Personalized Medicine

77 Pages·2016·6.07 MB·English

2014/15
RESEARCH
ANNUAL
REPORT

Table of Contents
Message from the Executive Associate Dean, Research ......................................................................................................................2
Research Excellence by the Numbers ......................................................................................................................................................5
Key National and International Rankings ...........................................................................................................................................5
CIHR Foundation Grants ........................................................................................................................................................................6
CIHR Transitional Operating Grant .....................................................................................................................................................7
Faculty of Medicine within UBC Scope of Research .......................................................................................................................7
Research Funding by Sponsor Type .....................................................................................................................................................8
Distribution of Research within the Faculty of Medicine ...............................................................................................................8
Building Our Research Community ..........................................................................................................................................................11
Canada Research Chairs .......................................................................................................................................................................11
Donor-Funded Chairs, Professorships, and Distinguished Scholar Awards ...........................................................................18
CIHR New Investigator Awards..........................................................................................................................................................18
Fostering Research Innovation ..................................................................................................................................................................21
Canada Foundation for Innovation .....................................................................................................................................................21
Grant Funding Highlights .....................................................................................................................................................................22
Faculty of Medicine Internal Awards ................................................................................................................................................22
Profiles on Transformational Research ...................................................................................................................................................25
Recognizing Research Excellence .............................................................................................................................................................31
Awards and Honours Highlights .........................................................................................................................................................31
National Prizes Awarded by the Faculty of Medicine ...................................................................................................................34
Advancing New Frontiers: Personalized Medicine ...............................................................................................................................37
Educating our Trainees in Research ........................................................................................................................................................43
Master’s and PhD Programs...............................................................................................................................................................44
MD/PhD Program ..................................................................................................................................................................................45
Clinician Investigator Program ..........................................................................................................................................................46
Postdoctoral Research Fellows ...........................................................................................................................................................47
Prestigious External Awards for Graduate and Postdoctoral Trainees .....................................................................................47
Internal Awards for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows ...........................................................................................47
Summer Student Research Program ................................................................................................................................................49
Health Profession Programs ...............................................................................................................................................................50
Vancouver Summer Program in Medicine .......................................................................................................................................52
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................................................................54
Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................................................................................54
Appendices ...................................................................................................................................................................................................55
Cover photo (bottom): Courtesy of GenomeBC.
Message from the
Executive Associate Dean, Research
In our Faculty of Medicine Strategic Plan 2011-2016, the Faculty
of Medicine committed to developing new frontiers of research
in health where UBC can provide global leadership. One new
frontier our research community has readily embraced is
personalized—or precision—medicine. By identifying a patient’s
unique molecular features through genomics, proteomics, and
other omics, it is becoming possible to move beyond the “one-
size-fits-all” model of medicine to a more personalized, tailored
approach. We can foresee transformations in health through
this approach to prevention of disease, safer use of medications,
improved efficiency of clinical trials, and more efficient use of
health resources.
Of course, realizing this lofty promise will require disruptive change, mobilizing
