Michael and Amira Dan Brain Tumour Bank Network Marks Fifth Anniversary

Michael and Amira Dan Brain Tumour Bank Network Marks Fifth Anniversary

Michael Dan and Jim Rutka with Site LeadsU of T’s biobank has become the biggest of its kind in the world, elevating brain tumour research through unprecedented collaborations.

As a young neurosurgeon, Michael Dan, MD 1984, LLD 2018, spent countless hours operating on patients with potentially deadly brain tumours. In those days, the practice was to excise the diseased section of the brain and place it in a jar of formalin where its cells would eventually die. “I often thought there had to be a way to keep those tumours alive so we could examine and learn from them,” says Dan. “For 30 years, it was a dream of mine to be able to preserve specimens and study the biology of living brain tumours.”

In 2013, Dan and his wife Amira, MA 2004, fulfilled this dream with a $2-million gift that brought together U of T researchers and academic leaders across the Toronto health-sciences network to establish the Michael and Amira Dan Brain Tumour Bank Network at the Faculty of Medicine.

The initiative is the largest of its kind in the world and enables researchers across four University hospitals (SickKids, St. Michael's Hospital, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Toronto Western Hospital) to more effectively diagnose and treat individuals with brain tumours, prolonging and saving tens of thousands of lives in Canada and around the world.

A world-leading initiative

The biobank network is both a physical and virtual tissue bank where samples and critical information are stored. While the physical bank stores the samples at individual sites, it is the virtual bank that stores and links pertinent sample information for use in research across the city. Tumours are frozen for storage or used immediately following the surgery for cancer stem cell research.

“There are more brain tumour patients treated and followed at U of T-affiliated hospitals than any other single institution in the world,” says Prof. James Rutka, Chair of the Department of Surgery at U of T and staff neurosurgeon at SickKids. “Having access to this unique population, we’re able to work together and pool samples from patients across the whole network and store this information in one place.”

Rutka says that the size and scope of U of T’s biobank creates an exceptional environment for collaboration and advances in research. “Having access to these samples in one place has been really exciting. It means that we can expedite the research that many of us are doing because we now have the materials to conduct sophisticated molecular genetic analysis, develop bioinformatics, and tie in artificial intelligence to develop strategies to prevent disease and save lives. For example, because of the research pioneered at UofT and through the use of tissues available through the biobank network, children with medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumour in the pediatric population, can be offered medulloblastoma subtype-specific therapy that has improved prognosis, de-escalated therapy, and extended overall survival.”

Spirit of collaboration

Everyone involved in developing the bank — surgeons, pathologists, staff, and patients, among many others — has been 100 per cent behind the idea, says Dan: “It embodies the U of T spirit of collaboration. There was never any doubt in my mind that once we got it up and running, it would be a fantastic resource — a goldmine of genetic information that everyone in the network can study. You just don’t see this anywhere else.”

“By unifying our resources, we will advance research and accelerate the development of effective treatment of patients with brain and spinal cord tumours,” adds Trevor Young, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. “It’s a testament to the vision of Michael Dan that we have this remarkable resource. It really is a dream come true.”

Michael Dan and Jim Rutka with Site LeadsU of T’s biobank has become the biggest of its kind in the world, elevating brain tumour research through unprecedented collaborations.

As a young neurosurgeon, Michael Dan, MD 1984, LLD 2018, spent countless hours operating on patients with potentially deadly brain tumours. In those days, the practice was to excise the diseased section of the brain and place it in a jar of formalin where its cells would eventually die. “I often thought there had to be a way to keep those tumours alive so we could examine and learn from them,” says Dan. “For 30 years, it was a dream of mine to be able to preserve specimens and study the biology of living brain tumours.”

In 2013, Dan and his wife Amira, MA 2004, fulfilled this dream with a $2-million gift that brought together U of T researchers and academic leaders across the Toronto health-sciences network to establish the Michael and Amira Dan Brain Tumour Bank Network at the Faculty of Medicine.

The initiative is the largest of its kind in the world and enables researchers across four University hospitals (SickKids, St. Michael's Hospital, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Toronto Western Hospital) to more effectively diagnose and treat individuals with brain tumours, prolonging and saving tens of thousands of lives in Canada and around the world.

A world-leading initiative

The biobank network is both a physical and virtual tissue bank where samples and critical information are stored. While the physical bank stores the samples at individual sites, it is the virtual bank that stores and links pertinent sample information for use in research across the city. Tumours are frozen for storage or used immediately following the surgery for cancer stem cell research.

“There are more brain tumour patients treated and followed at U of T-affiliated hospitals than any other single institution in the world,” says Prof. James Rutka, Chair of the Department of Surgery at U of T and staff neurosurgeon at SickKids. “Having access to this unique population, we’re able to work together and pool samples from patients across the whole network and store this information in one place.”

Rutka says that the size and scope of U of T’s biobank creates an exceptional environment for collaboration and advances in research. “Having access to these samples in one place has been really exciting. It means that we can expedite the research that many of us are doing because we now have the materials to conduct sophisticated molecular genetic analysis, develop bioinformatics, and tie in artificial intelligence to develop strategies to prevent disease and save lives. For example, because of the research pioneered at UofT and through the use of tissues available through the biobank network, children with medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumour in the pediatric population, can be offered medulloblastoma subtype-specific therapy that has improved prognosis, de-escalated therapy, and extended overall survival.”

Spirit of collaboration

Everyone involved in developing the bank — surgeons, pathologists, staff, and patients, among many others — has been 100 per cent behind the idea, says Dan: “It embodies the U of T spirit of collaboration. There was never any doubt in my mind that once we got it up and running, it would be a fantastic resource — a goldmine of genetic information that everyone in the network can study. You just don’t see this anywhere else.”

“By unifying our resources, we will advance research and accelerate the development of effective treatment of patients with brain and spinal cord tumours,” adds Trevor Young, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. “It’s a testament to the vision of Michael Dan that we have this remarkable resource. It really is a dream come true.”

Michael and Amira Dan Brain Tumour Bank Network Marks Fifth Anniversary
Admin Help - SEO
screenshot of a google search result

Optimize this page for search engines by customizing the Meta Title and Meta Description fields.

Use the Google Search Result Preview Tool to test different content ideas.

Admin Help - Social Share
screenshot of a linkedin share with selected image

Select a Meta Image to tell a social media platform what image to use when sharing.

If blank, different social platforms like LinkedIn will randomly select an image on the page to appear on shared posts.

Posts with images generally perform better on social media so it is worth selecting an engaging image.

Author

Anjali Baichwal

Tags
Related News
Enabled
News Image
Michael Dan and Jim Rutka with Site Leads
Override Summary Image
Off
Related News Title
News
Default Image
Custom

UofTMed Alum: Advocacy, Stigma and 20 Years of the Black Medical Students Association

UofTMed Alum: Advocacy, Stigma and 20 Years of the Black Medical Students Association

Dr. Sean Wharton

When I started medical school in 1997, I was one of three black students in my class of 270. We made up just over one per cent of the medical school class, and when you compared that to the percentage of Black people in Toronto (7.5 per cent), it was very disproportionate. And U of T was higher than most other medical schools.

I felt we should do something. We recognized we were a marginalized group, and we wanted to advocate for ourselves and others coming up behind us. So we started U of T’s Black Medical Students Association in 1999 — 20 years ago now.

We focused on helping undergrad students who were trying to get into medical school. We helped them ensure their GPAs were competitive, and that they were able to prepare for their MCATs and interviews.

Many of those students are now doctors and leaders in the community.

This year, thanks to our efforts, mentorship and initiatives such as U of T’s Black Student Application Program there are at least 15 Black medical students in U of T’s first year class. This is a big difference from when we started.

Now, in my work as medical director of a community-based internal medicine weight management clinic, I continue to advocate for marginalized groups. People living with obesity face enormous stigma, and I find it can be similar to the way I felt growing up a Black male in Canada.

I may have gravitated to this area of medicine as I can empathize with the stigma and biases that people living with obesity encounter every day.  I hope that I offer a treatment program that helps improve their medical conditions as well as their own self worth. 

Obesity management is a fascinating area, involving science, biology, neuroscience and also has connections to other fields such as socioeconomics.

It’s also tremendously rewarding to connect my advocacy for Black students with my internal medicine practice. Oftentimes students from the Black Medical Students Association come to my clinic and spend a day shadowing me. We talk about their next career steps and potential areas of focus. I know from experience that having mentors and role models, and a sense of community, can make a significant difference to students and fellow colleagues.

When I was in medical school it was inspiring that Dr. Miriam Rossi was the associate dean — having another Black individual who was concerned about the marginalized community in a leadership position meant a lot to me. We bonded very quickly, along with the then senior student-affairs officer Diana Alli, who is South Asian and also felt very strongly about all communities. I felt that I lucked into a community that was ready to really help out.

And before medical school, while I was doing my doctorate, I connected with the Association for the Advancement of Blacks in the Health Sciences, an organization started at U of T. Being part of that group opened my eyes to the possibilities for helping marginalized groups.

I’m also very grateful for the financial support I received as a student, particularly in my third and fourth years. It was like $1,000 at a time, so in the range of $5,000 total, which seems to many people like a drop in the bucket. But it was huge to me and so wonderful. U of T stepped in to try to help students when there were financial pressures.

Now I tell students the fact that they made it into medical school means they're going to continue to succeed, so to try not to second guess whether they have what it takes to be here. I also tell them to remember that they have help along the way. That they can reach out to me and many other mentors that care about them and the community. They should know that they are not alone on this journey.   

Dr. Sean Wharton, BScPhm ’92, PharmD ’97, MD ’01, is the founder of U of T’s Black Medical Students Association, and medical director of the Wharton Medical Clinic, a community-based internal medicine weight management clinic.

