Category: News

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

CanPath at #CCRC2023: Canada’s Largest Population Laboratory for Cancer Research

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Dr. Philip Awadalla, Scientific Director of CanPath, and Patient Partner/Atlantic PATH participant, Pauline McIntyre, will chair a panel at the Canadian Cancer Research Conference, “CanPath: Canada’s Largest Population Laboratory for Cancer Research” on Monday, November 13th at 11:40 AST. Presenters include Dr. Dylan O’Sullivan, Dr. Samina Abidi, Dr. Sara Nejatinamini, and Dr. Vikki Ho. Dr. Dylan O’Sullivan is a Research Scientist at Alberta Health Services and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary. His research interests include reducing the cancer burden across the full cancer control continuum (prevention, screening, and outcomes) with the use of existing methods and the development of novel data analytics. Dr. O’Sullivan will be presenting on the risk factors for early-onset colorectal cancer using CanPath data. Dr. Samina Abidi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology at the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University and is cross appointed in the Faculty of Computer Science. Dr. Abidi has a unique skill set where she is a clinician with an expertise in health informatics. Her research interests include health knowledge integration, modelling and computerization, patient-centred care, chronic disease self-management and behaviour modification, clinical guidelines based clinical decision support and care planning, ambient assistant living, data visualizations, health IT evaluation. Dr. Abidi will be presenting on a digital health and artificial based public health platform for cancer risk prediction using data from Atlantic PATH.   Dr. Sara Nejatinamini is a Research Associate at Alberta’s Tomorrow Project. She received her PhD degree in Nutrition and Metabolism from the University of Alberta. Prior to joining the ATP, she undertook postdoctoral training at the University of Calgary with a focus on health inequities. Dr. Nejatinamini’s research interests include public health, nutrition and cancer. Her research focuses on the role of modifiable lifestyle factors on cancer and other chronic disease risk. She applies epidemiological and implementation science methods and principles in her research to identify factors to prevent cancer and other chronic diseases and inform health interventions. Dr. Nejatinamini will be presenting on changes in breast and cervical cancer screening during the COVID-19 pandemic using data from Alberta’s Tomorrow Project.  Dr. Vikki Ho is the co-Scientific Director of CARTaGENE and holds the Chair in Sex and Gender Sciences in Cancer Research from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine in the School of Public Health (ESPUM) at the University of Montreal and a Researcher at the affiliated Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM). Dr. Ho’s research interests focus on the intersection of environmental, lifestyle, occupational, and individual susceptibility factors in cancer etiology. Dr. Ho will be presenting on CARTaGENE’s research platform and the wide array of data sources for cancer prevention research, including environmental factors and biomarkers. She will specifically focus on occupational exposures and lung cancer biomarkers, and occupational exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals and colorectal cancer risk. Dr. Ho will also present a poster on the CARTaGENE cohort. Posters will be up for the duration of the conference and during viewing sessions on Sunday, November 12th from 12-1:30pm AST and Monday, November 13th from 1:10-2:40pm AST. 

Dr. Jennifer Brooks at #CCRC2023

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Dr. Jennifer Brooks is the Executive Director of CanPath and an Assistant Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Dr. Brooks’ research interests include breast cancer epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, imaging biomarkers of breast cancer risk and response to treatment; and survivorship.  Dr. Brooks will be attending the conference alongside two of her students, Shana Kim and Rebecca Christensen.  Shana Kim is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto and a Research Coordinator at Women’s College Hospital. She will present her research on the association between pre-diagnostic routine lipid measurements and mortality among breast cancer survivors in the lightning session on Survivorship on Sunday, November 12th at 1:30pm.  Dr. Rebecca Christensen is a CIHR Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Toronto. She will be presenting alongside Shana Kim in the lightning session on Survivorship on Sunday, November 12th at 1:30pm. Her research focuses on adherence to breast cancer screening guidelines and risk of breast cancer-specific death.   

