Category: News

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

Webinar: Advancing Equity and EDIA Through Health Services and Population Health Research

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An upcoming webinar presented by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Canadian Association for Heath Services and Policy Research (CAHSPR). Advancing Equity and EDIA through Health Services and Population Health Research Presentations from Dr. Katie Aubrecht and Dr. Andrew Pinto. April 24th, 1-230pm (AST) Registration: https://events.eply.com/2023HSPRTalksApril24 “Improving equity in health care and health outcomes is a goal held by many and one that is increasingly prioritized by a range of stakeholders. Health services and policy research (HSPR) and population and public health research (PPHR) have important roles to play in advancing health equity goals. To maximize their contribution to improving health equity, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA) within these fields must also advance. This webinar will present the concepts and histories of these two distinct but interrelated concepts (health equity and EDIA), offer possible strategies and actions for the HSPR and PPHR communities to incorporate equity and EDIA in their work, and foster discussion among people interested in improving their contribution to a more equitable society. The session will draw upon two recent papers, available for reading prior to the session here and here, and reflects a partnership between CAHSPR and CIHR’s Institutes of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR) and Population and Public Health (IPPH).” Additional info: https://s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/eply-client-files/191/AccountFiles/Documents/HSPR/HSPR%20Talks%20Advancing%20Equity%20and%20EDIA.pdf    

Changing the narrative of lung cancer to improve prevention for non-smokers

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Congratulations to Dr. Robin Urquhart and team on their successful funding from the Canadian Cancer Society to examine the effects of environmental exposures in non-smokers to detect lung cancer earlier. Lung cancer is most often linked to smoking, but can also occur in people who have never smoked because of exposure to arsenic, radon gas and air pollution. Yet, in several provinces in Canada where screening programs are being implemented for people at high-risk of lung cancer, only a person’s age and smoking history are currently considered in the risk assessment. With funding from the Canadian Cancer Society, this research team is working to make sure environmental factors are considered when assessing a person’s risk of lung cancer. The results of this research will provide actionable information around environmental exposures to improve personalized lung cancer risk assessment, inform screening criteria and programs and improve lung cancer early detection efforts across Canada. For additional details: https://cancer.ca/en/research/for-researchers/funding-results/breakthrough-team-grants/changing-the-narrative-of-lung-cancer-to-improve-prevention-for-non-smokers Dr. Urquhart was interviewed by CBC Radio to discuss this work project: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2189846083866 CBC Interview in Print: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/dalhousie-environmental-risk-lung-cancer-screening-nova-scotia-1.6805468

CanPath Researcher Feature – Ace Chan

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Check out CanPath’s Researcher Feature of University of British Columbia School of Population and Public Health’s PhD student, Ace Chan.  Ace’s research interests include sexual and gender minority (SGM) health, creating inclusive and accessible healthcare spaces for SGM folks, and they strive towards providing scientific evidence to achieve health equity in marginalized populations. Ace’s research will use CanPath data to explore the rates of alcohol consumption, tobacco use, cancer risk factors, and cancer diagnoses in gender minority people compared to non-gender minority people. Researcher Feature Interview: https://canpath.ca/2023/03/researcher-feature-ace-chan/ Approved Project – Primary Prevention of Cancer-Causing Substance Use in Gender Minority People in Canada: https://canpath.ca/project/dummer-chan-2022/

Webinar: Using the Canadian Parternship for Tomorrow’s Health to Identify the Earliest Determinants of Disease Evolution and Aging

