SARNIA, Ontario, June 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Canadian Breast Cancer Society (BCSC) today announced $ 250,000 to fund the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University, for a research project led by Dr. Paola Marignani. The project aims to identify unique markers associated with recurrence of HER2 + breast cancer at the single cell level.
About one-third of all breast cancers are classified as HER2-positive due to high levels of HER2 cell surface protein. HER2-targeted drugs have been successful, but this type of cancer returns with a high incidence after treatment. The main goal of the research project is to identify new biomarkers that differentiate the recurrence potential of HER2 + breast cancer.
The project leader is Dr. Paola Marignani, a professor at Dalhousie University at the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. She has conducted postdoctoral fellowships at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, the Ontario Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in the Signal Transduction Department. Most recently, Dr. Marignani completed the MIT Executive Program in Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare.
Dr. Marignani’s project will be implemented over the next three years in order to gain an idea for the development of more precise and targeted therapies through precision medicine that prevents relapses. Precision medicine focuses on comparing the most effective drug with the right patient based on the molecular profiling of the patient’s cancer, given the heterogeneity of the individual’s cancer.
Guided by its vision of ending breast cancer, BCSC is committed to funding research projects that will have a direct impact on Canadian patients. In February 2021, the World Health Organization announced that breast cancer was the most common cancer in the world, with approximately 28,000 Canadians diagnosed each year. The breast cancer research projects selected for funding will aim to improve screening, detection, precision oncology and patient-reported outcomes by improving care for Canadians with breast cancer.
Kimberly Carson, CEO of the Canadian Breast Cancer Society, said: “Dr. Marignani’s research will have a direct impact on the lives of breast cancer patients by developing tailor-made treatment plans. The treatment of patients is no longer universal for everyone. The BCSC-funded study focuses on precision medicine, which makes breast cancer treatment very personalized with better targeted treatment, we can influence change in breast cancer patients.
The Canadian Breast Cancer Society thanks its generous donors for making it possible to fund the grant through their contributions. For more information on the call for proposals for a breast cancer research grant and funded precision oncology projects, please visit bcsc.ca/updates.
ABOUT THE CANADA Breast Cancer Society (BCSC) The Canadian Breast Cancer Society (BCSC) is a registered national, non-profit charitable organization dedicated to saving lives through breast cancer research. BCSC raises money to fund research aimed at patients for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of breast cancer. For more information, please visit bcsc.ca.
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