On June 15, 2023, the Gynecologic Cancer Initiative was delighted to host their third annual GCI Trainee Research Day, an event that showcases and celebrates the research of gynecologic cancer trainees in British Columbia. Trainees across the province came together at the BC Cancer Research Institute’s Gordon and Leslie Diamond Family Theatre to present their work on gynecologic cancers.
Exciting News for Gynecologic Cancer Research in BC
The event opened with some powerful words from Sarah Roth, the President and CEO of the BC Cancer Foundation. Roth shared her praise for the groundbreaking gynecologic cancer research that takes place at the Gynecologic Cancer Initiative and emphasized the role of philanthropy in fueling innovation.
“It’s been transformative to see the impact of philanthropy… Philanthropy allows scientists and the health system to take risks to improve the standard and quality of patient care,” she said.
Roth also shared an exciting announcement– Nancy McKinstry, her friends and family have created the Nancy McKinstry Endowment Fund for Ovarian Cancer Research at the BC Cancer Foundation. McKinstry is a grateful patient and dedicated member of the GCI Steering Committee, who encourages everyone to invest in ovarian cancer research in survivorship, prevention, diagnostics, and treatment, through BC Cancer’s OVCARE Program. Nancy and her husband Greg have made a personal commitment of $60,000 to seed this project. They are happy to have surpassed their fundraising goal of $250,000 to establish a permanent endowment to support the groundbreaking gynecologic cancer research at BC Cancer.
We were also honored to have Nancy deliver an inspiring speech during the 3rd Annual Trainee Research Day, which you can read and reflect on here. Nancy shared invaluable wisdom and insight on her experiences as a gynecologic cancer patient, advocate, and finance expert. As someone who has dedicated much of her expertise towards developing the financial profile of GCI to attract investors, she was delighted to announce that the GCI has surpassed the five-year goal of raising $100 million towards gynecologic cancer research since 2018. Since then, the GCI has successfully raised $106 million dollars, which has made the team’s work on opportunistic salpingectomies, molecular classification, and more, possible.
Following these exciting opening remarks, trainees shared their oral and poster presentations, spanning various topics such as diagnostics and treatment, screening and prevention, as well as survivorship and quality of life.
Research & Impact
This was followed by an “Engaging in KT as a Trainee: How, What & Why” panel, featuring Kate Wahl, Nicole Prestley, and Dr. Jessica McAlpine. The panel shed light on the various avenues to knowledge translation (KT) a trainee can engage to bridge together their research and world impact. With panelists from the research, clinical, and management side of KT, the session evoked many inspiring conversations.
We were also joined by Dr. Leigh Pearce, Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan, who delivered an eye-opening keynote presentation titled “Optimizing Ovarian Cancer Prevention.” In her talk, Dr. Pearce discussed the power of opportunistic salpingectomy as a primary prevention strategy against ovarian cancer, a practice pioneered by Dr. Dianne Miller, right here in BC. She then went on to share her own team’s research on assessing certain risk and preventative factors and their associations with ovarian cancer with the hopes of informing precision prevention– ensuring that the women get the appropriate preventative procedures they need.
Celebrating Gyne Cancer Research
To wrap up this showcase of gynecologic cancer research, the GCI presented several awards to trainees for their outstanding presentations and publications on gynecologic cancers.
Best Screening and Prevention Presentation was awarded to Malak Ibrahim, a Master’s Student under the supervision of Dr. Aline Talhouk, for her presentation “Spot the Difference: Recognizing risks for cancer in the experiences of normal aging.”
The two awards for Best Diagnostics and Therapeutics Presentation went to Ali Khajegili Mirabadi, a Doctoral Student in Dr. Ali Bashashati’s lab, and Bengul Gokbayrak, a Post-Doctoral Fellow from Dr. Yemin Wang’s lab. Ali presented “GRASP: GRAph-Structured Pyramidal Whole Slide Image Representation” and Bengul’s talk was on “Genomic profiling of dedifferentiated endometrial cancer.”
The award for Best Survivorship and Quality of Life Presentation went to Dr. Kimberly Stewart, a Senior Gynecologic Oncology Fellow working with Dr. Justin McInnis, for her presentation on “Avoiding the needle: Direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOAC) for extended venous thromboembolism prophylaxis (eVTEp) after major gynecologic cancer surgery.”
Two ovarian cancer research awards were also awarded in honor of Barbara Berthon, who was committed to research and fought a long battle against ovarian cancer. The first award, the Barbara Berthon Ovarian Cancer Publication Prize, was awarded to Dr. Jennifer Ji for her publication titled “The proteome of clear cell ovarian carcinoma”. Dr. Ji recently completed her MD/PhD at UBC under the supervision of Dr. David Huntsman, and is currently doing her residency in Pathology.
The second Barbara Berthon award, the Barbara Berthon Ovarian Cancer Presentation Prize, was awarded to Genevieve Allaire-Stacey for her presentation titled, “eSense-Cancer: Patient engagement as a strategy for adapting an online sexual health tool for gynecologic cancer survivors.” Genevieve is currently a Master’s student under the supervision of Dr. Lori Brotto.
Multidisciplinary Teamwork Drives Change
GCI Trainee Research Day truly highlights the multidisciplinary teamwork that underlies gynecologic cancer research and care. It is the synergy and innovative thinking of the many GCI teams and various expertise that accounts for the transformative research that comes out of the GCI. From artificial intelligence to pathology and public health, the GCI strives to represent a new future for gynecologic cancer care– one that is personalized, patient-centred, and all-encompassing.
The GCI team would like to thank the incredible trainees for their dedication and passion as the future generation of gynecologic cancer researchers and clinicians. Last but not least, we would also like to thank all the judges, moderators, guest speakers, and attendees for taking part in this celebration of gyne cancer research. It is this community that makes such transformative work possible at the GCI.
We hope to see you again next year!