New training awards for brain cancer research

Brain Canada and the Canadian Cancer Society announce an investment of $423, 000 in three research training awards that will advance understanding of why some cancers spread to the brain, the cause of treatment resistance, and how novel new therapies may improve the lives of people living with brain tumours.

“We are proud to partner with the Canadian Cancer Society on these important projects to improve brain cancer treatment, which affects approximately 50,000 Canadians each year,” says Viviane Poupon, PhD, President and CEO of Brain Canada.

Training award recipients include:

Rober Abdo is a PhD candidate at Western University. Abdo is investigating molecular changes in breast cancer cells to understand why, in some people, these cells survive and spread to form tumours in the brain. New knowledge could lead to prevention and innovative therapies to improve patient outcomes.

Stephanie Borlase is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto. Borlase is working with a team to investigate whether focused ultrasound waves can disrupt the blood-brain barrier, allowing the delivery of immunotherapy drugs to treat lung cancer that has spread to the brain. This new approach could potentially improve treatment and survival rates.

Shreya Gandhi is a PhD candidate at Princess Margaret-UHN. Gandhi is studying how oxygen-deprived areas of deadly brain tumours called glioblastoma (GBM) contribute to treatment resistance. If successful, this project could lead to identifying proteins that could be targeted to sensitize areas of GBM tumours to existing therapies, improving outcomes for people.

For the full list of the 2024 Research Training Awards Competition recipients visit the Canadian Cancer Society website.