Small fish in the big pond of research
Tucked away in the fourth floor of the Dr. Georges L. Dumont Regional Hospital in Moncton, the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute is a small player working its way into the big game of international cancer research.
Ten years into its mandate, the lab is fighting a battle on two fronts - cancer research itself and securing the funding to stay in operation over the long term.
Researchers at the institute are searching for the elusive needle in the biological haystack at the sub-microscopic level, using computerized diagnostic tools to compare healthy cells with cancerous cells.
It is tedious work that seems terribly isolated from the thousands of patients who so desperately hope for a cure, or at least some better types of treatment.
Somewhere, among the green and red dots on the computer screen, there might be a clue that leads to the Holy Grail of cancer research - a clear understanding of how cancerous cells develop and spread through the human body.
"Cancer is hundreds of diseases, not just one," says Dr. Rodney Ouellette, president and CEO of the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute. "In research, you have to go where your strengths are, so we are concentrating on breast cancer and non-Hodgkins Lymphoma."
Founded in 1998, the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute is the largest centre in Atlantic Canada dedicated to cancer research. The private, non-profit facility combines research expertise in genomics and biomedical sciences with state-of-the-art technology. The institute's research team focuses on breast cancer, leukemia and lymphoma.
The need for cancer research that leads to better diagnosis and treatment is evident in the fact that Atlantic Canada's population continues to age and become susceptible to the ravages of the disease.
The institute's inception came around the same time as the human genome mapping was made available to researchers.
"This library allows us to look at all genes for the first time and we tried to get in on the wave of this new technology," Ouellette says.
In its simplist terms, most cancers are the result of genetic mutations at the cellular level. Most cells in the human body have very precise programs and do certain things during their lifetime. The programs tell the cell how they should grow, change and divide. And when they are done, there is a "suicide" program that tells the cell to self-destruct. Cancer causes cells to mutate and change that programming, telling the cell to push the self-destruct button before its time. The cells can spread through the body, destroying tissues and weakening the immune system. Many cancer treatments so far involve destroying both good and bad cells, thus weakening the body.
The big problem for researchers has been the challenge of telling the good cells from the bad, and more importantly finding the original bad cells that set the chain reaction of destruction in motion. In the Moncton lab, they are using colour-coded genome maps in the effort to track down the microscopic troublemakers. This is done by comparison. Researchers take a healthy cell and tint it green, and a cancerous cell and tint it red. They can then use computer imaging to lay the green on top of the red. This creates lines of red and green dots researchers can then analyze in their hunt for that needle in the haystack. If and when they find it, perhaps it will lead to a way to isolate the troublemakers and find a way to get rid of them.
The high-tech equipment used in this process is part of the infrastructure paid for through fundraising efforts. More than $18 million has been raised for the cancer research institute, which has helped pay for much-needed equipment and technology to get started.
The institute has an annual operating budget of about $3.5 million and is constantly on the hunt for more funding to continue its work. But getting a piece of the millions of dollars raised in Canada each year for cancer research is tough for the small fish in the big pond of research. Each year, people donate money to many activities run by volunteers to raise money for cancer research. Most of that money ends up in the hands of the National Cancer Institute of Canada, which divides it up among research centres across the country. Last year, the NCIC provided $64 million to cancer research and related programs across the country.
The institute receives funds from the Canadian Cancer Society and the Terry Fox Foundation. One of its mandates is to invest in laboratory investigations to help understand cancer at the genetic and molecular level. The institute says it has a very rigourous review process to ensure that only the most promising research are chosen.
As such, every institute or lab has to go through red tape and long application processes to receive grants.
"Until we were created, there wasn't a mechanism to bring funding back to Atlantic Canada," Ouellette says. "We're investing in the community and the research done here is close to the treatment."
But the competitive nature of the application processes doesn't favour the new kid on the block. He says it often takes months or even years to go through the processes, which are so competitive that the difference between a yes or no on funding could be decided by a misplaced comma on an application form.
Even so, Moncton gets only a tiny percentage of cancer research money available in this country.
"The future of research teams will be far more disciplinary with a mix of scientists and technical people. To compete with the other big players, you need good structure, otherwise you're just a candle in the wind."
So far, the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute has been able to attract talented professionals to its ranks, including scientists from Atlantic Canada who trained elsewhere and decided to come home.
Today, the lab employs about 21 people including administrative staff, research scientists, research associates and research assistants.
Ouellette says the first 10 years has been a building process he compares to sharpening the tip of the sword.
"Striving for excellence is the tip of the sword. By bringing in the best people and doing the best research we're building capacity. If the tip is moving forward, the rest will follow and once you have capacity it will start moving."
He says building capacity and reputation will help the institute attract more funding, more allies and more talented staff. But there's still much work to do. Ouellete says he wants the institute to work closer with clinics, doctors and patients to help develop better diagnosis and treatment. There are many obstacles to be overcome, but he is confident it will happen eventually.
"Research needs to become a cog in the wheel of the health care system."
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