Recruitment Opportunity:
The Oncology Outcomes (O2) and Precision Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics (POET) programs are recruiting one full-time medical oncology clinical and research fellow, under the supervision of Dr. Winson Cheung and Dr. Steven Yip at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre/Arthur JE Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre. If you are interested in more information on this position, please click here.
Goals for the Program:
POET seeks to bring novel precision oncology technology into real world, day to day, clinical decision making. POET directly links new cancer research with novel treatments and clinical trial opportunities for cancer patients. POET scientists and clinicians are developing non-invasive ways to detect, characterize and monitor cancer in patients. In addition to analyzing cancer genomes, they are testing blood, saliva, urine, and stool samples to learn how cancer and its treatments are affected by the microbiome (i.e., gut environment), immunome (i.e., immune system) and metabolome (i.e., biochemistry and metabolism) creating a novel polyomic approach. Sample collection takes place at predetermined time points in each patient’s journey enabling them to monitor response to treatment acknowledging the evolution of tumour and patient. Adding biomarker guided treatment into routine cancer care identifies ways to better match patients with the best available therapy for that individual’s cancer.
Uniqueness:
This non-invasive, sequential, polyomic approach is an exciting leap into the future of precision oncology. The POET Program unifies a range of established capabilities within the university of Calgary to focus on cancer. By also acquiring population-based demographic, clinical, health and lifestyle information, it is plugged directly into real world population-based evidence generation. Poly-omics allows a more systematic approach to identifying cancer biomarkers, developing novel treatments, including immunotherapeutics and targeted agents, which can then be used as a basis for developing and launching phase I clinical trials. Additionally, we are also building capacity for the application of cutting-edge genome diagnostics for cancer treatment selection. By nurturing collaborations with similar programs across the country, POET is spearheading a national approach to the evolution of precision oncology.
Track Record
In just over three years POET has
- Established partnerships with industry and academia to advance precision oncology
- Partnership with Exactis
- Collaboration with pharma
- Aligment with technology companies
- Created a clinically accredited capability for NGS profiling of solid tumours at U of C
- Acquired a NexSeq and Nova Seq
- Profiled 75 solid tumours at 170 gene level
- Validated a 500 NGS gene panel for solid tumours
- Hosted four International conferences on Precision Oncology
- Established a universal consent form for research on clinical samples
- 5 ongoing projects
- 109 patients consented
- New POET patient database created within U of C
- Initiated a POET PolySeq protocol whereby patients undergo serial testing for
- Circulating cell free DNA
- Cytokines
- Metablomics
- Microbiome analysis
- immune Single cell sequencing
- Employed several researchers
- 0.5 Acadmcei research position
- 3 technologists
- 1 research coordinator
