities and their dedication does not go unappreciated.  “Going through the process has taught me a lot. Those numbers are not just data points, they’re actually human beings, they have volunteered their information to help us make our research move forward and it’s very rewarding,” says Feifan Xiang, a data analyst for the study.  More to be done  Acknowledging the effect of breast cancer on the public is just the beginning of a dedicated investigation to making breast cancer screening more widely available, comprehensive and culturally appropriate to ensure women everywhere receive the care they need.  CanPath is continually working to link cancer databases with participant information to analyze screening results, including recall and biopsy rates, and inform more equitable prevention, detection and treatment strategies in Canada.  For more information, please contact: Megan FlemingCommunications & Knowledge Translation OfficerCanadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath)info@canpath.ca

Canadian Cancer Research Conference 2025 (Calgary, AB)

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CanPath and its regional cohorts will be well represented at the Canadian Cancer Research Conference taking place in Calgary, AB from November 2-4, 2025. This conference “brings together the Canadian cancer research community for an agenda spanning the research spectrum. This is an ideal opportunity for researchers, trainees, clinicians, decision-makers, and patients to hear the latest developments in Canadian cancer research and network across research disciplines.” Oral presentations include: Dr. Maryam Darvishian, University of British Columbia Dr. Darvishian will present on i) breast cancer screening engagement among women with different ethnic backgrounds; and ii) predictors of participation in cervical cancer screening. Dr. Mariam Mehran, Q-CROC (Clinical Research in Oncology) Dr. Mehran will present on the lifetime occupational and domestic environmental exposures and breast cancer risk. Poster presentations include: Dr. Travis Hrubeniuk, Manitoba Tomorrow Project/Cancer Care Manitoba Dr. Hrubeniuk will present on the lessons learned in building a population-based cohort for cancer research. Katarina Maksimovic, MSc, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research Katarina will present on biobanks, research and resources related to oncology samples and data. Dr. Sam Kenston, University of British Columbia Dr. Kenston will present data related to the built environment and its impact on adherence to cancer prevention guidelines, cancer incidence and mortality. Laura Pelland-St-Pierre, University of Montreal Laura will present on occupational exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and breast and prostate cancer. Dr. Rachel Murphy, University of British Columbia Dr. Murphy will present on new opportunities for exploring diet and activity across the cancer trajectory. Theresa Vo, MSc, Memorial University Theresa will present on a study that will focus on repeated breast cancer screening uptake among Chinese immigrants. Alyssa Milano, MSc, BC Cancer Alyssa will present on precision cancer prevention and unravelling heterogeneity in dietary intake and metabolic health. Jean Claude Bigenimana, BC Cancer Jean Claude will present on using natural language processing to create a virtual tumour repository for cancer research. Ace Chan, MSc, University of British Columbia Ace will present on changes in cancer-causing substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic among gender minority populations. Laura Grant, Alberta’s Tomorrow Project Laura will present on research opportunities and building a cancer trajectory biobank. Dr. Grace Shen-Tu, Alberta’s Tomorrow Project Dr. Shen-Tu will present on leveraging data and biosamples to unlock new cancer and chronic disease insights. Dr. Sara Nejatinamini, Alberta’s Tomorrow Project Dr. Nejatinamini will present on disparities in geospatial patterns of cervical cancer screening and associated risk factors . Dr. Jason Xu, Alberta’s Tomorrow Project Dr. Xu will present on the concordance between self-reported and administrative data on cervical cancer screening. Sabine El-Halabi, University of British Columbia Sabine will present on external validation and comparison of endometrial cancer risk populations. Melanie Matte, MPH, University of Calgary Melanie will present on insights from the development of a mobile phone app for cancer prevention research.

Data NB

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Our colleagues and administrative data holders in New Brunswick have rebranded to DataNB (formerly NB Institute for Research, Data and Training). “We have become synonymous with data – whether it’s training data analysts, holding provincial data or providing data access for research – so the name change just made sense,” said founding director Dr. Ted McDonald, a member of Health Data Research Network Canada’s Executive Committee. For the full announcement, please visit here. In 2024, a collaboration between Atlantic PATH and DataNB created a data linkage that made predicting chronic disease faster and simpler. “I am absolutely thrilled to see these linkages happen,” said Dr. Robin Urquhart, Atlantic PATH Scientific Director. “Atlantic PATH is an incredibly rich resource to understand the health of Atlantic Canadians and all of the different factors, like our biology, behaviours, and environments, that impact our health. This new linkage activity makes our resource more powerful, giving us access to different sources of data to answer complex health questions affecting all AtlanticCanadians.” “Not only is this historical, record-level data linkage activity, this work is crucial for Atlantic Canada, which has among the country’s highest rates of chronic disease and cancer,” said Dr. McDonald “Critically, it will enable researchers to focus on studies related to cancer and chronic disease that cannot be undertaken without linking the separate data sources. The data linkage has other important implications too, such as the potential to inform health policy and improve detection, prevention and treatment.” For additional information about data access, Atlantic PATH and DataNB, please reach out to us directly.

Participant Town Hall

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Join us for the upcoming Atlantic PATH and CanPath Participant Town Hall! On Monday, November 17th, you can learn about how we are “Preventing Cancer, Together: How your Data is Driving Discoveries.” The Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath) is the largest population health study in Canada with more than 330,000 participants in seven regional cohorts, including Atlantic PATH, BC Generations Project, Alberta’s Tomorrow Project, Healthy Future Sask, Manitoba Tomorrow Project, Ontario Health Study, and CARTaGENE (Quebec). The data and biological samples provided by our participants are used to study cancer and chronic disease and support exciting scientific discoveries. Join us at the Town Hall to When: Monday, November 17, 2025 1-230pm Atlantic Time Where: Online Zoom Meeting Register here and submit your questions to be answered during our panel discussion. Please note, the webinar will be recorded and shared afterwards on YouTube.