The Jen Johnston Prize for Research Excellence

  • The Jen Johnston Prize for Research Excellence

The Jen Johnston Prize for Research Excellence

The Jen Johnston Prize recognizes excellence in trainee research with the aim of encouraging trainees to establish careers in cancer research. The award will be offered annually and will recognize a published paper that has a trainee as co or sole first author. Applications from trainees from all levels and cancer research disciplines will be considered. The Jen Johnston Prize is currently valued at $1,500 and will be presented at the annual BHCRI Workshop, where the recipient will give a platform presentation highlighting the published research. The award will alternate each year between discovery/fundamental, applied health (including population, psychosocial and behavioural) and clinical. Information on the recipient will be publicized on BHCRI’s website and social media platforms. This competition is open to current CRTP trainees or those who have completed within the last two years, from deadline date). The trainee can be at any level of training including, MSc, PhD, postdoctoral fellow or resident.

    • The 2023 award will be for Applied Health (including population, psychosocial and behavioural) research
    • 2024 — Clinical research
    • 2025 — Discovery/Fundamental research

Please download the application. The completed application may be sent to admin@bhcri.ca. The deadline for receipt of applications is 4:00pm ADT 10 May 2023.

“This was taken at a sci-fi convention the year before Jen died (Jen is on the left!). Jen was one of the makeup artists for the event. This picture captures Jen’s spirit and unwavering sense of fun” – Gerry and Judy Johnston

2022 Jen Johnston Award:

                                     MC Wasson, The First Jen Johnston Prize Winner

— By Maria Laura Todesco, Public Relations student, Nova Scotia Community College

MC Wasson

One in eight Canadian women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime.  Every day, promising new research is adding to our understanding of this disease, leading to better diagnosis and treatments. So, when Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute (BHCRI) scientific director Dr. Gerry Johnston and his wife Judy lost their only daughter Jen to advanced breast cancer last year, they could think of no better way to honour Jen’s legacy than by asking family and friends to donate to BHCRI.

Months later, BHCRI created the Jen Johnston Prize for Research Excellence from memorial donations to honour and celebrate her life.

The inaugural winner of the Prize is Marie-Claire Wasson, a Dalhousie University graduate student in Pathology.

Wasson is a knowledgeable and kind person, appreciated by peers, colleagues and teachers. She enjoys being in contact with people and is motivated by understanding how cancer affects the whole family’s lives, not just researching it.

Wasson’s research focuses on discovering new treatments to improve the survival of triple-negative breast cancer patients. This involves researching new classes of molecules, termed long non-coding RNAs, that have been minimally studied but are proving to be potentially important in cancer treatment.  In the future, drugs that inhibit these cancer-promoting molecules could be developed to stop the growth and spread of cancer.

“By looking at a greater option of molecules to target with therapies, we might find a better treatment for cancer,” Wasson said. “I really hope to highlight this class of molecules and show that they’re really important for breast cancer progression.”

The Jen Johnston Prize has special meaning for BHCRI.  The entire BHCRI family knew Jen as a beloved and exceptional person whose three-year battle with advanced breast cancer did not deter her dedication to raising awareness and her commitment to ‘putting out a hand’ in raising funds for cancer research.

“Jen would say ‘thank you and keep going’ because she recognized the tremendous amount of effort that goes into cancer research,” said Dr. Gerry Johnston. “She was a ‘go-getter’. She was very joyful and optimistic, and she just didn’t let (cancer) get her down. You have to have that kind of personality and attitude, that’s critical, to do research in cancer treatment.”

This annual prize recognizes excellence in trainee research from all levels and cancer research disciplines to encourage trainees to establish careers in cancer research. The evaluation criteria include the excellence of the science, potential impact on the care of patients, innovation, and dissemination, outreach, and knowledge mobilization. The award is currently valued at $1,500 and will be presented at the annual BHCRI Workshop in May, where Wasson will give a platform presentation highlighting the published research.

Dr. Paola Marcato, her supervisor, believes Wasson’s work can impact the scientific community and is grateful to guide and mentor her.  “She is self-motivated, driven, intuitive and creative,” said Dr. Marcato. “Prizes in honor of someone like Jen Johnston motivate students to keep going and working hard. The recognition of their work lets students know their work is valued.”

Wasson hopes to start medical school after the completion of her doctoral degree. Those who have watched her career, like Dr. Marcato, know that she has the ability to apply research, computer science and medicine to ask the right questions and take care of cancer patients, which will make her a better physician. According to Dr. Marcato, “MC is an amazing student and I’m excited to see the things she will do because this is just the beginning for her.”

Pictured below, MC with Judy and Gerry Johnston.