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

Posted on November 6, 2023November 6, 2023 by pathwp

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

New Microbiome Publication

Posted on May 1, 2023May 1, 2023 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

Nearing PhD Defense

Posted on December 12, 2022February 27, 2023 by pathwp

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.