Agency opens Joint Engineering Centre
Genome BC through Western Economic Diversification Canada has provided $400,000 to the BC Cancer Agency for a Joint Engineering Centre (JEC) to fabricate custom devices for clinical and research use.
The JEC – housed in the machine shop at the Vancouver Centre – will enable machinists Colin Potter and Cameron Shorey to create more specialized and comfortable immobilization devices for patients undergoing radiation therapy. It will also provide scientists with a much more rapid method of developing prototypes – one off, or custom devices – for research.
The centre houses five custom machines for computerized cutting, bending, and molding of materials, at a much faster pace than existing methods. The most expensive and high-tech machine is a $130,000 water-jet cutter, which uses pressurized water to cut plastic, glass and metal, and can create intricate designs.
“The Joint Engineering Centre has completely revamped the machine shop with state of the art equipment. Medical physicists and research scientists who develop equipment protoypes can design and translate a product faster, and more economically, than going to an external manufacturer,” says Cheryl Duzenli, head of medical physics at the Vancouver Centre. “The centre should help move production of unique devices through the pipeline much more quickly.”
The JEC – housed in the machine shop at the Vancouver Centre – will enable machinists Colin Potter and Cameron Shorey to create more specialized and comfortable immobilization devices for patients undergoing radiation therapy. It will also provide scientists with a much more rapid method of developing prototypes – one off, or custom devices – for research.
One of the first users of the Joint Engineering Centre has been the Agency’s Genome Sciences Centre. The GSC’s Engineering Group has built numerous devices – for more efficient gel and sample preparation, loading, and scanning – for a project mapping the modified genomes of follicular lymphoma tumours. “We will be able to complete the fingerprinting of 24 whole tumour genomes about two and half times faster than we could have with existing methods,” says Robin Coope, lead engineer with the GSC. “There’s also a huge revolution in genomics because of so-called Next Generation DNA sequencing machines,” says Robin, “The JEC gives us the ability to rapidly respond to the needs of the changing environment, keeping the GSC internationally competitive."
An added benefit has been the networking that’s begun to happen across Agency platforms, and throughout the research community. “The centre is a catalyst for increasing the potential for clinicians and researchers to exchange ideas and collaborate with each other,” says Cheryl. Robin agrees, “The Joint Engineering Centre is bringing together engineering, scientific, and technology people to develop new ideas. And that process of strengthening networks should lead to greater innovation,” says Robin. “After all, machines don’t make great prototypes, people do.”
Advancing Strategic Direction #2
Establish the knowledge generation and application model within the provincial cancer control platform
President’s message
Many of you will know the saying “Be careful what you wish for – it might actually happen!” So, based upon the 2007 calendar year coming to a close – how would we judge 2007 from a BC Cancer Agency and provincial cancer control perspective? And what would we wish for in 2008 … and beyond?
Well, we entered 2007 with some significant challenges: we had a shortfall in the operating budget for the Research Centre, and the ‘legacy’ impact of implementing Herceptin for breast cancer patients, which caused a year-end deficit of $7.5million.
Notwithstanding, ‘light appeared on the horizon’ for 2007:
1. The provincial cancer control program
We met all our activity, service level and budget projections. Additional funding was committed to the Screening Mammography Program of BC, the Cervical Cancer Screening Program and for the provincial Radiation Program. Our budget ‘asks’ for 2008/09 are in process and we are optimistic that our incremental drug budget request will be met.
We continue to plan to increase capacity in the province. The BC Cancer Agency's Fraser Valley staff are working hard in anticipation of the Abbotsford Centre opening in the summer of 2008. The Northern Cancer Control Strategy, including a new cancer centre in Prince George, will be submitted to the Treasury Board in January 2008, with governmental commitment for a 2012 opening.
2. Translational research activity
Operating costs for the BC Cancer Agency's Research Centre have been secured for the 2007/08 year. We continue to actively pursue opportunities to secure ongoing infrastructure funding.
Internally, we have been reviewing the management and operating framework for research at the Agency, including the development of an Office of Research Management/Administration.
The Phase 2 application to the Canadian Foundation for InnovationI/Large Scale Institutional Endeavours competition, to build a new research/hospital facility on the empty site next to the Research Centre, has been submitted. Of the $107 million application, $50 million of co-funding is already committed, there is a commitment from the BC Cancer Foundation for fundraising, and we have submitted a grant application to CFI for $36 million. We should have more news to report in mid-2008.
The Terry Fox Research Institute initiative for cancer research in Canada was announced in October ($50 million over five years). A $30 million endowment from the provincial government secured the headquarters of the TFRI in Vancouver within our Research Centre.
The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD), an initiative of UBC, SFU, and the UBC Faculty of Pharmacy funded by federal and provincial governments and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, will establish a Drug Discovery Institute in our Research Centre in conjunction with the Advanced Therapeutics Division.
A number of people have been instrumental in pushing these initiatives forward, but particular credit goes to Drs. Clay Smith, Karen Gelmon, Sam Aparicio and David Huntsman.
Furthermore, Dr. Marco Marra is leading a creative initiative to establish a Genome Sciences Institute with UBC, SFU and UVic as collaborators. In addition, these three universities have come together around a core academic program development in conjunction with our medical physics group.
3. Supporting our regions and communities.
In addition to Abbotsford and Prince George, enhancements have taken place within our communities oncology program, particularly in the North including improvements to cancer clinics in Prince George, Terrace and Quesnel. The provincial networks have been active, and I’m pleased to say we now have many graduates of the Family Practice perceptorship program working in communities across B.C. A new portfolio – Family and Community Oncology has been established under the leadership of Mark Elwood and will focus on Aboriginal and First Nations health/oncology, survivorship, and community networks, to address disparities in cancer control outcomes across the province.
4. Resource utilization and deployment
This past year, colleagues have assumed new positions – Victor Ling to the Terry Fox Research Institute leadership, Tom Keane to direct the National Cancer Control Program in Ireland. New colleagues will be joining us – Dr. Charles Blankie (Systemic Therapy), Dr. Francois Benard (Functional Imaging/PET), Dr Julian Lum (Deeley Research Centre) and searches are underway for vacated positions (Vice President, Discovery; Provincial Program Leader, Radiation Therapy; Provincial Program Leader, Surgical Oncology).
You may recognize the four areas above are the key directions of our BCCA Strategic Plan (2004-2009). A great deal of activity is occurring within the four areas, and I can confidently say that we have delivered on expectations.
In January 2008, we will hold a planning retreat to consider our ongoing strategic direction for 2009-2014 and beyond. We have delivered much for a provincial cancer control program: we are active in national cancer control activities, for example with the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC) , Canadian Association of Provincial Cancer Agencies (CAPCA), National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC), and we are participating on the international stage, whether ‘seconded’ as with Tom Keane to establish a cancer care program in Ireland; hosting conferences (International Cancer Congress); or mentoring or sharing information with our colleagues at home and abroad.
In conclusion, we have much to be thankful for and proud of this year and much to look forward to in 2008/09 and beyond. We all have a role to play – whether we are directly involved in the activities above, or providing support so they can occur – in helping deliver the best cancer care for our patients and their families. In this respect, you are serving the Agency well, and in return, the Agency is serving the province, the nation and our global partners admirably.
I wish you and your family the very best for a safe and healthy New Year.
Advancing Strategic Direction #1
Sustain and advance our system of cancer control.
BC Cancer Agency researchers find missing part of the puzzle to how some breast cancers spread
Researchers at the BC Cancer Agency have discovered a mechanism by which breast cancer cells can metastasize and invade other parts of the body. The research is published in the November Journal of Experimental Medicine.
It was previously known that increased expression of the Notch cell receptor, correlated with increased breast cancer metastasis, and that breast cancer metastasis is associated with the loss of a protein, E-cadherin, the glue which holds cells together. But researchers didn’t know how those two events were connected.
BC Cancer Agency researchers discovered that when Jagged 1 – a ligand or protein – binds to Notch, the action causes the Notch cell receptor to be cut in half, with half the receptor being absorbed inside the cell nucleus. This action turns on a transcripition factor called Slug to suppress E-cadherin, enabling cells to pull apart and migrate to other parts of the body.
Researchers discovered that high Slug levels were correlated with high Jagged 1 levels in human breast cancer, corroborating the importance of the Jagged-Notch-Slug pathway.
“Increased levels of all Jagged1, Notch or Slug proteins correlated with breast cancers being more aggressive,” says Dr. Aly Karsan. “In the future they could be used as prognostic factors for those patients who express the proteins.”
“These could also potentially explain why some tumours that have lost E-cadherin show re-expression of this protein when the cells metastasize to a distant site,” says Aly. “If the ligand, Jagged1, is not present at the distant site Notch will not be turned on and E-cadherin will be re-expressed.” Confirming this hypothesis will be the focus of future research studies.
The research was led by Kevin Leong, at the time a PhD student in the department of Medical Biophysics (now with Genentech in San Francisco), fellow PhD students, Kyle Niessen and Iva Kulic, and researchers Drs. Aly Karsan and Ingrid Pollet (Medical Biophysics), and Drs. Connie Eaves and Afshin Raouf (Terry Fox Laboratory).
