This year also marks the 45th year since the foundation of the McGill Cancer Center, which is today our Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute. The mandate was, and still remains, to serve as a place for revolutionary cancer research, fostering a dynamic and interdisciplinary approach to cancer research.
In celebration of this landmark anniversary, we celebrate World Cancer Day through our legacy: the discoveries made by those before us in the last decades, the innovations fostered by people around us today, and the future created by those who will follow.
We asked GCI scientists about their research, the GCI's legacy and scientific accomplishment, and what “closing the gap” mean to them in cancer care and cancer research.Ěý
Closing the Care Gap: A Journey towards Legacy Building
Prof Peter Siegel: “My laboratory investigates how cancer cells spread from a primary tumor to distant sites in the body, a process known as metastasis. Legacy can mean several things. First, a legacy can be the impact that the scientific findings from my laboratory have had/will have on the field. Second, a legacy can be the positive impact I have made on mentoring younger scientists at different stages of their careers. I hope that my legacy is a strong body of scientific findings that have increased our understanding of the metastatic process and identified candidate targets against which therapies can be generated. I hope to have achieved this by working with talented colleagues and trainees that, themselves, go on to make an impact in their chosen fields.”Ěý
Prof Daniela Quail: “My research is focused on understanding how the immune system shapes the progression of cancer and its response to treatment. We focus on obesity as a driver of chronic systemic inflammation, which is estimated to underlie up to 20% of all cancer deaths and is an intersectional determinant of health inequities. As scientists, teachers and mentors, we have a responsibility to convey the importance of recognizing and dismantling cancer health disparities to the next generation of cancer researchers. Understanding how diet and obesity can be harnessed to reduce deaths, improve treatment responses and improve quality of life has the potential to impact a substantial portion of patients with cancer, including those who are frequently underserved in our healthcare system.”ĚýĚý
Prof. William Muller: “My lab focuses on the genetic causes of breast cancer and lung cancer. We are particularly interested in how the immune micro-environment within a tumor can influence cancer development, including both cellular and acellular components. My contribution toward legacy in cancer research is in pioneering genetically engineered mouse models that can be widely used by scientists. This goes hand-in-hand with closing the gap; since we’ve made these pre-clinical transgenic mouse models more easily accessible and more versatile, they have become valuable platforms allowing us to translate our findings at the bench into better therapies in the clinic. We hope to eventually provide better alternative therapies for patients with poor outcome cancers.” Ěý
Prof. Ian Watson: “My lab focuses on understanding why melanoma patients respond or develop resistance to the latest forms of immune and targeted therapy. The goal of our group is to use knowledge gained from these studies to develop new therapeutic regimens for melanoma patients. Legacy in cancer research means having an impact on patient care, positively influencing our research field with our findings, and training the next generation of scientists. My advice to future cancer researchers is to never give up, and that their greatest assets to be successful in research is their determination and grit. Closing the gap means developing new therapeutic strategies to produce more long-term durable responses for cancer patients and to train future scientists that will help us develop these curative therapies.”Ěý
Alyssa Cristea, MSc Y1, Quail Lab: “My research focuses on the effect that obesity has on the immune response to colorectal cancer metastasizing to the liver. GCI’s legacy of world-renowned scientists has inspired me in many ways, but most of all, seeing that many women were are the forefront of various discoveries has given me confidence as a woman that I can one day achieve what they have by leading a team of researchers toward finding the cure to cancer. Closing the gap in cancer research means to me that people from all walks of life are being thought about when developing new cancer therapies. My research into the effect of obesity on colorectal cancer liver metastasis contributes to the reduction of the effect that disparate nutrition from income inequalities has on health outcome.”Ěý
Anna-Maria Lazaratos, MD-PhD Y2, Siegel (GCI) and CĂ´tĂ© (IRCM) labs: “My research focuses on optimizing immunotherapy for triple negative breast cancer by co-targeting GPNMB. Legacy in cancer research means pursuing the research that was undertaken by brilliant scientists all these years. Furthermore, I wish to continue my mom’s legacy by dedicating my time to advancing the field and helping other patients who battle cancer, just as my mom did until her passing in 2021.. I hope to continue advancing projects built upon the life work of big leaders and leave my own mark on the research advancements in the field. Closing the gap between cancer care and cancer research is the reason I chose to pursue a joint MD/PhD program as it would allow me to contribute to the scientific advancements that have dramatically improved survival of cancer patients throughout the years.”Ěý
Tarek Taifour, MD-PhD, Y3 Muller Lab: “My research investigates ways that tumors suppress the immune system that is programmed to fight it. For me, our legacy as cancer researchers is the impact on cancer care and our contributions to improving the health of patients across Canada. The GCI's legacy is not only the major contributions to science but also the impact it has on its trainees and scientists. The open and welcoming environment at the GCI encourages and facilitates collaborations. It also allows trainees to learn and listen to various perspectives, making it the ideal environment to be in as a cancer researcher in training. Our work in Dr. Muller's lab and the GCI will help close the care gap by identifying biomarkers for treatment resistance as well as introducing novel combinational therapies that can unlock the full potential of immunotherapies.”Ěý
Stephanie Han, PhD Y2, Giguère lab: “My research focuses on prostate cancer and investigating novel molecular mechanisms by which tumors evade conventional androgen deprivation therapy - the process that makes prostate cancer the second deadliest cancer in men. Here at the GCI, my supervisor and previous members of our lab have left valuable legacies in discovering a novel role of mTOR in prostate cancer, inspiring my project to continue studying the impact of this regulation mechanism in promoting the development of prostate cancer. In my understanding, “closing the gap” in cancer is making cancer treatment more accessible to all those that face cancer. Right here at the GCI, we organize yearly DĂ©fi Canderel and Terry Fox runs to fundraise for cancer research, where we recruit our friends, family, and communities around us to jointly raise funds, moving research in understanding cancer and developing therapeutics to the next level. Combating cancer is a teamwork and I’m thrilled to be contributing my efforts to this journey.”Ěý
Alexandre Poirier, PhD Y4, Tremblay lab: “We are interested in understanding the function of immune cells and how we can boost their cancer killing activity to fight cancer. Its both humbling and beautiful. The amount of work and thinking that went into cancer research since the discovery of the disease, from antiquity to modern times, is just mesmerizing.  It puts perspectives on your own research. To have a mentor like Dr. Tremblay is truly a gift. It helps me put perspective into the future of my research but also on what kind of scientist I aspire to become. For me closing the gap is not only to bring technologies from bench to bedside but to close the gap in unequal access to therapy. We aim at developing cost-efficient therapies to treat the most vulnerable cancer patients.”Ěý