Dr. Sean Wharton

When I started medical school in 1997, I was one of three black students in my class of 270. We made up just over one per cent of the medical school class, and when you compared that to the percentage of Black people in Toronto (7.5 per cent), it was very disproportionate. And U of T was higher than most other medical schools.

I felt we should do something. We recognized we were a marginalized group, and we wanted to advocate for ourselves and others coming up behind us. So we started U of T’s Black Medical Students Association in 1999 — 20 years ago now.

We focused on helping undergrad students who were trying to get into medical school. We helped them ensure their GPAs were competitive, and that they were able to prepare for their MCATs and interviews.

Many of those students are now doctors and leaders in the community.

This year, thanks to our efforts, mentorship and initiatives such as U of T’s Black Student Application Program there are at least 15 Black medical students in U of T’s first year class. This is a big difference from when we started.

Now, in my work as medical director of a community-based internal medicine weight management clinic, I continue to advocate for marginalized groups. People living with obesity face enormous stigma, and I find it can be similar to the way I felt growing up a Black male in Canada.

I may have gravitated to this area of medicine as I can empathize with the stigma and biases that people living with obesity encounter every day.  I hope that I offer a treatment program that helps improve their medical conditions as well as their own self worth. 

Obesity management is a fascinating area, involving science, biology, neuroscience and also has connections to other fields such as socioeconomics.

It’s also tremendously rewarding to connect my advocacy for Black students with my internal medicine practice. Oftentimes students from the Black Medical Students Association come to my clinic and spend a day shadowing me. We talk about their next career steps and potential areas of focus. I know from experience that having mentors and role models, and a sense of community, can make a significant difference to students and fellow colleagues.

When I was in medical school it was inspiring that Dr. Miriam Rossi was the associate dean — having another Black individual who was concerned about the marginalized community in a leadership position meant a lot to me. We bonded very quickly, along with the then senior student-affairs officer Diana Alli, who is South Asian and also felt very strongly about all communities. I felt that I lucked into a community that was ready to really help out.

And before medical school, while I was doing my doctorate, I connected with the Association for the Advancement of Blacks in the Health Sciences, an organization started at U of T. Being part of that group opened my eyes to the possibilities for helping marginalized groups.

I’m also very grateful for the financial support I received as a student, particularly in my third and fourth years. It was like $1,000 at a time, so in the range of $5,000 total, which seems to many people like a drop in the bucket. But it was huge to me and so wonderful. U of T stepped in to try to help students when there were financial pressures.

Now I tell students the fact that they made it into medical school means they're going to continue to succeed, so to try not to second guess whether they have what it takes to be here. I also tell them to remember that they have help along the way. That they can reach out to me and many other mentors that care about them and the community. They should know that they are not alone on this journey.   

Dr. Sean Wharton, BScPhm ’92, PharmD ’97, MD ’01, is the founder of U of T’s Black Medical Students Association, and medical director of the Wharton Medical Clinic, a community-based internal medicine weight management clinic.

UofTMed Alum: Advocacy, Stigma and 20 Years of the Black Medical Students Association
Admin Help - SEO
screenshot of a google search result

Optimize this page for search engines by customizing the Meta Title and Meta Description fields.

Use the Google Search Result Preview Tool to test different content ideas.

Admin Help - Social Share
screenshot of a linkedin share with selected image

Select a Meta Image to tell a social media platform what image to use when sharing.

If blank, different social platforms like LinkedIn will randomly select an image on the page to appear on shared posts.

Posts with images generally perform better on social media so it is worth selecting an engaging image.

Author

Dr. Sean Wharton

Tags
Related News
Enabled
News Image
Dr. Sean Wharton
Override Summary Image
Off
Related News Title
News
Default Image
Custom

Tanz Centre Welcomes World-Renowned Scientist as New Director

Tanz Centre Welcomes World-Renowned Scientist as New Director

Graham CollingrdigeVisionary donor support was instrumental to attracting leading neuroscientist Graham Collingridge to U of T’s Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases.

In May of this year, Professor Graham Collingridge FRS CBE was appointed as the new director of the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Collingridge works in the area of synaptic plasticity, which is considered the neural basis of learning and memory. His research identifies the molecules and mechanisms in the brain that underlie learning and memory to determine how errors in the process of brain cell signalling and flexibility contribute to major brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis and fragile X syndrome.

In 2016, he was one of three recipients of The Brain Prize, the world’s most prestigious neuroscience award, bestowed by the Lundbeck Foundation in Denmark. The award recognizes Collingridge’s research into “long-term potentiation,” a model for understanding how memories form. Earlier this year, Collingridge was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to biomedical science.

"We are so pleased to have attracted someone of Graham’s calibre to lead the Tanz Centre,” says Professor Trevor Young, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. “His deeply impressive body of research into the neuroscience of learning and memory and its role in brain disorders holds great promise in helping millions of people affected by Alzheimer’s and other devastating neurological conditions.”

Three decades of pioneering research

With nearly 30 years of groundbreaking neuroscientific discoveries — including identifying key genes responsible for early-onset Alzheimer’s disease — the Tanz Centre exemplifies the world-class research, innovation and learning taking place at the University of Toronto.

Under the direction of Dr. Peter St George-Hyslop—who served as director from 1990-2019 — the Tanz Centre has become a global leader in neurodegenerative disease research, transforming our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, prion diseases and other neurodegenerative conditions.

“Peter is a giant in the field of neuroscience,” says Collingridge. “When he began his pioneering research into Alzheimer’s in the 1980s, the disease was little understood. Today, thanks to Peter’s leadership and the Tanz Centre’s approach to pursuing basic scientific discoveries and translating these into therapies, we are able to more definitively diagnose and offer better treatment options to those suffering from these dreadful disorders of the central nervous system.”

Collingridge and his team will build on the Tanz Centre’s success by focusing on promoting excellence in research and fostering collaborations within the Tanz Centre, across the Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN), and internationally. “My first goal is to maintain and build upon the scientific excellence at the Tanz Centre by defining long-term objectives and securing the funding to bring even more outstanding investigators to work here,” says Collingridge. “Neurodegenerative disease is a huge problem facing people all over the world, and trying to understand the root causes is best tackled with collaborative, multinational efforts. Here in Toronto and Canada, we are extremely well-positioned to do just that.”

Enabling others to make a difference

Jacqueline and Mark TanzFrom the outset, philanthropy has played an essential role in establishing and supporting the Tanz Centre and the leading researchers who work there.

After witnessing his mother Gertrude suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, Mark Tanz was determined to speed the progress of Canada’s research efforts to address the debilitating condition. In 1987, he donated $3.4 million to help establish the Tanz Centre. Since that time, he has contributed an additional $6.1 million to support the Centre.

More recently, the Tanz Centre once again benefited from the support of a visionary group of donors, including a $2 million gift from the Krembil Foundation to establish the Krembil Family Chair in Alzheimer’s Research, to be held by Professor Collingridge as the Centre’s director. A commitment of $1.5-million from Mark Tanz’s son Stuart Tanz, will provide critical support for the Director’s Priority Fund.

Stuart Tanz, who recently assumed his father’s role as Chair of the Tanz Centre Steering Committee, says it’s a great honour to continue his father’s legacy. “It is enormously gratifying and a great privilege to represent my family and fulfill my father’s vision to boost global research and education in neurodegenerative disease,” he says.

Mark Krembil, President and CEO of the Krembil Foundation, who also serves on the board of Brain Canada, U of T’s Governing Council and on the Tanz Centre Steering Committee, believes that groundbreaking discovery requires both recognition and support. “We have great faith in Professor Collingridge’s ability to oversee the exciting next chapter of the Tanz Centre story,” he says. “Our combined support was our way to ensure the Centre remains at the forefront of international efforts to untangle the brain’s mysteries.”

This generous donor support that led to bringing Professor Collingridge to the Tanz Centre will enable the Centre and its researchers to more effectively harness the knowledge and resources needed to drive discovery.

“It is an incredible honour to take over the helm of such an outstanding research centre as the Tanz,” says Collingridge. “Few places world-wide are as well-positioned as the University of Toronto to lead the global effort to understand, treat and prevent these complex neurodegenerative conditions. I look forward to building our network of researchers, and to the continued support of our community to help us make significant progress in such a socio-economically important field.”

Graham CollingrdigeVisionary donor support was instrumental to attracting leading neuroscientist Graham Collingridge to U of T’s Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases.

In May of this year, Professor Graham Collingridge FRS CBE was appointed as the new director of the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Collingridge works in the area of synaptic plasticity, which is considered the neural basis of learning and memory. His research identifies the molecules and mechanisms in the brain that underlie learning and memory to determine how errors in the process of brain cell signalling and flexibility contribute to major brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis and fragile X syndrome.

In 2016, he was one of three recipients of The Brain Prize, the world’s most prestigious neuroscience award, bestowed by the Lundbeck Foundation in Denmark. The award recognizes Collingridge’s research into “long-term potentiation,” a model for understanding how memories form. Earlier this year, Collingridge was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to biomedical science.

"We are so pleased to have attracted someone of Graham’s calibre to lead the Tanz Centre,” says Professor Trevor Young, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. “His deeply impressive body of research into the neuroscience of learning and memory and its role in brain disorders holds great promise in helping millions of people affected by Alzheimer’s and other devastating neurological conditions.”

Three decades of pioneering research

With nearly 30 years of groundbreaking neuroscientific discoveries — including identifying key genes responsible for early-onset Alzheimer’s disease — the Tanz Centre exemplifies the world-class research, innovation and learning taking place at the University of Toronto.

Under the direction of Dr. Peter St George-Hyslop—who served as director from 1990-2019 — the Tanz Centre has become a global leader in neurodegenerative disease research, transforming our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, prion diseases and other neurodegenerative conditions.

