Over the next three years, Dr. Cathie Garnis’ major focus will be on early detection of lung cancer. Dr. Garnis is examining opportunities to develop simple, cost-effective blood tests to be used to diagnose lung cancer. In particular, her objectives are to identify markers of lung cancer that can be detected in the bloodstream and to evaluate the usefulness of the markers for early detection of lung cancer.
Dr. Garnis’ project is entitled, “Circulating microRNAs as a lung tumour proxy: determining whether a small RNA species in plasma can be used as an early cancer detection tool.”
Dr. Garnis’ project is part of Principal Investigator Dr. Stephen Lam’s study – Early Detection of Lung Cancer: A Pan-Canadian Study. Dr. Lam’s team’s research is designed to develop a new multi-modal screening strategy for the early detection of lung cancer. Through the study, the team will evaluate the effectiveness of using questionnaires, breathing and blood tests to identify high-risk individuals. By using these tests to triage high-risk individuals, the hope is to help identify those who could be recommended for further follow up, should screening be found to be effective.
Mentoring Program: Early Detection of Lung Cancer: A Pan-Canadian Study TFF & Canadian Partnership Against Cancer
Mentors/PIs: Dr. Stephen Lam