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Grant valued at $568,000 awarded for the study of brain tumours


August 18, 2014

Dr. Ian Lorimer has been awarded a four year grant valued at $567,572 by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to study an aggressive and incurable form of brain tumour known as glioblastoma. About 1,700 Canadians die from brain tumours each year. Most of these deaths are due to the aggressive and incurable glioblastoma tumour. Dr. Lorimer’s research seeks to develop effective treatments for this disease. Specifically, Dr. Lorimer will determine whether a protein known as PKCiota is a valid target for glioblastoma therapy. This will be tested in clinically relevant models of glioblastoma that were created using cells isolated from patients undergoing surgery for glioblastoma at The Ottawa Hospital. To validate PKCiota as a target for glioblastoma therapy, Dr, Lorimer and his team will genetically modify these patient cells in ways that impair PKCiota function. The cells will then be introduced into the brains of mice and the effects on the aggressiveness of the cancer cells will be determined. This will help to assess the overall feasibility of this therapeutic strategy in the brain tumour patient population.

About the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) is the research arm of The Ottawa Hospital and is an affiliated institute of the University of Ottawa, closely associated with the university’s Faculties of Medicine and Health Sciences. OHRI includes more than 1,700 scientists, clinical investigators, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and staff conducting research to improve the understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human disease.

Media contact
Paddy Moore
Communications and Public Relations
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
613-737-8899 x73687
613-323-5680 (cell)