Research was funded by the Canadian Cancer Society, the US Department of the Army, Genome Canada, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, Natural Science and Engineering Research Council, Canadian Institutes for Health Research.
Advancing Strategic Direction #2
Establish the knowledge generation and application model within the provincial cancer control platform.
Abbotsford Medical Physics team assembled
Dr. Ramani (Ram) Ramaseshan, medical physics leader for both the Fraser Valley and Abbotsford Centres, grins when you tell him he’s assembled a top-notch team to handle the commissioning of the radiation therapy equipment in Abbotsford.
Six of the nine-member team who will do the majority of the commissioning of new equipment have arrived on site in just the past few months. They represent a cosmopolitan group with the breadth and depth of skills required to assemble and operate some of the most sophisticated medical machines in the world.
“It is extremely difficult to find experienced physicists,” says Ram. “Once they’re settled somewhere they tend to stay put, but we had an excellent BC Cancer Agency recruitment team, including Olwen Demidoff, Wayne Beckham, Oda Wulf, and Heather Denusik who were instrumental in helping us hire such great staff.”
The lure for many was the BC Cancer Agency’s centralized system, which offers medical physicists the opportunity to network with other physicists and researchers from throughout the province.
“It’s rare that you have this large group of medical physicists assembled in one organization,” says Robert Hagg, an American who has worked throughout the U.S.
They also recognized there was a significant level of support from BC Cancer Agency leadership, particularly for research, says Ram. You’ll read about many of their research interests in their profiles below.
And finally, says Ram, “Living in the Fraser Valley, and being so close to a major metropolitan centre, was a great incentive.”
The Fraser Valley and Abbotsford Centre medical physics staff will work closely together leading up to the opening of the new centre. The nine-member commissioning team for January comprises seven physicists, one physics assistant, and an electronics technician.
In this issue we bring profiles of five of the physicists: Joseph Awotwi-Pratt, Robert Hagg, Steven Thomas and Bilal Shahine; along with a profile of medical physics assistant Genoveva (Gina) Badragan. We’ll introduce you to the rest of team – Robert Corns, Glenn Anderson, Stan Szpala, and Kirpal Kohli – in our February issue.
Joseph Awotwi-Pratt
Bio bite: Joseph received his undergraduate degree in physics from Ghana, West Africa. On a scholarship he obtained his masters and PhD from the University of Surrey, Guildford, England. He is a corporate member of the Institute of Physics & Engineering in Medicine, UK and was most recently a clinical scientist at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust in the UK.The coincidences were too striking to overlook when Joseph saw the BC Cancer Agency ad his Canadian friend sent him seeking medical physicists for a cancer centre in Surrey, B.C. Joseph had lived in the town of Guildford, in the county of Surrey, in Southeastern England for more than six years, while working on his masters and PhD at the University of Surrey. “I thought he was putting me on,” says Joseph, who had never before heard of Surrey, British Columbia, or its suburb Guildford. “But once he started telling me about the position, and about Ram, leading the medical physics team in the Fraser Valley and Abbotsford Centres, I became interested.”
What sealed the deal was the interview process. “It wasn’t the regular interview that I was used to, where you’re in front of a panel being grilled on everything from a to z, and you really don’t have an opportunity to get to know the people or the organization you might be working for,” says Joseph. “During the interview process at the Agency I met nearly everybody I was going to work with – from oncologists to therapists, and physicists to administrative staff. It felt like a good fit and I wanted to come here to live and work.”
Joseph moved to Surrey, B.C. in September 2007 with his wife and three children aged 13, 10 and five, and so far so good. “The kids love it here,” says Joseph. “It’s been a smooth transition for us all.”
Genoveva (Gina) Badragan
Bio bite: Gina was born and raised in Romania, where she received a bachelor’s of science from the University of Bucharest. She was employed by the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Alberta before going to Oklahoma. While at the Tom Baker, she obtained a masters in science from the University of Calgary.When asked to explain what it feels like to be part of a team commissioning new equipment for a brand new centre, Gina replies, “It feels a bit like Christmas. We’re just like big kids. We’re really excited about the new toys that we’ve just been given.”
“For the physics team, it really is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be involved in commissioning four new machines, two CT simulators, and other equipment, all at the same time a new centre is opening. You don’t get those opportunities too often in a career.”
Gina comes to the BC Cancer Agency from the Frank C Love Cancer Institute in Oklahoma City, where she was employed as a medical physicist. Among her responsibilities, she was involved in quality assurance – implementing procedures and policies – to ensure the linear accelerators and other treatment machines operated efficiently, with as little down time as possible. It’s also the role she’ll take on at the Abbotsford Centre.
