PUBLIC LECTURE CELEBRATION OF SCIENCE

Monday, November 6, 2017 5:30 – 7:00 pm Convention Centre, Vancouver BC East Ballroom A and B

WELCOME How has the work of a Canadian cancer researcher helped to advance our knowledge of cancer and improve outcomes for cancer patients? This public lecture celebrates the scientific accomplishments of Dr. Connie J. Eaves, Distinguished Scientist, Terry Fox Laboratory, BC Cancer Agency and Professor, Medical Genetics at The University of . This inspirational evening will help you to better understand Dr. Eaves’ work and how our understanding of cancer has evolved over the past half century. AGENDA 5:30 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS Dr. Shoukat Dedhar

5:40 THE VALUE OF RESEARCH: THE PATIENT PERSPECTIVE Dodie Katzenstein

5:55 CANCER RESEARCH – A LIFETIME OF CHALLENGES, SURPRISES AND OPPORTUNITIES Dr. Connie Eaves

6:35 CLOSING REMARKS Dr. David Huntsman

6:45 QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION

ABOUT THE CO-CHAIRS ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Shoukat Dedhar, PhD Dodie Katzenstein, Patient Advocate Dr. Dedhar is a professor of the Department of Biochemistry and Dodie Katzenstein is a journalist and media Molecular Biology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and a relations specialist. After 10 years as Director Distinguished Scientist of the Department of Integrative Oncology at of Communications for BC Children’s BC Cancer Agency. Dr. Dedhar received his BSc(Hons) in Biochemistry Hospital, she worked as an independent from the University in Aberdeen, and his PhD from UBC in 1984. He carried consultant focusing on health care research. out a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Erkki Ruoslahti at the Burnham Institute in La Jolla, California. Dr. Dedhar is noted for his She was diagnosed in 2001, at age 51, with discovery of Integrin-Linked Kinase (ILK) and his research is currently advanced HER-2 positive breast cancer, focused on the role of ILK signaling in cancer progression, the molecular with metastases to her liver, spine and, basis and targeting of centrosome clustering in cancer cells, and therapeutic subsequently, her brain. Her initial prognosis targeting of tumor hypoxia effectors, Carbonic Anhydrases IX and XII. was 12-18 months. When her condition continued to deteriorate after five months Dr. Dedhar has received several awards, including the Distinguished of traditional chemo, she started treatment Scholar award from the Foundation for Health Research, with Herceptin, a then-new biotech therapy the Terry Fox Cancer Research Scientist award of the National Cancer designed to target the specific source of Institute of , the Robert L Noble Prize (2013), for “Outstanding her disease. achievement in Cancer Research”, and the UBC Distinguished Medical Research Lectureship Award (2016). Dr. Dedhar is a recipient of a 7-year, Grateful for her care at the BC Cancer $4.2M CIHR Foundation Scheme grant and he is an author of 208 peer- Agency’s Vancouver Centre, Dodie has reviewed papers and review articles, and an inventor on 24 patents. volunteered as a patient advocate, writer and editor on several research projects, including a long-term study on improving communication David Huntsman, MD, FRCPC, FCCMG between patients and cancer care providers. Dr. David Huntsman is a Professor of the Departments of Pathology Her experience provides evidence that and Laboratory Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynaecology at UBC, metastatic cancer, once considered invariably the Dr. Chew Wei Memorial Professor of Gynaecologic Oncology and fatal, can now sometimes be managed as is the Canada Research Chair in Molecular and Genomic Pathology. a chronic disease. Dr. Huntsman directs OVCARE, BC’s multidisciplinary ovarian cancer research team and conducts his research at the BC Cancer Agency and To date, she has received 220 monthly the Vancouver General Hospital. infusions of Herceptin and is classified as a “super-responder,” one whose response to a Dr. Huntsman’s research has led to development of predictive and course of treatment is far better than average. prognostic tissue based cancer biomarkers for ovarian cancer and a wide Dodie is interested in research on the question: variety of other tumour types. His team created a blueprint for subtype why do cancer drugs work exceptionally specific ovarian cancer control and have been leaders in the application well for some patients but not for others of novel genomic technologies to better prevent, diagnose and treat ovarian with similar diagnoses? The answer could cancer. Collaboration and entrepreneurship are both critical ingredients revolutionize treatment across all cancer types. of clinically relevant research. To that end Dr. Huntsman leads several Canadian and international collaborative networks and recently founded She also has now survived long enough to a company, Contextual Genomics, to increase the clinical and economic become a 3-time grandmother. impact of his work. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Connie J. Eaves, PhD In 1973, Dr. Eaves was recruited to directly from discarded normal human the BC Cancer Institute (now the tissue. Their results already show that Distinguished Scientist at the Terry BC Cancer Agency) as a National the acquisition of the hallmarks of Fox Laboratory, BC Cancer Agency, Cancer Institute of Canada Scholar cancer do not necessarily follow the Professor of Medical Genetics, and became the BC Cancer Institute’s sequence anticipated from historical University of British Columbia, Fellow second full-time scientist. Her first studies of mice. These findings of the Royal Society of Canada and responsibility was to help develop highlight the importance of obtaining Corresponding Fellow of the Royal a preclinical negative pi-meson a deeper understanding of the order Society of Edinburgh radiobiology research program using and spectrum of perturbations the TRIUMF facility. At the same time that cause the final development of she was appointed Assistant Professor human cancers. in the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia. For over 40 years, Dr. Eaves has been the primary mentor of more In 1981, Dr. Eaves co-founded the than 90 talented graduate students Terry Fox Laboratory in Vancouver and post-doctoral fellows, including with her husband, Dr. Allen Eaves. many with a medical background. A Working together, the couple and their significant number of these individuals team went on to discover that healthy have since become internationally Dr. Connie Eaves is a world class blood stem cells from patients with recognized scientists in their own researcher in normal and cancer stem leukemia could be kept alive in the right in Canada, the USA, Europe cell biology. She is best known for her lab while the leukemic stem cells died and Asia. She has also devoted much discoveries of methods to detect and off. This suggested that patients with energy to the successful development characterize stem cells of the blood leukemia who were healthy enough of collaborative research programs and breast, how these cells change to be considered for treatment with locally, nationally, and internationally during normal development and also a bone marrow transplant but lacked and she continues to serve in the when they become malignant. a suitable donor might be able to use governance and administration of their own bone marrow – purged of cancer research funding worldwide. Dr. Eaves received a BA in Biology cancer cells in the lab. A clinical trial and Chemistry and a MSc in Biology demonstrating the feasibility was then Throughout her scientific career (Genetics) from Queen’s University successfully launched together with Dr. Eaves has been recognized by in 1964 and 1966. She then clinical colleagues across Canada. numerous awards including: the NCIC pursued doctoral training under the Robert L. Noble Prize for Excellence supervision of Dr. Lazlo Lajtha at the Building on this research, Dr. Eaves in Cancer Research (2003), the Terry Paterson Laboratories of the Christie applied lessons learned from studies Fox Medal of the BC Medical Society Hospital and Holt Radium Institute in of blood stem cells to identifying (2005), the Stem Cell Network Till and Manchester UK and obtained a PhD the cells responsible for maintaining McCulloch Lectureship Award (2006), from the University of Manchester in the mammary gland in both mice the Genome BC Award for Scientific 1969. Her doctoral research generated and humans. With her team and Excellence (2007), the International the first evidence that there are two many collaborators, she developed Society for Experimental Hematology cell populations that contribute to a new way to track how these cells Metcalf Award (2008), the American the generation of antibody responses, grow in transplanted mice by first Society of Hematology Stratton Prize subsequently identified as B and T tagging the DNA of each cell to be for Lifetime Achievement (2009), lymphocytes. This important finding transplanted with a unique “barcode.” the International Chronic Myeloid was published in Nature in 1968. Using this technique, they discovered Leukemia Foundation Rowley Prize After an additional year of post- new patterns of growth of both (2013), the Government of Canada, doctoral work in radiobiology in normal and malignant cells using Status of Women Canada, Selected the same institution, she returned to special immune deficient mice to Woman Pioneer (Science, 2013), Canada to undertake further post- follow transplants of human cells. and the Chew-Wei Prize in Cancer doctoral studies at the Ontario Cancer They are now using this approach to Research (2016). Institute in Toronto where she worked track the multi-step process of human with Dr. James Till and Dr. Ernest cancer development that they recreate McCulloch from 1970-73. by genetically altering cells obtained The Public Lecture is presented by: The Canadian Cancer Research Alliance is supported by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer through a financial contribution from Health Canada.