omics platforms to point of care, advancing medical informatics and big data
mobilization. This disruptive change will call for different skill sets, training
backgrounds, and educational focus. We can see this movement at UBC
through our Faculty. A centrepiece of this effort is the Life Sciences Institute
(LSI), which, under the leadership of Dr. Pieter Cullis, is advancing a provincial
Personalized Medicine Initiative. Earlier this year the LSI hosted an international
Personalized Medicine Summit with the goal of making recommendations
on best practices in advancing personalized medicine in British Columbia
and Canada. Reaching the stage where programs arrive in usual care settings
represents an enormously important milestone in our efforts to bring the
promise of personalized medicine closer to reality for patients, families, and
communities. We can appreciate some of the striking examples in the cancer
field. Researchers at the BC Cancer Agency, including Drs. Marco Marra,
Janessa Laskin and Steven Jones, have demonstrated success through the
Personalized Onco-Genomics Program, where they are using personalized
genomic arrays of cancer tissue to identify the key pathways that are activated
in an individual’s tumor. Those results are then analyzed and used to inform
treatment strategies, in one case resulting in the successful use of a readily
available and affordable antihypertensive drug for a colon cancer patient.
In the Department of Family Practice, Dr. Martin Dawes is taking steps to
move personalized medicine into the community through TreatGx, one of the
2 2014-2015 RESEARCH ANNUAL REPORT | UBC FACULTY OF MEDICINE
first attempts at providing pharmacogenomic information to primary care
physicians, by using a panel of single-nucleotide polymorphisms to tailor
drug selection and dose. In addressing the challenging problem of early life
epilepsy, a collaborative team led by Drs. Mary Connolly and Matthew Farrer is
undertaking next-generation sequencing to unravel the causes. The results have
both identified treatable causes as well as allowed focus on treatment based on
etiology.
Supporting this program in personalized medicine, is a need for excellence in
research. The strength of faculty in personalized medicine is reflected in our
latest round of Canada Research Chairs, including Drs. Christopher Carlsten
(environment-gene interactions), Jennifer Gardy (genomic epidemiology),
Dan Goldowitz (genomics of neurodevelopmental disorders), Michael Hayden
Howard Feldman
(pharmacogenomics), Sara Mostafavi (informatics and big data), Robert
Molday (gene therapy for retinal diseases), and Samuel Aparicio (genomics and
systems biology, cancer).
Another vital part of the collaborative effort to advance new frontiers like “
personalized medicine is the role of our partnerships in the broader community. Together, we
LifeSciences BC, Genome BC, and philanthropic funders are providing the
are pushing the
financial support needed to make visionary projects a reality. Clinical sites
like the BC Cancer Agency, BC Children’s Hospital, and general practitioners’ boundary of what is
offices around the province are the conduits connecting research to patients.
possible in research
And partnerships to support commercialization—the pathway to get a test
into clinic—are essential to the future success of these promising applications. and care.
Together, we are pushing the boundary of what is possible in research and care.
While there are significant challenges and changes within our research
environment, we must remember to appreciate the transformational impact
that our research can engender. Stepping back to appreciate how far we have
come is especially relevant as we advance into a new frontier. We hope that this
report stimulates a sense of accomplishment and pride in our progress in 2014-
15 and encourages members of our community to maintain and advance their
excellent work.
Howard Feldman, MD, FRCP(C)
Executive Associate Dean, Research
Professor, Division of Neurology
UBC Faculty of Medicine
3
Research Excellence
by the Numbers
Graduate student Matthew Sacheli with a participant in
the study of exercise’s effects on Parkinson’s patients.
RESEARCH EXCELLENCE BY THE NUMBERS
Research Excellence by the Numbers
Overview
$305M
According to the UBC Office of Research Services Researcher Information Research
Services database (RISe), the total amount of direct research funding received
Funding
by the Faculty of Medicine (FoM) in FY 2014-15 was $305M.1 Over the past five
years, this amount has hovered around the $300M mark, ranging from $280M
in FY 2008-09 to a high of $307M in FY 2013-14.
Key National and International Rankings
• University Global Health Impact Report Card: UBC ranked #1
• Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities 2015 (RE$EARCH Infosource Inc.):
UBC ranked #3
• Canada’s Research University of the Year2 (RE$EARCH Infosource Inc.):
UBC ranked #3 in the Medical⁄Doctoral category
• Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2015–2016:
• UBC ranked #20 worldwide in the Life Sciences
• UBC ranked #31 in the world in the area of Clinical, Pre-Clinical, and
Health
• QS World University Rankings 2015-16:
• UBC ranked #26 worldwide for Medicine (up from #39 in 2014-15)
1 Numbers presented in this section reflect total research funding from all sources based on departments/schools/centres within the Faculty of Medicine
as of April 1, 2015.
2 Three universities gain RE$EARCH Infosource’s designation of Research University of the Year in their category for their performance on a balanced set
of input, output and impact measures for FY2014. These full-service universities are recognized for demonstrating superior achievement both in earning
research income and in publishing research in leading scientific journals.
5
CIHR Foundation Grants
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Foundation Grants support research leaders from all career stages
in building and conducting programs of health research across CIHR’s mandate. Researchers in the UBC Faculty of
Medicine have received 22 CIHR Foundation Grants totaling $50.9 million, resulting in an exceptional faculty success
rate of 23%. In contrast, the national success rate was only 11%, with a total of 150 Foundation grants funded out of 1,366
applications from across the country. This is the first time that CIHR Foundation Grants have been awarded and are part
of a $408.9 million investment in health research by the Government of Canada. Grant recipients were chosen through a
rigorous peer-review process, and the program will help health researchers improve disease prevention and treatment and
strengthen healthcare for Canadians. For the full list of FoM Foundation Grant recipients and the details of their awards,
please see Appendix A.
Figure 1. CIHR 2014 Foundation Scheme Live Pilot – Institutional Comparison of Dollar Amount Awarded3
University
 of
 Toronto
  $133.7 (32.7%)
McGill
 University
  $60.6 (14.8%)
University
 of
 BriPsh
 Columbia
  FoM: $50.9 (12.5%) Non
 FoM:
 $0.5
 (<1%)