Gina is a natural-born teacher, having taught physics to both high-school and university students, and she has written several textbooks on the subject.
She is happy to be in B.C. where she can enjoy the outdoors almost all year long, and in the summers enjoy the incredible produce that Abbotsford farmers have to offer. “I really like the strawberries. They’re the best I’ve ever tasted.”
Robert Hagg
Robert is the elder statesman of the new crop of medical physicists hired in anticipation of the BC Cancer Agency’s Abbotsford Centre opening. He has more than 20 years of experience in the medical physics field, working for cancer centres in Houston, Texas; La Jolla, California; Mobile, Alabama, and Tacoma, Washington.
He saw the ad for clinical physicists on the American Association of Physicists in Medicine website, and since he was working across the border in Tacoma, Washington, and his wife – a Canadian with close family in Vancouver, B.C. – was eager to come back home, he applied for the position.
Bio bite: Robert is originally from Houston, Texas, where he received a BA in Physics from Rice University. He obtained a masters from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is certified in therapeutic radiological physics by the American Board of Radiology. Having worked in the private sector most his career, Robert was interested in working in the Canadian system which allowed for more research opportunities. “In the U.S., the focus is almost 100 percent on the clinical side, and you don’t have the luxury to develop technology or test new ideas,” says Robert, whose main interest lies in the optimal treatment planning of prostate cancer patients with high-dose-rate brachytherapy.
When he came to Surrey for his interview, he liked what he saw. “I was amazed and excited by the commitment to excellence that was here,” says Robert. “I’ve been in places where you tend to get by with older equipment, and research is done on your own time. B.C. is at the leading-edge in terms of its radiation therapy equipment and its focus on research to improve patient outcomes.”
In Surrey since September of this year, he says its been a good move. “I miss not getting National Public Radio, and there are certain restaurants that I miss, but the Fraser Valley is a great place to live.”
Bilal Shahine
Bilal has come full-circle in his career. In 1996, then a young PhD student, he was completing his thesis at the BC Cancer Agency’s Fraser Valley Centre under the direction of Dr. Ellen El-Khatib. His particular interest was in measuring the effect of varying radiation doses in lung tissue.
Bilal completed the second part of his residency and a fellowship at Stanford University in California. Being in that environment was quite invigorating says Bilal. Following that, he spent five years abroad in Saudia Arabia, establishing protocols and commissioning equipment for various cancer facilities.
As a Canadian citizen, he always wanted to eventually come back to B.C. to raise his family. “The quality of life in Canada, and particularly in B.C. is exceptional,” says Bilal.
“Having experienced working outside Canada, I can say this is the best place in the world to live and work.”
Bio bite: Bilal received his bachelor’s in science from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon; his masters from Carleton University in Ottawa, and his PhD from the University of British Columbia. Bilal is certified by the American Board of Radiology to practice therapeutic radiological physics.What also pulled him back to B.C. was the coordinated planning of services at the BC Cancer Agency, and the investment the government is putting into cancer care. “I left B.C. in 2000, and within seven years, a new cancer centre was planned and built,” says Bilal. “Radiation therapy services have also increased at the Fraser Valley Centre. That shows a commitment to providing the best care possible.”
Bilal moved from Qatar to B.C. this July and is living in Abbotsford with his wife and three children, aged nine, five and one. “It’s a beautiful area. We live near Sumas Mountain, at a higher elevation, where the air is wonderful, and we have a great view of the valley.”
Steven Thomas
Steven is the youngest member of the team, but that certainly doesn’t mean he’s inexperienced. He is as bright as they come. Steven received his undergraduate degree in medical physics from the University of Alberta in 1998, and at that stage in his life, his biggest concern was narrowing down what direction he wanted his career to take. It came down to a choice between aerospace engineering or medical physics.
Bio bite: Steven is originally from Alberta, where he received his undergraduate, master’s and PhD degrees.He eventually decided medical physics, because “it lets me use physics in a way that I can make a very positive difference in someone’s life,” says Steven.
Steven was concurrently completing a medical physics residency at the Vancouver Centre, while getting ready to join the Abbotsford team.
“The idea of starting a new centre from the ground-up – and to have that opportunity at the beginning of my career – was very appealing,” says Steven.
Steven has been involved with acceptance testing and will begin commissioning with the rest of the team in January. The task is to calibrate each machine to ensure they all work exactly in the same manner, and ultimately identically to comparable machines in the province.
Steven’s research interests include real time imaging in treatment planning. That’s important because there may be changes in a tumour from the time x-rays and scans are taken to the time treatment is given.
Advancing Strategic Direction #3
Support the regional centres, regions and communities with the implementation of provincial cancer control programs and integration of knowledge.
Tour of Courage will make a difference for blood cancer research
“The more than $1.8 million the BC Cancer Foundation raised through the generosity of participants in September’s Tour of Courage weekend, featuring Lance Armstrong, will make a lasting difference for blood cancer patients,” says BC Cancer Agency senior scientist and head of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program of B.C., Dr. Clay Smith. The funding will support several blood cancer research projects he will lead in the Agency’s Terry Fox Lab.
“Lance Armstrong is the biggest hero in cancer care,” says Clay, who also cycled in the event. “Just having him there was an inspiration. But then to see the whole cancer community participating – my Agency and Foundation colleagues, blood cancer patients and survivors – that was really inspirational.”
Every day, three British Columbians receive the news that they have been diagnosed with a blood cancer. This news will dramatically change their lives and profoundly affect their families, friends, job and community.
But according to Clay, we are making advances. “Ten years ago, people with certain kinds of blood cancer would have been treated with a bone marrow transplant. But now they can be treated with a pill,” says Clay. “We need to find common practices that will allow blood cancers to be treated the same way. The money the BC Cancer Foundation raised will hopefully allow us to do that.”
Clay’s research projects include creating a bank of blood cancer specimens to study how these cancers grow, creating new treatments and tests for leukemia based on targeting leukemia stem cells, developing new treatments and tests for multiple myeloma, and expanding the use of umbilical cord blood for transplantation.
“The hope,” says Clay, “is that if we continue to fundraise like this, 10 years from now the advances we will be able to make will just be unbelievable.”
Your BC Cancer Foundation regional contacts:
Fraser Valley: Kate Ludlam, 604.930.4083, kludlam@bccancer.bc.ca.
Southern Interior: Cynthia Waldek-Peters, 250.712.3910, cwaldekpeters@bccancer.bc.ca
Vancouver: Sharon Kennedy, 604.877.6160, skennedy@bccancer.bc.ca
Vancouver Island: Laura Walsh, 250.519.5554, lwalsh@bccancer.bc.ca
BC Cancer Foundation website: www.bccancerfoundation.com
Advancing Strategic Direction #4
Ensure we have the resources to achieve maximal organizational effectiveness
Flu shot season coming to close: make sure you get yours
Anne Burgess, Operations Leader, BC Cancer Agency’s Vancouver Island Centre, pulls up her sleeve to get a flu shot from OH&S nurse Maureen Pridgeon. There’s still an opportunity to get your flu shot and your name entered for some great prizes. Grand prize draws on December 20, include three mp3 players, a digital camera, a spa escape and a three-hour private sailing charter on English Bay. If you were immunized by staff at a host hospital you will need to submit you proof of immunization form (available on the portal) to Employee Wellness & Safety (drop off to the OHN nurse at your centre or send to 800 – 1441 Creekside Drive). If you are unable to find a flu clinic (at your site or at your host hospital), please call Employee Wellness & Safety at 604.875.7244.
Annual Cancer Conference wrap-up
More than 900 delegates attended the BC Cancer Agency’s Annual Cancer Conference from November 29 to December 1, 2007. The conference brought together Agency researchers, scientists, clinicians and community resource professionals, within our provincial system of cancer control, and beyond. This year’s conference, Innovation to Technology – Bench to Bedside, was a year of many firsts. Geoffrey Cannon, science and health policy advisor to the World Cancer Research Fund, presented a web cast titled Diet and Cancer Prevention: A Global Perspective, that will be viewed by more than 1,000 people from across Canada. Delegates also packed the room for conference keynote speaker Dr. Roberta Bondar, the world’s first neurologist to become an astronaut, who spoke on innovation and research in space.
Poster competition awardees:
Basic Science Research
Piotr Dubrowski, Hisae Nakamura, Heesun Shin, and Melissa J Hamilton. Basic Science Research is a broad category focusing on discovery oriented research.
Translation I – Innovation
Michael A. Short and Jianhua Zhao. 
This is an award which encompasses works in clinical application research.
Translation II – Adoption.
Daniel Renouf and K.E.B. Dennis. A category that describes the adoption of knowledge from individuals to populations.
Epidemiology and Population Research
David Palma and S. Grahame for population based research studies.
Despite the heavy snowfall, more than 160 people braved the cold to attend the Community Cancer Forum, a free public educational forum held in conjunction with the conference, and sponsored by the Provincial Health Services Authority.