“Peter is a giant in the field of neuroscience,” says Collingridge. “When he began his pioneering research into Alzheimer’s in the 1980s, the disease was little understood. Today, thanks to Peter’s leadership and the Tanz Centre’s approach to pursuing basic scientific discoveries and translating these into therapies, we are able to more definitively diagnose and offer better treatment options to those suffering from these dreadful disorders of the central nervous system.”

Collingridge and his team will build on the Tanz Centre’s success by focusing on promoting excellence in research and fostering collaborations within the Tanz Centre, across the Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN), and internationally. “My first goal is to maintain and build upon the scientific excellence at the Tanz Centre by defining long-term objectives and securing the funding to bring even more outstanding investigators to work here,” says Collingridge. “Neurodegenerative disease is a huge problem facing people all over the world, and trying to understand the root causes is best tackled with collaborative, multinational efforts. Here in Toronto and Canada, we are extremely well-positioned to do just that.”

Enabling others to make a difference

Jacqueline and Mark TanzFrom the outset, philanthropy has played an essential role in establishing and supporting the Tanz Centre and the leading researchers who work there.

After witnessing his mother Gertrude suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, Mark Tanz was determined to speed the progress of Canada’s research efforts to address the debilitating condition. In 1987, he donated $3.4 million to help establish the Tanz Centre. Since that time, he has contributed an additional $6.1 million to support the Centre.

More recently, the Tanz Centre once again benefited from the support of a visionary group of donors, including a $2 million gift from the Krembil Foundation to establish the Krembil Family Chair in Alzheimer’s Research, to be held by Professor Collingridge as the Centre’s director. A commitment of $1.5-million from Mark Tanz’s son Stuart Tanz, will provide critical support for the Director’s Priority Fund.

Stuart Tanz, who recently assumed his father’s role as Chair of the Tanz Centre Steering Committee, says it’s a great honour to continue his father’s legacy. “It is enormously gratifying and a great privilege to represent my family and fulfill my father’s vision to boost global research and education in neurodegenerative disease,” he says.

Mark Krembil, President and CEO of the Krembil Foundation, who also serves on the board of Brain Canada, U of T’s Governing Council and on the Tanz Centre Steering Committee, believes that groundbreaking discovery requires both recognition and support. “We have great faith in Professor Collingridge’s ability to oversee the exciting next chapter of the Tanz Centre story,” he says. “Our combined support was our way to ensure the Centre remains at the forefront of international efforts to untangle the brain’s mysteries.”

This generous donor support that led to bringing Professor Collingridge to the Tanz Centre will enable the Centre and its researchers to more effectively harness the knowledge and resources needed to drive discovery.

“It is an incredible honour to take over the helm of such an outstanding research centre as the Tanz,” says Collingridge. “Few places world-wide are as well-positioned as the University of Toronto to lead the global effort to understand, treat and prevent these complex neurodegenerative conditions. I look forward to building our network of researchers, and to the continued support of our community to help us make significant progress in such a socio-economically important field.”

Tanz Centre Welcomes World-Renowned Scientist as New Director
Admin Help - SEO
screenshot of a google search result

Optimize this page for search engines by customizing the Meta Title and Meta Description fields.

Use the Google Search Result Preview Tool to test different content ideas.

Admin Help - Social Share
screenshot of a linkedin share with selected image

Select a Meta Image to tell a social media platform what image to use when sharing.

If blank, different social platforms like LinkedIn will randomly select an image on the page to appear on shared posts.

Posts with images generally perform better on social media so it is worth selecting an engaging image.

Author

Anjali Baichwal

Related News
Enabled
News Image
Graham Collingrdige
Override Summary Image
Off
Related News Title
News
Default Image
Custom

UofTMed Alum: How I Talk to my Patients about Sexual Health

UofTMed Alum: How I Talk to my Patients about Sexual Health

Dr. Edward Kucharski
I recently treated a patient with a sex-related injury: a sprained ankle incurred while involved in a new sexual position. They were not shy to talk — and laugh — about it. For me it reinforced how intertwined our sexuality is with our general health.

And with the advent of Viagra, hook-up apps, and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV, more and more people are feeling empowered to explore and experiment. In health care, though, we are still not particularly good at talking about sex.

To be sure, it can be a tricky conversation to have. We can risk making patients feel judged or humiliated. Or we might feel uneasy about not understanding every emerging sexuality or sex identity.

But we’re doing patients a disservice if we avoid the topic. Here are some things I keep in mind when talking with patients about sex:

#1: Never assume a patient isn’t (or is) sexually active

Your 85-year-old patient or someone with a disability might well be sexually active or planning to be. By not asking about sex, you could be missing important screening opportunities for sexually transmitted infections. Or simply failing to see the patient as a whole person by not acknowledging this important part of their life.

In fact, for many people, being asked whether they want to be screened for STIs can be very affirming — making them feel recognized and accepted as sexual beings. So I always find a way to ask whether patients are sexually active, just to ensure I’m giving them appropriate care.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advocates using five “P”s for taking a sexual history: partners, practices, protection from STIs, past history of STIs and prevention of pregnancy. Some even add an additional “P” for “performance.”

#2: Ask open-ended questions around sexual orientation

We’ve come far from the days when we’d automatically ask a female patient about her “husband.” But we can sometimes still fall short when we ask, say, whether a patient is having sex with women or men or both. Or we fall into stigma territory when asking about the number of partners a patient has.

I understand the value of asking — to understand a patient’s level of risk and to know how often we should be screening for sexually transmitted infections. But so often, these questions can feel loaded with judgement.

I try to stick to more open-ended questions when it comes to sexual orientation — for example, “who are your sexual partners?” and “is there a risk of pregnancy for you and/or that partner?” I also preface the question about the number of sexual partners by saying that some patients have zero in a month (and sometimes never), and others over 50. That it’s all OK and just helpful information to know how best to care for them as patients.

#3: Be comfortable not knowing and be open to learning

Sex can very hard for both patients and providers to talk about. But it can have a significant impact on someone’s general health and quality of life, so we have to be the brave ones to bring it up, or to allow space for it in our conversations.

I have to admit that being gay might not have afforded me privilege overall, but it does help me have open and non-judgemental conversations about sexuality with patients. It tends to make people feel more comfortable.

But ultimately, I think what’s most important is to approach these conversations with openness — never judgement — and being able to say you don’t know. When patients talk about sexual practices or preferences I haven’t heard of, I ask them to tell me about it so I can learn and better care for their health needs.

Just like when a patient might tell me about a rare genetic disease I’m not aware of, I just say I don’t know but invite them to explain. And I listen and open myself to learn – from both the patient, reading and/or other colleagues.

It’s the same thing with sex. We need to let ourselves be OK with some vulnerability in not knowing and open to learning from patients. And then just make sure our jaw doesn’t drop!

Dr. Edward Kucharski, PGME ’06 ’07, is a family physician in Toronto and a lecturer with the Department of Family and Community Medicine. He is currently working with colleague Dr. Amy Bourns on a revised LGBTQ health textbook.

Look out for the upcoming Sex Issue of UofTMed magazine, and don’t miss the lively UofTMed Inside the Issue panel discussion at Alumni Reunion 2:30-4pm on June 1st.

Dr. Edward Kucharski
I recently treated a patient with a sex-related injury: a sprained ankle incurred while involved in a new sexual position. They were not shy to talk — and laugh — about it. For me it reinforced how intertwined our sexuality is with our general health.

And with the advent of Viagra, hook-up apps, and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV, more and more people are feeling empowered to explore and experiment. In health care, though, we are still not particularly good at talking about sex.

To be sure, it can be a tricky conversation to have. We can risk making patients feel judged or humiliated. Or we might feel uneasy about not understanding every emerging sexuality or sex identity.

But we’re doing patients a disservice if we avoid the topic. Here are some things I keep in mind when talking with patients about sex:

#1: Never assume a patient isn’t (or is) sexually active

Your 85-year-old patient or someone with a disability might well be sexually active or planning to be. By not asking about sex, you could be missing important screening opportunities for sexually transmitted infections. Or simply failing to see the patient as a whole person by not acknowledging this important part of their life.

In fact, for many people, being asked whether they want to be screened for STIs can be very affirming — making them feel recognized and accepted as sexual beings. So I always find a way to ask whether patients are sexually active, just to ensure I’m giving them appropriate care.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advocates using five “P”s for taking a sexual history: partners, practices, protection from STIs, past history of STIs and prevention of pregnancy. Some even add an additional “P” for “performance.”

#2: Ask open-ended questions around sexual orientation

We’ve come far from the days when we’d automatically ask a female patient about her “husband.” But we can sometimes still fall short when we ask, say, whether a patient is having sex with women or men or both. Or we fall into stigma territory when asking about the number of partners a patient has.

I understand the value of asking — to understand a patient’s level of risk and to know how often we should be screening for sexually transmitted infections. But so often, these questions can feel loaded with judgement.

I try to stick to more open-ended questions when it comes to sexual orientation — for example, “who are your sexual partners?” and “is there a risk of pregnancy for you and/or that partner?” I also preface the question about the number of sexual partners by saying that some patients have zero in a month (and sometimes never), and others over 50. That it’s all OK and just helpful information to know how best to care for them as patients.

#3: Be comfortable not knowing and be open to learning

Sex can very hard for both patients and providers to talk about. But it can have a significant impact on someone’s general health and quality of life, so we have to be the brave ones to bring it up, or to allow space for it in our conversations.

I have to admit that being gay might not have afforded me privilege overall, but it does help me have open and non-judgemental conversations about sexuality with patients. It tends to make people feel more comfortable.

But ultimately, I think what’s most important is to approach these conversations with openness — never judgement — and being able to say you don’t know. When patients talk about sexual practices or preferences I haven’t heard of, I ask them to tell me about it so I can learn and better care for their health needs.

Just like when a patient might tell me about a rare genetic disease I’m not aware of, I just say I don’t know but invite them to explain. And I listen and open myself to learn – from both the patient, reading and/or other colleagues.

