Keynote Speakers

Dr. Jun Wang

Dr. Jun Wang is the Executive Director of the BGI (previously known as the Beijing Genomics Institute). He was instrumental in the 1999 founding and the growth of the BGI Bioinformatics Department, which is now widely recognized as one of world’s premier research facilities committed to excellence in genome sciences. Dr. Wang also holds a position as an Ole Rømer professor at the University of Copenhagen. He has authored 100+ peer-reviewed original papers – of which 59 are published in Cell, Nature (including Nature series), N Engl J Med., and Science (17 as cover story). Among those 59, WJ is the first/co-first author or corresponding/co-corresponding author for 37 (10 as cover) of them. He has been recognized with an award from His Royal Highness Prince Foundation in Denmark, an Outstanding Science and Technology Achievement from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Top 10 Scientific Achievements in China, and the prize for Important Innovation and Contribution from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research focuses on genomics and related bioinformatics analysis of complex diseases and agricultural crops, with the goal of developing applications using the genomic information.

Dr. Colin Collins

Dr. Collins is a professor of Urologic Sciences in the school of medicine at the University of British Columbia and a senior scientist at the Vancouver Prostate Centre where he directs the Laboratory for Advanced Genome Analysis (LAGA), which is the Centre’s genomics and bioinformatics core facility. Expertise at LAGA spans from algorithm development, bioinformatics pipeline implementation, and biostatistics, to a wide range of microarray and sequencing applications. In addition, Dr. Collins is an associate adjunct professor at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. He has held positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Dr. Collins’ current research is best described as translational genomics where mathematics, computer science, genomics and clinical science converge in systems biology, diagnostics, and ultimately therapeutics. His work as a member of the UCSF Prostate Specialized Program In Research Excellence resulted in identification and patenting of a suite of genome based biomarkers that show promise for predicting a patient’s risk of progression to metastasis. Dr. Collins invented and patented End Sequence Profiling (ESP) the forerunner of paired-end sequencing. Dr. Collins is now combining novel computational methods with massively parallel sequencing to explore the mechanisms of prostate cancer progression including development of resistance to therapy. To date this work has resulted in identification of a new type of prostate cancer, sequence-based pathology, an important mechanism of prostate cancer progression, and a pilot study of personalized oncology that combined a patient-derived xenograft with a novel therapeutic strategy.

Dr. Jay Shendure

Jay Shendure, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Genome Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. He graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1996, and completed a Fulbright scholarship to India in 1997. He then entered the Medical Scientist Training Program at Harvard Medical School, receiving his PhD in 2005 and his MD in 2007. His PhD with George Church notably included one of the first successful demonstrations of massively parallel or next generation DNA sequencing. Dr. Shendure joined the faculty at the Department of Genome Sciences in 2007. His research group in Seattle is broadly interested in technology development in genomics, and has made significant contributions to the development of methods for selective capture of targeted subsets of the human genome such as the exome, the integration of these methods with next-generation DNA sequencing, and their application to directly identify the basis of Mendelian disorders (e.g. Miller syndrome, Kabuki syndrome). Other technologies recently developed by the lab include haplotype-resolved genome sequencing and synthetic saturation mutagenesis.

Carrie Hirst pouring excess LN2 from cryoport.

Photo by Jared Slobodan.

Occupational Ergonomics Month (OEM) is a global outreach campaign during the month of October focusing on increasing awareness and promoting the science and application of ergonomics and human factors. It's a time to explore and expand initiatives to enhance the work environment and improve the fit between people and their jobs for better efficiency, comfort, productivity, health, and safety. OEM is also known as Global Ergonomics Month by the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) and National Ergonomics Month by the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) in the United States. To celebrate Occupational Ergonomics Month, WorkSafeBC sponsors a yearly Innovations Contest, won this year by the GSC Engineering group. Top prize is a $200 gift certificate for a work lunch.   There will also be an article in the March/April 2013 edition of Worksafe BC's magazine featuring the description of the winning Cryoport cart and crane system.

