Awardees

Supervisors: Dr. Brenda Gallie and Dr. Michael Jewett
Award: KRESCENT Fellowship
Institution: Ontario Cancer Institute
Year: 2009-2012

Dr. Ghada Kurban will pursue her post-doctoral research project under the supervision of Dr. Brenda Gallie and Dr. Michael Jewett at the Ontario Cancer Institute, located at Princess Margaret Hospital and part of the University Health Network. She aims to identify the genomic changes that distinguish small renal masses that will progress into advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) from those that will not. RCC is the most common type of kidney cancer with a mortality rate greater than 33% in Canada, and her work will determine what role these genes play in the progression of kidney cancer. In the short term these results may avoid unnecessary surgery in patients whose small renal masses will not progress. In the long term this research may provide important insight into the onset of RCC, as the identified target may lead to early-stage therapeutic intervention when a cure is still possible.