Cervical Cancer Prevention and HPV Screening (HPV FOCAL)

This program focuses on cervical cancer prevention, primarily HPV-based screening. HPV FOCAL, a landmark BC study was conducted through BC Cancer and the findings continue to be used to evaluate the protection of HPV based screening for cervical cancer prevention. This program conducting ongoing prevalence of HPV in the province and evaluates the impact of HPV vaccination on the prevalence of cervical dysplasia in BC. All projects are conducted in collaboration with the University of British Columbia, Women’s Health Research Institute and the BC Centre for Disease Control.

Childhood, Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors Program (CAYACS)

A multi-project longitudinal cohort study, CAYACS examines long-term sequelae and care resulting from cancer in young people, providing evidence to support strategies for system-related, policy and practice change. Survivors and comparison groups from population-based registries, linked with clinical and administrative databases for analysis.

Gene-Environment Interactions in Cancer Research (GENIC)

A program focused on the study of the interaction between susceptibility genes and environmental factors (including lifestyle) in the causation of cancer. The program has conducted an ongoing series of studies examining the interaction between genetic predisposition and environmental and lifestyle factors for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, melanoma, and multiple myeloma, as well as breast, ovarian, prostate, bladder and skin cancers.

Regier Lab

The Regier Lab is an innovative program of research focused on the sustainability, value and social impacts of precision medicine. Our research initiatives identify community-defined risks and benefits of precision medicine, its cost-effectiveness, and what policy changes can support the responsible and equitable application of multi-omics. Our research studies estimate preference-based utility and acceptability of multi-omic technologies, as well as include value for money assessments.

Centre for Clinical Genomics

The Centre for Clinical Genomics (CCG) is based within Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre (GSC) and is supported by the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA). Further partnerships with the clinical laboratories of the Lower Mainland Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Services provide extensive diagnostic experience and consultation. These partners work together to ensure timely and accurate delivery of clinically-actionable information required to ensure excellent patient care.

Quantitative Radiomolecular Imaging and Therapy Program (Qurit)

Cancer is a leading cause of death globally, and based on North American statistics, approximately half of the population will develop cancer during their lifetime. Here at the Quantitative Radiomolecular Imaging and Therapy (Qurit) lab (pronounced Cure-It!), we aim to improve diagnosis and prognosis, and offer new radiotherapy alternatives that help save lives. We do this by quantifying how radiomolecules (radiopharmaceuticals), a combination of drugs and radioactive isotopes, precisely target cancer cells, in both imaging and therapy applications.

Centre for Lymphoid Cancer

The Centre for Lymphoid Cancer (CLC) Program was established in 2002 and comprises an interdisciplinary team of world-leading lymphoid cancer experts including clinicians, hematopathologists, scientists, bioinformaticians and epidemiologists. Our mission is to improve the outcomes of patients suffering from lymphoid cancers by elucidating the complex biology underlying their heterogeneous types and associated clinical courses.

Large-Scale Applied Research Project (LSARP Program)

Dr. Steidl and Scott teams have successfully won a large-scale applied research project grant worth $11.9 million funded by Genome Canada, Genome BC, Canadian Institutes of Health Research and BC Cancer Foundation to study the genome biology of relapsed lymphoid cancers. Our large-scale, pan-Canadian study was launched to discover novel, actionable markers of relapsed lymphoma from which clinically relevant assays can be developed.

Lymphoma/Leukemia Molecular Profiling Project (LLMPP Program)

Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is an aggressive form of B-cell non -Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and the most common type of NHL. With its heterogeneous nature in clinical behavior, morphology and immunophenotype, reliable biomarkers are needed to accurately categorize the tumor subtypes. Recently, the team led by Dr. Scott has revealed the location of MYC rearrangement at base pair resolution by performing targeted sequencing of MYC, BCL2, BCL6 and IG loci.

Molecular Characterization of PMBCL (PMBCL Program)

Primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) is a rare disease, accounting for 2~-3% of all non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL). Based on its clinical and pathological features, it is recognized as a distinct entity by the current World Health Organization Classification. Historically, PMBCL was considered as a subtype of DLBCL based on morphology and immunophenotype. The typical clinical presentation as a large mass in the anterior mediastinum of children/youth with female predominance is a critical diagnostic component in PMBCL.

Overcoming Treatment Failure in Lymphoid Cancer (TFRI -funded Program)

This team grant is a collaborative effort, whichere experts in lymphoid cancer biomarkers and tumor microenvironment, hematology and cancer genomics jointly aim to understand and overcome treatment failure in lymphoid cancers. The team will identify and validate target-specific molecular tests characterizing genetic changes and molecular pathways which provide the preclinical rationale for novel drug development.

Computational Cancer Biology

Our research group develops computational methods for the analysis of high throughput cancer genomics data.  We use machine learning techniques to develop statistical models to infer genomic abnormalities from next generation sequencing data and high-density genotyping arrays.  Dr. Andrew Roth and Dr. Sohrab Shah work with Dr. David Huntsman and Dr. Sam Aparicio who lead ovarian cancer and breast cancer research respectively at BC Cancer, part of the Provincial Health Services Authority.

Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics Program

The team, led by Dr. François Bénard, has extensive experience in the pre-clinical development of radiotracers for PET/CT imaging, their translation to the clinic, and clinical trial design/execution. They have developed several new radiopharmaceuticals targeting tumour receptors, notably peptides and small molecule ligands. Dr. Bénard initiated the program that developed cyclotron production of 99mTc, now in clinical trials at multiple sites in Canada. A state-of-the-art cyclotron and molecular imaging facility was also established at BC Cancer.

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