Dr. Jennifer Chan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, and the Deputy Director of the Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute, at the University of Calgary. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Dartmouth College and MD from McGill University. She then completed clinical training in Anatomic Pathology and Neuropathology at Harvard University. Following a research fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, she became a staff neuropathologist at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and the Pathology Leader of the Biological Samples Platform at the Broad Institute. Dr. Chan joined the University of Calgary in 2008, where she has clinical duties in Neuropathology at Foothills Hospital and Alberta Children’s Hospital, and has a research lab in the Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute. Her research program focuses on the intersection of growth factor signaling and intrinsic determinants such as transcription factor function in cell fate determination and proliferation in neural development and brain cancers. She also directs the Clark Smith Brain Tumor and Pediatric Tumor Bank, and is involved in several collaborative projects to molecularly characterize pediatric and adult brain tumors.
Chan, Jennifer
Fundamental Research
Associate Professor
Web Presence:
Biography
Area of Focus
- Brain tumorigenesis
- Molecular Mechanisms
Summary of Research
Dr. Chan is a clinician-scientist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at the University of Calgary. As a neuropathologist with a focus in oncology, her clinical expertise is in the diagnostic evaluation of pediatric and adult brain tumours. Dr. Chan has expertise in molecular oncology, and also runs an active research program in brain tumour biology.
Her research program applies concepts from developmental neurobiology to further understand mechanisms of disease in brain tumorigenesis. Dr. Chan’s lab is examining the intersection of growth factor signaling and intrinsic determinants such as transcription factor function in cell fate determination and proliferation in neural development and cancer. Their work uses somatic transgenesis to introduce genes of interest into neural stem and progenitor cells to model disease, and is supplemented by in vitro studies using brain tumour initiating cells (BTICs). Projects include defining the role of CIC in oligodendrogliomas, and proneural genes in oligodendrogliomas and astrocytomas. Another major goal is to use these techniques and reagents to develop more rapid and flexible systems for modeling brain tumors in vivo.
Complementing these efforts, her lab is involved in several large collaborative projects that are using next generation sequencing technology to discover new driver mutations in a variety of pediatric and adult brain tumors including medulloblastoma and glioblastoma. These types of human tissue-based studies require high quality, well characterized samples. To this end, Dr. Chan also directs the Clark Smith Neurologic and Pediatric Tumour and Tissue Bank, whose mission is to enable and elevate scientific research as a resource for human tissues, cells, and biomolecules.
Questions regarding access to samples from the tumour bank may be directed to Dr. Chan at the email above, or to btbank@ucalgary.ca
Area Of Focus
- Brain tumorigenesis
- Molecular Mechanisms
Summary Of Research
Dr. Chan is a clinician-scientist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at the University of Calgary. As a neuropathologist with a focus in oncology, her clinical expertise is in the diagnostic evaluation of pediatric and adult brain tumours. Dr. Chan has expertise in molecular oncology, and also runs an active research program in brain tumour biology.
Her research program applies concepts from developmental neurobiology to further understand mechanisms of disease in brain tumorigenesis. Dr. Chan’s lab is examining the intersection of growth factor signaling and intrinsic determinants such as transcription factor function in cell fate determination and proliferation in neural development and cancer. Their work uses somatic transgenesis to introduce genes of interest into neural stem and progenitor cells to model disease, and is supplemented by in vitro studies using brain tumour initiating cells (BTICs). Projects include defining the role of CIC in oligodendrogliomas, and proneural genes in oligodendrogliomas and astrocytomas. Another major goal is to use these techniques and reagents to develop more rapid and flexible systems for modeling brain tumors in vivo.
Complementing these efforts, her lab is involved in several large collaborative projects that are using next generation sequencing technology to discover new driver mutations in a variety of pediatric and adult brain tumors including medulloblastoma and glioblastoma. These types of human tissue-based studies require high quality, well characterized samples. To this end, Dr. Chan also directs the Clark Smith Neurologic and Pediatric Tumour and Tissue Bank, whose mission is to enable and elevate scientific research as a resource for human tissues, cells, and biomolecules.
Questions regarding access to samples from the tumour bank may be directed to Dr. Chan at the email above, or to btbank@ucalgary.ca