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55 Pages·2011·0.25 MB·English

CCCOO Scientissts
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Reeseaarchh Innterrests

CCO Sccientists’ Meeting
NNovembber 30, 22011
Sheratonn Torontto Centree Hotel
Table of Contents

1. Research at CCO – Backgrounder…………………………………1

2. CCO Research Organizational Chart………………………………4

3. Brief Descriptions of Programs/Research Interests

a. Research Chairs……………………………………………….5

b. Applied Cancer Research Units……………………………...24

c. Research Networks…………………………………………..30

d. CCO Scientists……………………………………………….43
Research at Cancer Care Ontario – Backgrounder

A. Research Funding Program

An important component of Cancer Care Ontario’s strategy for quality and access improvement
is the translation of cancer research and innovation into practice in Ontario. To this end, and
because supporting research is part of its mandate, CCO has an established research funding
program. The nature of this program has changed over time. Its current structure was developed
in response to an international review conducted in 2003 and intentionally complements the
activities of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR).

Strategic Themes
CCO’s research is focused on translation into patient care in four theme areas:
1. Cancer imaging - The use of imaging technology such as magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), computed tomography (CT), and
ultrasound to pinpoint cancers in the body and to monitor and understand their
establishment, growth and spread.
2. Health services - Studying the ways in which cancer prevention, screening, and care
services are best delivered to the population to improve outcomes.
3. Population studies - Studying large groups of people to understand the factors that
influence the risk for getting cancer, the ways that cancer can be prevented or detected
early, as well as factors that influence how cancer progresses and responds to treatment.
4. Experimental therapeutics - The development and initial evaluation in clinical practice of
therapeutic and diagnostic technologies for cancer.

Funding Mechanisms
Research in these areas is supported by several different funding mechanisms: Research
Networks; Research Chairs; and Applied Cancer Research Units.

Research Networks
CCO’s research network program links researchers across Ontario through meetings and
conferences and supports their efforts to bring research findings into practice by funding projects
that have the potential to achieve this goal or might lead to larger research efforts. An Ontario
based expert in the theme area leads each network. Each theme leader is responsible for
developing a research plan for his or her network, which, if it passes peer-review, is then
supported at $250,000 annually. The current Network Leads are:
1. Cancer Imaging – Dr. Jerry Battista, London Health Sciences Centre
2. Health Services – Dr. Craig Earle, Odette Cancer Centre and OICR
3. Population Studies – Dr. Nancy Kreiger, CCO
4. Experimental Therapeutics – Dr. Janet Dancey, Queen’s University and OICR

Research Chairs
The CCO Research Chairs Program is aimed at helping to establish a critical mass of excellent
investigators at institutions in Ontario, aligned with the four theme areas. The primary intent of
this program is to attract new scientists to Ontario, although consideration is given to supporting
outstanding scientists already working in the province.

1
The CCO Chairs Program is open to scientists and clinician scientists holding (or who will soon
hold) full time appointments at an Ontario institution. There are two levels of support: 1.
$200,000 annually for established investigators; and, 2. $100,000 annually, for junior
investigators. The awards are for five years and renewable for three further years. Competitions
were held each year from 2008 to 2010 which is now represented by nineteen chairs at a cost of
$2,400,000 annually. (See page 4.)

Applied Cancer Research Units
The Applied Cancer Research Units program provides infrastructure funding to groups of
investigators working in one or more of CCO’s thematic research areas. Its goal to create foci of
concentrated expertise that will be ongoing provincial resources. Selection of the successful
units by an international panel occurred in early 2011, with awards made to six Applied Cancer
Research Units.

B. Research at Cancer Care Ontario

Research, Prevention and Cancer Control
Scientists and researchers in Prevention and Cancer Control conduct population-based research
on cancer risk factors, prevention and screening; complex chronic diseases; survivorship; and
determinants of health. They have expertise in many areas: epidemiology, bio- and spatial
statistics, environmental toxicology, and behavioural and nutritional sciences. They publish
widely in academic journals, write policy and other documents, and hold national and
international grants. Scientists also serve on peer review panels, teach at universities, and train
graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. Their work helps improve our understanding of
cancer causes, and helps us apply our knowledge to effective cancer screening and prevention
strategies.

Many of the studies conducted in this department are funded, in part or in whole, by
organizations such as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Cancer Society
Research Institute, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Occupational Cancer Research Centre
The Occupational Cancer Research Centre (OCRC), established in 2009, is the first of its kind in
Canada. The establishment of the OCRC grew out of the recognized need to re-emphasize
research on the causes and prevention of occupation-related cancers and to rebuild capacity after
decades of diminishing effort in Canada. The research program of the OCRC has three focus
areas:
1. Identification of causes of cancer in the workplace
2. Surveillance of occupational cancers and workplace exposures
3. Intervention research to develop and evaluate prevention and exposure reduction
strategies

The mission of the OCRC is to translate findings from this research into prevention programs to
control workplace carcinogenic exposures and to improve the health of workers.

