Josie Ursini-Siegel, PhD
Meet Josie Ursini-Siegel, PhD, a researcher at JGH’s Lady Davis Institute who investigates how breast cancers and melanomas respond to different stressors. Her team seeks to understand how tumours adapt to factors like poor access to nutrients and oxygen, exposure to carcinogens, and therapeutic treatments like chemotherapy or immunotherapy.
By understanding how cancer cells evolve to cope with these stressors, Ursini-Siegel aims to predict new ways to treat aggressive cancers that are resistant to standard therapies. Support from JGH Foundation donors allows her to bring in top talent and equip her lab with cutting-edge tools.
“Donations are the spark for seed projects to test out-of-the-box ideas,” she said. “They’re the catalyst for new ideas, and that’s what makes the contribution of donors so valuable. I’m truly grateful for that.”
Dr. Donna Senger
Dr. Donna Senger, Principal Investigator at the JGH’s Lady Davis Institute (LDI), is advancing our understanding of brain tumours and metastatic cancer by examining the intricate interactions between immune cells and cancer cells.
Thanks in part to generous donations, Dr. Senger’s lab at the LDI was set up in 2021. With further help from provincial and federal sources and additional support from donors, the lab was able to acquire two advanced microscopes that allow scientists to see immune cells in action, unlocking new possibilities for groundbreaking insights and innovative treatments. One of the microscopes has a one-of-a-kind design that you can’t find anywhere else in the world.
“JGH Foundation donors are essential in accelerating our discoveries,” said Dr. Senger. “Their support enables us to pursue ambitious projects and impactful innovation.”
Dr. Philippe Lefrançois
Did you know that basal cell carcinoma is the most common human cancer?
Dr. Philippe Lefrançois, Principal Investigator at the JGH’s Lady Davis Institute, aims to find new ways to treat this prevalent skin cancer by first characterizing tumours at the molecular level and then determining how to better target them.
The goal is to find new interventions for patients with an advanced form of the disease and also to identify biomarkers to determine which early-stage patients are likely to develop a more aggressive form.
Dr. Lefrançois credits JGH Foundation donors for expediting his team’s work.
“To get to the next level of cancer research, you must go a little outside the box,” he said. “Our work wouldn’t be progressing as quickly, and we wouldn’t be able to take on risky projects, without the support of donors. They make it possible for the JGH to have some of the most innovative cancer research in the country.”
Dr. Laurent Azoulay
Dr. Laurent Azoulay, Senior Investigator at the JGH’s Lady Davis Institute, examines how commonly prescribed medications may affect the percentage of patients who get cancer. In some instances, certain drugs help prevent cancer from developing.
“There are not many researchers across Canada who do what I do,” said Dr. Azoulay. “I’m very grateful to be able to work on cancer pharmacoepidemiology and have the support of donors behind me. It’s a privilege.”
“At the beginning of their careers, researchers are always looking for funds, which can be difficult,” he added. “The JGH Foundation was instrumental in getting me started.”
Dr. Shirin A. Enger
Dr. Shirin A. Enger’s lab at the JGH’s Lady Davis Institute (LDI) develops medical devices and software solutions for personalized treatment and imaging of cancer. One of her projects, in collaboration with Exactis Innovation, aims to create a database so researchers can detect and treat cancer more effectively by drawing on large-scale patient data.
The insights from this project can be used to develop new drugs, radiotherapy protocols, and other novel and personalized treatments for cancer. With the help of the JGH Foundation and some of Dr. Enger’s colleagues at the JGH, the project is well underway.
“Donors enable us to develop novel technology that responds to unmet needs in our hospital, helping us to provide the best treatment to our patients and be at the forefront of medical technology development,” said Dr. Enger. “Thanks to donor support, we are not just technology users, we are also innovators.”
Dr. Sonia del Rincon
Dr. Sonia del Rincon’s work investigates how tumour cells spread throughout the body and to organs. This process, called metastasis, remains the leading cause of all cancer-related deaths. Using a holistic approach, her lab studies tumour-supportive cells, which can help tumour cells resist therapy and metastasize.
Following her post-doctoral training, and after giving birth to twin boys in 2010, she helped run a lab at the Lady Davis Institute (LDI). In 2018, her own lab at the LDI officially opened.
“In large part, my salary comes from the JGH Foundation. I am very grateful to donors because of my sideways career trajectory. Their support allowed me to pursue my dream of running a research lab without neglecting the care of my young kids,” Dr. del Rincon said.
Dr. April Rose
“Our goal is to develop better treatments for cancer,” said Dr. April Rose, clinician-scientist and a Principal Investigator at the Jewish General Hospital’s Lady Davis Institute.
With the support of donors, her team is working hard to understand how cancer becomes resistant to different therapies. This includes precision medicine, which targets specific mutations present in a subset of cancers. It also includes immunotherapy, which works by activating the patient’s immune system so that it can recognize and kill cancer cells.
“Without the support of JGH Foundation donors, I wouldn’t be able to recruit such outstanding staff,” Dr. Rose said. “We wouldn’t be able to work at such a quick pace to turn our results into clinical reality.”
Dr. François Mercier
Dr. François Mercier is a Senior Investigator at the JGH’s Lady Davis Institute (LDI) who researches blood cancer, particularly acute myeloid leukemia, the most common type of acute leukemia in adults.
“Donor support allows my team to try things that are high risk and high reward,” he said. “We can do things that wouldn’t necessarily be externally funded at an early stage.”
With funds from donations, Dr. Mercier has been able to get the preliminary results he needs to win external funding and move forward in his research.
“It’s heartwarming,” he said about donors’ support of his work. “I have a feeling of gratefulness that pushes me to work harder.”
Groundbreaking innovations are made here.
Donors like you can make a real difference.