For further information on the GSC Engineering Group please contact:

Lynn MacIntyre, Project Manager
Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency
Email: lmacintyre@bcgsc.ca
Phone: 604-707-5800 x 3250

APBC2013 invites high-quality original full papers on any topic related to Bioinformatics and Computational Biology.
Accepted papers will be invited to be published in the journals BMC Genomics or BMC Bioinformatics, following the journals’ publication policy.

The Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Conference (APBC) series, founded in 2003, is an annual international forum for exploring research, development and applications of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. The aim of the conference is to bring together researchers, professionals, and industrial practitioners from all over the world for interaction and exchange of knowledge and ideas in all areas of bioinformatics and computational biology.

Conference Organizers are Dr. Steven Jones (APBC2013 General Chair)  and S. Cenk Sahinalp (APBC2013 PC Chair).  The conference website is located at:  http://www.apbc2013.org/

For questions/information on submissions, abstracts, posters, proceedings and conference themes please send an email to info@apbc2013.org
For questions about registration, contact:  Jenna Abji, Registration Coordinator: jabji@mitacs.ca

Important Deadlines

• Tutorial submission open: 30th July 2012 (passed)
• Full Paper submission: 15th August 2012 (passed)
• Poster submission open: 5th September 2012
• Final version due on: 18th Oct 2012
• Full paper author registration deadline: 18th Oct 2012**
• Poster submission deadline: 5th Nov 2012
• Poster acceptance notification: 10th Nov 2012
• Poster registration deadline: 15th Nov 2012
• Early-bird registration deadline: 21st Dec 2012
• Registration deadline: 14th Jan 2013

Papers are solicited on, but not limited to, the following topics:

• Sequence analysis, especially high throughput sequencing applications
• Motif search/discovery
• RNA structure and function
• Physical and genetic maps
• Evolution and phylogeny
• Protein structure analysis
• Transcriptome, gene expression
• Proteomics
• Pathways, networks and systems
• Ontologies
• Population genetics/SNP/Haplotyping
• Comparative genomics

Research from the MAGIC project is anticipated to transform the way that children with medulloblastoma are treated.  Funders of the project include Genome BC, Genome Canada, the Terry Fox Research Institute and other partners. “We congratulate this research team on this significant paper published today in Nature: this collaborative study, involving dozens of investigators and authors, sets an excellent example of how translational research can progress. For translational cancer research, where there is a lot of heterogeneity in the cancers being studied, working together is vital for accessing a large number of cases and for obtaining results more quickly," said Dr. Victor Ling, president and scientific director of the Terry Fox Research Institute.

“It is gratifying to see such rapid outcomes from this landmark project,” said Dr. Alan Winter, President and CEO of Genome BC. “This is genomics research in action -- project outcomes that directly lead to a change in clinical care -- and Genome BC is proud to be a part in such important work”.

Researchers at the GSC are conducting RNA, micro RNA and DNA sequencing for over 1,000 tissue samples obtained from children who have had medulloblastoma. Armed with this analysis the MAGIC team is basing its work around the understanding that medulloblastoma can be stratified into four distinct subgroups, each of which has a different prognosis when treated with chemotherapy, radiation and drug therapy. “We are very pleased that we have been able to produce such significant results so early in our study, and that we have the opportunity to disseminate our results in the journal Nature to the broader biomedical community,” said Dr. Marco Marra, Director of the GSC and project co-leader.

Identified as  WNT, SHH,  Groups 3 and 4, the published discoveries focus on Groups 3 and 4, which comprise patients with the worst prognosis. The article in Nature eloquently summarizes a large body of research, focusing on the molecular makeup of medulloblastoma cancer and identification of changes, specifically somatic copy number aberrations in each of the four subgroups. In Group 4 a gene associated with Parkinson’s disease is duplicated and in Group 3 another gene is translocated.

These events are significant, and scientists’ understanding of them offers potential treatment targets for patients classified in those groups.