The OCRC is jointly funded by the Workplace Safety Insurance Board of Ontario, the Ontario
Division of the Canadian Cancer Society, and Cancer Care Ontario.
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Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) also houses three groups supporting cancer health economics,
services, policy, and ethics research:

The Cancer Services & Policy Research (CSPR) Unit
(http://www.cancercare.on.ca/research/cspru/) was established

1. To develop health services and policy research capacity with dedicated focus on cancer
services, organizations and systems;
2. To conduct research that examines strategic policy issues relevant to cancer system
decision-makers in Ontario and elsewhere; and,
3. To produce a range of outputs (e.g., reports, peer-reviewed journal articles, presentations)
relevant to both cancer system decision-makers and the broader cancer/health services
and policy research community.

The Pharmacoeconomics Research Unit (PEACH) (http://healtheconomics.utoronto.ca/) is a
multidisciplinary team with expertise in using health economics to inform and improve decision-
making by:

1. Conducting, evaluating and explaining PE analysis of cancer drugs under review for
funding consideration; and,
2. Providing technical guidance in the area of health economics and health services research
in cancer control.

The Canadian Centre for Applied Research in Cancer Control (ARCC) (http://www.cc-
arcc.ca/) is an innovative, pan-Canadian research centre specializing in health economics,
services, policy and ethics applied to cancer control. There are two coordinating centers, one in
Ontario and the other at the British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA). ARCC aims to have an
impact across the cancer control spectrum – from prevention to survivorship or palliative care.

ARCC is accepting membership requests and will host Canada’s first conference on applied
research in cancer control in 2012.

C. Emerging Areas
• Ontario Renal Network
• Complex Chronic Diseases

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Research at CCO
Research 
Research  Applied Cancer  P&CC  Other CCO 
Networks
Chairs Research Units Scientists Scientists
(Lead)
2008
C. Booth (HSR)*
M. Brundage (Queen’s)  P. Brown
K. Brock (CI) Cancer  J. Hoch
G. Fichtinger (Queen’s) A. Chiarelli
D. Hodgson (HSR) Imaging (CI)  L. Palmer
G. Liu & D. Howell  M. Cotterchio
R. Hung (PS) (J. Battista)
(PMH) P. Demers
D. Kisselgoff (CI)
B. Neel & L. Siu (PMH) C. Earle
S. Leatherdale (PS)
A. Oza (PMH) L. Elit
H. Seow (HSR) Health Services 
L. Paszat (UofT) S. Harris
2009 Research (HSR) 
V. Kirsh
N. Baxter (HSR) (C. Earle)
N. Kreiger
G. Czarnota (ET/CI)
L. Marrett
R. DaCosta (CI)
L. Rabeneck
J. Kotsopoulos (PS) Population 
P. Ritvo
G. Liu (ET/PS) Studies (PS)
J. Tinmouth
L. Siu (ET) (N. Kreiger)
2010
P. Bradbury (ET)
M. Brundage (HSR)
Experimental 
G. Fichtinger (CI)
Therapeutics (ET)
R. Kim (ET)
(J. Dancey)
A. Sawka (HSR)
A. Ward (CI)
*See Research Networks October 2011
2008 CCO Research Chairs

Christopher Booth, MD FRCPC

CCO Research Chair in Health Services Research

Dr. Booth studied medicine at Queen’s University before his postgraduate training in internal
medicine and medical oncology at the University of Toronto. Upon completing his clinical
training he spent two years as a research fellow with the NCIC Clinical Trials Group at Queen’s
University Cancer Research Institute. Dr. Booth is now a staff physician at the Kingston
Regional Cancer Centre with a clinical practice in gastrointestinal and genitourinary malignancy.
He holds a Cancer Care Ontario Chair in Health Services Research and is an assistant professor
at Queen’s University.

Dr. Booth has an active research program in population-based outcomes and clinical trial
methodology. His particular focus evaluates how the findings of landmark randomized
controlled trials are translated into the general population and whether the benefits and toxicities
are what one might expect based on the results of clinical trials. Current active research projects
include population-based studies of practice patterns and outcomes associated with adjuvant
chemotherapy for lung, bladder, and colorectal cancers. His research program is supported by
the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canadian Foundation for Innovation, and Cancer
Care Ontario.

