We are proud to announce our recipients of the 2014 Rising Stars in prostate cancer research awards. Now in its second year, the award is presented to four scientists who represent the immerging thought leaders in prostate cancer researchers across Canada. Awarded by our friends at Prostate Cancer Canada, each researcher will receive a grant of $150,000 a year for three years, which will help support their careers as independent investigators in the prostate cancer research world. This equates to a 1.8 million dollar investment in men’s health.
The 2014 Movember Rising Stars in Prostate Cancer research:
· Stanley Liu, Sunnybrook Research Institute. Dr. Liu’s research looks at discovering how microRNA can make prostate cancer cells more aggressive and resistant to radiation treatment. A current research goal is to determine whether testing for specific microRNAs in urine may predict for aggressive prostate cancer. If proven, this may allow for early identification of patients with aggressive prostate cancer and lead to appropriate treatment decisions.
· Frédéric Pouliot, Université Laval. Dr. Pouliot will develop a molecular imaging technology to predict which patients will respond to second-line hormonal treatments. The goal is to improve treatment selection and effectiveness by imaging the cancer circulating tumour cells and analyzing their response to hormonal treatment.
· Paul Boutros, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR). Each individual cancer has tens of thousands of mutations, and less than 100 likely contribute to cancer formation; the rest are just “noise”. This research will focus on identifying those cancer-causing mutations by developing new statistical models and applying them to data generated here in Canada, and in other research centers around the world.
· Mathieu Lupien, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/ University of Toronto. Dr. Lupien has developed a methodology to identify mutations that can change the function of “junk” DNA, and is now working to help design therapeutic strategies against those mutations. Globally, this work will promote personalized cancer medicine by identifying mutations in functional elements of the genome and then pairing them with the relevant therapeutic approach.
A huge Mo thank you and congratulations goes out to this year's class!
This is just a portion of the programs you are helping to support through Prostate Cancer Canada. You can see an overall picture of Movember funding over on our financial page. Also, to get a complete outlook at all the programs we’ve funded to date, visit our report cards section here.
Make sure you follow us on Facebook/Twitter to keep up to date during the off season! Thank you for helping us change the face of men's health.
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