To identify subgroup-specific therapies, the team is concentrating on identifying subgroup-specific drug targets, especially for those two groups with the worst prognosis. Currently the MAGIC group has identified potential drug targets which are specific to Group 3 medulloblastoma patients –- patients who are facing the worst prognosis.  “What is even more exciting is the fact that therapies have already been developed and successfully tested against these targets for other types of cancer,” said Dr. Michael Taylor, project co-leader, senior author of the paper and pediatric neurosurgeon and scientist at SickKids.

Group 2 has also been analyzed and variations in DNA makeup identified will help with treatment as well. Group 1 identified no changes and typically has very good reactions to treatment and a healthier prognosis. “Acceptance by Nature for publication is a great honour and a real indicator that our work is headed in the right direction and of significance to other groups,” said Taylor. “Our research is getting closer to our ultimate goal -- making a difference in the lives of children who suffer from this devastating disease.”

Click on the following link to read or download the complete scientific article entitled "Subgroup-specific structural variation across 1,000 medulloblastoma genomes".

For further information contact:

Doris Sun, BA, MJ
Communications Officer - BC Cancer Agency
Provincial Health Services Authority
Phone: 604-675-8257

Citation with complete author list (*: BCCA - GSC authors):  Subgroup-specific structural variation across 1,000 medulloblastoma genomes. Nature (2012) doi:10.1038/nature11327. Published online 25 July 2012. Paul A. Northcott, David J. H. Shih, John Peacock, Livia Garzia, A. Sorana Morrissy, Thomas Zichner, Adrian M. Stütz, Andrey Korshunov, Jüri Reimand, Steven E. Schumacher, Rameen Beroukhim, David W. Ellison, Christian R. Marshall, Anath C. Lionel, Stephen Mack, Adrian Dubuc, Yuan Yao, Vijay Ramaswamy, Betty Luu, Adi Rolider, Florence M. G. Cavalli, Xin Wang, Marc Remke, Xiaochong Wu, Readman Y. B. Chiu*, Andy Chu*, Eric Chuah*, Richard D. Corbett*, Gemma R. Hoad*, Shaun D. Jackman*, Yisu Li*, Allan Lo*, Karen L. Mungall*, Ka Ming Nip*, Jenny Q. Qian*, Anthony G. J. Raymond*, Nina Thiessen*, Richard J. Varhol*, Inanc Birol*, Richard A. Moore*, Andrew J. Mungall*, Robert Holt*, Daisuke Kawauchi, Martine F. Roussel, Marcel Kool, David T. W. Jones, Hendrick Witt, Africa Fernandez-L, Anna M. Kenney, Robert J. Wechsler-Reya, Peter Dirks, Tzvi Aviv, Wieslawa A. Grajkowska, Marta Perek-Polnik, Christine C. Haberler, Olivier Delattre, Stéphanie S. Reynaud, François F. Doz, Sarah S. Pernet-Fattet, Byung-Kyu Cho, Seung-Ki Kim, Kyu-Chang Wang, Wolfram Scheurlen, Charles G. Eberhart, Michelle Fèvre-Montange, Anne Jouvet, Ian F. Pollack, Xing Fan, Karin M. Muraszko, G. Yancey Gillespie, Concezio Di Rocco, Luca Massimi, Erna M. C. Michiels, Nanne K. Kloosterhof, Pim J. French, Johan M. Kros, James M. Olson, Richard G. Ellenbogen, Karel Zitterbart, Leos Kren, Reid C. Thompson, Michael K. Cooper, Boleslaw Lach, Roger E. McLendon, Darell D. Bigner, Adam Fontebasso, Steffen Albrecht, Nada Jabado, Janet C. Lindsey, Simon Bailey, Nalin Gupta, William A. Weiss, László Bognár, Almos Klekner, Timothy E. Van Meter, Toshihiro Kumabe, Teiji Tominaga, Samer K. Elbabaa, Jeffrey R. Leonard, Joshua B. Rubin, Linda M. Liau, Erwin G. Van Meir, Maryam Fouladi, Hideo Nakamura, Giuseppe Cinalli, Miklós Garami, Peter Hauser, Ali G. Saad, Achille Iolascon, Shin Jung, Carlos G. Carlotti, Rajeev Vibhakar, Young Shin Ra, Shenandoah Robinson, Massimo Zollo, Claudia C. Faria, Jennifer A. Chan, Michael L. Levy, Poul H. B. Sorensen, Matthew Meyerson, Scott L. Pomeroy, Yoon-Jae Cho, Gary D. Bader, Uri Tabori, Cynthia E. Hawkins, Eric Bouffet, Stephen W. Scherer, James T. Rutka, David Malkin, Steven C. Clifford, Steven J. M. Jones*, Jan O. Korbel, Stefan M. Pfister, Marco A. Marra* & Michael D. Taylor

