Giving

One of the primary ways we use donations to achieve the biggest possible impact is by supporting researchers through flexible funding. Flexible funding is awarded to researchers on the brink of an exciting discovery who would have to pause their research pursuits without additional funding for materials or critical staff. CRINA has awarded ten researchers flexible funding thus far, and most have soon after managed to obtain a federal research grant of $800,000+, based on the $40,000 initial investment. This type of funding is not only critical, it is also a phenomenal way to leverage donation dollars.

CRINA is also passionate about supporting students. Through donations, as well as through partnerships with organizations like the Alberta Cancer Foundation, Kids with Cancer Society, and Roses of Hope Foundation, we have set up dozens of studentships over the years that offer support to students at all levels in their studies, from undergraduate students to doctoral students.

Radiation therapy is a common method of treating cancer. Current radiotherapy machines use X-ray or CT-based imaging to identify the tumor prior to treatment. A team, led by CRINA members Gino Fallone and Brad Murray, is working on a better way to distinguish tumors from the soft tissue around them in real time using Magnetic Resonance (MR) – the Linac-MR system. The system has the unique ability to continuously adjust the treatment beam to keep it on target as a tumor moves during the radiation process, such as when a patient breathes, providing more precise treatment of the tumor and saving healthy tissue from destruction. The technology is currently in clinical trials, and the creation of the initial Linac-MR prototype was made possible by the generous contributions of donors. Learn more here.

Based on research into newly discovered cancer biology, CRINA member Luc Berthiaume is developing the drug PCLX-001 that shuts down the abnormal chemical signaling in many common cancers and triggers those cells to die, but manages to spare the healthy cells. The first stages of the research project were made possible by donors to the World’s Longest Baseball Game. Cancers that could potentially be treated by the drug include non-Hodgkin lymphomas, leukemias and other blood cancers. It may also have positive results in breast, lung, bladder and pancreatic cancers. The drug is in pre-clinical (animal) testing. Learn more here.  

After seeing some promising results in mouse models, CRINA member Catherine Field began combining omega 3 mixtures with cancer drugs to see if the omega 3’s had any impact. Field and her team found that one of the omega 3 fatty acids, DHA, increased the effectiveness of doxorubicin, a drug used in breast cancer treatment. Field and her team brought the discovery to the clinical trial stage and are beginning to enroll patients. Learn more here.

CRINA member Roger Zemp discovered a photoacoustic imaging technique that can provide single cell resolution real time images of living tissue. Two low-powered lasers are used in conjunction – one to trigger vibrations in molecules, and one to detect the vibrations. The technique is so sensitive that it is able to show individual red blood cells moving through capillaries in real-time. This technology allows scientists to study tumors growing in real time and could also provide surgeons with noncontact intra-operative assessment of surgical margins. The technology has many potential clinical and research laboratory applications. Clinical evaluation studies are underway.

CRINA member John Lewis (also the Frank & Carla Sojonky Chair in Prostate Cancer Research) and his team have developed a blood test that could make a significant impact in prostate cancer diagnosis. ClarityDx Prostate combines a highly sensitive vesicle detection platform with advanced machine learning algorithms. A validation study in 2,800 males is currently being conducted in Alberta. Learn more here.