Tag: CCRA

Dr. John Lewis at #CCRC2023

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Dr. John Lewis is a Professor in the Department of Oncology at the University of Alberta and the Bird Dogs Chair in Translational Oncology. Dr. Lewis’ research interests include translational prostate cancer research, and the Lewis Lab utilizes real-time intravital imaging of the tumour microenvironment to learn about the critical steps of cancer progression, including the growth of new blood vessels and the gain of tumour cell motility that leads to metastasis. Using CanPath data, Dr. Lewis created predictive models for diseases using a standardized data analysis platform. These models offer insights into the factors that increase the risk of developing a particular disease. The platform, which has demonstrated superior accuracy in predicting prostate cancer compared to existing models, can now be applied efficiently to predict a range of diseases like cancer, heart conditions, lung diseases, diabetes, and neurological disorders using CanPath questionnaire data. Learn more about how the Lewis Lab uses CanPath data: https://canpath.ca/2022/10/webinar-november-2022/. Dr. Lewis will be presenting at the conference plenary on AI Across the Research Spectrum on Sunday, November 12, at 4:10 pm AST. Dr. Lewis will be speaking on the development and commercialization of machine learning models to predict disease.

Dr. Trevor Dummer and Mohadeseh Ahmadi at #CCRC2023

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Dr. Trevor Dummer will be attending the Canadian Cancer Research Conference. Dr. Dummer is the co-Scientific Director for CanPath, an Associate Professor at the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia, the Canadian Cancer Society Chair in Primary Prevention, and Affiliated Scientist, BC Cancer. Dr. Dummer’s research interests include how the environment, communities and neighbourhoods influence health outcomes, including cancer.  Dr. Dummer will be in attendance at the Canadian Cancer Research Conference along with his student, Mohadeseh Ahmadi. Mohadeseh is a MSc student in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia. They will be presenting on the association between traffic-related air pollution and breast cancer risk in post-menopausal women in Alberta’s Tomorrow Project in a lightning session on Tuesday, November 14th at 10:40am AST.    

Manitoba Representation at #CCRC2023 (Hrubeniuk, Briek, Katyal)

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The Manitoba Tomorrow Project will be well represented at the Canadian Cancer Research Conference. Dr. Sachin Katyal is an Associate Professor at the University of Manitoba, Senior Scientist at CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute, and Director of the Manitoba Tumour Bank. Dr. Katyal is the Manitoba Tomorrow Project representative on the CanPath National Strategic Advisory Council. Dr. Katyal’s research interests include using advanced molecular, biochemical and genetic techniques to gain insight into the biology of mammalian DNA strand break repair pathways.  Dr. Katyal will be chairing a session on Clinical Innovations in the Real World with Patient Partner Ruth Ackerman on Monday, November 13th at 2:40pm AST. Speakers include   Dr. Tony Reiman (Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute, Dalhousie University, University of New Brunswick) speaking about multiple myeloma and patient partners  Dr. Sheila Singh (Cancer Research Centre, McMaster University) speaking about clonal evolution in recurrent medulloblastoma  Dr. June Carroll (Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Granovsky Gluskin Family Medicine Centre, Sinai Health) speaking about primary care strategies for hereditary cancer risk  Dr. Travis Hrubeniuk is the Project Lead at the Manitoba Tomorrow Project and an Assistant Professor at the Max Rady College of Medicine, Community Health Services, University of Manitoba. Dr. Hrubeniuk’s research interests focus on the relationships between, and the impact of various levels of physical activity, exercise, and sedentary behaviour on cancer and chronic disease throughout the lifespan and the subsequent influences on public health policy.  Dr. Hrubeniuk will be presenting a poster on the Manitoba Tomorrow Project as a cohort built for cancer research. 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.  Noor Briek is a PhD candidate in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba with an interest in population health and a primary focus on cancer epidemiology and pharmacoepidemiology. Noor is also a Research Assistant with the Manitoba Tomorrow Project and has rich practical experience as an international pharmacist since 2003 and a registered pharmacist (RPh) in Manitoba since 2010.  Noor will be presenting a virtual poster on their dissertation work linking drug data from the Manitoba Tomorrow Project Cohort and Administrative Health Databases: Advancing a Long-Term Health Research Platform for Cancer Research. Virtual posters will be accessible via the conference platform to all registered delegates via the virtual poster hall.  

Dr. Jennifer Vena and Dr. Rachel Murphy at #CCRC2023

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Dr. Jennifer Vena and Dr. Rachel Murphy will be attending the Canadian Cancer Research Conference from Alberta and British Columbia. Dr. Vena is the Scientific Director of Alberta’s Tomorrow Project and a Research Scientist at CancerControl Alberta with Alberta Health Services. Dr. Vena’s research interests focus on lifestyle behaviours and prevention of cancer and chronic diseases, as well as population cohort science, and involves scientific, strategic, and operational elements. Dr. Vena will be presenting a poster on the dietary screener that was developed to assess adherence to Canada’s Food Guide and how it could be used for cancer prevention research. 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. Murphy is a Senior Scientist at BC Cancer and an Associate Professor at the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Murphy’s research interests include reducing the risk of cancer through modifiable lifestyle factors, with a focus on healthy eating and body weight. Additional interests include older adults and other populations with increased risk of cancer, knowledge translation of nutrition evidence, and metabolomics; the study of small molecules in biological systems that may provide insight on pathways linking lifestyle factors and disease.   Dr. Murphy will be presenting at and chairing a session with Patient Partner, Rachelle Bould on Reducing Your Risk of Cancer on Tuesday, November 14th at 9:00am AST. The presenters include:  Dr. Rachel Murphy (University of British Columbia, BC Cancer) speaking about diet, geographies and risk for cancer  Dr. Laura Struik (University of British Columbia) speaking about factors influencing youth vaping uptake  Dr. Paul Demers (Occupational Cancer Research Centre, Ontario Health) speaking about the etiology of rare cancers in a large occupational cohort  Umaima Abbas (University of Western Ontario) speaking about the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of population level policies to reduce alcohol use   

Ethan Ring & Dr. Cindy Feng at #CCRC2023

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Ethan Ring is a third year Masters student in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology at Dalhousie University. His research interests include environmental carcinogens and their role in cancer development.   Ethan will be presenting a poster at the Canadian Cancer Research Conference from his graduate work on the association between potential asbestos exposure and breast cancer risk in Atlantic Canada. This work utilized baseline and follow-up data from 8,160 female Atlantic PATH participants and is part of a larger study led by Dr. Cindy Feng on Predictive Modeling and Geographical Analysis of Cancer Incidence in the Atlantic Region.  Ethan’s Master’s supervisor is Dr. Cindy Feng, Associate Professor, Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Affiliate Scientist (Research), Nova Scotia Health, and Affiliate Scientist, Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute. Additional committee members include Dr. Leah Cahill, Dr. Nathalie St-Jacques, Dr. Ellen Sweeney, and Dr. Robin Urquhart.   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. 

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.    

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