14:00 - 15:15
ET
Webcast
Scanning the horizon: AI & the future of blood cancer treatment - Innovation in research
Delays in diagnosis can mean the difference between life and death. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a potential game-changer for earlier detection as well as for deepening scientific understanding of blood cancers. Vast numbers of cells and the growing volume of data can be analyzed much faster with AI.
Join us to meet 4 blood cancer researchers who will share how their innovative work, funded by LLSC, is exploring the role of AI in exciting applications for different types of blood cancers. LLSC Research Program Director, Dr. Paul O’Connell, will moderate a panel discussion with: Dr. David Andrews, Sunnybrook Research Institute; Dr. Robert Kridel, University Health Network; Dr. Sabine Mai, University of Manitoba; and Dr. Michael Rauh, Queen’s University.
Note: This webcast may be more complex than our usual webcasts - making it ideal for audiences with an interest in advanced research and technologies applied to medical science.
Dr. David W. Andrews
Dr. David Andrews is Senior Scientist in Biological Sciences at Sunnybrook Research Institute, Professor of Biochemistry and Medical Biophysics at University of Toronto, has been a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Membrane Biogenesis, a Novartis Scholar, president of the Society for Biomolecular Imaging and Informatics and a member of the editorial board of Cell Death and Differentiation.
His primary academic research focus has been elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which Bcl-2 family proteins regulate programmed cell death, also known as apoptosis. He contributed to the discovery of drugs that inhibit anti-apoptosis proteins that are used to treat cancer and has discovered and characterized small molecules that keep cells alive by inhibiting the Bcl-2 family proteins BAX and BAK. A current focus of his lab is using high-content screening for early-stage drug discovery and precision medicine. To further this research his group have contributed to the development of new microscopy techniques and reagents.
Dr. Andrews is active in the public and private sector. He participated in the start-up of three companies and is active on the scientific advisory boards and/or consults for a number of other companies. His group performs collaborative and contract high content screening research for a wide variety of biotech companies. He holds licensed patents in areas such as translational regulation, in vitro evolution, peptide display technologies, small molecule inhibitors of protein-protein interactions and has a patent pending on non-toxic fluorescent live cell dyes.
His primary academic research focus has been elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which Bcl-2 family proteins regulate programmed cell death, also known as apoptosis. He contributed to the discovery of drugs that inhibit anti-apoptosis proteins that are used to treat cancer and has discovered and characterized small molecules that keep cells alive by inhibiting the Bcl-2 family proteins BAX and BAK. A current focus of his lab is using high-content screening for early-stage drug discovery and precision medicine. To further this research his group have contributed to the development of new microscopy techniques and reagents.
Dr. Andrews is active in the public and private sector. He participated in the start-up of three companies and is active on the scientific advisory boards and/or consults for a number of other companies. His group performs collaborative and contract high content screening research for a wide variety of biotech companies. He holds licensed patents in areas such as translational regulation, in vitro evolution, peptide display technologies, small molecule inhibitors of protein-protein interactions and has a patent pending on non-toxic fluorescent live cell dyes.
Dr. Robert Kridel
Dr. Kridel has been a faculty member at the University of Toronto, a Staff Physician in the Lymphoma/Myeloma Site Group at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and a Clinician-Scientist at the Princess Margaret Research Institute since 2017. His research focuses on overcoming treatment resistance in mature lymphoid malignancies through insights from functional genomic screens and integrative genomic profiling of large patient cohorts. He has a strong interest in uncovering the molecular heterogeneity of follicular lymphoma and in identifying novel biomarkers through genetic and epigenetic profiling of liquid biopsies.
More recently, his lab has been involved in developing novel targeted therapies that may increase the efficacy of immune therapies. His research has been supported by generous grant funding from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada and recognized by several awards, including a Terry Fox New Investigator Award and a Canadian Cancer Society Emerging Scholar Award.
More recently, his lab has been involved in developing novel targeted therapies that may increase the efficacy of immune therapies. His research has been supported by generous grant funding from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada and recognized by several awards, including a Terry Fox New Investigator Award and a Canadian Cancer Society Emerging Scholar Award.
Dr. Sabine Mai
Dr. Mai did her master and PhD in Germany (Universities of Cologne and Karlsruhe, respectively), her post-doctoral training in Switzerland (Basel Institute for Immunology) and took an Assistant Professor position at the University of Manitoba. She set-up her laboratory at the University of Manitoba with focus on genomic instability, cancer, nuclear architecture and translational research.
Currently, she is Professor of Physiology and Pathophysiology at the University of Manitoba and a Senior Investigator at the CancerCare Manitoba (Winnipeg). She is the Director of the Nano and Cell Imaging Facility/Genomic Centre for Cancer Research and Diagnosis (NCIF/GCCRD), a cutting-edge multi-user imaging facility, that she established. She was awarded a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in 2018 in Genomic Instability and Nuclear Architecture in Cancer and one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winners in 2015. Her career goal is to understand mechanisms of cancer initiation and progression, and I am working towards applying the knowledge gained to cancer patient care.
Currently, she is Professor of Physiology and Pathophysiology at the University of Manitoba and a Senior Investigator at the CancerCare Manitoba (Winnipeg). She is the Director of the Nano and Cell Imaging Facility/Genomic Centre for Cancer Research and Diagnosis (NCIF/GCCRD), a cutting-edge multi-user imaging facility, that she established. She was awarded a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in 2018 in Genomic Instability and Nuclear Architecture in Cancer and one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winners in 2015. Her career goal is to understand mechanisms of cancer initiation and progression, and I am working towards applying the knowledge gained to cancer patient care.
Dr. Michael Rauh
Dr. Michael Rauh is a Clinician-Scientist at Queen’s University and Kingston Health Sciences Centre. His combined MD and PhD training was conducted at the University of British Columbia and Terry Fox Lab of the BC Cancer Agency. His Specialized Hematological Pathology training was conducted at the University of Toronto. His clinical practice and research focus is centered on myeloid blood cancers, particularly understanding their genetic and immune origins.
The major focus of his research program is shifting to the common, age-related, pre-cancerous condition known as clonal hematopoiesis (CH or CHIP). Clonal hematopoiesis may serve as a biomarker for early cancer detection and, with advances in AI and clinical practice, a paradigm for the prevention of leukemia and lymphoma.
The major focus of his research program is shifting to the common, age-related, pre-cancerous condition known as clonal hematopoiesis (CH or CHIP). Clonal hematopoiesis may serve as a biomarker for early cancer detection and, with advances in AI and clinical practice, a paradigm for the prevention of leukemia and lymphoma.