Read more news stories about this publication in:

Vancouver Sun

Genomeweb

Canada.com

The MAGIC funding partners are:

Published online in Nature 487, 330–337 (19 July 2012) doi:10.1038/nature11252.  by The Cancer Genome Atlas Network (the TCGA Network)

This study, led by Dr. Raju Kucherlapati at the Harvard Medical School, generated a complete molecular profile of over 300 colon and rectal tumours. They identified recurrent mutations in a number of genes, including APC, TP53, PIK3CA and ARID1A. Further analysis of these data, within the consortium and by a larger research community, will not only help stratify the disease, but might also identify possibilities for targeted therapeutics.

Since 2009, the Genome Sciences Centre has been the only Canadian sequence generation group in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). As part of this 5-year project, we conduct microRNA sequencing for the more than 20 tumour types that are being characterized by the consortium. Other data types generated by the project include DNA sequence (exome and genome), mRNA sequence, DNA methylation and protein assays. 29 researchers from the GSC are listed as authors on this large collaborative project. The authors included individuals from various GSC groups, including:  the Biospecimens Core group, Library Core,  Sequencing, Bioinformatics,Quality Control and Quality Assurance, LIMS, Engineering and Tech Dev, and Project Management.  The GSC authors who contributed to this publication are listed below.

The full article in Nature can be found here: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v487/n7407/full/nature11252.html

Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3, Canada.

Andy Chu, Hye-Jung E. Chun, Andrew J. Mungall, Erin Pleasance, A. Gordon Robertson, Dominik Stoll, Miruna Balasundaram, Inanc Birol, Yaron S. N. Butterfield, Eric Chuah, Robin J. N. Coope, Noreen Dhalla, Ranabir Guin, Carrie Hirst, Martin Hirst, Robert A. Holt, Darlene Lee, Haiyan I. Li, Michael Mayo, Richard A. Moore, Jacqueline E. Schein, Jared R. Slobodan, Angela Tam, Nina Thiessen, Richard Varhol, Thomas Zeng, Yongjun Zhao, Steven J. M. Jones, and Marco A. Marra

This study, published online today in the international journal Nature, reveals that this form of cancer is not one distinct single entity, but an extremely complex and evolved tumour with an unprecedented range of mutations.

Operating with the complexity of a mini ecosystem, triple negative breast cancers’ evolution before diagnosis may explain its ability to evade current therapies, earning it the distinction as the deadliest form of breast cancer.

BC Cancer Agency researchers, working with colleagues at the University of British Columbia, Cross Cancer Institute of Alberta and Cancer Research UK/University of Cambridge, unmasked this evolving cellular “ecosystem” and can now estimate how the genetic mutations evolved prior to diagnosis.

Named for what it isn’t, triple negative breast cancer is currently defined by three missing cancer-causing proteins (the estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and ERBB2 receptor), compared to other breast cancer subtypes.

