Four Canadian research teams will receive a total of $19.8 million in new and renewal funding to advance cancer research and improve treatments as the 2024 recipients of the Terry Fox New Frontiers Program Project Grants (PPGs). These awards bring the total number of active PPG teams to 20, a new high for TFRI and this prestigious funding program, which has been an enduring hallmark of team funded awards by Terry Fox for more than four decades.
Two teams are new – one at Queen’s University in Kingston and the other at the Deeley Research Centre in Victoria – and each will receive $2.4 million over the next four or five years. The others are renewals to two longstanding teams that have previously received multi-year funding and will continue that pattern with $7.5 million each.
“This landmark investment in these four exciting and cutting-edge research programs supports first-class Canadian cancer research and, notably, moves TFRI to a new record high for innovative team science funded by Terry Fox. From ovarian and bladder cancer immuno-oncology to epigenomic analysis of leukemia to new drug delivery systems these teams have superb potential to improve outcomes for patients. We are sincerely grateful to the donors and supporters of the Terry Fox Foundation for making this possible,” remarks Dr. Jim Woodgett, TFRI’s president and scientific director.
“It’s a great milestone for cancer research in Canada and TFRI as the Institute reaches a long-wished-for goal to have 20 active PPGs. It also demonstrates the need for continued investment in cancer research and confirms the high-calibre research we are funding. These are world-class investigators tackling huge challenges in cancer research so more lives can be saved, and patients experience a better quality of life,” says Darrell Fox, TFRI senior advisor and Terry’s younger brother. “Terry would be so proud today, more than four decades after his run, to see this level of commitment by all to end cancer.”
Seeking new frontiers in cancer research
As always, projects were evaluated for scientific excellence and potential for impact by committees of international experts. This objective process not only guarantees that the Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI) funds the highest quality research, but also highlights Canadian cancer research on a global stage.
The two newly-funded teams are based in Kingston, Ontario, led by Dr. Madhuri Koti (Queen’s University) and Victoria, British Columbia, led by Dr. Brad Nelson (Deeley Research Centre). Renewal funds were awarded to a longstanding PPG based in Toronto, Ontario, co-led by Drs. Gang Zheng, Jonathan Irish and Brian Wilson (Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network [PM-UHN]), and Vancouver, British Columbia, led by Dr. Aly Karsan (BC Cancer Research Institute).
Dr. Madhuri Koti, an associate professor at Queen’s University, will lead a new PPG investigating why patients with bladder cancer often don’t respond to Bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG) therapy – the primary treatment for early-stage bladder cancer. Through this PPG, the team will focus on gaining a deeper understanding of how BCG therapy stimulates the immune system’s anti-tumour response in some patients and fails in others. “We want to identify early on which patients are unlikely to respond so they can be treated with alternative therapies,” says Dr. Koti.
Dr. Brad Nelson, a BC Cancer Research Institute distinguished scientist and director of the Deeley Research Centre in Victoria, will lead a team studying the immune system to improve treatments for high-grade serous ovarian cancer. “This PPG funding allows us to take a fresh look at the problem, exploring beyond T cells to include B cells and Natural Killer cells,” he says. “For us, it’s about coming up with new ideas for immunotherapy that we can move into clinical trials. Over the next four years, we want to go beyond generating ideas and making discoveries to develop actual therapies that can reach patients.”
Drs. Gang Zheng, Jonathan Irish and Brian Wilson, senior scientists at PM, will continue work on their longstanding PPG with multi-year funding to explore the next phase of innovative Porphysome cancer research. “This renewal funding allows us to make an impact by going beyond the lab, beyond local treatment and beyond light-based therapies,” says Dr. Zheng. “Now, we aim to explore a new arm of immune therapy that targets metastasis, combining light-triggered immune therapy to potentially eliminate cancer spread and progression.”
Dr. Aly Karsan, a distinguished scientist at the BC Cancer Research Institute’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, leads a team who has also received renewal funding to take their research to the next level. With this funding, they will explore the non-genetic mechanisms of leukemia seeking to better understand why these cancers don’t respond to current therapies. "In cancer research, while DNA mutations are a key focus, our recent work has shown that not all answers lie within the DNA sequence alone. We've discovered that chemical changes to the DNA, known as epigenomic changes, don't alter the genetic code but affect which parts of the genome are active,” explains Dr. Karsan. “With this new funding, we aim to investigate how these epigenomic changes influence leukemia’s behaviour and treatment response.”