It鈥檚 out with the old and in with the new treatment options available, according to Dr. Shashi Gujar.
, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine鈥檚 , will receive $600,000 over five years from the Canadian Cancer Society鈥檚 (CCS) Emerging Scholar Award program to explore how cancer killing viruses could potentially be used to treat and cure lung cancer 鈥� valuable research considering how an estimated 9.6 million people die from cancer every year.
The Emerging Scholar Award program is aimed at establishing and advancing promising early-career scientists and clinician scientists from across Canada with a focused commitment to undertaking cancer research. Through the CCS Emerging Scholar Award program, early-career investigators will develop their cancer research programs in Canada and pursue important scientific advances of the highest quality and potential for impact.
Dr. Gujar鈥檚 work is situated in the exciting and novel field of cancer immunotherapies; a form of precision medicine that teaches the immune system to fight cancer. These therapies have shown tremendous potential but have only proven effective in a limited number of patients. With the CCS support, Dr. Gujar and his team will be looking to alter one of cancer鈥檚 most powerful mechanisms to combat our immune system鈥檚 natural response: the tumour microenvironment (TME).听
Packing a punch
In the TME, the cancer creates a toxic metabolic environment that makes it incredibly difficult for white blood cells responsible for our immune responses, known as T cells, to operate efficiently. As soon a T cell enters the TME, it is pummeled by this environment and starved of the fuel it needs to put up a fight.
鈥淭hink of a boxer,鈥� says Dr. Gujar. 鈥淭hey can be very talented, but if they don鈥檛 have the proper conditioning and diet, they won鈥檛 have a fighting chance.鈥�
Not only will the metabolic TME be altered, but to further level the playing field the cancer killing viruses will be used to teach our T cells to respond favourably in this environment, just like an elite endurance athlete training at high altitude to force the body to adapt to a lack of oxygen.
Although this project specifically focuses on lung cancer, the techniques and knowledge gained will have broad implications in the fight to reduce cancer-related deaths in Canada.
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鈥淪upporting the next generation of cancer researchers is crucial to ensuring that we continue to drive progress against cancer in the decades to come,鈥� says Dr. Judy Bray, vice-president, research at the Canadian Cancer Society. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why, thanks to our supporters, we are investing in promising young researchers like Dr. Shashi Gujar whose work could improve the effectiveness of virus-based immunotherapies for lung cancer, helping people with this cancer live longer.鈥�
Building capacity
What makes the Emerging Scholar Award particularly attractive, is the $20,000 per year allocated to professional development 鈥� a significant investment that will strengthen the future of the Canadian cancer research.
鈥淭his really is an amazing opportunity for our team,鈥� says Dr. Gujar. 鈥淭his is substantial support and having this dedicated funding will allow us to connect globally and learn new techniques that we can bring back to Halifax.鈥�
With this substantial support and extended timeline of five years, Dr. Gujar and his team are building a research program that aims to establish world-wide connections that will lead to international research opportunities. 听
鈥淎 cancer diagnosis used to be a death sentence,鈥� says Dr. Gujar. 鈥淧rogress has been made, but we want to get to the stage where it鈥檚 not something to fear. We鈥檙e at the cutting edge of developing new ways to treat, prevent, and diagnose cancer.鈥