The Ontario government has announced its latest investment in research and innovation projects. More than $198 million will be distributed to universities, colleges and hospitals across the province.
At UHN, research teams have secured $2.6 million from this investment through the Ontario Research Fund – Small Infrastructure Fund and the province’s Early Researcher Awards program. The former fund provides leading research teams with state-of-the art equipment and facilities, while the latter helps early career scientists grow their research programs.
Ontario Research Fund – Small Infrastructure Fund
● Targeted therapeutics to enhance radiotherapy efficacy and safety in the era of image-guided conformal treatment, led by Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PM) Senior Scientists Drs. Marianne Koritzinsky and Scott Bratman, and Clinician Scientist Dr. Michael Milosevic. With a new system for delivering radiation therapy under the guidance of medical imaging, the project team will investigate novel approaches to improve radiation medicine for hard-to-treat cancers. They will explore combinations of targeted drugs that could make cancer more sensitive to radiation.
● Stem cell models to investigate brain function in development and disease, led by Krembil Research Institute Senior Scientist Dr. Karun Singh. This project will harness human stem cell technology to model and study neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism spectrum disorder. Dr. Singh will use high-throughput instruments to characterize neural cells and rapidly screen genes and drugs to uncover new therapeutic strategies for brain conditions.
● Characterizing and unlocking the therapeutic potential of stem cells and the leukemic microenvironment, led by PM Senior Scientist Dr. Kristin Hope and Scientists Drs. Courtney Jones and Anastasia Tikhonova. Leukemia is a blood cancer that starts in stem cells that circulate in the blood. New laboratory equipment will enable this team of recently recruited scientists to characterize these stem cells and their surroundings, and to study potential therapeutic targets for leukemia.
● Preclinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for targeted brain tumour therapies, led by PM Senior Scientists Drs. Gang Zheng, Lothar Lilge and Gelareh Zadeh. An upgrade for state-of-the-art MRI imaging equipment will enable this team of researchers to develop new treatments for hard-to-reach brain tumours. They will explore nanoparticle medicines, light therapy and molecular therapeutics that can precisely target tumours under the guidance of MRI imaging.
Early Researcher Awards
● Topographic mapping of glioblastoma and treatment response at the protein level, led by PM Scientist Dr. Phedias Diamandis. This project will study a particularly deadly form of brain cancer called glioblastoma using an approach that uniquely considers the interactions between the cancer and healthy tissue. Dr. Diamandis’ findings will provide new insights into how this cancer grows and resists treatment.
Congratulations to everyone involved in these research projects!
For more information, see the Ontario government’s press release.