Dr. Angela Brooks-Wilson

Titles and Education

Titles

Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University

Head, Cancer Genetics, Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency

Associate Professor, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia

Senior Scientist, BC Cancer Research Centre, BC Cancer Agency

Member, Cancer Control Research Unit, BC Cancer Agency

Education

B.Sc. Biochemistry (Co-op), Simon Fraser University

M.Sc. Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto

Ph.D. Genetics, University of British Columbia

Research

Please visit the Brooks-Wilson lab website for more information on publications, personal biographies and opportunities to join our group!

Current Research Studies

Genetic Susceptibility to Lymphoma

Cancer is considered a complex genetic trait in which genetic susceptibility, environmental exposures and lifestyle factors all play a role. Our laboratory group investigates the genetic basis of cancer susceptibility at the population level. One of our primary interests is Lymphoma. We are using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and haplotype-based case / control studies in candidate genes to discover novel genetic factors underlying susceptibility to Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL). These association studies will allow us to identify genetic factors underlying cancer susceptibility in the presence of genetic heterogeneity (when multiple genes contribute to a disease) and incomplete penetrance (when not all individuals who have the susceptibility factor are affected). Through collaboration with members of the Cancer Control Research group at the BCCA, particularly Dr. John Spinelli, we will also study the interaction between genetic susceptibility and environmental triggers in causing NHL. This work is currently funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

We also collaborate with InterLymph, an international consortium of researchers collaborating on epidemiological studies of the genetic and environmental basis of NHL.

Lymphoma Families Study

We have also recently undertaken a family-based study to identify genetic factors contributing to lymphoid Cancers including lymphoma, leukemia and myeloma. Although most lymphoid cancers are sporadic in origin, the diagnosis of lymphoproliferative disorders within the same family may indicate the existence of genetic susceptibility factors. In this study, we hope to identify genes involved in susceptibility to lymphoma and/or lymphocytic leukemia by using both linkage and positional cloning, as well as sib-pair based methods.

The Healthy Aging Study

http://www.bcgsc.ca/project/healthy-aging-study

For the Healthy Aging Study we have recruited a cohort of individuals over the age of 85 who live in Greater Vancouver and have never been diagnosed with cancer, cardiovascular or pulmonary disease, diabetes or Alzheimer's disease; and who feel that they have a good quality of life are invited to participate. Please call the study co-coordinator at 604-675-8151, or visit the Healthy Aging Study website above.

The number of elderly Canadians is increasing as the baby boomers age. The healthcare problems of this growing group will increasingly influence the volume of health care that will be required in the country as a whole. Insight into how to promote healthy aging, and advice that can be provided to our population as it ages will influence both our well-being and Canada's level of prosperity, as well as the quality of life of a large segment of our population.

A minority of Canadians are fortunate to be disease-free and have a good quality of life beyond the age of 85. These people represent a group who may either lack susceptibility factors that contribute to disease in the majority of people or may possess resistance factors that enhance their ability to resist disease and prolong lifespan. Part but not all of the extended life of these individuals is expected to be due to avoidance of lifestyle and environmental risk factors. Genetic variants found to be associated with healthy aging, or associated with protection against specific common age-related diseases will be useful as prognostics in the tailoring of individual disease prevention programs.

The Genomics, Genetics and Gerontology (G3) Multidisciplinary Team for the Study of Healthy Aging will study genetic factors that underlie healthy aging and resistance to common age-related diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and pulmonary disease. Our team is led by Angela Brooks-Wilson, and includes Nhu Le (Cancer Control Research, BCCA), Ken Madden (Gerontologist, Vancouver General Hospital and UBC), Denise Daley (iCapture, St.Paul's Hospital and UBC) and Joseph Connors (Medical Oncologist, BCCA).

Human Papillomavirus and Cervical Cancer

In collaboration with Merck Frosst Canada Ltd. and the BC Centre for Disease Control, we have completed a study of the prevalence of different types of human papillomavirus (HPV) in British Columbia. The results of this study were published on-line in May 2009. See the full citation and link to the journal below.

Moore RA, Ogilvie G, Fornika DJ, Moravan V, Amirabbasi-Biek M, Kollar A, Burgess T, Hsu R, Towers L, Lo J, Brisson M, Matisic J and Brooks-Wilson AR. Prevalence and type distribution of human papilloma virus in 5,000 British Columbia women – Implications for vaccination. Cancer Causes Control. 2009 October; 20(8): 1387–1396. [Epub ahead of print,2009 May 29]

Highlights of Past Research

1999: Discovery of the genetic basis for Tangier disease (TD) and Familial High-density Lipoprotein (HDL) Deficiency with defective cholesterol efflux (FHD).

