Our Research.

Though cancer research has made great strides to improve patient outcome and survival, metastatic cancer remains largely untreatable and fatal. Being able to predict metastasis easily and accurately in an in vivo research model is a crucial step in finding better treatment options for these patients. Our innovative zebrafish platform uses assays that maintain the elements of the microenvironment of a cancer patient to allow for metastatic prediction of patient cells. Zebrafish are an excellent research model for studying cell metastasis because of small embryo size and transparent bodies. Zebrafish have also been emerging as a potential system to screen compounds and treatment options prior to administering them directly to the patient. Using the previously developed zebrafish patient derived xenograft system, cells can be transplanted into embryos and after engraftment has occurred, the embryos can be assayed into a high throughput array plate for drug treatments and tumour biology assessment. Fish can be monitored post xenograft over time and before/ after treatment and analysed for tumour burden, drug toxicity and efficacy. Multiple patient samples and panels of drugs can by assayed at once providing a cost and time efficient study approach.

Despite significant advancements in our understanding of brain cancer biology successful treatment for aggressive forms of the disease remain dismal and overall survival rates are among the worst. The slow pace at which a potential chemotherapeutic reaches the clinic and the inability to effectively target the patient population are two contributing factors. We have developed brain tumour organoid technology which spans the gap between preliminary lab assessment and clinical testing of chemotherapy. The concept behind brain tumour organoid system is to grow brain tumours in a dish from an individual brain cancer patient. The tumours are generated from a biopsy or resection derived cancer cells in a multi-well plate format to enable the testing of different chemotherapy drugs and their combinations in less than thirty days. The biopsy/resection material is sufficient to generate hundreds of tumour organoids from each patient at one time. Based on our international and local collaboration we have developed a biobank of glioblastoma patient specimens and patient-derived cultures with full genomic and clinical outcome information to assist with comparative analysis of the data generated from the organoid platform. Using the model developed in our lab we are not only able to point at precise therapeutic combinations predicting potentially best anticancer effectiveness but also to ask questions about the brain tumour biology within a 3D format which incorporates important factors of the tumour microenvironment.

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