Results of the October 2016 Innovation Grants competition

We are pleased to announce the results of the most recent Innovation Grants competition to support unique and creative research ideas that will impact cancer. Below is a listing of newly awarded Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) Innovation Grants.

Out of a total of 248 grant applications, 29 Canadian Cancer Society Innovation Grants have been approved – a 12% success rate. We had anticipated funding 22 grants, however funding has been approved for this higher number (29). Funds committed to this competition have been made possible by the significant efforts of CCS donors and volunteers across the country and by funding partners. CCS and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research have partnered to support 9 Innovation grants focused on high fatality cancer research. In addition, CCS and Brain Canada have partnered to support 4 Innovation grants focused on brain cancer research in this competition. This partnership leverages donations made to CCS with matching funds from Brain Canada through the Canada Brain Research Fund, a public-private partnership established by the Government of Canada, enabling more brain cancer research to be funded. These projects total almost $5.7 million in funding over the full term of these grants.

Summaries of awarded grants

Please note:

Amounts listed below represent the total dollars awarded by grant year and may include funds for salaries, supplies, and/or equipment.
The start date for these grants is February 1, 2017.
Only the Principal Investigator is named in this listing. Co-Principal Investigators, Co-Applicants and/or Additional Authors may also be associated with these grants.

Note Carefully:

Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the listing below, this list does not constitute an "official" notification.

Successful applicants will be informed, in writing, with an official Notification of Award giving the details pertaining to their grant.

