Relapses in cancer usually result in the tumour becoming resistant to chemotherapy. This leaves a treatment gap that needs to be filled for these patients. One such cancer is triple negative breast cancer, this type of breast cancer is very aggressive with a high death rate. Dr. Sandra Dunn’s research group want to find new drug targets which we can then find drug inhibitors to use in cancer treatment. One such drug target is the protein RSK, this protein has been implicated in causing drug resistance and giving patients expressing this protein in their tumours a poor prognosis.

Medulloblastoma is the most common form of pediatric brain cancer with a five-year survival rate of approximately 70%, yet for some children’s survival is as low as 40%. Many of the treatment options for these patients may be effective in extending the five-year survival rate, however, quality of life issues still persist for these young patients including learning and developmental deficits. These side effects arise from damage to normal tissue in the developing brain by surgery and/or drug and radiation therapy.

Atlantic Assisted Reproduction Therapies (AART) is the primary facility located in the Atlantic Provinces capable of assisting reproductively challenged couples. Fertility Pharmacy Services(FPS) is an onsite subsidiary of AART. AART offers a wide range of services, however, AART currently does not have the capacity to assist individuals who require preimplantation genetic testing. Clients who require such genetic testing include persons with known genetic conditions and/or individuals who have suffered repeated miscarriages.

Metastatic tumors are a major concern in childhood cancer and the single most prominent cause of patient mortality. Metastasis is a complex process involving several cellular processes, each of which involves numerous extra and intracellular events. Therapeutic targeting strategies are hampered by a large degree of redundancy in the systems controlling metastatic behaviour and by the lack of specific markers associated with tumor dissemination.

Early onset scoliosis (EOS) leads to severe, progressive three dimensional deformity of the spine in growing children, which is corrected either by external bracing or surgical placement of rods adjacent to the spine. Mice deficient in signaling through the type three fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR3-/-) develop scoliosis by four weeks, which worsens progressively with age. The mice therefore represent a unique resource to investigate biologic non-surgical treatments to slow the progression of spine curvature.

Building off of the original Healthy Bodies Scorecard project, this research aims to test the newly developed Healthy Body Scorecard tool and provide evidence of its usefulness. We will distribute the draft of the scorecard along with a feedback questionnaire for health care practitioners (HCP’s) targeting those who work with typically developing children as well as those with experience working with children with disabilities.

The proposed project is aimed at developing image and signal processing algorithms to enable the Christie VeinViewer® device to determine approximate depth of veins. This is a challenging research project due to the limited amount of information available and real-time fast processing required. The VeinViewer® uses a single infrared wavelength and a CMOS camera to detect superficial veins.

Chemotherapy drugs target and kill rapidly-dividing cells located closest to blood vessels, but do not penetrate deep into the tumor. Limited drug distribution in tumors is an important cause of drug resistance. A method to increase tumor drug delivery and combat resistance is the subject of this proposal. To counteract chemotherapy resistance, the use of an ulcer medication (pantoprazole) is being investigated. The objective of this proposal is to determine the drug effect of cabazitaxel using biomarkers that indicate where in the tumor a drug is working.

Chemotherapy drugs target and kill rapidly-dividing cells located closest to blood vessels, but do not penetrate deep into the tumor. Limited drug distribution in tumors is an important cause of drug resistance. A method to increase tumor drug delivery and combat resistance is the subject of this proposal. To counteract chemotherapy resistance, the use of an ulcer medication (pantoprazole) is being investigated. The objective of this proposal is to determine the drug effect of cabazitaxel using biomarkers that indicate where in the tumor a drug is working.

Cancer cells can travel to distant sites through the lymphatic system; this system is similar to a network of pipes within the body that carries fluids and cells to all organs. The metastatic spread of cancer cells through this network is one of the reasons why this disease is so difficult to stop. We are working with Kalgene Pharmaceuticals to test a new compound that can impact the lymphatic system. The hope is to block this network and thus stop metastatic spread thereby improving patient survival.