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Join us on Thursday, March 30th at 9am EST (10amAST) to learn about using the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health to identify the earliest determinants of disease evolution and aging. Registration details: https://ihccglobal.org/ihcc-educational-webinar-series/. Properly consented population cohorts are incredibly valuable for studying the factors associated with aging and disease before the first diseases are diagnosed. In the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrows Health (CanPath) we have recruited over 350,000 participants who have consented to provide biologics, physical measures and health information longitudinally, while also consenting to follow-ups through health records over the next 30-50 years. Our studies genomic and molecular phenotyping studies have identified a number of critical factors associated with the development of cancers pre-diagnosis. Utilizing single-cell approaches we have identified alternative factors associated with healthy blood aging. Together, CanPath demonstrates the power of population cohorts to support early disease and prevention studies that are impacting health policy. Dr. Philip Awadalla is the National Scientific Director of the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrows Health (CanPath) and is the Executive Director of the Ontario Health Study (OHS). He is a Professor the Department of Molecular Genetics, and School of Public Health, at the University of Toronto. He is the Director of Computational Biology at the Ontario Institute of Cancer Research where he leads a research program studying the genomic and environmental determinants of early cancer evolution, aging, and studies fundamental processes shaping genomic variation. He is on the Steering Committee of International Hundred Thousand + Cohort Consortium.

The Ontario Public Health Convention (TOPHC)

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Dr. Ellen Sweeney (Research Director, Atlantic PATH) and Dr. Victoria Kirsh (Scientific Associate, Ontario Health Study) were pleased to attend the Ontario Public Health Convention (TOPHC) on behalf of CanPath. Dr. Sweeney presented on CanPath’s resources for research on chronic disease and cancer and Dr. Kirsh presented on risk factors for COVID-19 infection among CanPath participants. TOPHC is created by and for public health professionals and delivers workshops, presentations, and keynote presentations focused on the unique experiences, challenges and opportunities in public health today. TOPHC events offer a chance for public health professionals to learn from each other, get inspired, provoke thought and move forward to make a difference in their careers and communities (https://www.tophc.ca/).

Webinar: Building the Canadian Cancer Society within CanPath

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Join us on March 30th (1-2pm AST/12-1pm EST) for the CanPath webinar, “Building the Canadian Cancer Society within CanPath.” Registration: http://bit.ly/3JdYhCR About the webinar: Streams of big data are finally coming together to help us understand cancer and predict it earlier. CanPath is building the Canadian Cancer Study to advance research and discovery for cancer, the leading cause of death in Canada. As the first program to bring together national population health cohort resources with administrative-level data and provincial cancer registry data in one central location, CanPath is reducing barriers and increasing data accessibility to advance Canadian cancer research. Researchers will be able to access a ready-made dataset that would otherwise take them a year or more to bring together since they would have to compile it themselves by contacting each provincial data holder for the same information. The Canadian Cancer Study is ultimately paving the path to understanding the needs of people with cancer by leveraging the full potential of large data sources. Join the webinar to learn about progress towards building the Canadian Cancer Study, and how CanPath data and biologics, coupled with linked clinical outcomes can be used to identify biological signatures associated with increased cancer risk and, subsequently, develop novel early diagnostic tools able to identify cancer years prior to clinical onset. About the presenter: Our colleague, Kimberly Skead is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research where she is developing tools to identify patients at risk of cancer and heart disease. She completed a BSc at Trinity College in the University of Toronto where she studied Global Health and Genome Biology. Kimberly is the National Scientific Coordinator of the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health, the Program Coordinator for the Canadian Data Integration Centre and the co-founder and co-leader of the Ontario Rising Stars in Cancer Research Network. She is the recipient of the Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Masters and Doctoral Scholarships from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, and the Cecil Yip Doctoral Research Award.  