Triple negative breast cancer is currently treated as if it’s a single disease, yet it’s clear from this study that patients’ tumours vary drastically across a spectrum of cellular mutations involved in the cancer’s development. Currently, triple negative breast cancer accounts for 16 per cent of all breast cancer diagnoses and approximately 25 per cent of breast cancer deaths.

This discovery builds on Dr. Sam Aparicio’s landmark study of 2009 (Nature) that showed for the first time how genome sequencing can be used to follow the evolution of breast cancers.

In approximately 20 per cent of cases studied, the tumours revealed groupings of genetic mutations that already have potential clinical treatment options in the pipeline. This leads researchers and clinicians toward a future where patients’ tumours could be sequenced as a means to better direct targeted therapies.

Pinpointing the exact cellular mutations involved is an important first step in understanding why patients respond differently to treatment. More effective treatments come from being able to identify and target the genetic factors that play a role in the cancer’s growth.

This discovery implies that researchers and clinicians won’t fully understand triple negative breast cancers until they are studied through routine sequencing. In fact, the study suggests there is value in looking at patients’ responses to treatment based on their tumours’ genetic features.

Scientists and clinicians are working toward a future of personalized medicine, supported by regular collaboration with the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, to unlock the genetic clues about the causes and spread of cancer. The newly discovered cancer-related genes and mutation patterns from this research could become the targets for more effective treatments or the markers for a more personalized diagnosis.

This study was carried out in collaboration with Drs. Damaraju and Mackey at the Alberta Cancer Research Biorepository/CBCF Tumor Bank. The research was generously supported by the BC Cancer Foundation, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation - BC/Yukon Region and Prairies/NWT Region, Alberta Cancer Foundation, Alberta Cancer Prevention Legacy Fund and Alberta Innovates-Health Solutions, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research and Cancer Research UK at the University of Cambridge.

Quotes:

Dr. Sam Aparicio, study lead, Professor, Dept. Pathology and Lab Medicine UBC; BC Cancer Agency Chair of Breast Cancer Research

“Our results show that triple negative breast cancer is not just one uniform subtype of breast cancer; it’s actually extremely complex, with each cancer at a different stage in the evolutionary process at the time of diagnosis, which helps to explain why patient responses to treatment differ greatly,”

“What’s extremely motivating with these findings is the opportunity to design clinical trials for patients with triple negative breast cancer so we can explore patient responses to treatment at the genetic level and look at ways to improve therapies and outcomes for patients.”

Dr. Marco Marra, study co-lead, Director, BC Cancer Agency’s Genome Sciences Centre; Professor, Dept. of Medical Genetics, UBC

“Its tremendously exciting for the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre to be a part of this landmark work, which offers new and important insight into the genetic diversity that characterizes this terrible disease.”

Professor Carlos Caldas, study co-lead, senior group leader at Cancer Research UK’s Cambridge Research Institute and the Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge

“As the current work shows, future sequence-guided clinical trials will require collaborations between major cancer centers able to recruit the required numbers of patients from an increasingly better defined disease. That is now one of the priorities of the Breast Cancer Program in Cambridge.”

Dr. Sohrab Shah, study co-lead and scientist, BC Cancer Agency; Assistant Professor, Dept. of Pathology and Computer Science, UBC

“Our study shows that insights from mathematical and computational models of evolution in cancer patients, informed by precise genetic measurements will be required for future translational research in cancer.”

Dr. Samuel Abraham, VP Research, BC Cancer Agency

“Revelations such as this show that the support of research is critically needed in providing necessary insights that will someday change outcomes in this cancer as with other cancers linked to a poor prognosis."

Douglas Nelson, President and CEO, BC Cancer Foundation

“This is an exciting advancement for such a deadly form of breast cancer, which brings hope to BC Cancer Foundation donors, who have generously supported leading-edge breast cancer research at the BC Cancer Agency.”