Studies of families with TD or FHD were used to show that both diseases are caused by mutations in the ABCA1 gene (Brooks-Wilson et al, 1999). Tangier disease patients carry two defective copies of ABCA1, FHD patients have one defective copy (Marcil et al, 1999). Defects in ABCA1 cause deficiency of cellular cholesterol efflux and that is thought to lead to an impairment of reverse cholesterol transport, the process by which the body removes excess cholesterol. This discovery contributed to the understanding of the regulation of HDL levels and of reverse cholesterol transport. ABCA1 is now a key focus of investigation and drug development in the cardiovascular field. Genetic association studies were then used to establish the importance of variation in ABCA1 in determining plasma lipid levels and risk of coronary artery disease in the general population. Alleles of common non-synonymous variants in the ABCA1 sequence correlated with phenotypic measures of CAD in a case/control study (Clee et al, 2001).

Recent Publications

1.            Yamada S, Richardson K, Tang M, Moadebi S, Halaschek-Wiener J, Fitzgerald JM, Elwood K,  Marra F* and Brooks-Wilson A*. Genetic Variation in Carboxylesterase Genes and Susceptibility to Isoniazid-induced Hepatotoxicity. Pharmacogenomics J. 2010 Mar 2. [Epub ahead of print].

 3.            Krajden M, Yu A, Braybrook H, Lai AS, Mak A, Chow R, Cook D, Tellier R, Petric M, Gascoyne RD, Connors JM, Brooks-Wilson AR, Gallagher RP, Spinelli JJ. GBV-C/Hepatitis G Virus Infection and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: a case control study.  Int J Cancer. 2009 Nov 10. [Epub ahead of print]. 

4.            Schuetz  JM, S Leach, AC MacArthur, AS Lai, RP Gallagher, JM Connors, RD Gascoyne, JJ Spinelli, AR Brooks-Wilson. Genetic Variation in the NBS1, MRE11, RAD50 and BLM Genes and Susceptibility to non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL).  BMC Medical Genetics 2009, 10:117. 

5.            Halaschek-Wiener J, Amirabbasi-Beik M, Monfared N, Pieczyk M, Sailer C, Kollar A, Turnbull R, Agalaridis G, Yamada S, Oliveira L, Collins JA, Meneilly G, Marra MA, Madden KM, Le ND, Connors JM and AR Brooks-Wilson. Genetic variation in healthy oldest old. PLoS One. 2009 Aug 14;4(8):e6641.

6.            Ng CH , Janoo-Gilani R, Sipahimalani P,  Gallagher RP, Gascoyne RD, Connors JM, Weber JP, Lai AS, Leach S, Le ND, Brooks-Wilson AR, Spinelli JJ. Interaction between organochlorines and the AHR gene, and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Cancer Causes Control 21(1):11-22 (2010). 

7.            Hossain S, Brooks-Wilson A, Le N and JJ Spinelli. Impact of Genotype Misclassification on Genetic Association Estimates and the Bayesian Adjustment.  Am J Epidemiol. 2009 Oct 15;170(8):994-1004. 

8.            Yamada S, Tang M, Richardson K, Halaschek-Wiener J, Chan M, Cook VJ, FitzGerald JM, Elwood RK, Brooks-Wilson A^*and Marra F*. Genetic variations of the NAT-2, CYP450 2E1 and isoniazid hepatotoxicity in a diverse population. Pharmacogenomics. 2009 Sep;10(9):1433-45.

9.            Skibola CF, Bracci PR, Halperin E, Agana L, Craig DW, Conde L, Iyadurai K, Nieters A, Angela Brooks-Wilson A, Curry JD, Spinelli J, Holly EA, Riby J, Becker N, Smith MT and KM Brown. Genetic variants at 6p21.33 influence follicular lymphoma risk. Nature Genetics. 2009 Aug;41(8):873-5. 

10.        Moore RA, Ogilvie G, Fornika DJ, Moravan V, Amirabbasi-Biek M, Kollar A, Burgess T, Hsu R, Towers L, Lo J, Brisson M, Matisic J and Brooks-Wilson AR.  Prevalence and type distribution of human papillomavirus in 5,000 British Columbia women – Implications for vaccination. Cancer Causes and Control. 2009 Oct;20(8):1387-96.

Angela Brooks-Wilson's Complete Publications List including selected links to full text articles.