It’s the same thing with sex. We need to let ourselves be OK with some vulnerability in not knowing and open to learning from patients. And then just make sure our jaw doesn’t drop!

Dr. Edward Kucharski, PGME ’06 ’07, is a family physician in Toronto and a lecturer with the Department of Family and Community Medicine. He is currently working with colleague Dr. Amy Bourns on a revised LGBTQ health textbook.

Look out for the upcoming Sex Issue of UofTMed magazine, and don’t miss the lively UofTMed Inside the Issue panel discussion at Alumni Reunion 2:30-4pm on June 1st.

UofTMed Alum: How I Talk to my Patients about Sexual Health
Admin Help - SEO
screenshot of a google search result

Optimize this page for search engines by customizing the Meta Title and Meta Description fields.

Use the Google Search Result Preview Tool to test different content ideas.

Admin Help - Social Share
screenshot of a linkedin share with selected image

Select a Meta Image to tell a social media platform what image to use when sharing.

If blank, different social platforms like LinkedIn will randomly select an image on the page to appear on shared posts.

Posts with images generally perform better on social media so it is worth selecting an engaging image.

Author

Dr. Edward Kucharski

Tags
Related News
Enabled
News Image
Dr. Edward Kucharski
Override Summary Image
Off
Related News Title
News
Default Image
Custom

Artificial Intelligence Is Helping Health Systems Perform Better

Artificial Intelligence Is Helping Health Systems Perform Better

U of T graduate students have found that artificial intelligence can be used not just to diagnose patients, but to improve decision-making across the field of health care – a development that could profoundly improve the delivery of health care and sustainability of our health systems.

Students Tim Rappon and Nida Shahid hold models of a paediatric heart and a stomach, respectively, in front of their exhibition at the John P. Robarts Research Library. The models were created by MD/PhD candidate Amy Khan.

“This will be a quiet revolution to the way we practice medicine,” says Tim Rappon, an MD/PhD student in the Department of Medicine. “It’s not going to be ‘here’s your robot surgeon.’ But AI is maybe going to suggest a different approach to a particular surgery based on patient factors, pathology or genetics. AI will never replace doctors and nurses, but it is already streamlining and supporting their clinical practice.”

After an extensive literature review across databases in health, business and computer science, Rappon and PhD student Nida Shahid published their findings Feb. 20 in the peer-reviewed, open-access journal PLOS ONE.

Currently, much of the AI excitement in medicine is around prediction and classification of diseases. But the ability of intelligent machines to improve the health system has been overlooked and seems to be an important challenge for decision-makers, says Shahid, a student at U of T’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

Intelligent machines can help with everything from running a hospital more efficiently to deciding how to allocate resources and planning departmental workflows in a complex health system, says Shahid.

“I hope the increased use of machine learning in health care will help us make better decisions on all levels,” she says. “I appreciate we should be cautious in what AI-based tools have to offer and its potential limitations, however as decision-makers we’re also under a lot of pressure to make sure we are taking advantage of such advancements in our collective journey towards a value based health system. I hope we truly leverage all it has to offer and engage in open and constructive dialogues across disciplines.”

The pair found that artificial intelligence is already being used to predict health care expenditures for Taiwan’s National Health Insurance program using macroeconomic, demographic and health system variables. Based on the results, the AI model produced significantly more accurate forecasts of health care costs than classical forecasting methods.. They also found that doctors are more likely to use hybrid versions of AI, to provide a more fulsome picture of the problem at hand.

“One model might say that a person has a 70 per cent chance of suffering from pneumonia. But a clinician needs to know why the machine thinks this way before starting treatment,” says Rappon. “A hybrid might spit out the 70 percent prediction but also say this person is 1 running a fever and that their labs and past history show they could have pneumonia.”

Much of the artificial intelligence that works to improve health delivery or the health system will probably be invisible to patients, the pair believe. Helping to make people’s medical records not just more accessible but also ‘intelligent’ could be one crucially important development.

What if the emergency room doctor who has never met you before could instantly see the most relevant parts of your past medical history for your presenting condition?” Rappon asks. “The first kind of use [of AI] will probably be better records, better use and sharing of records. There’s a lot of health data coming online now, but currently we’re not able to make good sense of it.”
 

Artificial Intelligence could change health care as we know it. But how exactly? Join us for a stress-free degree on AI and Health Care during U of T Alumni Reunion on May 30th to delve into the conversation.  

U of T graduate students have found that artificial intelligence can be used not just to diagnose patients, but to improve decision-making across the field of health care – a development that could profoundly improve the delivery of health care and sustainability of our health systems.

Students Tim Rappon and Nida Shahid hold models of a paediatric heart and a stomach, respectively, in front of their exhibition at the John P. Robarts Research Library. The models were created by MD/PhD candidate Amy Khan.

“This will be a quiet revolution to the way we practice medicine,” says Tim Rappon, an MD/PhD student in the Department of Medicine. “It’s not going to be ‘here’s your robot surgeon.’ But AI is maybe going to suggest a different approach to a particular surgery based on patient factors, pathology or genetics. AI will never replace doctors and nurses, but it is already streamlining and supporting their clinical practice.”

After an extensive literature review across databases in health, business and computer science, Rappon and PhD student Nida Shahid published their findings Feb. 20 in the peer-reviewed, open-access journal PLOS ONE.

Currently, much of the AI excitement in medicine is around prediction and classification of diseases. But the ability of intelligent machines to improve the health system has been overlooked and seems to be an important challenge for decision-makers, says Shahid, a student at U of T’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

Intelligent machines can help with everything from running a hospital more efficiently to deciding how to allocate resources and planning departmental workflows in a complex health system, says Shahid.

“I hope the increased use of machine learning in health care will help us make better decisions on all levels,” she says. “I appreciate we should be cautious in what AI-based tools have to offer and its potential limitations, however as decision-makers we’re also under a lot of pressure to make sure we are taking advantage of such advancements in our collective journey towards a value based health system. I hope we truly leverage all it has to offer and engage in open and constructive dialogues across disciplines.”

The pair found that artificial intelligence is already being used to predict health care expenditures for Taiwan’s National Health Insurance program using macroeconomic, demographic and health system variables. Based on the results, the AI model produced significantly more accurate forecasts of health care costs than classical forecasting methods.. They also found that doctors are more likely to use hybrid versions of AI, to provide a more fulsome picture of the problem at hand.

“One model might say that a person has a 70 per cent chance of suffering from pneumonia. But a clinician needs to know why the machine thinks this way before starting treatment,” says Rappon. “A hybrid might spit out the 70 percent prediction but also say this person is 1 running a fever and that their labs and past history show they could have pneumonia.”

Much of the artificial intelligence that works to improve health delivery or the health system will probably be invisible to patients, the pair believe. Helping to make people’s medical records not just more accessible but also ‘intelligent’ could be one crucially important development.

What if the emergency room doctor who has never met you before could instantly see the most relevant parts of your past medical history for your presenting condition?” Rappon asks. “The first kind of use [of AI] will probably be better records, better use and sharing of records. There’s a lot of health data coming online now, but currently we’re not able to make good sense of it.”
 

Artificial Intelligence could change health care as we know it. But how exactly? Join us for a stress-free degree on AI and Health Care during U of T Alumni Reunion on May 30th to delve into the conversation.  

Artificial Intelligence Is Helping Health Systems Perform Better
Admin Help - SEO
screenshot of a google search result

Optimize this page for search engines by customizing the Meta Title and Meta Description fields.

Use the Google Search Result Preview Tool to test different content ideas.

Admin Help - Social Share
screenshot of a linkedin share with selected image

Select a Meta Image to tell a social media platform what image to use when sharing.

If blank, different social platforms like LinkedIn will randomly select an image on the page to appear on shared posts.

Posts with images generally perform better on social media so it is worth selecting an engaging image.

Author

Heidi Singer

Tags
Related News
Enabled
News Image
Students Tim Rappon and Nida Shahid hold models of a paediatric heart and a stomach, respectively, in front of their exhibition at the John P. Robarts Research Library. The models were created by MD/PhD candidate Amy Khan.
Override Summary Image
Off
Related News Title
News
Default Image
Custom

From U of T to the UN: MD Student headed to Commission on the Status of Women

From U of T to the UN: MD Student headed to Commission on the Status of Women

MD Student Tommy HanaTommy Hana, a second-year MD student, is packing his bags for a trip to the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York City. Hana is a member of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) delegation heading to the sixty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in March. The meeting includes international government officials, activists and non-governmental organizations and centres on discussions about women’s rights and empowerment. Hana recently shared his thoughts with writer Erin Howe.

Why did you want to be part of the delegation headed to the CSW?

Growing up, I faced barriers because of identities I had no control over. My parents fled to Canada from Northern Iraq as political refugees without much money or any formal education. I grew up in low-income neighbourhoods where opportunities for professional development were few. Avoiding being groomed by neighbourhood gangs, respecting and simultaneously avoiding the police and keeping track of what streets you could and couldn’t walk was common.

My parents blocked out the sounds of sirens and racist slurs with their encouragement to continue to work hard and take advantage of every opportunity that came my way to make the lives of the people around us easier. I’ve gotten to where I am today by standing on the shoulders of people who advocated on my behalf. I believe that it’s my turn to use my privilege as a cisgender man and medical student to support people who are typically left behind in the health care system.

Being a delegate to the CSW will provide me with a platform to advocate for health equity across genders, in allyship with women, transgender, intersex and non-binary people. I also hope to work with my fellow delegates to bring light to the health disparities women face using an intersectional lens. It’s imperative to acknowledge race, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, migration status and socio-economic status as compounding social identities that present unique barriers when it comes to accessing care.

Can you tell me a bit about the IFMSA?