The views expressed at the Public Lecture represent those of the speakers.

THANK YOU Thank you for attending the Public Lecture and for your interest in cancer research in Canada. We hope that you found the presentations both informative and inspiring.

SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS!

PLATINUM LEVEL SILVER LEVEL

Canadian Cancer Society BC Cancer Agency The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Canadian Institutes of Health Breast Cancer Society of Canada Research Prostate Cancer Canada Cancer Care Ontario Canadian Partnership Against Roche Cancer Research Society Cancer Saskatchewan Cancer Agency Fonds de recherche du Québec - Ontario Institute of Cancer Santé Thermo Fisher Scientific Research Genome Canada University of Calgary The Terry Fox Research Institute

BRONZE LEVEL SUPPORTERS

Alberta Cancer Foundation Michael Smith Foundation for C17 Research Network Health Research The Alberta Epigenetics Network Cancer Research Institute National Research Council of Northern Alberta BC Children’s Hospital Foundation Quebec Breast Cancer CancerCare Manitoba Foundation The Centre for Drug Research Genome British Columbia and Development Saskatchewan Health Research Gerald Bronfman Department Foundation Garron Family Cancer Centre of Oncology, McGill University Seattle Genetics Merck Ovarian Cancer Canada SickKids Research Institute Research Manitoba UBC Faculty of Medicine

OTHER

Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology