Tag: CanPath

IWH Speaker Series

Posted on by pathwp

Many thanks to the Institute of Work and Health (IWH) for having Atlantic PATH Research Director, Dr. Ellen Sweeney at their Speaker Series today! IWH is a leader in work injury & disability prevention research. An independent, not-for-profit organization, IWH conducts and shares actionable research to promote, protect and improve the health and safety of working people. Dr. Sweeney presented on CanPath and Atlantic PATH data holdings, as well as Atlantic PATH’s shift work research, job title coding by algorithm project, and prostate cancer research. Learn more: Institute of Work and Health www.iwh.on.ca Atlantic PATH: www.atlanticpath.ca CanPath: www.canpath.ca #OccupationalResearch #Work #Health #Cohort

CanPath Webinar: COVID-19 Findings

Posted on by pathwp

CanPath Webinar: Real-World Insights on COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness and Infection Risk Factors from CanPath’s SUPPORT-Canada Study May 30th, 12-1pmEST/1-2pmAST Register: https://canpath.ca/2023/04/hybrid-event-covid-19-vaccine-effectiveness-support-canada-study/ Join us for an in-depth analysis of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness based on real-world data from the SUrveying Prospective Population cOhorts for COVID-19 pRevalence and ouTcomes in Canada’ (SUPPORT-Canada) study. Led by Victoria Kirsh, this webinar will provide an overview of the study population, data collection, and statistical models used to analyze risk factors for infection and vaccine effectiveness against the Omicron variant. You’ll learn about the importance of time since last vaccination as the most critical determinant of protection against infection, more so than the number of vaccinations. Dr. Kirsh will also discuss the benefits and drawbacks of different vaccines and booster shots, including the latest findings on bivalent vs. monovalent boosters. Don’t miss this opportunity to stay up-to-date on the latest research and insights into COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness. About the Presenter: Dr. Victoria Kirsh is the Scientific Associate at the Ontario Health Study, one of CanPath’s regional cohorts. Dr. Kirsh completed a Ph.D. in Epidemiology from Yale University, an M.Sc. in Epidemiology from the University of Toronto and a B.Sc. in Microbiology and Immunology from McGill University. She completed a fellowship at the U.S. National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics. She worked as an Assistant Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, and as a Scientist at Cancer Care Ontario before joining the Ontario Health Study.

Genome BC’s Annual Genomics Forum – May 3, 2023

Posted on by pathwp

CanPath National Scientific Director, Dr. Philip Awadalla and BC Generations Scientific Director, Dr. Parveen Bhatti will be speaking in session 4, “All In: Using Large Population-Based Genomics Studies to Inform Patient Care.”  Wednesday, May 3rd: 3:00-4:30pm PST / 6:00-7:30EST / 7:00-8:30pmAST Registration: https://events.genomebc.ca/genomics-forum-2023/ Session Description: “Large population-based studies have taken place in several countries. Examples include All of Us (USA), 100,000 Genomes Project (UK) and Australian Genomics. This session will explore how these countries have made their project successful and how Canada can leverage already existing data and samples to have its own large cohort initiative — one that supports the development of disease screening, diagnostic, prevention and treatment, as well as inform public health policies for our diverse population.” Speakers: Zsuzsanna Hollander (Moderator) – Genome British Columbia Philip Awadalla (Presenter) – CanPath (Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health) Parveen Bhatti (Presenter) – BC Cancer Research Institute Anastasia Wise – All of Us Research Program, National Institutes of Health Tiffany Boughtwood – Australian Genomics About the Event: “Precision health care promises to target the right treatments to the right patients at the right time. And while genomics technologies have been used to effectively treat patients in health research for decades, thereby revolutionizing patient care, there are areas where these transformational technologies have not yet had a major impact. Join Genome BC on May 3, 2023, this year’s Annual Genomics Forum as we discuss the power and hurdles of integrating genomics into patient management and how we can ensure maximum value is derived from samples and patient data. Other countries have been leading the way in translational genomics research through initiatives such as “All of Us”, inviting one million people across the United States to help build one of the most diverse health databases in history. Australia Genomics has established a national collaboration supporting the translation of genomic research into clinical practice. And Genomics England’s initiative to sequence 100,000 genomes of patients affected by rare diseases or cancer is providing groundbreaking insights and continued findings into the role genomics can play in health care. Though efforts such as these have yet to materialize in Canada, can we leverage already existing biobanks and health data administration systems to make gains and fulfil the promise of precision health for Canadians? Let us learn how we can individually and collectively contribute to filling this gap while ensuring that research and health care advances are equitable to all.” https://events.genomebc.ca/genomics-forum-2023/

New Microbiome Publication

Posted on by pathwp

Congratulations to our colleagues, Dr. Jacob Nearing, Dr. Vanessa DeClercq and Dr. Morgan Langille on their new microbiome publication!! “Investigating the Oral Microbiome in Retrospective and Prospective Cases of Prostate, Colon and Breast Cancer” utilizes saliva samples from Atlantic PATH and Alberta’s Tomorrow Project to consider potential biomarkers for cancer. Link to article in Nature Biofilms and Microbiomes: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41522-023-00391-7

CIHR Environments and Health Signature Initiative Research Summit 2023

Posted on by pathwp

CanPath Executive Director, Dr. John McLaughlin and co-National Scientific Director, Dr. Philip Awadalla at the Environments & Health Research Summit in a participatory panel on Strengthening Canada’s Environments & Health Research Profile. Dr. Awadalla presented on the impact of genes and environment on metabolic disease from Day 1. Check out the recording: https://bit.ly/40omRr3 Background: “The CIHR Environments and Health Signature Initiative Research Summit is a two-day event that will take stock of knowledge that has been produced and shared through CIHR’s Environments and Health Signature Initiative, and will provide research teams with hands-on coaching to improve the communication, translation and exchange of that knowledge. It will also facilitate a dialogue between researchers, policy makers, and knowledge users with the goal of outlining pathways for environments and health research to move in the future to strengthen Canada’s position as an international leader in interdisciplinary environments and health research.”

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

Posted on by pathwp

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

Posted on by pathwp

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

Posted on by pathwp

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)

Posted on by pathwp

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

Posted on by pathwp

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.