Appointments:
Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, Division of Thoracic Surgery and Department of Pathology, Dalhousie University; Thoracic Surgeon, Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre
Research Interests:
Lung cancer, precision oncology, epigenetics, molecular biology, transcriptomics, molecular profiling, organoids, thoracic surgery, lung cancer management
Research Summary: I am a thoracic surgeon and PhD scientist. The focus of my research is on better understanding the epigenetic changes and molecular mechanisms of environmental exposure induced lung cancer. I am compiling a repository of tissue samples and developing organoid models to better understand the mechanisms by which exposures promote the development of lung cancer. I am the holder of two patents related to a novel antioxidant in the treatment and prevention of lung disease and the use of PP2A as an anti-inflammatory treatment agent. I am part of the Evict Radon national study (https://evictradon.org), and the Canadian Environmental Exposures in Cancer (CE2C) Network (http://CE2C.ca), which encompasses national, multi-university-based transdisciplinary teams working to understand the etiology of environmental carcinogen-induced cancer in Canadians. In partnership with the Lung Association of Nova Scotia and Evict Radon, I am funded to investigate the relationship between residential radon exposure and lung cancer incidence and outcomes in Canada.
What brought you to your current institution? I was recruited to Dalhousie University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery, Division of Thoracic Surgery after completing my thoracic surgery fellowship at the University of Toronto.
Hometown: Vancouver, BC
Why are you interested in your area of research? As an undergraduate student at UBC I studied the apneic component of the mammalian dive reflex in harbour seals. I wanted to continue research and study disease in people. After completing my BSc and undergraduate thesis project, I directly entered the PhD program in Experimental Medicine at UBC. My doctoral training at UBC with Dr. Peter Pare focused on molecular epidemiology linking gene expression changes with physiologic and structural changes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. I then completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Columbia University with Dr. Jeanine D’Armiento and utilized in vivo and in vitro models to test the importance of genes in the pathogenesis of lung diseases. My interest in lung disease propelled me to pursue a career as a thoracic surgeon. As a surgeon-scientist, I am dedicated to improving outcomes in lung cancer.
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