Applicant Institution Title	Award
Aldape, Kenneth Princess Margaret Cancer Centre - UHN Molecular characterization of transcriptional repressor capicua (CIC) in glioblastoma *co-funded by Brain Canada with the financial support of Health Canada	2017/2018 : $98,000 2018/2019 : $98,000
Beauregard, Jean-Mathieu Laval University Upregulating expression of somatostatin receptors to enhance peptide receptor radionuclide therapy for neuroendocrine tumours	2017/2018 : $45,570 2018/2019 : $75,215 2019/2020 : $75,215
Boudreau, Jeanette Dalhousie University Development of natural killer cell–based precision immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer *co-funded with CIHR-ICR	2017/2018 : $98,000 2018/2019 : $98,000
Chan, Warren University of Toronto Increasing nanoparticle tumour delivery efficiency	2017/2018 : $97,572 2018/2019 : $97,776
Cunningham, Charles Sunnybrook Research Institute The feasibility of hyperpolarized 13C-Pyruvate MRI for monitoring patients with intracranial metastasis *co-funded by Brain Canada with the financial support of Health Canada	2017/2018 : $94,938 2018/2019 : $89,057 2019/2020 : $3,920
Delisle, Jean-Sebastien Hôpital Maisonneuve- Rosemont Resident memory T cells as a new tool for adoptive T-cell therapy	2017/2018 : $72,520 2018/2019 : $74,480 2019/2020 : $49,000
Di Noia, Javier Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal A novel enzyme capable of metabolizing anticancer deoxycytidine analogs	2017/2018 : $66,856 2018/2019 : $66,924 2019/2020 : $62,220
Done, Susan Ontario Cancer Institute/Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Heterogeneity and immune response in breast cancer *co-funded with CIHR-ICR	2017/2018 : $98,000 2018/2019 : $98,000
Geyer, Clarence University of Saskatchewan Using synthetic antibody parts to construct antibody-based imaging devices: anti-EGFR molecular targeted imaging probes for diagnosing and monitoring glioblastoma *co-funded by Brain Canada with the financial support of Health Canada	2017/2018 : $97,968 2018/2019 : $98,000
Giguere, Vincent McGill University A nuclear mTOR/DNA-PK complex: interaction with chromatin and its impact on prostate cancer	2017/2018 : $98,000 2018/2019 : $98,000
Gray, Douglas Ottawa Hospital Research Institute A novel therapeutic target for metastatic lung cancer *co-funded with CIHR-ICR	2017/2018 : $70,070 2018/2019 : $70,070 2019/2020 : $55,860
Hakem, Razqallah Princess Margaret Cancer Centre - UHN Breast cancer associated with BRCA1 mutations: synthetic lethality and therapeutic implications	2017/2018 : $97,608 2018/2019 : $97,608
Hoang, Trang Université de Montréal Dual molecular functions of LMO2 as a master oncogene in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia	2017/2018 : $98,000 2018/2019 : $98,000
Howell, Doris Princess Margaret Cancer Centre - UHN Adaptation, feasibility and acceptability study of the advanced symptom monitoring and management system (ASyMS) mobile health intervention to reduce chemotherapy toxicities in Canadian cancer patients *co-funded with CIHR-ICR	2017/2018 : $98,000 2018/2019 : $98,000
Jiang, Xiaoyan BC Cancer Agency (Vancouver) Targeting PAK6, a new target gene of miR-185 in drug-insensitive leukemic stem cells	2017/2018 : $98,000 2018/2019 : $98,000
Kim, Philip University of Toronto Developing inhibitors against c-Myc	2017/2018 : $96,723 2018/2019 : $96,723
Kleinman, Claudia Jewish General Hospital Novel biophotonic tools for understanding breast cancer metastasis signalling	2017/2018 : $98,000 2018/2019 : $98,000
Minchinton, Andrew BC Cancer Agency (Vancouver) Delivery and efficacy of targeted monoclonal antibody therapies in cancer: opportunities for therapeutic gains	2017/2018 : $97,978 2018/2019 : $97,989
Pollak, Michael Lady Davis Institute Direct inhibition of mRNA translation for treatment of pancreatic cancer *co-funded with CIHR-ICR	2017/2018 : $96,040 2018/2019 : $96,040
Ravi, Ananth Sunnybrook Research Institute MOLLI: magnetic occult lesion localization and imaging	2017/2018 : $98,000 2018/2019 : $49,000 2019/2020 : $49,000
Reimand, Jüri Ontario Institute for Cancer Research Integrative discovery of ion channels as drug targets in glioblastoma *co-funded by Brain Canada with the financial support of Health Canada	2017/2018 : $98,000 2018/2019 : $98,000
Ross, Colin University of British Columbia Preclinical therapeutic development of targeted cardioprotectants for use in cancer patients receiving anthracycline chemotherapy	2017/2018 : $96,883 2018/2019 : $91,473
Schmitzer, Andreea Université de Montréal New biguanides for mitochondrial accumulation and inhibition of cancer progression *co-funded with CIHR-ICR	2017/2018 : $98,000 2018/2019 : $98,000
Sidhu, Sachdev University of Toronto Co-targeting sensitizing integrin receptors and oncogenic growth factor receptors in lung cancer with bispecific antibodies *co-funded with CIHR-ICR	2017/2018 : $98,000 2018/2019 : $98,000
Smith, Matthew Université de Montréal Real-time surveillance of multiplexed, reversible cancer signalling markers in perturbed RAS networks *co-funded with CIHR-ICR	2017/2018 : $64,190 2018/2019 : $60,711 2019/2020 : $69,139
Steidl, Christian BC Cancer Agency (Vancouver) Deciphering the cellular crosstalk in the tumour microenvironment of classical Hodgkin lymphoma	2017/2018 : $98,000 2018/2019 : $98,000
Tai, Isabella University of British Columbia Targeting tumour initiating cells in hepatocellular carcinoma to identify novel approaches in patient management *co-funded with CIHR-ICR	2017/2018 : $98,000 2018/2019 : $98,000
Tinmouth, Jill Sunnybrook Research Institute Can online physician ratings be used to provide meaningful and actionable patient feedback? A mixed methods feasibility study	2017/2018 : $97,020 2018/2019 : $91,875
Wan, Yonghong McMaster University Enhancement of adoptive cell therapy by oncolytic vaccines	2017/2018 : $62,263 2018/2019 : $62,262 2019/2020 : $62,262

Last modified on: December 2, 2019