The IFMSA is one of the world’s oldest and largest student-run organizations. It represents over a million medical students from 135 national medical organizations in 125 countries. The IFMSA engages medical students around the globe in discussions and projects in public health, sexual and reproductive health, medical education, and human rights.

How big is the group and where are the other delegates coming from?

This year’s delegation is made up of eight people from regions from around the world. I’m the representative for the Americas.

We have a diverse group which includes members from Jordan, Taiwan, Germany, Holland, Lithuania, Tunisia, and Australia. As such, in organizing conference calls we’ve become time zone masters! Our preparations began months ago, with various email chains, Whatsapp groups and conference calls.

What are you most looking forward to?

I’m excited to meet and learn from women and girls from around the world who push the gender equality agenda forward within the Sustainable Development Goals framework, which is a blueprint for peace and prosperity. Furthermore, I’m privileged to be among the delegates who will present an IFMSA policy document on access to safe abortion as a foundational component of universal health coverage.

However, preparing for the CSW is bitter-sweet. I wish I could say I was proud to have this opportunity, but as a supporter of the UN, I’m ashamed that member states fail to prevent the deaths of women and girls via unsafe abortions. As a future physician, I’m ashamed that political gains are prioritised over the health and safety of women and girls. But I’m hopeful this commission is able to put the values and preferences of women at the forefront of their discussions.

As someone who identifies as male, why do you think it is important to talk about women’s rights?

Gender as it functions today is a grave injustice. At the outset, it’s impossible to speak of gender in isolation or as a binary. Furthermore, it’s negligent to assume gender equality is a reality. We must recognize there’s no such thing as equality when the foundational supports for women have been dismantled by centuries of misogyny, racism, ableism, heterosexism, transphobia, and xenophobia.

Our expectations for women have evolved, but our social, political, and legal structures have lagged far behind. Our societies are intrinsically set up to benefit men. How can we say all genders are equal when we fail to recognize the importance of things like maternity leave, access to reproductive health services and bodily autonomy? As men, I believe it’s crucial to stand in solidarity with women, transgender, intersex and non-binary people while they lead conversations on gender equality. As a society, we must hold policy makers accountable to distribute resources equitably, provide more support and opportunities to people who continue to be left behind.

How might this experience shape your path through and after medical school?

As somebody who hopes to provide the best possible care to my patients through clinical practice and policy work, it’s my duty to learn as much as I can from the communities I aim to serve. Although I’m still undecided on what kind of physician I want to be, I have great interest in women’s health. The CSW will be an incredible learning opportunity to understand the political and social barriers that prevent women from accessing the care they deserve.

That said, the inspiration for my advocacy won’t come from the UN Headquarters. It will continue to come from the women at the Rexdale Community Health Centre, the 519 and the Fred Victor along with all the other women who’ve thrived through hardship to lay the groundwork for healthier communities.

MD Student Tommy HanaTommy Hana, a second-year MD student, is packing his bags for a trip to the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York City. Hana is a member of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) delegation heading to the sixty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in March. The meeting includes international government officials, activists and non-governmental organizations and centres on discussions about women’s rights and empowerment. Hana recently shared his thoughts with writer Erin Howe.

Why did you want to be part of the delegation headed to the CSW?

Growing up, I faced barriers because of identities I had no control over. My parents fled to Canada from Northern Iraq as political refugees without much money or any formal education. I grew up in low-income neighbourhoods where opportunities for professional development were few. Avoiding being groomed by neighbourhood gangs, respecting and simultaneously avoiding the police and keeping track of what streets you could and couldn’t walk was common.

My parents blocked out the sounds of sirens and racist slurs with their encouragement to continue to work hard and take advantage of every opportunity that came my way to make the lives of the people around us easier. I’ve gotten to where I am today by standing on the shoulders of people who advocated on my behalf. I believe that it’s my turn to use my privilege as a cisgender man and medical student to support people who are typically left behind in the health care system.

Being a delegate to the CSW will provide me with a platform to advocate for health equity across genders, in allyship with women, transgender, intersex and non-binary people. I also hope to work with my fellow delegates to bring light to the health disparities women face using an intersectional lens. It’s imperative to acknowledge race, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, migration status and socio-economic status as compounding social identities that present unique barriers when it comes to accessing care.

Can you tell me a bit about the IFMSA?

The IFMSA is one of the world’s oldest and largest student-run organizations. It represents over a million medical students from 135 national medical organizations in 125 countries. The IFMSA engages medical students around the globe in discussions and projects in public health, sexual and reproductive health, medical education, and human rights.

How big is the group and where are the other delegates coming from?

This year’s delegation is made up of eight people from regions from around the world. I’m the representative for the Americas.

We have a diverse group which includes members from Jordan, Taiwan, Germany, Holland, Lithuania, Tunisia, and Australia. As such, in organizing conference calls we’ve become time zone masters! Our preparations began months ago, with various email chains, Whatsapp groups and conference calls.

What are you most looking forward to?

I’m excited to meet and learn from women and girls from around the world who push the gender equality agenda forward within the Sustainable Development Goals framework, which is a blueprint for peace and prosperity. Furthermore, I’m privileged to be among the delegates who will present an IFMSA policy document on access to safe abortion as a foundational component of universal health coverage.

However, preparing for the CSW is bitter-sweet. I wish I could say I was proud to have this opportunity, but as a supporter of the UN, I’m ashamed that member states fail to prevent the deaths of women and girls via unsafe abortions. As a future physician, I’m ashamed that political gains are prioritised over the health and safety of women and girls. But I’m hopeful this commission is able to put the values and preferences of women at the forefront of their discussions.

As someone who identifies as male, why do you think it is important to talk about women’s rights?

Gender as it functions today is a grave injustice. At the outset, it’s impossible to speak of gender in isolation or as a binary. Furthermore, it’s negligent to assume gender equality is a reality. We must recognize there’s no such thing as equality when the foundational supports for women have been dismantled by centuries of misogyny, racism, ableism, heterosexism, transphobia, and xenophobia.

Our expectations for women have evolved, but our social, political, and legal structures have lagged far behind. Our societies are intrinsically set up to benefit men. How can we say all genders are equal when we fail to recognize the importance of things like maternity leave, access to reproductive health services and bodily autonomy? As men, I believe it’s crucial to stand in solidarity with women, transgender, intersex and non-binary people while they lead conversations on gender equality. As a society, we must hold policy makers accountable to distribute resources equitably, provide more support and opportunities to people who continue to be left behind.

How might this experience shape your path through and after medical school?

As somebody who hopes to provide the best possible care to my patients through clinical practice and policy work, it’s my duty to learn as much as I can from the communities I aim to serve. Although I’m still undecided on what kind of physician I want to be, I have great interest in women’s health. The CSW will be an incredible learning opportunity to understand the political and social barriers that prevent women from accessing the care they deserve.

That said, the inspiration for my advocacy won’t come from the UN Headquarters. It will continue to come from the women at the Rexdale Community Health Centre, the 519 and the Fred Victor along with all the other women who’ve thrived through hardship to lay the groundwork for healthier communities.

From U of T to the UN: MD Student headed to Commission on the Status of Women
Admin Help - SEO
screenshot of a google search result

Optimize this page for search engines by customizing the Meta Title and Meta Description fields.

Use the Google Search Result Preview Tool to test different content ideas.

Admin Help - Social Share
screenshot of a linkedin share with selected image

Select a Meta Image to tell a social media platform what image to use when sharing.

If blank, different social platforms like LinkedIn will randomly select an image on the page to appear on shared posts.

Posts with images generally perform better on social media so it is worth selecting an engaging image.

Tags
Related News
Enabled
News Image
MD Student Tommy Hana
Override Summary Image
Off
Related News Title
News
Default Image
Custom

Building a Better Diabetes Predictor

Building a Better Diabetes Predictor

Every year in Canada as many as 20 per cent of pregnant women develop gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), which in most cases is a temporary form of diabetes. Even though the condition usually goes away following delivery of their babies, women who’ve had this transient form of diabetes are about seven times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes (T2D) in the future.

Currently, there aren’t many tools to help predict who will develop the chronic condition, but research by Professors Michael Wheeler and Brian Cox at the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Physiology could one day change that.First author post-doctoral fellow Saifur Khan and Professor Brian Cox

Working with Dr. Erica Gunderson, a senior research scientist at the research division at Kaiser Permanente, a health maintenance organization in Oakland, California, Wheeler and Cox co-led research that’s shed new light on how to determine whether or not women who’ve had GDM will eventually develop T2. The study was recently published in the journal Diabetologia.

The Society of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians of Canada recommend women who’ve had GDM be screened for diabetes between six weeks and six months following delivery, with annual follow ups after that. But, only between 14 and 50 per cent of this group take the initial test and just 20 per cent go back for their annual screen.

“Everybody wants to believe they’ll be in the fifty per cent who won’t develop T2D,” says Cox. “If we could be more confident in predicting who will or won’t get diabetes, that might motivate people to come back for assessment or take on lifestyle interventions to help them reduce their disease risk.”

The study looked at a group of about a thousand women in Southern California who had GDM. After they delivered the babies, scientists followed the women’s health for nearly a decade using oral glucose tolerance tests and a variety of other biochemical and lifestyle tests.
 

The team identified seven lipids that — depending on their levels — predicted with 92 per cent accuracy whether or not the women would develop T2D. To do it, they used mass spectrometry and artificial intelligence, a technique that can quantify and identify compounds within a sample and help researchers better understand the makeup of different molecules and their association with diabetes risk.

“Everybody focuses on blood sugar. But circulating fats — also known as lipids — are also important in the disease,” says Wheeler, who also has appointments in the Department of Medicine and the Institute of Medical Science. “The relationship could be causal, through obesity or the types of fats people have in their diets. Knowing this, we used lipidomics — which allowed us to look at more than a thousand lipids in a short time from one small blood sample.”

