Specific research aims are as follows: 
1) Determine the genetic events that lead to treatment resistance, relapse and metastasis in common human cancers with a focus on lymphoma and pediatric cancers
2) Develop sensitive assays for detecting the presence of tumour cells and key driver mutations in the bloodstream of patients
3) Identify commonalities and differences between common canine cancers and their human counterparts
4) Develop improved methods for detecting mutations in massively parallel sequencing data and integrating distinct mutation types to aid in identifying driver mutations

Laboratory trainees will have the opportunity to learn how to produce and analyze next generation sequencing (NGS) data using an Illumina MiSeq. I am open to trainees who desire a strictly wet-lab focus and those with purely bioinformatics projects and any blend of the two. Owing to my affiliation with the BC Cancer Agency's Genome Sciences Centre, students will have access to clinical collaborators and additional high throughput NGS instruments such as the HiSeq and IonTorrent Personal Genome Machine.

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Lab website: http://www.bcgsc.ca/faculty/dr.-ryan-morin

Email: rdmorin@sfu.ca

Dr Schrader's research involves assessing the scope and impact of germline findings identified in the course of research and clinical next generation sequencing in the oncology setting. Dr Schrader's research also involves the molecular diagnosis and characterization of hereditary cancer syndromes in the research and clinical setting with a view to improved diagnosis, surveillance and treatment of associated cancers.

Research Areas

* Familial Pancreatic Cancer

* Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer

* Familial Leukemia - defining the genetic basis

* Hereditary susceptibility to cancer - defining the genetic basis

* Multiple primary cancers - defining the genetic basis

* Germline variants in tumor sequencing

* Incidental and secondary germline variants

* Improving diagnosis and management of hereditary cancers

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Lab website: http://molonc.bccrc.ca/schrader-lab/

Email: ischrader@bccancer.bc.ca

The Stirling lab is a vibrant research group embedded within the Terry Fox Laboratory at the BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver, Canada. The lab is using functional genomics, molecular biology, biochemistry, and advanced imaging in both the yeast model and cultured human cells to study fundamental mechanisms of genome maintenance and stability. Failure to maintain genome integrity leads to mutations that can promote tumour formation. Normal genome maintenance mechanisms can be overwhelmed by carcinogen exposure, or the presence of germline or somatic variants that induce genomic instability. Our work is aimed at determining the causes of genomic instability as an enabling characteristic of tumour formation, and exploring the potential of these early events to suggest novel therapeutic targets.

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Lab website: https://www.bccrc.ca/dept/tfl/labs/stirling-lab

Email:  pstirling@bccrc.ca 

My laboratory is especially interested in understanding the mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance, metastasis and tumour progression in gastrointestinal cancers using genomics and proteomics approaches. Four main projects are currently underway in the laboratory:

1. Mechanisms of Chemotherapy Resistance in Gastrointestinal Cancers

2. Understanding the contribution of chemotherapy resistant cancer cells and the tumour microenvironment in gastrointestinal tumor metastasis

3. Identification of Novel Genes Involved in the Colorectal Cancer Progression

4. CIHR Team in Genomic, Imaging and Modeling Approaches to Advance Population-Based Colorectal Cancer Screening

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Lab website: http://www.bcgsc.ca/faculty/itai

Email: itai@bcgsc.ca