For this month, we would like to highlight the legacy of the GCI. Our world-leading scientists and our trainees representing the next generation of leaders in the field of cancer research all contribute to the institute鈥檚 legacy of scientific research excellence.听听听
Breast cancer is a major focus of the GCI for over 20 years. GCI researchers have led new discoveries in breast cancer, developed models for breast cancer used worldwide and have led internationally on understanding the importance of the breast tumor and immune microenvironments on breast cancer initiation and progression. With our research, we strive to improve response to therapy and develop new therapeutic strategies for breast cancer patients.
We invite you to learn more about some of our discoveries, awards, and stories related exclusively to Breast Cancer Research
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Prof. Morag Park听听
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Prof. Park was instrumental in establishing that the tumour microenvironment, the networks of normal cells and tissue that infiltrate and surround the tumour, can predict clinical outcomes in breast cancer, and in demonstrating the importance of the spatial organization of immune cells in the breast cancer microenvironment. She also established that the oncogene MET, which she discovered, causes some types of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive group of breast cancers with few effective treatment options. Prof. Park was awarded the Grand Prix Scientifique of the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation and her work on breast cancer contributed to her recognition by organizations including听the Canadian Cancer Society (Robert L. Noble Award), the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance (CCRA Award for Exceptional Leadership in Cancer Research), and the Quebec government (Prix du Quebec Armand Frappier, Chevaliere de l鈥橭rdre du Quebec) among many other honours.听 Publication Highlights: 听
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Prof. William Muller听
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Prof. Muller is renowned as a pioneer in the pre-clinical modeling of breast cancer. He created one of the world鈥檚 first genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) of cancer, helping to establish a field and methodology that has become integral to modern cancer research. His work helped to prove that a gene known as ErbB2, or HER2, causes breast cancer in 15-20% of patients, and his studies were a vital step in the development of revolutionary therapies targeting the HER2 protein that have improved outcomes for many breast cancer patients. Prof. Muller鈥檚 models allow the progression of breast cancer to be followed from the earliest steps through to the development of metastatic disease (cancer spread). He has used this approach to discover a wide range of molecular pathways involved in breast cancer progression, revealing a new spectrum of potential therapeutic targets. The presence of a complete immune system in GEMMs of breast cancer also听makes them invaluable for studies of the tumour microenvironment and immunotherapy. Models developed in the Muller lab are now widely used all over the world and have directly enabled many other researchers to make significant discoveries in breast cancer. Prof. Muller is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Molecular Oncology. Publication Highlights:听
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Prof.听Peter Siegel听
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Prof. Siegel is one of the world鈥檚 leading experts on metastasis, the process by which cancer cells leave their primary site and spread to other organs which accounts for over 90% of all cancer deaths, including in breast cancer patients. He developed unique models of breast cancer metastasis to specific organs and has used them to identify genetic programs and pathways听required for the spread of breast cancer to each of these sites. Prof. Siegel鈥檚 studies have discovered important therapeutic targets including GPNMB, which he initially identified as a mediator of breast cancer metastasis to the bones, and Claudin-2, which promotes breast cancer metastasis to the liver. Novel therapies designed to target each of these metastatic drivers are now under development and drugs targeting GPNMB have entered clinical trials. Prof. Siegel鈥檚 studies of breast cancer metastasis also revealed how metabolism is reprogrammed during metastasis to specific organs,听uncovering new potential targets in tumour cells and in the microenvironment that are critical for metastatic progression. He leads Canada鈥檚 most prominent national research team dedicated to cancer metabolism, funded by the Terry Fox Research Institute. Prof. Siegel鈥檚 contributions to breast cancer research have been recognized by the Grand Prix Scientifique of the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation. 听 Publication highlights:听
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Prof. Luke McCaffrey听
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Prof. McCaffrey discovered how the internal organization of epithelial cells in the breast, referred to as epithelial polarity, affects the development of cancer. He has conducted ground-breaking studies on the molecular mechanisms of epithelial polarity during normal development and in cancer, demonstrating that proteins enforcing this cellular organization can suppress breast cancer formation and that they are lost in the vast majority of breast cancers. His work has also linked the loss of epithelial polarity with metastasis. Prof. McCaffrey is a leader in characterizing the early events of breast cancer development in pre-clinical models and in patients. He collaborates with leading artificial intelligence (AI) experts to develop AI-based image analysis that can predict which patients with early breast cancers are at high risk of progression. Prof. McCaffrey is a Senior Investigator of the FRQS and has been supported by a New Investigator Award from the Terry Fox Research Institute.听 Publication highlights:听
