Rethink Breast Cancer is excited to be currently funding the career development of three bright young researchers who are working better understand and find new ways to diagnose and treat breast cancer.

Dr. Ashakumary Lakshmikuttyamma is a Post Doctoral Fellow at the University of Saskatchewan, working under the mentorship of Dr. Ron Geyer. Her research focuses on the RIZ1 tumor suppressor gene and how it becomes silenced in breast cancer. The inactivation of key cellular genes that are broadly defined as tumor suppressor genes, result from either genetic or epigenetic mechanism. Various studies have demonstrated retinoblastoma interacting zinc-finger protein (RIZ1) act as a tumor suppressor gene in various cancers and have identified different genes and signaling molecules regulated by RIZ1. The objective of Dr. Lakshmikuttyamma's research is to study the epigenetic or genetic aberrations of RIZ1 gene expression and its influence on various molecular pathways involving in breast cancer.

Donald Yapp is working under the mentorship of Marcel Bally and Karen Gelmon at BC Cancer Research Centre at BC Cancer Agency. Donald is examining how HER-2 affects tumour functions and response to Herceptin at the protein and tumour level (e.g. blood flow) to identify novel treatments against HER-2 tumours alone or in combination with Herceptin. Breast cancer tumours producing high levels of the protein HER-2 are difficult to manage because they are resistant to treatment and prone to spreading. Currently, the only treatment for HER-2 positive breast cancer is Herceptin, a drug which blocks HER-2 expression. HER-2 is expressed in 30% of all breast cancer cases; unfortunately, more than 70% of HER-2 positive women do not respond to treatment with Herceptin. New treatments are urgently needed for HER-2 breast cancer and Rethink is excited that Donald's proposed work aims to develop novel treatment approaches and thus improve the clinical management for this aggressive form of breast cancer.

Photo by Peter Lolley

Cristina Tognon is a senior research associate working in the Breast Cancer Group within the Department of Molecular Oncology and is currently being mentored by Paul Sorensen at the BC Cancer Research Centre. She was the recipient of one of Rethink Breast Cancer's very first Career Development Awards. Her research is focused on identifying genes involved in breast cancer metastasis using a novel breast cancer model system she developed in the lab. One of the main goals of her project is to discover useful diagnostic and prognostic markers for breast cancer based on the molecular targets identified during the screening process. Due to the significant progress she has made on her project during the first two years of funding, Rethink Breast Cancer has renewed Cristina's award for an additional year.

Marc Tischkowitz is young MD and an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Medical Genetics and Oncology at McGill University. He is working under his mentor Dr. William Foulkes at Lady Davis Institute at Jewish General Hospital in Montreal. A major goal of the Rethink research program is to increase the number of clinician scientists in Canada. There is practically no funding in Canada for clinicians interested in pursing breast cancer research. Clinicians bring a unique perspective to breast cancer research because they have an intimate awareness of patient issues. We are excited to offer clinicians, like Marc, the opportunity to stay in the research field and make an impact. Marc is examining the Charactersation of the Fanconi Anemia and Bloom Syndrome genes in sporadic and hereditary cancer. His project is using several different approaches to determine the role of the Fanconi Anemia and Bloom Syndrome genes role in breast cancer predisposition and treatment response. Most breast cancer occurs sporadically (by chance) but approximately 5% of cases are due to a strong genetic predisposition. Over the last decade two of the genes that cause a familial susceptibility to breast cancer have been found and these are called BRCA1 and BRCA2. However, there are many families with a strong history of breast cancer where no BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation has been identified implying that there must be other predisposition genes. Marc is looking at the possibility that that an individual with a mutation in one copy of the FA/BS genes is at increased risk of breast cancer and that these genes may influence response to chemotherapy.