McMaster
 University
  $29.9 (7.3%)
Université
 Laval
  $29.1 (7.1%)
s

r
e
b University
 of
 Calgary
  $25.9 (6.3%)
m
e
M University
 of
 OIawa
  $22.7 (5.6%)
5

1 Université
 de
 Montréal
  $18.9 (4.6%)
U
University
 of
 Western
 Ontario
  $9.9 (2.4%)
University
 of
 Alberta
  $9.4 (2.3%)
Non-­‐Members
  $7.2 (1.8%)
Queen's
 University
  $4.0 (1.0%)
University
 of
 Manitoba
  $3.7 (<1%)
Dalhousie
 University
  $2.5 (<1%)
$0
  $50
  $100
  $150

Awarded
 Amount,
 in
 Millions

Total
 amount
 funded:
 $408.9M

Note:
 Each
 U15
 member
 includes
 its
 affiliates
 (if
 any)

3 Source: CIHR funded research database.
6 2014-2015 RESEARCH ANNUAL REPORT | UBC FACULTY OF MEDICINE
RESEARCH EXCELLENCE BY THE NUMBERS
CIHR Transitional Operating Grant
Since 2013, CIHR began designing a new Open Suite of Programs and peer review system as part of the commitments
made in CIHR’s second strategic plan, and its Open Operating Grant Program (OOGP) was reformed to be eventually
replaced by two new funding schemes: the Foundation Scheme and the Project Scheme. In order to facilitate the transition
within CIHR’s open funding schemes, two Transitional Open Operating Grant Program (T-OOGP) competitions were held:
in March 2014 and March 2015.
In addition to the success which FoM saw through the 2014 CIHR Foundation Scheme – Live Pilot competition,
FoM investigators also received 25 regular Operating Grants in the March 2015 Transitional Open Operating Grant
competition, with an additional 6 applications receiving funding through Priority Announcements (PA), for a total of
$16.1M in CIHR funding from the competition.
Faculty of Medicine within UBC Scope of Research
In FY 2014-15, the Faculty of Medicine was responsible for 57% of UBC’s total research activity (Figure 2). The Faculty of
Medicine has accounted for at least 50% of UBC’s total research activity for the past six years.
Figure 2. UBC research funding from all sources by Faculty, FY 2014-15.4
UBCO
 IKE
 Barber
 School

of
 Arts
 &
 Sc,
 1%
  VP
 Research
 and

Interna3onal,
 1%

Arts,
 4%

UBCO
 Applied
 Science,

1%
  Den3stry,
 1%

Applied
  Educa3on,
 1%

Science,

Forestry,
 2%

9%

Sauder
 School

Science,
 17%
  Land
 and
 Food
 Systems,

of
 Business,
 1%

1%

President's
 Office,
 2%

Pharmaceu3cal

Sciences,
 1%

Medicine,
 Faculty
 of,

57%

$305,087,673

Facul&es
 represen&ng
 less
 than
 1%
 are
 not
 shown

4 Source (Figures 2-6): UBC Office of Research Services RISe data.
7
Research Funding by Sponsor Type
Nearly one-third of the Faculty of Medicine’s research funding is supported by funding from Canada’s Tri-Council
Agencies, including CIHR, National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and Genome Canada
grants often require applicants to secure matching funds from a wide variety of sources. Grant, Peer-reviewed sponsors
include national and provincial non-profit agencies that have experts in their respective field review grant applications.
Grant, non peer-reviewed sponsors include various local hospital foundations and other granting agencies that do not use
the peer-review process. Contracts & Agreements and Clinical Trials are mostly private-industry funded.
Figure 3. UBC research funding by sponsor type, FY 2014-154
Clinical
 Trial

Contracts
 &
  6%

Agreements

8%

Tri-­‐Council

30%

Grant,
 non
 peer-­‐
reviewed

24%

CFI/Matching/
  Grant,
 Peer-­‐
Genome
  reviewed

10%
  22%

Total
 research
 funding:
 $305,087,673

Distribution of Research within the Faculty of Medicine
Research within the Faculty of Medicine is distributed across six major research sites (Figure 3). In 2014-15, Vancouver
Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) was responsible for 28% of Faculty of Medicine research grant/contract
funding. It includes two major research centres: The Centre for Brain Health and The Vancouver Prostate Centre.
Figure 4. 2014-15 Faculty of Medicine research funding from all sources, by research site. 4,5,6
Vancouver
 Coastal
 Health
 Research
 InsFtute
  $84.6M
 (28%)

BC
 Cancer
 Agency
  $73.8M
 (24%)

Child
 &
 Family
 Research
 InsFtute
  $54.4M
 (18%)

UBC
 Point
 Grey
 Campus
  $46.5M
 (15%)

Providence
 Health
 Care
 Research
 InsFtute
  $42.7M
 (14%)

BC
 Centre
 for
 Disease
 Control
  $3.1M
 (1%)

0.0
  20.0
  40.0
  60.0
  80.0
  100.0

$,
 in
 millions

Total
 funding:
 $305,087,673

5 Research funding data for BC CDC site are based on investigators’ primary physical location. For data based on UBC CDC affiliation, see Figure 5.
6 The research funding at the UBC Point Grey site is composed primarily of faculty members based at the LSC and SPPH buildings. This site also includes
researchers from the Biomedical Research Centre, Anesthesiology (in Medical Sciences Block C), a handful located in Michael Smith Labs, and a few
others who are in non-VCHRI space within the UBC Hospital (Physical Therapy, Occupational Sciences).
8 2014-2015 RESEARCH ANNUAL REPORT | UBC FACULTY OF MEDICINE