Congratulations to ATM Faculty Member Dr. Jonathan Loree, who is a recipient in round one of the inaugural 2024 BC Cancer Clinician Researcher Start Up Competition.
This competition will help facilitate stand-alone research projects for clinician researchers at BC Cancer that will support future grant or investigator-initiated studies to be funded by other organizations. The ATM is pleased to see support made available for clinician researchers, who play an integral role in the translational medicine pipeline. Of the 13 successful applications, 9 were awarded to early career researchers, demonstrating the high-calibre of talented clinician researchers in BC Cancer.
Clinician Researcher: Dr. Jonathan Loree
Project Title: Liver transplantation in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) – a pilot study (Prometheus) and correlative analysis characterizing tumour heterogeneity to inform ctDNA assays in CRC.
Description: Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in North America. If detected early, it can be cured by surgery. However, when detected later the cancer can spread, or metastasize, to other organs – most commonly the liver. Some patients can undergo surgery to cure metastatic colorectal cancer but this is not always possible (unresectable). Liver transplant is a potential alternative treatment for unresectable colorectal cancer in the liver.
This pilot, small-scale study aims to collect the information needed to plan a future, large-scale international trial of liver transplantation in CRC. The goals of the pilot study are to assess patient outcomes, patient safety, patient interest, and the ability to add patients to the trial in a reasonable time-frame.
To learn more about Dr. Loree and his research, visit the ATM Faculty Member page, and read his ATM Member Spotlight Interview. Information about the other successful projects of this competition can be found here.