Siham Sabri, PhD, McGill University
Lecture: Integrating the Hallmarks of Cancer into Radiation Biology.
Dr. Siham Sabri is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Oncology, a faculty member of the Division of Radiation Oncology and a medical scientist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC, Cancer Research Program). Dr. Sabri earned her Ph.D. in 1998 at Paris Diderot University-ParisVII in France. She completed her post-doctoral training at the Department of Biochemistry, Birmingham University (UK) and at the INSERM hematopoiesis and stem cell research laboratory at Gustave Cancer Roussy Institute of Oncology in Paris. Following her move to the University of Alberta in 2006, she actively engaged in basic and translational studies investigating the role of the DNA repair protein O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) in glioblastoma, in addition to the identification of predictive markers of radiation-induced skin toxicity in early breast cancer patients.
Her research interests are focused on testing new-targeted therapies in combination with ionizing radiation and investigating molecular mechanisms of glioblastoma tumour angiogenesis and invasion while implementing in vitro and in vivo approaches with validation in banked patient tissue. As a co-investigator in in-house designed clinical trials at the Division of Radiation Oncology, Dr. Sabri is currently leading a translational research platform to prospectively identify biomarkers of response to targeted therapies and/or new radiation delivery techniques in different disease sites.
Michael Weinfeld, PhD, University of Alberta
Lecture: Radiation-induced DNA damage and repair.
Michael Weinfeld received his B.A. degree in Chemistry from Oxford University in 1978 and his Ph.D. from the University of London in 1982. After postdoctoral research at the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories, Ontario, and the Cross Cancer Institute, Edmonton, Alberta, he joined the Department of Oncology in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta and Cross Cancer Institute in 1989. His research interests include DNA damage and repair, tumour hypoxia, low-dose radiation response, and arsenic carcinogenesis. He currently heads the Alberta DNA Repair Consortium, which has a major program to design small molecule inhibitors of DNA repair enzymes and their application to cancer therapy.
Francis Rodier, PhD, University of Montreal
Lecture: Molecular pathways underlying radiation therapy-induced cell fate decisions.
Dr. Rodier is an assistant professor at the Departments of Radiology, Radio-Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Montreal, and a scientist at the CHUM, Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal. He obtained his PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Montreal and completed his post-doctoral studies at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, and Buck Institute for Age research, California.
Dr. Rodier’s laboratory focuses its research on identifying cellular and tissue mediators of the mammalian DNA damage response. This important biological phenomenon is involved in human aging, cancer development, and influences the outcome of cancer therapy. Dr. Rodier aims to understand how the DNA damage response is terminated following DNA lesion repair, and how cancer cells can often tolerate persistent DNA damage signalling that occurs when DNA lesions are irreparable. To achieve these goals, his team combines cell culture and animal/human models with cutting edge scientific tools. In collaboration with clinicians, Dr. Rodier’s team is also working to develop new molecular diagnostic tools for cancer detection and to identify cellular targets to sensitize cancer cells to chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
Stanley K Liu, PhD, MD, FRCPC, University of Toronto
Lecture: Modulation of the microenvironment and strategies to enhance tumor radioresponse.
Dr Stanley Liu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology and Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto. He is also a scientist and a Radiation Oncologist at the Sunnybrook – Odette Cancer Centre where he treats genitourinary cancers. He obtained his PhD, MD and specialist certification in Radiation Oncology from the University of Toronto and completed post-doctoral fellowship training at the Gray Institute in the University of Oxford, UK.
The aim of Dr Liu’s research program is to improve treatment outcomes for cancer patients by uncovering the mechanisms of tumour radiation resistance. To address this, his team is researching the contribution of microRNA in radiation resistance and cancer aggression, and leveraging targeted agents to overcome this problem. Additionally, they are investigating the use of microRNA as non-invasive predictive biomarkers for treatment response. Together, they seek to improve our understanding of the underlying biology of radiotherapy resistance, while providing direct translational benefits for patients.
Theodoros Tsakiridis, PhD, MD, FRCPC, McMaster University
Lecture: Cancer metabolism and radiation biology: molecular stress sensors modifying radiation response.
Dr. Tsakiridis is a Radiation Oncologist and Scientist at the Juravinski Cancer Center in Hamilton, Ontario. He treats genitourinary and lung cancer and specialises in modern stereotactic radiotherapy and radiosurgery using robotic cyberknife and modern linear accelerator therapies. Dr. Tsakiridis’ research includes basic science laboratory work, translational and clinical radiotherapy studies. His laboratory work aims to identify molecular pathways of oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes involved in radiation responses of cancer cells and preclinical radiation sensitizing therapies for lung and prostate cancer. His clinical research includes tumour and serum biomarkers of radiation response, clinical studies of radio-sensitizers and development of stereotactic radiotherapy techniques.
