The 2024 Studentship Award competition is now closed. Thank you to those who applied. Information on the next competition will be announced in December.
For more information on this competition, please contact admin@bhcri.ca
All BHCRI award applicants are invited to complete the optional self-identification form.
BHCRI encourages the completion of the voluntary self-identification form to help determine whether our programs are reaching a broad range of applicants to create an inclusive environment and sense of belonging with a diverse community of contributors. Information provided is confidential and will only be used for statistical reporting on the representation of equity groups within the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute and will not be used for any aspect of the peer-review process.
Congratulations to the 2024 BHCRI and Partners Studentship Award Recipients:
Eva Abou-Samra, Université de Moncton
Supervisor: Dr. Louis Lapierre
Eva is the recipient of the IWK Foundation’s Jeremy Ingham Summer Studentship
“Investigation of nucleo-cytoplasmic protein partitioning in hepatic oncogenesis”
"Unlike normal, healthy cells, cancer cells need to make a lot of protein. For all cells, proteins are made by complex machines called ribosomes but cancer cells are characterized by having increased amounts of ribosomes to handle the need for increased protein production. This need for increased protein production represents a potential weakness in cancer cells that can be exploited to target cancer cells for more effective treatment.
Our lab recently discovered a new way to control the level of ribosomes by blocking a specific protein called XPO1. XPO1 is needed for ribosome function and is found at high levels in many cancers, such as liver cancer. Blocking XPO1 with an FDA-approved drug has shown some success against blood cancers, but its effect against other cancers, such as liver cancer, is not fully understood or explored.
This summer I will be working with Dr. Louis Lapierre at the Université de Moncton. We will measure the effect that blocking XPO1 has on liver functions and liver cancer. Understanding how XPO1 inhibition works will guide our investigation of how best to treat liver cancer by affecting ribosome function."
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Alyssa Huynh, Dalhousie University
Supervisor: Dr. Greg Fairn
Alyssa is the recipient of the Canadian Cancer Society Carol Ann Cole Comfort Heart Summer Studentship for Breast Cancer Research
“Disrupting GDH activity reduces breast cancer growth”
"Triple-negative breast cancer refers to a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer. Triple-negative breast cancers are the most challenging type of breast cancer to treat because they lack specific cell-surface structures common in other breast cancers (notably protein structures that can be exploited to inhibit or kill cancer cells). For triple-negative breast cancer, a new approach is required to prevent the growth of cancer cells.
One defining feature of cancer cells is that, compared to normal cells, cancer cells have an increased need to produce energy. One 'fuel' that cells use is a compound called glutamine. To utilize glutamine as an energy source, an enzyme termed Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) is necessary.
This summer, I am working with Dr. Greg Fairn in the Department of Pathology at Dalhousie. Together, we are exploring ways to disrupt this enzyme and process to curtail the growth of breast cancer cells.
The Fairn lab has identified a drug that can impair cells' ability to use glutamine as an energy source. Our preliminary studies suggest that this molecule can decrease the growth of triple-negative breast cancer cells by starving these cells while still allowing normal cells to survive. Our research program will investigate this molecule as a novel cancer therapy."
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Mattie Leslie-Toogood, Dalhousie University
Supervisor: Dr. Paola Marcato
Mattie is supported by funds provided by GIVETOLIVE
“Investigating novel mechanisms of microRNA to regulate in breast cancer”
"Despite many advances, breast cancer remains one of the most difficult cancers to treat and the deadliest cancer among Canadian women.
To help develop better treatments for the disease, my research is focused on a gene called noncoding RNA in the aldehyde dehydrogenase 1a pathway (NRAD1) that our lab (the Marcato lab) has shown to affect the growth of breast cancer cells, specifically the regulation of genes that respond to small molecules called microRNAs. Production of microRNAs capable of affecting gene regulation involves multiple steps. The way that NRAD1 affects microRNA production remains unclear.
Working in the Marcato lab this summer, my research will focus on the role of NRAD1 in affecting the various steps in the multistage process to produce active microRNAs that, in turn, regulate the genes involved in breast cancer development. I will accomplish this analysis by blocking the production of NRAD1 in breast cancer cells and measuring the levels of the various forms of the microRNAs as well as other factors involved in making the active form of microRNAs. Defining the role that NRAD1 plays in the production of active microRNA will provide insights about NRAD1 in causing breast cancer cells to grow. This information can eventually be used to make better treatment strategies for breast cancer patients, which will lead to improved health.