Genetics, regional differences and environmental factors can all influence people’s lipid levels. The hope is to find a simple lipid signature that is common among all woman that can predict diabetes. The seven lipids identified in this study represent a significant step towards this goal with respect to those with GDM who transition to T2D.

The team plans to explore whether their findings are more broadly applicable.

As a next step, Wheeler and Cox hope to develop a test that could be used in a clinical chemistry lab, where many patients already have multiple types of bloodwork done. Cox points out there are already assays to measure other lipids like cholesterol. Now, the pair say it’s a question of developing something similar to test for the seven lipids identified in the study.

The idea, says Wheeler, is to create a simple test to more accurately predict future T2D using a small blood sample taken before women leave the hospital after delivering their babies deliver — or even a few weeks or months later. Since the current tests are only able to make predictions for small windows of time, the team’s goal is to eliminate the need for women to return repeatedly for monitoring.

Wheeler and Cox’s most recent study builds on earlier research published in 2016 in which they identified a series of metabolites that could predict T2D in women who’d experienced GDM.

They’ve patented some of their earlier findings and connected with the University’s Innovations & Partnerships Office in the hopes of one day developing a diagnostic test. But, the pair emphasizes that a clinical application for their findings is still years away.

Wheeler also says there’s potential to use the knowledge to help develop a new screening tool for all people — which could have a massive impact globally.

“It shows the necessity of discovery-based science when it comes to developing things that could be translated into new medical applications,” says Cox. “There’s a lot of pressure on translation, but if we don’t do this basic research, there’s nothing to translate.”

The research was supported by Canadian Institutes of Health Research and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Every year in Canada as many as 20 per cent of pregnant women develop gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), which in most cases is a temporary form of diabetes. Even though the condition usually goes away following delivery of their babies, women who’ve had this transient form of diabetes are about seven times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes (T2D) in the future.

Currently, there aren’t many tools to help predict who will develop the chronic condition, but research by Professors Michael Wheeler and Brian Cox at the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Physiology could one day change that.First author post-doctoral fellow Saifur Khan and Professor Brian Cox

Working with Dr. Erica Gunderson, a senior research scientist at the research division at Kaiser Permanente, a health maintenance organization in Oakland, California, Wheeler and Cox co-led research that’s shed new light on how to determine whether or not women who’ve had GDM will eventually develop T2. The study was recently published in the journal Diabetologia.

The Society of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians of Canada recommend women who’ve had GDM be screened for diabetes between six weeks and six months following delivery, with annual follow ups after that. But, only between 14 and 50 per cent of this group take the initial test and just 20 per cent go back for their annual screen.

“Everybody wants to believe they’ll be in the fifty per cent who won’t develop T2D,” says Cox. “If we could be more confident in predicting who will or won’t get diabetes, that might motivate people to come back for assessment or take on lifestyle interventions to help them reduce their disease risk.”

The study looked at a group of about a thousand women in Southern California who had GDM. After they delivered the babies, scientists followed the women’s health for nearly a decade using oral glucose tolerance tests and a variety of other biochemical and lifestyle tests.
 

The team identified seven lipids that — depending on their levels — predicted with 92 per cent accuracy whether or not the women would develop T2D. To do it, they used mass spectrometry and artificial intelligence, a technique that can quantify and identify compounds within a sample and help researchers better understand the makeup of different molecules and their association with diabetes risk.

“Everybody focuses on blood sugar. But circulating fats — also known as lipids — are also important in the disease,” says Wheeler, who also has appointments in the Department of Medicine and the Institute of Medical Science. “The relationship could be causal, through obesity or the types of fats people have in their diets. Knowing this, we used lipidomics — which allowed us to look at more than a thousand lipids in a short time from one small blood sample.”

Genetics, regional differences and environmental factors can all influence people’s lipid levels. The hope is to find a simple lipid signature that is common among all woman that can predict diabetes. The seven lipids identified in this study represent a significant step towards this goal with respect to those with GDM who transition to T2D.

The team plans to explore whether their findings are more broadly applicable.

As a next step, Wheeler and Cox hope to develop a test that could be used in a clinical chemistry lab, where many patients already have multiple types of bloodwork done. Cox points out there are already assays to measure other lipids like cholesterol. Now, the pair say it’s a question of developing something similar to test for the seven lipids identified in the study.

The idea, says Wheeler, is to create a simple test to more accurately predict future T2D using a small blood sample taken before women leave the hospital after delivering their babies deliver — or even a few weeks or months later. Since the current tests are only able to make predictions for small windows of time, the team’s goal is to eliminate the need for women to return repeatedly for monitoring.

Wheeler and Cox’s most recent study builds on earlier research published in 2016 in which they identified a series of metabolites that could predict T2D in women who’d experienced GDM.

They’ve patented some of their earlier findings and connected with the University’s Innovations & Partnerships Office in the hopes of one day developing a diagnostic test. But, the pair emphasizes that a clinical application for their findings is still years away.

Wheeler also says there’s potential to use the knowledge to help develop a new screening tool for all people — which could have a massive impact globally.

“It shows the necessity of discovery-based science when it comes to developing things that could be translated into new medical applications,” says Cox. “There’s a lot of pressure on translation, but if we don’t do this basic research, there’s nothing to translate.”

The research was supported by Canadian Institutes of Health Research and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Building a Better Diabetes Predictor
Admin Help - SEO
screenshot of a google search result

Optimize this page for search engines by customizing the Meta Title and Meta Description fields.

Use the Google Search Result Preview Tool to test different content ideas.

Admin Help - Social Share
screenshot of a linkedin share with selected image

Select a Meta Image to tell a social media platform what image to use when sharing.

If blank, different social platforms like LinkedIn will randomly select an image on the page to appear on shared posts.

Posts with images generally perform better on social media so it is worth selecting an engaging image.

Author

Erin Howe

Tags
Related News
Enabled
News Image
First author post-doctoral fellow Saifur Khan and Professor Brian Cox
Override Summary Image
Off
Related News Title
News
Default Image
Custom

U of T Research Sparks Potential New Leukemia Drug Discovery

U of T Research Sparks Potential New Leukemia Drug Discovery

University of Toronto-affiliated scientists have created a first-of-its-kind treatment for leukemia that has attracted potentially record-breaking funding and will start trials on cancer patients in Ontario.

Professor Cheryl Arrowsmith

The ground work for the potential new drug was laid by Professor Cheryl Arrowsmith, Chief Scientist of the U of T-affiliated Structural Genomic Consortium (SGC), working with a team of scientists from the SGC’s chemical probe program, including biologist Dalia Barsyte, and Masoud Vedadi who is also an Assistant Professor in U of T’s Department of Toxicology and Pharmacology . The SGC collaborated with the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) Drug Discovery group lead by Rima Al-awar, a U of T Toxicology and Pharmacology Associate Professor, in an open science collaboration that discovered the first inhibitor to a new drug target, WDR5.

Dr. Al-awar and her team at OICR, further developed and tested the drug pre-clinically. After the success of these initial tests, the provincial cancer researchers attracted investment from Celgene Corporation that could potentially exceed US$1 billion – which would make it the largest transaction to date for a preclinical asset discovered in Canada.

Professor Masoud Vedadi

This investment will allow for clinical trials based in Ontario, and will further research and development of the drug and other cancer research innovations developed in the province.

“The progress of this pre-clinical drug towards the clinic is an example of how OICR, working with its partners, is accelerating cancer research in Ontario and increasing investment so that new innovations can help patients as soon as possible,” says Laszlo Radvanyi, President and Scientific Director of OICR.

Scientists have long known that a protein called MLL-1 plays an important role in promoting the development of leukemia. It does this through binding with a partner protein called WDR5. This new therapy works by disrupting the interaction between these two proteins, which throws a wrench into the development of the cancer.

Dr. Dalia Barsyte

It was Arrowsmith and her U of T team that first suggested targeting this protein combination as a way of fighting leukemia, and brought the idea to OICR team cancer researchers. The two teams worked together to develop a “chemical probe” that could be used to test the anti-leukemia hypothesis. Under the SGC’s mandate of open science, the two teams shared their successful results openly with the world’s scientific community. Other researchers then showed the probe could stop the growth of leukemia and other cancer cells.

“The development of this compound was a real community effort. When the team at SGC came to us with this idea, it was much easier to see a path forward because of our history of cooperation and the complementary skills of the two groups,” says Al-awar, Director and Senior Principal Investigator of OICR’s drug discovery program. “Developing the inhibitor to a point where it can attract this type of investment demonstrates the power of Ontario’s research community and how we can maximize our strengths by working together.”

Arrowsmith, also a professor in the Department of Medical Biophysics, agreed: “Collaboration is very important these days in cancer research where is it difficult to find all the skills, knowledge and materials needed for a project in a single institution,” she says. “However, our collaboration was facilitated by our open-science sharing of the chemical probe - no need for contracts or negotiations over intellectual property. That helped our research to go faster, and facilitated the rapid sharing of the chemical probe with colleagues who could test it out in important cancer models.”

Arrowsmith says the drug should have potential for many different cancers and other diseases.

With files from the Ontario Institute for Cancer Resesarch. 

University of Toronto-affiliated scientists have created a first-of-its-kind treatment for leukemia that has attracted potentially record-breaking funding and will start trials on cancer patients in Ontario.

Professor Cheryl Arrowsmith

The ground work for the potential new drug was laid by Professor Cheryl Arrowsmith, Chief Scientist of the U of T-affiliated Structural Genomic Consortium (SGC), working with a team of scientists from the SGC’s chemical probe program, including biologist Dalia Barsyte, and Masoud Vedadi who is also an Assistant Professor in U of T’s Department of Toxicology and Pharmacology . The SGC collaborated with the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) Drug Discovery group lead by Rima Al-awar, a U of T Toxicology and Pharmacology Associate Professor, in an open science collaboration that discovered the first inhibitor to a new drug target, WDR5.