George Shenouda, MD, FRCPC, McGill University
Lecture: Radiobiology of time‐dose‐fractionation and alternative fractionation schedules in radiotherapy.
Dr. Shenouda holds a position of Associate Professor at the Department of Oncology, McGill University, and is also an Associate Director of Division of Radiation Oncology at McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and a Chairman of the Radiation Oncology Research Committee. He received his medical degree in Egypt, Ain Shams University (1977), and a PhD in Cancer Immunology in Canada, McGill University (1983).
He served as a Residency Program Director at the Division of Radiation Oncology from 2006 to 2009. In 2012, he was appointed an Associate Director for Academic and Clinical Affairs in the Division of Radiation Oncology. Actively involved in training medical residents, Dr. Shenouda coordinates and teaches numerous courses at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate level. He has received a number of awards and honours during his career, among which are the Faculty Honour List for Educational Excellence (Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, 2006), Olive Williamson Award (RI-MUHC Internal Scholarship and Awards Committee, 2007), and the Inaugural Gerald Bronfman Centre Award for Excellence In Teaching and Mentorship (2011).
Dr. Shenouda’s clinical research focuses on combination of systemic therapy and radiotherapy and radiotherapy in head and neck cancer and brain tumours (Glioblastoma multiforme). He has been actively involved in several clinical trials testing altered fractionation radiation for locally advanced head and neck cancer and post-operative accelerated hypofractionated radiation therapy in patients with glioblastoma. Since 2004, Dr. Shenouda is a member of the Head and Neck steering Committee, Radiotherapy Oncology Group (RTOG) and a principal investigator in Translational Research Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG, NCIC).
Bassam Abdulkarim, PhD, MD, FRCPC, McGill University
Lecture: Clinical and Biological Insights into Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy
Dr. Bassam Abdulkarim is an Associate Professor of Oncology at McGill University and a Principal Investigator at the Research Institute of McGill University Health Center (MUHC). He has been serving as Director of the McGill Division of Radiation Oncology at the MUHC since 2011. Dr. Abdulkarim received his PhD in radiation biology from Paris XI University in 2002. As a clinician-scientist over the last 13 years, Dr. Abdulkarim has developed extensive expertise in the field of translational research in oncology while leading clinical trials for the identification of blood-based biomarkers for radiation-induced toxicities in breast cancer and response to treatment in high-grade glioma. He is internationally recognized for seminal work in the field of breast cancer subtypes and risk of locoregional recurrence. Dr. Abdulkarim has received a number of awards and honours during his career.
His current research program focuses on investigating molecular mechanisms underlying response to different radiation regimens in glioblastoma and lung cancer in addition to the effects of ablative radiotherapy on lung fibrosis using in vivo orthotopic model to analyze tumour response to fractionated or ablative radiation with respect to tumour invasion and metastasis.
Bertrand Jean-Claude, PhD, McGill University
Lecture: Radiosensitizing effects of targeted therapies.
Dr. Jean-Claude is an Associate Professor at the Department of Medicine, McGill University and a founding Director of the Cancer Drug Research Laboratory, Research Institute of McGill University Health Centre that was incepted in 1999 (Royal Victoria Hospital). He is also the founder and Co-Director of the McGill CIHR Drug Development Training Program (DDTP) recently deployed at the Center for Translational Biology (CTB) of the RI MUHC. Dr. Jean-Claude received his Master’s degree in organic chemistry from the University of Moncton in 1986 and his PhD from McGill University in 1993. He completed his post-doctorate training in oncology at McGill University in 1996 and was appointed a McGill Assistant Professor. Since 2008, he has been involved in several international collaboration activities as a co-investigator on cancer drug research projects with the teams from China, Egypt and France.
Dr. Jean-Claude has received numerous honours, awards and distinctions during his career, among which are the Madeleine Tremblay Award (MUHC Foundation, 2013-2014), MGH 179th Anniversary Award (2008) and US Department of Defence Prize (2003 – 2006). He served on several scientific advisory boards and grant panels including Club de Recherches Cliniques du Québec, Experimental Therapeutics and Metabolism program of the RI MUHC and the CIHR Cancer Progression and Therapeutics panel.
His research primarily focuses on novel strategies to enhance the targeting potential of kinase inhibitors. Molecules developed in the context of his novel approach termed “the combi-targeting concept” have been shown to significantly sensitize tumour cells to radiation.