In this post, Monique Johnson shares how the Ontario Molecular Pathology Research Network’s (OMPRN) 2017 Pathology Matters Meeting provided her with new insights into the field and introduced her to Ontario’s molecular pathology community.
Boost your bioinformatics knowledge at TorBUG
The Toronto Bioinformatics User Group’s (TorBUG) 2017-2018 season continues this Wednesday, October 23 with two presentations that promise to be of interest to anyone involved in bioinformatics. Dr. Quaid Morris, Associate Professor at the University of Toronto (U of T) will present “The Genetic Archaeology of Individual Cancers”. Brendan Innes, a PhD Candidate in the Bader Lab at U of T will cover “Cell types in single-cell RNAseq.”
Old drug, new trick: study finds common diabetes drug could help fight leukemia
Researchers have discovered a new potential treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). They found that boosting fat cells (adipocytes) within bone marrow with the use of a common diabetes drug slowed the growth of cancerous cells and promoted the regeneration of healthy blood cells.
GA4GH Strikes Formal Collaborations with 15 International Genomic Data Initiatives
Orlando, Florida (October 17, 2017) – The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) has struck formal collaborations with 15 international genomic data initiatives as 2017 Driver Projects, including Genomics England, Australian Genomics and the U.S. All of Us Research Program. The announcement, made at the GA4GH 5th Plenary Meeting, comes as part of the launch of GA4GH Connect: A 5-year Strategic Plan. GA4GH Connect aims to drive uptake of standards and frameworks for genomic data sharing within the research and healthcare communities in order to enable responsible sharing of clinical-grade genomic data by 2022.
Global Alliance for Genomics and Health charts path to the future of genomic data sharing
The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) has launched a new five-year strategic plan to develop international standards that will enable the responsible and secure sharing of genomic data for both scientific and clinical purposes. The plan, known as GA4GH Connect, was launched at the organization’s 5th Plenary Meeting in Orlando, Florida.
FACIT Portfolio Company Fusion Pharmaceuticals Closes US$46M Oversubscribed Series A
Addition of new investors builds on Ontario’s next-gen radiotherapies and cancer innovations
New software uses machine learning to identify mutations in tumours without reference tissue samples
One of the main steps in analyzing cancer genomic data is to find somatic mutations, which are non-hereditary changes in DNA that may give rise to cancer. To identify these mutations, researchers will often sequence the genome of a patient’s tumour as well as the genome of their normal tissue and compare the results. But what if normal tissue samples aren’t available?
OICR 2016/17 Annual Report
We are pleased to share the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) Annual Report for 2016/17.
We are living in an era of unprecedented innovation in cancer research. Recent advances have helped us to better understand cancer and allowed for collaboration on a scale that was previously not possible. This work is happening now and it is happening right here in Ontario.
New study uncovers the role of mitochondrial DNA in prostate cancer
Since mitochondria are inherited maternally, it may strike some as an odd place to go looking for connections to prostate cancer. But recently an international research team explored that relationship by looking at how the small amount of DNA contained in mitochondria, a cellular structure, is involved in prostate cancer.
OICR launches Tissue Portal to support tissue-based research projects
OICR’s Tissue Portal is a new central entry and exit point for human tissue derived samples handled at OICR. This will serve as a gateway for tissue-based research projects to access over 100 services and resources at OICR being made available through the OICR Collaborative Research Resources on a cost-sharing basis. The Tissue Portal will standardize and streamline the storage, processing and distribution of samples for collaborative research studies at OICR.