Dr. Al-awar and her team at OICR, further developed and tested the drug pre-clinically. After the success of these initial tests, the provincial cancer researchers attracted investment from Celgene Corporation that could potentially exceed US$1 billion – which would make it the largest transaction to date for a preclinical asset discovered in Canada.

Professor Masoud Vedadi

This investment will allow for clinical trials based in Ontario, and will further research and development of the drug and other cancer research innovations developed in the province.

“The progress of this pre-clinical drug towards the clinic is an example of how OICR, working with its partners, is accelerating cancer research in Ontario and increasing investment so that new innovations can help patients as soon as possible,” says Laszlo Radvanyi, President and Scientific Director of OICR.

Scientists have long known that a protein called MLL-1 plays an important role in promoting the development of leukemia. It does this through binding with a partner protein called WDR5. This new therapy works by disrupting the interaction between these two proteins, which throws a wrench into the development of the cancer.

Dr. Dalia Barsyte

It was Arrowsmith and her U of T team that first suggested targeting this protein combination as a way of fighting leukemia, and brought the idea to OICR team cancer researchers. The two teams worked together to develop a “chemical probe” that could be used to test the anti-leukemia hypothesis. Under the SGC’s mandate of open science, the two teams shared their successful results openly with the world’s scientific community. Other researchers then showed the probe could stop the growth of leukemia and other cancer cells.

“The development of this compound was a real community effort. When the team at SGC came to us with this idea, it was much easier to see a path forward because of our history of cooperation and the complementary skills of the two groups,” says Al-awar, Director and Senior Principal Investigator of OICR’s drug discovery program. “Developing the inhibitor to a point where it can attract this type of investment demonstrates the power of Ontario’s research community and how we can maximize our strengths by working together.”

Arrowsmith, also a professor in the Department of Medical Biophysics, agreed: “Collaboration is very important these days in cancer research where is it difficult to find all the skills, knowledge and materials needed for a project in a single institution,” she says. “However, our collaboration was facilitated by our open-science sharing of the chemical probe - no need for contracts or negotiations over intellectual property. That helped our research to go faster, and facilitated the rapid sharing of the chemical probe with colleagues who could test it out in important cancer models.”

Arrowsmith says the drug should have potential for many different cancers and other diseases.

With files from the Ontario Institute for Cancer Resesarch. 

U of T Research Sparks Potential New Leukemia Drug Discovery
Admin Help - SEO
screenshot of a google search result

Optimize this page for search engines by customizing the Meta Title and Meta Description fields.

Use the Google Search Result Preview Tool to test different content ideas.

Admin Help - Social Share
screenshot of a linkedin share with selected image

Select a Meta Image to tell a social media platform what image to use when sharing.

If blank, different social platforms like LinkedIn will randomly select an image on the page to appear on shared posts.

Posts with images generally perform better on social media so it is worth selecting an engaging image.

Author

Heidi Singer

Tags
Related News
Enabled
News Image
Professor Cheryl Arrowsmith, Dr. Dalia Barsyte, Professor Masoud Vedadi
Override Summary Image
Off
Related News Title
News
Default Image
Custom

Washing Away Health Care Acquired Infections

Washing Away Health Care Acquired Infections

Michael Wu, Parham Chinikar, Marawan Gamal and Luke KyneWhen Luke Kyne and his classmates Marawan Gamal, Parham Chinikar and Michael Wu learned Canada has the highest rate of health care acquired infections (HAIs) of any developed country, they were inspired to reduce it. The group developed a device called the Fian Bar, an interactive device that reminds users about how best to wash their hands. Kyne told writer Erin Howe about their startup, Fian, and the team’s plan to improve health care through hand washing.

What does Fian do?

Our hand washing companion device, the Fian Bar, uses interactive prompts and instant feedback to increase hand washing duration and compliance. Our device is mounted next to a washroom sink and guides a person through the stages of hand washing using three different icons: "Water", "Soap", and "Scrub". Sensors track which stage of hand washing the user is in and illuminate the appropriate icon. A timer correlated with the "Scrub" icon encourages 15-seconds of scrubbing with soap, as mandated by the World Health Organization. If the user washes their hands insufficiently, the entire device flashes and beeps. Hand hygiene data is also uploaded to our servers, which can be viewed and analyzed in real time by hospital administrators and researchers.

How did you arrive at this concept? What inspired you?

One in 10 Canadian patients are infected with an HAI every year, resulting in nearly 10,000 deaths annually. As mechanical engineering students with specializations in biomedical engineering, mechatronics, solid design, and manufacturing, Marawan Gamal and Parham Chinikar recognized there might be a technological solution.

After Michael Wu and I did some further research, we found approximately half of all HAIs result from improper hand hygiene. Our team was convinced improvements in this area could massively benefit a large percentage of Canadians. Our initial solution was to construct an all-in-one hand washing station, complete with automatic washing and drying. However, we wanted to minimize the intrusiveness and cost of our device, and instead imagined the Fian Bar as an inexpensive and accessible tool for guiding improved hand hygiene. Plus, previous studies have shown hand dryers tend to spread large amounts of airborne bacteria!

How will Fian improve the health care sector?

The Fian BarOur mission is to keep health care workers and patients healthy by helping ensure proper hand hygiene practices. By focusing on hospitals, long-term care facilities and private clinics, we believe our technology can help improve hand washing in these settings. Our interactive signs also encourage improved hand washing for patients and visitors. These groups have been relatively unacknowledged in hand hygiene interventions to date and demonstrate significantly lower hand washing compliance than health care workers. Previous studies show the general public washes their hands for an average of just 4.4 seconds, versus the recommended 15-second minimum.

By comparison, dynamic speed display signs — which provide drivers with real-time speed metrics — have resulted in speed reductions of up to 9.2 km/h on average. In applying this principle to hand hygiene, we believe Fian Bars could increase hand washing duration and frequency to benefit the health care sector.

How far along is your concept/business?

At this point, we’ve completed our prototype and are ready to validate our product in a clinical environment. We're working with Southlake Regional Health Centre to develop a study to identify changes in hand hygiene behavior, including frequency and duration. Likewise, we're preparing to test our device in smaller-scale facilities to refine our network-based data collection services so we can expand to larger, more technologically elaborate institutions. As a member of the Faculty of Medicine's Health Innovation Hub (H2i) and MaRS Health Venture Services, we’ve continued to develop our business and are pursuing government funding and seed investment opportunities.

What makes you passionate about this project?

Although our team originates from a diverse set of educational and cultural backgrounds, we’ve all got similar reasons for our enthusiasm. We’ve all contributed at some point to the ideation and design process, while conceptualizing novel technology is something we all enjoy. Most importantly, we’re all passionate about the end results of this project. Ultimately, we want to reduce HAI-related patient deaths across Canada and around the world. If we can achieve this goal, we'll be extremely satisfied!

Tell me about the people at U of T who have mentored or inspired you.

As students, we've met many highly accomplished people who’ve been critical to our success so far. Professor Paul Santerre, H2i Co-Director, has offered us valuable health care-related insights. In addition to helping us refine our business plan, H2i's Lead Mentor Andris Lauris has helped us prepare for pitch competitions and investor meetings. H2i's Lead Legal advisor, Professor Gabriella Chan, has assisted us in navigating the legal minefield of intellectual property claims. With years of experience developing novel hand hygiene technologies, Professor Geoff Fernie inspired us to think critically about the issue of hand washing and provided helpful feedback to enhance our solution.

What’s next for this project?

Once we validate our Fian Bar in a clinical environment, we want to implement this technology in as many health care facilities as possible. That way, we can help the health care system while continuing to acquire data to further enhance our service. We're planning to expand our reach to schools and food-related businesses, where proper hand washing is also critical to ensure the safety of students, teachers and the general public.

Additionally, we're looking into ways of increasing hand sanitizer compliance. Several companies have proposed solutions to encourage its use, but these are often expensive and highly intrusive, resulting in pushback from nurses and physicians.

In 2019, watch for new developments from Fian Technologies in an effort to wash away HAIs for good!

Michael Wu, Parham Chinikar, Marawan Gamal and Luke KyneWhen Luke Kyne and his classmates Marawan Gamal, Parham Chinikar and Michael Wu learned Canada has the highest rate of health care acquired infections (HAIs) of any developed country, they were inspired to reduce it. The group developed a device called the Fian Bar, an interactive device that reminds users about how best to wash their hands. Kyne told writer Erin Howe about their startup, Fian, and the team’s plan to improve health care through hand washing.

What does Fian do?

Our hand washing companion device, the Fian Bar, uses interactive prompts and instant feedback to increase hand washing duration and compliance. Our device is mounted next to a washroom sink and guides a person through the stages of hand washing using three different icons: "Water", "Soap", and "Scrub". Sensors track which stage of hand washing the user is in and illuminate the appropriate icon. A timer correlated with the "Scrub" icon encourages 15-seconds of scrubbing with soap, as mandated by the World Health Organization. If the user washes their hands insufficiently, the entire device flashes and beeps. Hand hygiene data is also uploaded to our servers, which can be viewed and analyzed in real time by hospital administrators and researchers.

How did you arrive at this concept? What inspired you?

One in 10 Canadian patients are infected with an HAI every year, resulting in nearly 10,000 deaths annually. As mechanical engineering students with specializations in biomedical engineering, mechatronics, solid design, and manufacturing, Marawan Gamal and Parham Chinikar recognized there might be a technological solution.

After Michael Wu and I did some further research, we found approximately half of all HAIs result from improper hand hygiene. Our team was convinced improvements in this area could massively benefit a large percentage of Canadians. Our initial solution was to construct an all-in-one hand washing station, complete with automatic washing and drying. However, we wanted to minimize the intrusiveness and cost of our device, and instead imagined the Fian Bar as an inexpensive and accessible tool for guiding improved hand hygiene. Plus, previous studies have shown hand dryers tend to spread large amounts of airborne bacteria!