Langille and PAC (Keats/Grandy) Labs at #CCRC2023

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The Langille and PAC (Keats/Grandy) labs will be well represented at the Canadian Conference for Cancer Research. Dr. Morgan Langille is the Canada Research Chair in Human Microbiomics and an associate professor in the Departments of Pharmacology, and Microbiology and Immunology at Dalhousie University. He leads the Langille Lab which strives to better understand the role of the microbiome in various diseases by developing and testing novel bioinformatic methods. Dr. Robyn Wright is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Langille Lab who is interested in microbial ecology/microbial community dynamics in natural and synthetic systems and how these respond to change, as well as mitigating anthropogenic impacts on the environment. Dr. Wright will be presenting in a concurrent session on linking tumour, blood and oral microbiomes with cancer outcomes on Monday, November 13th at 4:40pm. The session on the Gut Microbiome for Precision Oncology will be chaired by Dr. Bertrand Routy (CHUM/CRCHUM) and Patient Partner, Darren Frew.  Dr. Vanessa DeClercq will also be in attendance at the conference. Dr. DeClercq is a Research Associate in the Langille Lab and holds an Adjunct appointment in Department of Community Health & Epidemiology at Dalhousie University. Dr. DeClercq is an Associated Researcher and former Research Scientist with Atlantic PATH. Her research interests include the role that lifestyle behaviour, such as diet and activity, play in chronic disease prevention and management.  ***** The Physical Activity for Persons Living with or Affected by Cancer (PAC Lab) will be well represented at the upcoming Canadian Cancer Research Conference. The PAC Lab is directed by Atlantic PATH’s colleagues, Dr. Melanie Keats and Dr. Scott Grandy.  Dr. Melanie Keats is a Professor in the School of Health and Human Performance, Division of Kinesiology, Dalhousie University. She holds a research appointment with the Division of Medical Oncology with Nova Scotia Health, Co-Chairs the Physical Activity and Cancer Care Standards Working Group with the Nova Scotia Cancer Care Program, and is a Senior Research Scientist with the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute. Dr. Keats’ research takes an interdisciplinary approach to better understanding the role of exercise in improving the quality of life of cancer survivors.        Dr. Scott Grandy is an Associate Professor in the School of Health and Human Performance, Division of Kinesiology, Dalhousie University. He holds a research appointment with the Division of Medical Oncology with Nova Scotia Health and is a Senior Research Scientist with the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute. Dr. Grandy’s research interests include kinesiology, and cardiovascular disease and exercise, disease prevention, and aging.     Tom Christensen, MSc is the Research Coordinator and Senior Clinical Physiologist in the PAC Lab. Tom will present a poster on missed opportunities in supporting informal cancer caregiver (and patient) health. Posters will be up for the duration of the conference and during viewing sessions on Sunday, November 12th from 12-1:30pm AST and Monday, November 13th from 1:10-2:40pm AST.  Tom will also present this work in the lightning session in a panel on Cancer Survivorship on Sunday, November 12th at 1:30pm AST.      Jodi Langley, Msc is a doctoral candidate in the School of Health and Human Performance at Dalhousie University. Jodi will present a poster on the associations among referral source, enrollment, and adherence to an exercise oncology program for individuals in rural and remote communities in the EXCEL study. Posters will be up for the duration of the conference and during viewing sessions on Sunday, November 12th from 12-1:30pm AST and Monday, November 13th from 1:10-2:40pm AST.    Steph Kendall, MSc, completed her Master’s research with supervisor, Dr. Grandy. A poster  will be presented focused on altered lipid-based metabolites as early markers of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity and the cardioprotective benefits of physical activity in breast cancer patients. Posters will be up for the duration of the conference and during viewing sessions on Sunday, November 12th from 12-1:30pm AST and Monday, November 13th from 1:10-2:40pm AST.    Dr. Stefan Heinze is a postdoctoral fellow with the PAC Lab and the Nova Scotia Health Authority’s Cancer Care Program working towards integrating exercise and physical activity programming as a standard of care. In addition, he has helped to introduce the measurement of frailty into the PAC Lab’s research. He is interested in how we can use frailty assessments to help decide upon the best care pathways for each person living with a cancer diagnosis.  Dr. Heinze will present a poster on activating cancer communities through an exercise strategy for survivors (ACCESS), an implementation-effectiveness study of a 12-week multimodal exercise program for people living with cancer. Posters will be up for the duration of the conference and during viewing sessions on Sunday, November 12th from 12-1:30pm AST and Monday, November 13th from 1:10-2:40pm AST.    *Photo Credit: Dalhousie University

