Grants support imaging research for cancer

London, ON – A new grant program has given 11 scientists in London support in developing sophisticated imaging technology to detect cancer on a microscopic level. A $385,000 grant by Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) is being distributed through the Cancer Imaging Network of Ontario (CINO).

“The new grants will help us develop imaging technology that can detect microscopic cancers in patients in an accurate and reliable manner,” says James Koropatnick, Lawson Health Research Institute (LHRI) scientist and director of the London Regional Cancer Program. “Our goal is to create tests that find cancers early enough so that treatments prevent the disease.”

Dr Koropatnick and fellow LHRI scientists Drs Frank Prato, Savita Dhanvantari, Rob Stodilka and Donna Goldhawk were awarded $139,766 over two years to study non-invasive molecular imaging of cancer growth and metastasis.

LHRI scientists Drs Len Luyt and Eva Turley were awarded $139,600 over two years to generate radiolabelled peptide mimics of hyaluronan as molecular imaging probestargeting highly tumorgenic cancer cells.

Robarts scientist Dr Terry Peters, working with LHRI scientists Drs Stephen Pautler, Geoffrey Wignall and Christopher Schlachta, was awarded $108,436 over two years to study new integrated imaging approaches for use in the surgical treatment of cancer.

“London is known as a world leader in imaging and surgical robotics, and with these new funds a number of new projects will germinate so the CINO dollars will be leveraged to secure even larger grants in the coming years,” says Jerry Battista, co-ordinator of the Imaging Network for Cancer Care Ontario. “I am delighted that we have been able to fund outstanding researchers across Ontario including those here in London.”