An inter-disciplinary team has been formed to focus on bringing emerging genomic technologies to clinical diagnostic applications.  This team includes representation from medical, technical, quality, health economics and social ethics fields – an ideal mix of expertise needed to tackle the explosive field of personalized medicine.  Strong informatics is critical to this new diagnostics era and the CDG is able to leverage some of the best informatics resources in Canada.  Through a graduated implementation of genomic assays addressing various conditions, the CDG aims to provide extensive clinical diagnostic genomic services for the Province of British Columbia and beyond.

The CDG is proud to have the support of Genome British Columbia and the BC Cancer Foundation.

The CDG is accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP).

Contact Information

For more information please contact:

Rob Kirkpatrick, Manager, Integrated Diagnostic Genomics
Email: rkirkpat@phsa.ca

will be presented by Dr. Marco Marra, Director and Distinguished Scientist, Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency.

Dr. Marra will present "Sequencing Cancers".

Tuesday, April 10th at 4:00 pm

Location:  Life Sciences Centre - Lecture Theatre #1

2350 Health Sciences Mall

This event is sponsored by the Michael Smith Laboratories and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

The CIHR Team Investigating Autophagy Proteins as Molecular Targets for Cancer Treatment will be hosting 2 Autophagy Events in February.

Friday, February 17, 2012 a full day workshop:   “Autophagy: an Emerging Therapeutic Target in Human Disease Workshop”

From 8:30AM -  4:30PM at SFU Harbour Centre   more information: http://www.bcgsc.ca/about/autophagy-2012

To register:  http://autophagy2012workshop.eventbrite.ca

A scientific poster session will be held during the day, and a cash award for the best student poster will be presented.  We encourage trainees to present posters (contact details below for more information).

Saturday, February 18, 2012 AAAS Annual Meeting Discovery Symposium: “Autophagy: an Emerging Therapeutic Target in Human Disease”

From 1:30  - 4:30 at the Vancouver Convention Centre,

More information:  http://aaas.confex.com/aaas/2012/webprogram/Session4593.html and http://www.aaas.org

To register: http://www.aaas.org/meetings/2012/registration/

This will be an excellent opportunity for local trainees from SFU, UBC, UVic, BCCA and CDRD to interact with academic and industry-based Research Scientists representing the top of their fields from around the world. Topics will include human and mouse genetic analyses and modulation of autophagy genes, molecular target selection, and progress toward in silico design, screening, lead identification and development of specific small molecule modulators of autophagy to provide proof-of-principle and, ultimately, potential therapeutic agents. Ongoing cancer clinical trials employing first generation autophagy inhibitors will also be discussed. The disease focus of the symposium and workshop will be cancer but the relevance and implications of autophagy modulation for other diseases will also be discussed.

Organizing Committee:

Dr. Sharon Gorski, SFU and BC Cancer Agency,

Dr. Julian Lum, BC Cancer Agency and University of Victoria

Prof. Robert Young, MC, FRSC, Merck Frosst- B.C. Leadership Chair in Pharmaceutical Genomics and Drug Discovery, Dept of Chemistry, SFU.

For further information and to submit an abstract for a poster presentation please contact:

Stephanie McInnis, PhD

Projects Manager

Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency

8th floor - 675 West 10th Avenue,

Vancouver BC CANADA

V5Z1L3

email: smcinnis@bcgsc.ca

phone: (604)675-8000 ext. 7965

Congratulations to Ryan Morin for being selected for his research,  which involved developing bioinformatics approaches to analyze DNA and RNA sequence data from tumours and ultimately identifying novel genes that are recurrently mutated in non Hodgkin lymphoma.

Dr. Sam Abraham, VP Research, BC Cancer Agency

with Dr. Lloyd Skarsgard and Ryan Morin shaking hands

.

Dr. Marco Marra congratulates Ryan Morin

31 Video presentations from this meeting are available to view on-line. The Key note address presented by Eric Lander , Founding Director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, provides an overview of the history and future challenges faced by TCGA and cancer genomics. Marco Marra presented the Session III Lead Talk: Sequence-based RNA profiling, Expression maps at basepair resolution, in which he highlighted research carried out by GSC researchers, past and present:  Malachi Griffith, Elizabeth Chun, Rodrigo Goya, Gordon Robertson, Andy Mungall, Ryan Morin,  Andy Chu, Sorana Morrissy and Robin Coope.

