Genomic and epigenomic aberrations that evolve with aging result in a greatly increased risk of developing blood cancers called leukemias. These aging changes also make leukemias more resistant to therapy. Dr. Karsan's research is focused on understanding the molecular basis of the blood cancers called myeloid leukemias, determining how aging related changes - including inflammation - increase leukemic risk, dissecting how distinct populations within a single leukemia interact with each other, and using this knowledge to unravel the mechanisms that make these leukemic cells resistant to therapy. His lab also works on determining how signals in the embryo direct the endothelium to transdifferentiate into blood stem cells that become the source of all blood cells through an organism’s life.
Dr. Karsan is internationally recognized in the field of blood cancer research. His translational research lab has generated seminal work on the role of noncoding RNAs and innate immune signaling in blood cancers. He currently leads a team of six principal investigators in a Terry Fox Research Institute Program Project in acute leukemia research. He is a member of various international hematology committees including: the International Working Group for Prognosis in Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS), the Experimental Hematology Subcommittee of the Society for Hematopathology, and the Laboratory Assays Working Group for the Myeloid Malignancies Precision Medicine Initiative. In 2002, he co-founded the Centre for Blood Research at UBC with nine other principal investigators.
Dr. Karsan is also a recognized leader in delivering clinical genomic assays. He established the first clinically-accredited Next Generation Sequencing lab in Canada, the Centre for Clinical Genomics (CCG), which was among the first few in the world. The CCG delivers cancer genomic testing to the entire population of BC. This pioneering work in using next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies for clinical delivery has led to the development of various novel technologies for clinical genomic testing including a unique genetic barcoding system to track patient samples, development and implementation of clinical reporting software for NGS, development of a transcriptomic (RNA sequencing) test for leukemia and clinical validation of a non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) by whole genome sequencing in partnership with the Prenatal Screening Program of BC. He has led clinical trials in leukemia and solid tumour genomics and hereditary cancer diagnostics. These innovations led to a reduction of wait times for hereditary cancer testing, reduced per test costs and have increased the breadth of genes being tested. His work has been recognized with the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) Gold Apple award for Innovation, a UBC Killam Research Award, a Genome BC Life Sciences BC, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada Research Award twice.