Atlantic PATH (Cui & Sweeney) at #CCRC2023

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Atlantic PATH will be well represented at the Canadian Cancer Research Conference. Yunsong Cui, MSc, is the Data Analyst at Atlantic PATH, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University. He performs statistical analyses of health outcomes using data from Atlantic PATH, patient registries and administrative health databases. His primary research interests include physical activity, lifestyle, diet, and environmental factors related to cancer and comorbidities. His work at Atlantic PATH involves projects on cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, environmental exposures, and polypharmacy.  Yunsong will be presenting a poster on depression, anxiety and the risk of cancer from the Psychosocial Factors and Cancer Incidence (PSY-CA) consortium, which includes data from 18 longitudinal cohorts in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Canada, including Atlantic PATH, CARTaGENE (Quebec) and the Ontario Health Study (N=617,355).  Posters will be up for the duration of the conference and during viewing sessions on Sunday, November 12th from 12-1:30pm AST and Monday, November 13th from 1:10-2:40pm AST.  Yunsong will also present on the PSY-CA study in the lightning session in a panel on Cancer Risk and Primary Prevention on Tuesday, November 14 at 10:40am AST.  Dr. Ellen Sweeney is the Research Director at Atlantic PATH, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University; Associate Member, Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute; Affiliate Scientist, Nova Scotia Health; Scholar, Healthy Populations Institute, Dalhousie University; and Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Graduate Studies, Dalhousie University. Dr. Sweeney’s background is in environmental health and breast cancer. She is the primary contact for data access and leads the environmental and occupational health research streams at Atlantic PATH.   Dr. Sweeney will present a poster on exploring environmental exposure to arsenic and cancer risk in Atlantic PATH using toxicological and machine learning methods, as well as one on the mental health status of prostate cancer survivors in the Atlantic PATH cohort. Posters will be up for the duration of the conference and during viewing sessions on Sunday, November 12th from 12-1:30pm AST and Monday, November 13th from 1:10-2:40pm AST. Dr. Sweeney will also present the mental health and prostate cancer study in the lightning session in a panel on Cancer Survivorship on Sunday, November 12th at 1:30pm.    

Dr. Robin Urquhart at #CCRC2023

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Dr. Robin Urquhart is the co-chair of the Scientific Program Committee at the Canadian Cancer Research Conference. She is also the Scientific Director of Atlantic PATH; Canadian Cancer Society (Nova Scotia Division) Endowed Chair in Population Cancer Research; Associate Professor, Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University; Senior Scientist, Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute; and Affiliate Scientist, Nova Scotia Health. Dr. Urquhart’s research interests include access to and quality of cancer care, patient and family outcomes and experiences, and how to more effectively move research evidence into clinical practice and healthcare policy.   During the conference, Dr. Urquhart can be found:  At the Opening Remarks (Sunday, November 12th, 9am AST)  Chairing a session on the Crises Affecting Healthcare (Monday, November 13th at 11:40am AST)  At the Patient Engagement Workshop (Monday, November 13th at 4:40pm AST)  Chairing a session on environment and cancer with Patient Partner, Dr. Don Desserud (Tuesday, November 14th at 11:40am AST).   

Dr. Philip Awadalla represents CanPath at #CCRC2023

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CanPath Scientific Director, Dr. Philip Awadalla, will represent CanPath at the Canadian Cancer Research Conference. Dr. Awadalla is also the Director of Computational Biology and Senior Investigator at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Professor of Population and Medical Genomics at the University of Toronto, and Executive Director of the Ontario Health Study. His research interests include the development of genomics approaches, model-based tools, and population-based approaches to study mutation rates, genome biology, and cancer.   Along with Patient Partner and Atlantic PATH participant, Pauline McIntyre, Dr. Awadalla will chair a panel on CanPath: Canada’s Largest Population Laboratory for Cancer Research on Monday, November 13th at 11:40 AST. Presenters include    Dr. Dylan O’Sullivan (Alberta Health Services, University of Calgary) speaking about risk factors for early-onset colorectal cancer;  Dr. Samina Abidi (Dalhousie University) speaking about a digital health and artificial-based public health platform for cancer risk prediction;  Dr. Sara Nejatinamini (Alberta Tomorrow Project, Alberta Health Services) speaking about changes in breast and cervical cancer screening during the COVID-19 pandemic; and   Dr. Vikki Ho (University of Montreal, CARTaGENE) speaking about harnessing data to build a cancer prevention research program.  Dr. Awadalla will also represent CanPath on a panel chaired by Dr. Sherri Christian on Networked Cancer Research in Canada on Tuesday, November 14th at 9:00am AST.   