The TCGA goal is to study 25 cancer disease types in 5 years. The GSC is well into its 3^rd year of TCGA participation and is the only non-American organization participating in this exciting collaborative effort. The GSC contribution to this research is focused on miRNA and mRNA analysis of cancer cells. To date, our team has sequenced and analyzed over 3000 miRNA samples.

For further information contact:

In a brief statement, the RSC highlighted how "Steven J.M. Jones has made leading contributions to the field of genome informatics and has participated in numerous international genome projects. He has applied similar techniques to study human cancers providing insights into the process of oncogenesis and how cancer treatment can be personalized."

"Once again, the Society has received hundreds of excellent nominations, and in 2011 the fellowship has been enriched by these 78 outstanding individuals" said Professor Roderick A. Macdonald, President of the RSC.

Founded in 1882, the Royal Society of Canada is the senior national body of distinguished Canadian scholars, artists and scientists. As Canada's National Academy, the Royal Society of Canada exists to recognize academic excellence and outstanding contributions to Canadian intellectual culture, to advise governments and organizations, and to promote a culture of knowledge and innovation in Canada. The Society's three academies collectively consist of nearly 2,000 Fellows, men and women who are selected by their peers for outstanding contributions to the natural and social sciences, in the arts and in the humanities.

This year's new Fellows were inducted to the RSC during the Induction and Awards Ceremony held on November 26, 2011 at the Ottawa Convention Centre in Ottawa. To view a complete list of newly elected Fellows and their nomination citations, please visit the Society's website at Class of 2011 Citations.

For further information:

Erika Kujawski, Officer of Communications,

The Royal Society of Canada, (613) 991-5642,

ekujawski@rsc-src.ca

Two independent research teams have now identified a potential link between a microorganism and colon cancer, making the unexpected observation that a single genus of bacteria, Fusobacterium, is found more often in colon cancer tissues than normal tissue. Their research is published in Genome Research (www.genome.org).

Castellarin M, Warren RL, Freeman D, Dreolini L, Krzywinski M, Strauss J, Barnes R, Watson P, Allen-Vercoe E, Moore RA, Holt RA. Fusobacterium nucleatum infection is prevalent in human colorectal carcinoma. Genome Res doi: 10.1101/gr.126516.111.

Kostic AD, Gevers D, Pedamallu CS, Michaud M, Duke F, Earl AM, Ojesina AI, Jung J, Bass AJ, Tabernero J, Baselga J, Liu C, Shivdasani RA, Ogino S, Birren BW, Huttenhower C, Garrett WS, Meyerson M. Genomic analysis identifies association of Fusobacterium with colorectal carcinoma. Genome Res doi: 10.1101/gr.126573.111.

“This was especially surprising because although Fusobacterium, the bacterium we found in colon tumors, is a known pathogen,” said Dr. Robert Holt of the BC Cancer Agency and Simon Fraser University, and senior author of one of the reports, “it is a very rare constituent of the normal gut microbiome and has not been associated previously with cancer.”

“It was also surprising that … Fusobacterium has also previously been reported to be associated to be with ulcerative colitis, which is itself a risk factor for colon cancer,” noted Dr. Matthew Meyerson of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and senior author of the other study.

Holt’s group identified Fusobacterium by sequencing the RNA present in colon cancer tissue and compared this to RNA from normal colon tissue, looking for sequences that originate from microorganisms, while Meyerson’s team sequenced the DNA present in the cancer tissues and normal tissues to find microbial sequences.

Holt and Meyerson both noted that although it is unclear at this time whether Fusobacterium infection is a cause or consequence of colorectal tumors, the microbe could prove to be very useful in the clinic as a marker for cancer.  If Fusobacterium is found to be causative for disease, clinical trials could evaluate the effectiveness of antiobiotics or vaccines to treat or prevent cancer.