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Taylor Long, Acadia University
Supervisor: Dr. Melanie Coombs
Taylor is supported by an anonymous donation to Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute to support a breast cancer summer research project
“Investigating the anti-cancer potential of mastoparan by measuring the cytotoxicity of a novel variant of mastoparan”
"We have found that mastoparan can target cancer cells by creating holes in the cell. Mastoparan is found in wasp venom and has been shown to not harm healthy cells. Triple negative breast cancer often has lower survival rates than other types of breast cancer. This is because current treatments harm both cancer cells and normal cells. Mastoparan could increase patient survival rates and quality of life by reducing harmful side effects. In this study a few modifications of mastoparan will be compared to determine which one is most helpful. This study will determine the amount of mastoparan needed to kill triple negative breast cancer cells. To do this different amounts of modified mastoparan will be added to human cancer cells. This study will contribute to a larger project to determine the most helpful modifications of mastoparan.
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Maria McCully, Acadia University
Supervisor: Dr. Melanie Coombs
Maria is the recipient of the D.W. Hoskin Summer Studentship for Cancer Research
"Examining novel derivatives of wasp venom for the ability to kill drug-resistant breast cancer cells"
Breast cancer is one of the most common and deadly cancers. Triple-negative breast cancer is a specific type of breast cancer that can be hard to treat. It does not have the same pieces on its cells as other types of breast cancer. Those missing pieces are a problem because they are often the target of typical breast cancer treatments. The goal of my project would be to help explore alternative therapies using mastoparan derivatives recently identified. Mastoparan is a naturally occurring anticancer peptide found in wasp venom. This means that it is a molecule that should be good at killing cancer cells by poking holes in them. This is important because they attack the cancer cells and not normal cells usually. This is something we want to try and make into a treatment because the current treatments have very negative side effects. It is possible to make little changes to what the molecule looks like to try and make it better at poking holes in the cancer cells. This would contribute to the long-term goal of hopefully one day identifying a version of mastoparan that is excellent at killing cancer cells and that is not harmful to normal cells so that it could be considered for clinical testing.
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Celebrating the life of Jeremy Ingham
Jeremy Ingham was a remarkable young man. At age 17, Jeremy was diagnosed with an aggressive bone cancer. After several
initially successful surgeries and rounds of chemotherapy, Jeremy was again able to participate in all the things he loved; golfing, swimming, and snowshoeing. Unfortunately, after the cancer returned for a third time there were no further options for treatment. Jeremy was by this time an undergraduate student at Acadia University, where he completed his BSc in Chemistry and Biology and graduated with his class in the fall of 2017.
Jeremy succumbed to cancer on December 29, 2017, at the age of 22 but not before he did something extraordinary. Jeremy wanted to become a doctor and researcher, specifically cancer research, and so Jeremy established the Jeremy Ingham Cancer Research Trust at the IWK Foundation. This endowment funds the Jeremy Ingham Summer Studentships which provide support to undergraduate students working with members of BHCRI for 14 weeks during the summer months. Through this Trust, BHCRI has been able to fund two students to date and the funding is awarded to the top-ranked student in each competition. Although a relatively new partnership with BHCRI, the Jeremy Ingham Cancer Research Trust allows top undergraduate students to pursue cancer research projects where they may not otherwise have been able to. Through this partnership, BHCRI provides oversight and peer review to ensure that the wishes of Jeremy and his family are met.
Since 2018, the Jeremy Ingham Cancer Research Trust has provided stipend support to seven undergraduate students in Atlantic Canada.
Recipients:
2018 - Kaela Fraser, Acadia University
2019 - Jackson Weir, University of New Brunswick
2020 - Stephanie Grantham, Dalhousie University
2021 - Cassandra Smythe, Université de Moncton
2022 - Alex Comeau, Acadia University
2023 - Hailey Stack, Dalhousie University
"The Jeremy Ingham studentship award allowed me to take the next step in pursuing my passion of becoming a cancer researcher, an experience made possible through Jeremy's bravery and passion, allowing others to pursue a similar dream to his own." - Ingham Studentship recipient
To support Jeremy's legacy and learn more about this incredible young man, visit: www.iwkfoundation.org/jeremy.