New Publication – PTSD and Ovarian Hormones

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Congratulations to Dr. Ashlyn Swift-Gallant and team on their new publication in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, “Evidence that ovarian hormones, but not diet and exercise, contribute to the sex disparity in post-traumatic stress disorder.” Dr. Swift-Gallant’s research used questionnaire data from Atlantic PATH participants. Free 50 day access: https://bit.ly/46SNDft Dr. Swift-Gallant is based in the Department of Psychology at Memorial University in Newfoundland and Labrador. Their research examines the role hormones play in the development of the brain and behaviour with the overall goal of understanding how individual differences develop.

Canadian Cancer Research Conference Community Event

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CanPath and Atlantic PATH are excited to participate in the upcoming Community Event, “Cancer: Prevention, Treatment & You” at the Canadian Cancer Research Conference. Our team members are looking forward to meeting you!   Megan Fleming, Communications and Knowledge Translation Officer, CanPath  Jason Hicks, Executive Director, Atlantic PATH   Ellen Sweeney, Research Director, Atlantic PATH  This free event is open to the public:  Explore an exhibit hall with resources for people of all ages  Speak one-on-one with patient advocates  Learn about risk reduction  Get up-to-date information on screening and treatment, as well as helpful advice on life after a cancer diagnosis   Panel: Moderated by Eilish Bonang, Anchor of Global Morning News in Halifax, you will hear about interesting research from:  Dr. Nathalie Saint-Jacques, MSc, PhD, Senior Epidemiologist, Nova Scotia Health Cancer Care Program  Dr Michael N. Ha, MD, PhD, FRCPC, Radiation Oncologist, Nova Scotia Health  Mr. Tom Christensen, MSc, Clinical Exercise Physiologist (CSEP-CEP), Physical Activity and Cancer (PAC) Lab   Details:   Saturday, November 11th   1:30-4:30pm AST  Halifax Convention Centre: Argyle Suite  1650 Argyle Street, Halifax 

CanPath and Regional Cohorts at the Canadian Cancer Research Conference (#CCRC2023)

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CanPath and its regional cohorts will be well represented at the upcoming Canadian Cancer Research Conference in Halifax on November 11-14th. This conference is hosted by the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance. It brings together the Canadian cancer research community and spans the research spectrum.   We’re pleased to have attendees from the CanPath National Coordinating Centre and regional cohorts including Atlantic PATH, CARTaGENE (Quebec), the Ontario Health Study, the Manitoba Tomorrow Project, Alberta’s Tomorrow Project, and the BC Generations Project.   Over the next two weeks, we will share more details about where to find CanPath and regional cohort representatives at the conference (e.g., plenaries, concurrent and lightning sessions, poster presentations, etc.), as well as researchers who have used data and biological samples from CanPath and the regional cohorts. Stay tuned! 

The sunscreen paradox: McGill University researchers warn of ‘false sense of security’

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The sunscreen paradox: McGill University researchers warn of ‘false sense of security’ “Sunscreen is important, says Dr. Ivan Litvinov, but it is also the least effective way to protect your skin when compared to sun protective clothing and sun avoidance.” “Sunscreen usage is climbing, but so are melanoma and skin cancer rates: this, researchers say, is the sunscreen paradox. The problem is that people use sunscreen as a ‘permission slip’ to tan,” said Dr. Ivan Litvinov, an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and Chair of the Dermatology Division at McGill University.” The SunFit study includes Atlantic PATH participants and is highlighted in a new article from McGill University News: https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/sunscreen-paradox-mcgill-university-researchers-warn-false-sense-security-352205