51³Ô¹ÏÍø

Jerome Fortin, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery
Discovering how to change the fate of tumor cells to treat brain cancers
$135,000 over 2 years
Professor Fortin’s project seeks strategies to alter the developmental and survival pathways of tumor cells in brain cancers, with the goal of identifying new therapeutic targets for hard-to-treat brain tumors.

Vincent Giguere, Professor, Department of Biochemistry
Investigating the role of the chromatin remodeler CHD4 (NuRD) in the progression of prostate cancer
$135,000 over 2 years
Professor Giguere will examine how the chromatin remodeling factor CHD4 and the NuRD complex influence prostate cancer progression and aim to uncover mechanisms that could be targeted to slow or stop disease progression.

Lawrence Kazak, Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry
Defining mechanisms of obesity-accelerated breast cancer progression
$135,000 over 2 years - Funded in partnership with the CIHR - Institute of Cancer Research
Professor Kazak’s research focuses on the biological links between obesity and breast cancer aggressivity, aiming to identify molecular pathways that explain obesity-driven tumour progression.

Peter Siegel, Professor, Department of Medicine and Member, Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute
Investigating a role for PDLIM7 in regulating autophagy during breast cancer metastasis
$135,000 over 2 years - Funded in partnership with La Vie en Rose
Professor Siegel will investigate how the protein PDLIM7, expressed in triple-negative breast cancer cells (TNBC), leads to TNBC metastasizing in the lungs and liver by regulating autophagy, a cellular survival process that helps cancer cells endure the stresses of metastasis. The aim is to identify the basis for new strategies to limit the ability of these aggressive cancer cells to spread.

Nahum Sonenberg, Distinguished James 51³Ô¹ÏÍøProfessor, Department of Biochemistry and Gilman Cheney Chair, Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute
Targeting eIF4E-mediated dysregulated mRNA translation as a therapeutic strategy for breast cancer
$135,000 over 2 years - Funded in partnership with the Urban BBQ - RBC
Professor Sonenberg will explore a new therapeutic strategy for triple-negative breast cancer by targeting dysregulated mRNA translation, a key process that fuels tumour growth. By combining a highly selective translation inhibitor with a complementary cell-cycle inhibitor, this project aims to open the door to more effective treatment options.

, Director of the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute (GCI) and Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Targeting MFG-E8 for treatment of cancer
$135,000 over 2 years
Professor Stagg will investigate how MFG-E8 regulates anti-tumor immunity, and assess whether it can be targeted by antibodies for anti-cancer therapy.

Jose Teodoro, Professor, Department of Biochemistry
The impact of endogenous fatty acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids in colorectal cancer
$135,000 over 2 years
Professor Teodoro’s project will evaluate how endogenous lipid metabolites, fatty acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids, affect colorectal cancer development and progression, and whether they can be leveraged for therapeutic benefit.

Ian Watson, Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry
Investigation of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) in the treatment of cutaneous melanoma
$135,000 over 2 years
Professor Watson will explore the oncolytic potential of VSV as a therapeutic for cutaneous melanoma, studying its safety, tumor-targeting properties, and capacity to stimulate anti-tumor immune responses.

John White, Professor and Chair, Department of Physiology
Development and testing of novel vitamin D receptor agonist/histone deacetylase inhibitor hybrids
$135,000 over 2 years
Professor White’s team will design and evaluate hybrid compounds that combine vitamin D receptor activation with histone deacetylase inhibition, a dual approach that may enhance anti-cancer activity and therapeutic specificity.

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Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research (LDI) investigator recipients:

Mark Basik, Associate Professor, Departments of Surgery and Oncology
Targeting NEK10 in breast cancer
$135,000 over 2 years

Sonia Del Rincon, Assistant Professor, Department of Oncology
Identifying the immune and stromal contributions underpinning skin toxicities from cancer immunotherapy
$135,000 over 2 years - Funded in partnership with the CIHR - Institute of Cancer Research

Koren Mann, Professor and Chair, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Does E-cigarette Use Enhance Lung Tumor Formation?
$135,000 over 2 years - Funded in partnership with the CIHR - Institute of Cancer Research

Michael Pollak, Alexander Goldfarb Research Chair in Medical Oncology and Professor, Departments of Oncology and Medicine
Incretin-mimetic related drugs for cancer prevention and treatment
$133,500 over 2 years

April Rose, Assistant Professor, Oncology
Developing the next generation of precision therapies for BRAF V600E mutant metastatic colorectal cancer
$135,000 over 2 years

Donna Senger, Associate Professor, Oncology
A unique population of glioma associated microglia/macrophage drive glioma progression
$134,000 over 2 years

Jian Hui Wu, Associate Professor, Oncology
Development of selective inhibitors of KRAS mutants by targeting pocket-3 allosteric site
$135,000 over 2 years

Sabrina Wurzba, Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
Investigating Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Early Metastatic Spread in HPV-Positive Head and Neck Cancer
$135,000 over 2 years