How will Fian improve the health care sector?

The Fian BarOur mission is to keep health care workers and patients healthy by helping ensure proper hand hygiene practices. By focusing on hospitals, long-term care facilities and private clinics, we believe our technology can help improve hand washing in these settings. Our interactive signs also encourage improved hand washing for patients and visitors. These groups have been relatively unacknowledged in hand hygiene interventions to date and demonstrate significantly lower hand washing compliance than health care workers. Previous studies show the general public washes their hands for an average of just 4.4 seconds, versus the recommended 15-second minimum.

By comparison, dynamic speed display signs — which provide drivers with real-time speed metrics — have resulted in speed reductions of up to 9.2 km/h on average. In applying this principle to hand hygiene, we believe Fian Bars could increase hand washing duration and frequency to benefit the health care sector.

How far along is your concept/business?

At this point, we’ve completed our prototype and are ready to validate our product in a clinical environment. We're working with Southlake Regional Health Centre to develop a study to identify changes in hand hygiene behavior, including frequency and duration. Likewise, we're preparing to test our device in smaller-scale facilities to refine our network-based data collection services so we can expand to larger, more technologically elaborate institutions. As a member of the Faculty of Medicine's Health Innovation Hub (H2i) and MaRS Health Venture Services, we’ve continued to develop our business and are pursuing government funding and seed investment opportunities.

What makes you passionate about this project?

Although our team originates from a diverse set of educational and cultural backgrounds, we’ve all got similar reasons for our enthusiasm. We’ve all contributed at some point to the ideation and design process, while conceptualizing novel technology is something we all enjoy. Most importantly, we’re all passionate about the end results of this project. Ultimately, we want to reduce HAI-related patient deaths across Canada and around the world. If we can achieve this goal, we'll be extremely satisfied!

Tell me about the people at U of T who have mentored or inspired you.

As students, we've met many highly accomplished people who’ve been critical to our success so far. Professor Paul Santerre, H2i Co-Director, has offered us valuable health care-related insights. In addition to helping us refine our business plan, H2i's Lead Mentor Andris Lauris has helped us prepare for pitch competitions and investor meetings. H2i's Lead Legal advisor, Professor Gabriella Chan, has assisted us in navigating the legal minefield of intellectual property claims. With years of experience developing novel hand hygiene technologies, Professor Geoff Fernie inspired us to think critically about the issue of hand washing and provided helpful feedback to enhance our solution.

What’s next for this project?

Once we validate our Fian Bar in a clinical environment, we want to implement this technology in as many health care facilities as possible. That way, we can help the health care system while continuing to acquire data to further enhance our service. We're planning to expand our reach to schools and food-related businesses, where proper hand washing is also critical to ensure the safety of students, teachers and the general public.

Additionally, we're looking into ways of increasing hand sanitizer compliance. Several companies have proposed solutions to encourage its use, but these are often expensive and highly intrusive, resulting in pushback from nurses and physicians.

In 2019, watch for new developments from Fian Technologies in an effort to wash away HAIs for good!

Washing Away Health Care Acquired Infections
Admin Help - SEO
screenshot of a google search result

Optimize this page for search engines by customizing the Meta Title and Meta Description fields.

Use the Google Search Result Preview Tool to test different content ideas.

Admin Help - Social Share
screenshot of a linkedin share with selected image

Select a Meta Image to tell a social media platform what image to use when sharing.

If blank, different social platforms like LinkedIn will randomly select an image on the page to appear on shared posts.

Posts with images generally perform better on social media so it is worth selecting an engaging image.

Tags
Related News
Enabled
News Image
Michael Wu, Parham Chinikar, Marawan Gamal and Luke Kyne
Override Summary Image
Off
Related News Title
News
Default Image
Custom

How Low Oxygen Drives Tumours

How Low Oxygen Drives Tumours

Landmark pan-cancer study analyzes mutation signatures of low oxygen in thousands of tumours

Professor Robert Bristow

University of Toronto researchers have discovered the genetic underpinnings of hypoxia – the low oxygen state that surrounds cancer tumours and helps them to grow and resist treatment.

Some tumours thrive in low-oxygen environments, but until now, the reasons for this have been poorly understood. The researchers discovered key molecular hallmarks of hypoxia in the first-ever pan-cancer analysis of low oxygen in human tumours, with a special focus on prostate cancer.

The study, published in Nature Genetics, investigated more than 8,000 human tumours across 19 different cancer types. Researchers discovered common features of hypoxic tumours that could help predict cancer aggressiveness and inform treatment decisions.

These findings, which include several genes more commonly mutated in hypoxic cancers and new information about hypoxia-related patterns of tumour evolution, make up the largest resource available for hypoxia research.

“If we look at any single aspect of cancer, we only gain a partial understanding of this complex disease. But here we’ve exploited a wealth of human tumour data to gain a more comprehensive understanding,” says lead author Vinayak Bhandari, a researcher at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and PhD candidate in Medical Biophysics at U of T. “By tying together our new understanding of the environment in which tumours develop with detailed evaluation of genetic changes, we created a biological signature that highlights patients who may benefit from more therapy.”

The markers discovered in this study also open new opportunities for researchers to develop therapies that target hypoxia-related treatment resistance and metastasis across many types of cancer, including prostate cancer.

“Understanding common genomic traits across cancer types is critically important to the future of cancer diagnosis and treatment,” says co-author Paul Boutros, formerly of the departments of Medical Biophysics and Pharmacology and Toxicology, and now at the University of California, Los Angeles. “We were initially motivated by the inability to differentiate between aggressive and non-aggressive prostate cancers, but our findings now provide insights into how treatments might be developed for many tumour types.”

“Hypoxia was preveiously associated with aggressive disease, but the mechanisms by which it’s drives this process in human tumours was poorly understood from a genetic angle, “ says co-author Robert Bristow, formerly a professor in the departments of Medical Biophysics and Radiation Oncology at U of T, and now at the University of Manchester. “We can now start to exploit these findings into novel clinical trials to target hypoxia and abnormal genetics at the same time.”

The study was supported by the Movember Foundation, Prostate Cancer Canada and OICR through CPC-GENE – the largest prostate cancer genomics project in the world. The project was also funded by the Terry Fox Research Institute. Tumour sample data was provided by CPC-GENE, the International Cancer Genome Consortium and The Cancer Genome Atlas project.

With files from Hal Coiste, Ontario Cancer Research Institute

Landmark pan-cancer study analyzes mutation signatures of low oxygen in thousands of tumours

Professor Robert Bristow

University of Toronto researchers have discovered the genetic underpinnings of hypoxia – the low oxygen state that surrounds cancer tumours and helps them to grow and resist treatment.

Some tumours thrive in low-oxygen environments, but until now, the reasons for this have been poorly understood. The researchers discovered key molecular hallmarks of hypoxia in the first-ever pan-cancer analysis of low oxygen in human tumours, with a special focus on prostate cancer.

The study, published in Nature Genetics, investigated more than 8,000 human tumours across 19 different cancer types. Researchers discovered common features of hypoxic tumours that could help predict cancer aggressiveness and inform treatment decisions.

These findings, which include several genes more commonly mutated in hypoxic cancers and new information about hypoxia-related patterns of tumour evolution, make up the largest resource available for hypoxia research.

“If we look at any single aspect of cancer, we only gain a partial understanding of this complex disease. But here we’ve exploited a wealth of human tumour data to gain a more comprehensive understanding,” says lead author Vinayak Bhandari, a researcher at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and PhD candidate in Medical Biophysics at U of T. “By tying together our new understanding of the environment in which tumours develop with detailed evaluation of genetic changes, we created a biological signature that highlights patients who may benefit from more therapy.”

The markers discovered in this study also open new opportunities for researchers to develop therapies that target hypoxia-related treatment resistance and metastasis across many types of cancer, including prostate cancer.

“Understanding common genomic traits across cancer types is critically important to the future of cancer diagnosis and treatment,” says co-author Paul Boutros, formerly of the departments of Medical Biophysics and Pharmacology and Toxicology, and now at the University of California, Los Angeles. “We were initially motivated by the inability to differentiate between aggressive and non-aggressive prostate cancers, but our findings now provide insights into how treatments might be developed for many tumour types.”

“Hypoxia was preveiously associated with aggressive disease, but the mechanisms by which it’s drives this process in human tumours was poorly understood from a genetic angle, “ says co-author Robert Bristow, formerly a professor in the departments of Medical Biophysics and Radiation Oncology at U of T, and now at the University of Manchester. “We can now start to exploit these findings into novel clinical trials to target hypoxia and abnormal genetics at the same time.”

The study was supported by the Movember Foundation, Prostate Cancer Canada and OICR through CPC-GENE – the largest prostate cancer genomics project in the world. The project was also funded by the Terry Fox Research Institute. Tumour sample data was provided by CPC-GENE, the International Cancer Genome Consortium and The Cancer Genome Atlas project.

With files from Hal Coiste, Ontario Cancer Research Institute

How Low Oxygen Drives Tumours
Admin Help - SEO
screenshot of a google search result

Optimize this page for search engines by customizing the Meta Title and Meta Description fields.

Use the Google Search Result Preview Tool to test different content ideas.

Admin Help - Social Share
screenshot of a linkedin share with selected image

Select a Meta Image to tell a social media platform what image to use when sharing.

If blank, different social platforms like LinkedIn will randomly select an image on the page to appear on shared posts.

Posts with images generally perform better on social media so it is worth selecting an engaging image.

Tags
Related News
Enabled
News Image
Professor Robert Bristow; photo: Donna Santos
Override Summary Image
Off
Related News Title
News
Default Image
Custom
Subscribe to