OICR funding new network to enhance molecular pathology research in Ontario

Today OICR announced the launch of the Ontario Molecular Pathology Research Network (OMPRN), which will be based at Queen’s University and will bring together pathologists across the province.

Pathology is key to the early detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. An accurate diagnosis can provide better prognostic information and allow doctors to better target therapies. Pathology research can also lead to the development of new treatments that target specific cancer-driving mutations, genes and pathways, reducing the need for treatments with unwanted side effects.

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TorBUG continues to strengthen Toronto’s bioinformatics community with 2016-2017 season

The Toronto Bioinformatics User Group (TorBUG) is back for another year with the next series of leading-edge bioinformatics topics and speakers. The sessions encourage learning, sharing and networking with colleagues in bioinformatics. Anyone who is interested is welcome to attend.

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Annual report for the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research

We are pleased to share with you the 2015-16 annual report for the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR).

This year’s report describes the world-class research currently underway at the Institute and details our efforts to bring the fruits of this research to patients in partnership with the Fight Against Cancer Innovation Trust. From new techniques to probe cancer genomes to new partnerships for sharing cancer data securely via the cloud, OICR’s innovations have an impact across the province and around the world.

This report also looks forward to our next five years, as we embark on our new Strategic Plan for 2016-2021. We are confident this new plan will lead to continued research success in the future.

Today OICR’s research supports more than 1,700 investigators, clinician scientists, research staff and trainees across the province of Ontario. These researchers, working with collaborators provincially, nationally and internationally, are making a real impact in the fight against cancer.

We hope you enjoy reading about their work. We welcome any feedback you may have at info@oicr.on.ca.

Sincerely,

Mr. Peter Goodhand
Interim President

Dr. Lincoln Stein
Interim Scientific Director

Software Engineering Club – Simple is good

The OICR Software Engineering Club session for September 2016 in now online. Chang Wang gave a talk on Vue and Mobx via coding demos and progress bars.

New partnership brings Toronto researchers together to better understand the molecular origins of breast cancer

Researchers from the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital have enlisted the help of OICR’s Transformative Pathology Program in their ongoing research to identify common biomarkers for breast cancer – and ultimately to better diagnose and target treatment for patients.

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Open resource: How we’re making our research resources more accessible to the community

Dr. Rebecca Tamarchak discusses the launch of OICR’s new Collaborative Research Resources Directory, how it works, and plans for its development in the future.

Over the past decade, OICR has established state-of-the-art Technology Programs in molecular pathology and diagnostic development, genomics, informatics, medicinal chemistry and imaging, which are translating promising cancer discoveries into products, services and policies that improve cancer prevention and care for patients.

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Thanks to everyone who supported the Great Canadian Hair Do

On September 14, 2016, participants and supporters gathered in the MaRS Centre for the annual Great Canadian Hair Do in support of the Terry Fox Foundation. Participants had their heads shaved or hair styled as the audience cheered them on in support.

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“PEARLs” to improve photo-thermal cancer therapy

Photo-thermal therapy, a type of treatment that uses light and heat to destroy cancer cells, has shown great promise, but is still not widely used. A group in Toronto recently developed a technology that may go a long way in making the use of this type of therapy more effective and common.

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Dr. Paul Boutros talks genomics and prostate cancer research

Dr. Paul Boutros, Principal Investigator in Informatics and Bio-computing at OICR, spoke to our partners at Prostate Cancer Canada/Movember Canada about the role of genomics and informatics in prostate cancer research. Boutros also spoke about the CPC-GENE project – the largest study of prostate cancer genomics in the world.

Canadian government makes big investment in big data research

On September 13 the Government of Canada, through Genome Canada, made a $4 million investment in Canadian big data research to help improve real world challenges such as infectious disease outbreaks, managing food crops and combating cancer.

Of the 16 projects funded across Canada, three are based at OICR. Led by OICR Principal Investigators Drs. Paul Boutros, Vincent Ferretti, Jared Simpson and Lincoln Stein (Stein is also OICR’s Interim Scientific Director and leader of the Institute’s Informatics and Biocomputing Program), the projects are developing ways to make genomics and health data more manageable, securely accessible and easily understood. Together these projects will help to facilitate cancer research and assist in the adoption of more precision medicine. As well, they have applications in other fields of genomics research beyond cancer, such as agriculture and energy.

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