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Prof. Daniela Quail听听
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Prof. Quail is widely recognized for her innovative studies on the tumour microenvironment, including in breast cancer, and on how metabolic risk factors associated with obesity promote breast cancer incidence and progression. Her work focuses on the roles of the innate immune system and how diet, obesity and the immune system interact to determine metastatic progression and responses to therapy, including immunotherapies. She has developed cutting-edge models of breast cancer progression under conditions of normal weight and obesity and used them to discover important roles for innate immune cells known as neutrophils and macrophages in mediating the pro-metastatic effects of obesity on breast cancer. Prof. Quail holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in the Tumour Microenvironment. 听 Publication highlights听
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Grants and Programs in Breast Cancer Research听
Breast cancer is a major focus of the GCI, and many of our investigators have active research programs in this area. Below is a selection of our most recently funded breast cancer projects.听
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Prof. Morag Park is a member of a consortium that has recently won a prestigious TRANSCAN funding award from the European Union. She is a member of the听consortium which aims to find new immunotherapy strategies for hard-to-treat breast cancers. Prof. Park also co-directs the 鈥淎xe de recherche translationelle et banque de tissus et de donn茅es en cancer solid鈥� and established the Breast Cancer Functional Genomics Group and Breast Cancer Research Tissue and living Biobank at MUHC/苹果淫院, with the support of the Fonds de recherche du Qu茅bec - Sant茅 (FRQS) Le R茅seau de recherche sur le cancer (RRC)/ Cancer Research Network and the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation (QBCF). She holds the Diane and Sal Guerrera Chair in Cancer Genetics, and also received a 鈥�100 Years of Cancer Research鈥� grant from the QBCF and the Cancer Research Society (CRS) to overcome chemotherapy resistance in triple-negative breast cance
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Prof. Daniela Quail is a member of a consortium that has recently won a prestigious TRANSCAN funding award from the European Union. She is a member of the , which will leverage GCI technology platforms and other resources to examine links between diet, obesity, immune cell biology and responses to immunotherapy in breast cancer and other tumour types. The project will focus on how macrophages that accumulate fat (lipid-laden macrophages 鈥� LLM) promote cancer progression and impair immunotherapy response.
- Prof. Guojun Chen received a Project Grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to study a new strategy to deliver immunotherapies for breast cancer treatment. His project, entitled 鈥淓ngineering injectable cold atmospheric plasma-preserved hydrogel to treat breast cancer鈥�, will develop an injectable hydrogel system containing cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), a unique type of gas that has strong anti-cancer effects that can improve the efficacy of immunotherapy while reducing side effects. Co-investigators on the project include Morag Park and Peter Siegel.
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Prof. Luke McCaffrey received a CRS Operating Grant for his project 鈥淚dentifying tamoxifen-persistent cells to predict ER+ breast cancer outcomes鈥�, which will apply single-cell analysis and advanced computational methods to patient-derived tumour models known as organoids, as well as patient tissue samples, to characterize breast cancer cells that survive treatment with the most commonly used anti-estrogen drug, tamoxifen.
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,听led by Prof. Peter Siegel, includes GCI investigators William Muller, Arnim Pause, Nahum Sonenberg, Vincent Giguere, Daniela Quail, and Lawrence Kazak, and Associate Member Michael Pollak. Continuously funded by TFRI since 2011 and additionally supported by the QBCF since 2019, it is Canada鈥檚 first and leading research program focused on how metabolic reprogramming during cancer progression, metastasis and drug resistance can create therapeutic opportunities, with a strong focus on breast cancer.
- 听is led by Prof. Nahum Sonenberg and Co-led by Associate Member Michael Pollak. The team conducted a clinical trial testing a new therapeutic strategy for metastatic breast cancer that targets mRNA translation. CIHR and the Canadian Cancer Society have partnered with SU2C to fund this program, which is one of the first to analyze global programs of mRNA translation in tumour tissue samples from cancer patients.
These studies will identify genetic programs and molecular pathways involved in determining whether breast cancer cells are sensitive or resistant to tamoxifen, a crucial step towards predicting whether patients are likely to respond to this important treatment.
Our talented trainees are at the heart of our community and central to all that we do. Learn more about their research:
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Check out our interview with GCI trainee Tung Bui on doing breast cancer research听听
Elizabeth Lord Scholarship empowers breast cancer research听
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