New Research Report — Current Management and Health Care use for People with Osteoarthritis

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Congratulations to Dr. Cheryl Kozey and team on their completed study and new report, Current Management and Health Care Use for People with Osteoarthritis. The team used existing data from Atlantic PATH to examine self-reported characteristics of people living with and without osteoarthritis in all three Maritime Provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island).  The Atlantic PATH data for Nova Scotians was then linked to administrative data, accessed through Health Data Nova Scotia, in order to identify trends in health care use by Nova Scotians with and without osteoarthritis. A copy of the summary report can be found here: https://mssu.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/OA-Maritimes-Summary-Report_2023-02-10.pdf An infographic characterizing the the participants and findings can be found here: https://mssu.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/OA-Maritimes-Infographic.pdf

Webinar: Healthy Future Sask: From Idea to Reality

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Webinar: Healthy Future Sask: From Idea to Reality About the webinar: In 2019, the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency was approached to expand CanPath into the province of Saskatchewan. After four years of planning, testing, an internal pilot, and guidance from established cohorts, Healthy Future Sask officially launched on February 1, 2023.  This webinar will tell the story and present the challenges and opportunities of launching a provincial research platform. Healthy Future Sask will be a valuable resource adding approximately 7,000 participants to the CanPath cohort. Date:February 28, 2023 Time:12:00 pm to 1:00 pm EST Registration Details: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_HETZfTduTlCRHonSPhvfkQ

Healthy Future Sask Launch!!

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Congratulations to our colleagues at Healthy Future Sask!! With the addition of Healthy Futures Sask, CanPath is represented by regional cohorts in all ten provinces. CanPath is the largest population health cohort study in the country with more than 330,000 participants. Healthy Future Sask will be recruiting 7,000 provincial participants between the ages of 30-74. “Adding Saskatchewan to this major research project is an opportunity to be part of creating a legacy with wide-ranging impacts for generations to come,” said Riaz Alvi, Scientific Director for Healthy Future Sask and Director of Epidemiology for the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency. “The information within our cells can be a valuable asset towards scientific and global research while enhancing the research already being done and supported at the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency. In addition, this study will allow researchers to use more fulsome data to understand the risks for chronic disease, including cancer.” For additional details, please visit: https://canpath.ca/2023/02/healthy-future-sask-public-launch/

Nearing PhD Defense

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Congratulations to Jacob Nearing who successfully defended his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology at Dalhousie University!! Supervised by Dr. Morgan Langille, Jacob used biosamples from Atlantic PATH and Alberta’s Tomorrow Project in his work, “Identification of Robust Biomarkers Using Microbiome DNA Sequencing with a Focus on the Oral Microbiome and Cancer Associations.” Abstract The human microbiome can be defined as the community of microbes that live within and on the human body. Modern day microbiome research relies on the use of high throughput deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequencing to characterize and identify microbes and community structures associated with human disease. Indeed, the human microbiome has been proposed as a useful source of biomarkers for numerous human health conditions including cancer. Yet often, microbial biomarkers identified through DNA sequencing efforts are not reproducible between studies. Herein, I present my work on examining computation choices during microbiome experiments and applying this knowledge to identify novel associations with the salivary microbiome and breast, prostate, and colon cancer. Typical DNA sequenced based surveys of microbiomes, requires numerous choices to be made at each step of the experimental protocol. Often theses choices are unclear with no current gold standard within the field. Yet, these methods are used interchangeable within the literature without regard for how that choice might impact the biological conclusions that researchers find. To help address this issue I examined how choices made during two computational steps for processing DNA sequencing data impacted the biological conclusions drawn. In doing so I highlighted critical differences that can be attributed to bioinformatic tool choice and suggest potential solutions for these issues in the future. Using information from the above chapters, the second half of this thesis represents analysis done on salivary samples from a large population cohort to both characterized salivary microbiome variation and how that variation is associated with breast, prostate, and colon cancer. Within these chapters we show that several daily life factors are significantly associated with salivary microbiome composition, yet they only explain a small amount of total community variance. We also show that the salivary microbiome contains little signal in cases of breast and prostate cancer. Contrastingly our work did show potential salivary microbiome associations within cases of colon cancer. These findings show the potential for future diagnostic research into the relation between the oral microbiome and colon cancer development. Jacob’s publications and additional information about his research can be found here. Congratulations, Dr. Nearing!! We wish you all the best in the future and look forward to following your career.