Research carried out by Rob Holt's research group on this project has been funded by Genome BC,  the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of Canada, and the BC Clinical Genomics Network (BCCGN).

The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and MP for Port Moody–Westwood–Port Coquitlam;

Tim Manning, Board of Directors, Provincial Health Services Authority; Brendan Robinson, VP Development, BC Cancer

Foundation; Dr. Samuel Abraham, VP Research, BC Cancer Agency

Cancer research in British Columbia received a significant boost today, thanks to nearly $2.2 million in federal funding announced for the BC Cancer Agency.

Our Government is focused on the economic recovery and we believe that science, technology and innovation are vital to both supporting economic competitiveness and growth, and a healthy society, said the Honourable James Moore, Member of Parliament for Port Moody–Westwood–Port Coquitlam and Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, on behalf of the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification. We are pleased that our funding will help ensure the BC Cancer Agency and our local industry maintain their prominence as leaders in cancer research.

With Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) funding, the BC Cancer Agency will purchase three leading-edge genome sequencers to be installed at its internationally recognized Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre(GSC). As well, a new business outreach coordinator will work to increase the centre's linkages with industry.

This combination will help the GSC win large-scale research projects, make sequencing more affordable for local industry and the broader life sciences community, while helping retain and attract leading researchers whose work in genome sequencing will enable ongoing cancer research.

This funding from Western Economic Diversification Canada and the BC Cancer Foundation will provide researchers at the BC Cancer Agency’s Genome Sciences Centre new sequencing technology that is vital for continuing to harness the power of genomics research. Working toward providing new solutions for the challenges in cancer research has become more attainable, said Dr. Samuel Abraham, Vice President of Research, BC Cancer Agency.

The GSC is one of fifteen research programs that operate as part of the BC Cancer Agency. Over the past decade, the GSC has become a cornerstone of the important life sciences sector, the largest Canadian sequencing facility and a world leader in cancer genomics and research, bioinformatics, and technology development.

Thanks to the support of BC Cancer Foundation donors and Western Economic Diversification Canada we are proud to be a part of this significant acquisition of potentially life-saving technology. says Brendan Robinson, Vice President of Development of the BC Cancer Foundation. This investment into state-of-the-art sequencing technology at the BC Cancer Agency’s Genome Sciences Centre is fantastic news for the 23,000 British Columbians who will be diagnosed with cancer this year, their families and clinicians as we boost the GSC’s capacity to make personalized medicine a reality for cancer care in B.C.

Western Economic Diversification Canada works with the provinces, industry associations and communities to promote the development and diversification of the western economy, coordinates federal economic activities in the West and advances the interests of western Canadians in national decision making.

For additional information, contact:

Media inquiries:

Lubna Ekramoddoullah
Senior Public Affairs Officer
Phone: 604-675-7459
Email: lekramod@phsa.ca

Corporate communications:

Cher Sawchuk
Communications Leader
Phone: 604-675-8258
Email: cher.sawchuk@bccancer.bc.ca

Dr. Marianne Sadar

The U. S. Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program is celebrating the beginnings of the Prostate Cancer Awareness Month by posting videos of presentations from the IMPaCT Meeting Plenary session entitled, “Mechanisms of Disease Progression,” on the CDMRP website.

Dr. Marianne Sadar;  Senior Scientist at Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre in Vancouver. And the Provincial Program Leader for Prostate Cancer Research at the British Columbia Cancer Agency.  She has been a continuous grantee of the DoD Program since 1999 when she was first granted a New Investigator Award. Dr. Sadar’s research has focused on discovering therapeutics for advanced prostate cancer that target the N-terminus domain of the androgen receptor and developing decoys, peptides, and small molecules from marine sponge extracts to yield new drugs with strong potential for clinical development.

See the video of Dr. Sadar presenting her research or read the full text on the CDMRP website.