Dr. John Dick

Co-Leader, Acute Leukemia TRI

Dr. John Dick’s world-renowned research program centres on the theme that genetic and non-genetic determinants of tumour heterogeneity are linked through stemness. This is based on his research that identified a shared genetic signature between hematopoietic stem cells and leukemic stem cells that predicts survival across a wide spectrum of leukemias. Dr. Dick is extending these findings by developing a map of the determinants of stemness. This will enable genetic, epigenetic and proteomic studies that will enhance the robustness of prognostic cancer stem cell signatures and identify novel therapeutic targets that control stemness.

He will also continue his research describing the functional and genomic clonal heterogeneity in leukemia. Through characterizing this diversity among leukemic populations, Dr. Dick will be able to examine the functional properties and therapeutic responses of individual subclones. These studies in leukemia are guided by parallel studies his team has undertaken to define the landscape of normal human hematopoietic development. This combined program will lead to deep insights into the stemness programs that lie at the heart of stem cell functioning. Ultimately his research program will lead to new clinically meaningful biomarker tests and novel therapeutic agents that target tumour stem cells.

Current affiliations

Co-leader, OICR Acute Leukemia TRI
Canada Research Chair in Stem Cell Biology, Senior Scientist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network
Investigator, McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University Health Network
Professor, Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, University of Toronto

Research interests

Stem cells
Cancer stem cells
Clonal evolution
Acute myeloid leukemia
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Select publications

Ng SWK, Mitchell A, Kennedy JA, …, Dick JE, and Wang JCY. A 17-gene stemness score for rapid determination of risk in acute leukaemia. Nature. 2016; 540(7633):433-437.
Lechman ER, Gentner B, Ng SW, …, Dick JE. miR-126 Regulates Distinct Self-Renewal Outcomes in Normal and Malignant Hematopoietic Stem Cells. Cancer Cell. 2016; 29(4):602-606.
Notta F, Zandi S, Takayama N, …, Dick JE. Distinct routes of lineage development reshape the human blood hierarchy across ontogeny. Science. 2016; 351(6269):aab2116.
Shlush LI, Zandi S, Mitchell A, …, Dick JE. Identification of pre-leukaemic haematopoietic stem cells in acute leukaemia. Nature. 2014; 506(7488):328-33.
Van Galen P, Kreso A, Mbong N, …, Dick JE. The unfolded protein response governs integrity of the human hematopoietic stem-cell pool during stress. Nature. 2014; 510(7504):268-72.

See Dr. Dick’s recent publications on PubMed.

Awards

Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Gold Leaf for Discovery, 2017
American Association for Cancer Research, Fellow of the AACR Academy, 2016
Royal Society of London, Fellow, 2014
Canadian Cancer Research Alliance, Award for Outstanding Achievements in Cancer Research, 2013

Previous experience and education

Program Director, Cancer Stem Cell Program, OICR
Medical Research, Council of Canada Scientist
Senior Scientist, Department of Genetics, Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children
Research Scientist of the National Cancer Institute of Canada
Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. A. Bernstein, Ontario Cancer Institute and Mount Sinai Hospital, Research Institute, University of Toronto, Medical Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship
PhD, Microbiology and Biochemistry, University of Manitoba

Opportunities to collaborate

The John Dick lab is open to collaboration. Contact labinfo@jdstemcellresearch.ca for more information.

Visit OICR’s Collaborative Research Resources directory for more opportunities to collaborate with OICR researchers.

Contact

Sally De Silva
sdesilva@uhnresearch.ca

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