Christopher M. Booth MD FRCPC
Queen’s Cancer Research Institute
Division of Cancer Care and Epidemiology
10 Stuart Street, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3N6
613-549-6666 Ext. 4505

[email protected]

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Kristy Brock, PhD

CCO Research Chair in Cancer Imaging

The focus of Dr. Brock's research has been on the development of biomechanical model-based
deformable registration algorithms and its application in correlative pathology, dose
reconstruction, and image guided therapy. In the past year her laboratory has seen made several
important advancements. The results from a study evaluating the effect of breathing motion on
radiotherapy dose accumulation in the abdomen using the biomechanical models was completed,
indicating the importance of including breathing motion in treatment planning and the
highlighting the need for dose reconstruction over the course of treatment. These results,
combined with additional studies that developed and applied the deformable dose accumulation
algorithm to lung, pancreas, and cervix, have resulted in an initiative, lead by Dr. Brock, in
radiation oncology to enable dose reconstruction, prospectively, on a wider clinical scale.

Several exciting advancements have also been made in correlative pathology and MR
elastography. Research focused on MR elastography has enabled characterization of tissue
stiffness and resulted in an improved understanding of the fixation effects on excised tissue. An
algorithm has been developed to accurately map histological confirmation of cancer cells to in
vivo MR imaging using advanced technology, including MR elastography, and deformable
image registration for prostate cancer. These techniques will be used to understand and validate
image signals.

Dr. Brock currently holds grants funded by the US-National Institutes of Health, the Canadian
Association of Radiation Oncology, Canadian Cancer Society, the Ontario Institute for Cancer
Research, and is a co-PI on a CIHR/Terry Fox Research Institute Team Grant.

Kristy Brock, PhD
Associate Professor, Dept. of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto

Medical Physicist, Radiation Medicine Program
Department of Radiation Oncology
Princess Margaret Hospital/University Health Network
610 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 2M9
416-946-4501 Ext. 6565

[email protected]

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David Hodgson, MD MPH FRCPC

CCO Research Chair in Health Services Research

Dr. Hodgson is an Associate Professor and clinician scientist in the Department of Radiation
Oncology, and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of
Toronto. He holds a Cancer Care Ontario Research Chair in Health Services Research, and is a
staff radiation oncologist at the Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto. He is the vice-Chair of the
Children’s Oncology Group Hodgkin Lymphoma Committee, and a member of the COG Cardiac
Late Effects Task Force, and the Haematology Disease Site Group of Cancer Care Ontario.

His research activities include the utilization of population-based health administrative data to
evaluate the treatment and outcome of cancer patients, particularly late effects. Recent work has
included population-based evaluations of “new agents” funded through CCO’s New Drug
Funding Program including rituximab and oxaliplatin, as well as new radiation therapy
technologies including sterotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and intensity modulated radiation therapy
(IMRT).

David Hodgson MD, MPH, FRCPC
Associate Professor
Department of Radiation Oncology, and
Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation
University of Toronto
Princess Margaret Hospital
610 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 2M9
[phone]

[email protected]

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Rayjean J. Hung, PhD MS

CCO Research Chair in Population Studies

Dr. Rayjean J. Hung’s research focuses on molecular and genomic epidemiology of cancer, with
the ultimate goal to understand cancer etiology and contribute to cancer prevention. The CCO
Chair Award is supporting the Multicancer Case-Control (MCC) Study in Ontario, the pooled
analysis of Second Malignant Neoplasms after Non-central nervous system Embryonal Tumor,
and the North American Wilms Tumor Study (NAWTS), and the coordination of the
International Lung Cancer Consortium (ILCCO). These studies form valuable resources for
multidisciplinary research projects on cancer etiology and clinical outcome. For example, MCC
is the basis for several projects that Dr. Hung is pursuing including lung cancer genome-wide
association (GWA) study in never smokers. With the support from the Award, Dr. Hung’ group
currently houses the ILCCO/TRICL data repository, which is supporting 11 large scale multi-
institutional collaborative projects on lung cancer, of which 6 are being led by Dr. Hung. The
Award also supports Dr. Hung’s continued investigations into cancer etiology through GWA
studies, pathway specific analyses, genetic characterization, and molecular risk profiling studies.

Dr. Hung is now on the Steering Committee of NIH cross-cancer Post-GWA Initiative, and the
Chair of the Epidemiology Working Group, and has started to develop several cross-cancer
collaborative projects related to GWA analysis and inflammation pathway analysis. In 2010, Dr.
Hung received Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation,
and is currently supported by research grants from Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute,
National Institute of Health in the US, and March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation.

Rayjean J. Hung, PhD MS
Assistant Professor
Division of Epidemiology
Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital
60 Murray Street, Box 18, Toronto, ON M5T 3L9
416-586-4750

[email protected]

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