Charles Ishak

We are saddened to learn of the passing of the Hon. Kirsty Duncan. A respected scientist and tireless champion of research in Canada, she leaves a lasting legacy through her leadership and advocacy, including her service as Minister of Science.

Our condolences to her friends and family.

Associate Professor (tenure) or Professor (tenure) Dr. Connie Eaves Chair in Cancer Stem Cell Research Academic Job Category Faculty Bargaining Job Title Associate Professor (tenure) or Professor (tenure) Dr. Connie Eaves Chair in Cancer Stem Cell Research Department School of Biomedical Engineering | ...

UBC and BC Cancer are recruiting a cancer stem cell faculty member at the Associate Professor or Professor rank for the new Connie Eaves Chair in Cancer Stem Cell Research. A great position recognizing a giant in the field. Please share. #Vancouver
ubc.wd10.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/ubcfac...

Congratulations @manusingh.bsky.social !

We are thrilled to have Daniel De Carvalho (@daniel-decarvalho.bsky.social) from Princess Margaret Cancer Centre / University of Toronto as our Keynote speaker at #EREHD25. What a way to close 3 days of wonderful science. Thank you for being with us in Mexico Daniel!

Thank you to @maialab.bsky.social , @rdrapkin8-penn.bsky.social and all organizers for a great OMCF meeting!

#ocmf2025 | Alexandre Gaspar Maia #OCMF2025 was a big success! Really great to catch up with the best science around ovarian cancer and bring the whole lab for old and new collaborations! Mihai Dumbrava Wazim Mohammed Ismail, PhD Sier...

www.linkedin.com/posts/gaspar...

This week, that idea reached patients: Viral-mimicry priming + anti-PD-1 in relapsed/refractory NK/T-cell lymphoma delivered 47.6% complete responses, 66.7% ORR, and ~50% 2-year OS, even after prior PD-1 failure (Huang, Cancer Discovery 2025).

Ten years ago, we discovered that reactivating transposable elements triggers an antiviral state in cancer cells, a process we named viral mimicry, unmasking tumors to the immune system (Roulois, Cell 2015).

Congratulations @daniel-decarvalho.bsky.social !

The 2025 Canada Gairdner Awards Gala celebrated the eight laureates whose discoveries are transforming global human health — bringing together Canada’s science community for an inspiring evening at the ROM.

#GairdnerScienceWeek #GairdnerAwards

Excited to share the Ovarian Cancer Research Syndicate line-up of speakers for the fall. Please share. We have amazing trainees presenting and the latest from leaders in the field.
@powelldrescher.bsky.social @srocf.bsky.social @pennmedcso.bsky.social @penncancer.bsky.social

Figure I. Origins of transposable element (TE)-encoded and TE-derived proteins in cancer.

"Unmasked: transposable elements as drivers and targets in cancer"
by Ting Wang & colleagues

"This review synthesizes a growing body of work that positions TEs as both catalysts and antagonists of the tumor state."

Check it out!
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...

Repeats mimic pathogen-associated patterns across a vast evolutionary landscape An emerging hallmark of disease is transcription of pathogen-associated molecular patterns from within the genome–known as viral mimicry. We propose a statistical physics framework to measure “selecti...

Excited to have this paper out today!

Repeats mimic pathogen-associated patterns across a vast evolutionary landscape."

It was a fun and productive collaboration with Benjamin Greenbaum John LaCava, Simona Cocco, Petr Šulc and many others!

www.cell.com/cell-genomic...

Plate CUT&Tag (Meers Lab version) This protocol describes a method for carrying out CUT&Tag-Direct in 96 well microplates for high-throughput processing of samples by a single operator with only standard lab...

We published a detailed protocol for our Plate-CUT&Tag method on @protocolsio.bsky.social to accompany our recent preprint (www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...) give it a try! Feedback welcome! dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.n2bvjed5wgk5/v1

In his memory, Western has opened an equity-based graduate scholarship. Please consider supporting his final initiative if you are able: www.westernconnect.ca/beier ; thank you for all the time you spent and laughs you shared with him. We love and miss him so much already. - The Beiers

Congratulations Josh!

Van Andel Institute appoints cancer epigenetics expert Dr. H. Josh Jang as assistant professor – Van Andel Institute Read about Van Andel Institute appoints cancer epigenetics expert Dr. H. Josh Jang as assistant professor on Van Andel Institute – Stay updated on the latest research and groundbreaking discoveries in...

Congratulations to VAI's Dr. H. Josh Jang, who has been appointed to assistant professor in our Department of Cell Biology.
www.vai.org/article/van-...

Sharon Dent inducted to the National Academy of Sciences #nas162 @ekoutelou.bsky.social @srdent47.bsky.social @angelating.bsky.social @francescacole.bsky.social

Dear @mdanderson.bsky.social ,

Please join us today in auditorium 4SCR1.1110 at 4pm for our Dept. seminar series. Today we welcome Dr. Marco Gallo from Baylor College of Medicine who will share the latest breakthroughs towards understanding chromatin regulation in brain malignancies.

Chromosomal rearrangements and instability caused by the LINE-1 retrotransposon LINE-1 (L1) retrotransposition is widespread in many cancers, especially those with a high burden of chromosomal rearrangements. However, whether and to what degree L1 activity directly impacts genome...

Check out Dr. Mendez-Dorantes' recent preprint for more details on his exciting research! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 42/

Looking forward to #AACR25! If you want to learn more about transposable elements in cancer, our educational session is at 10 am on Saturday 4/26!
@bengrbm.bsky.social @theaacr.bsky.social

Could blocking ‘jumping genes’ help fight disease and aging? The first clinical trials are testing inhibitors of transposons, DNA sequences that hop around the genome on their own

Such a great article by Mitch Leslie in @science.org about the potential of inhibiting LINE-1 RT – a genomic, virus-like repetitive element – to address a spectrum of diseases, including ROME’s focus: #neurodegenerative and #autoimmune diseases. www.science.org/content/arti...
#darkgenome

Thank you for your support @completegenomics.bsky.social !

Congrats to the 4 winners of our Spatial Xcellerator Grant Program who are using Stereo-seq technology for spatial transcriptomics to uncover deeper insights into complex challenges like cancer, spinal cord injury, Alzheimer’s, and pediatric brain tumors.

www.completegenomics.com/spatial-xcel...

YouTube video by UHN Research Meet Dr. Daniel De Carvalho: viral mimicry response, cancer detection and interception

🌟“Surprise is always the strongest signal that you found something new.”

Research from Gairdner awardee @daniel-decarvalho.bsky.social is unlocking powerful new tools impacting cancer clinical care, from interception, detection to therapy design and monitoring.

youtu.be/VpDpouQi8Wg

Congratulations to my postdoctoral mentor Dr. @daniel-decarvalho.bsky.social on receiving the 2025 Gairdner Momentum Award from the @gairdnerawards.bsky.social ! This is an amazing achievement!

Canadian scientist wins Breakthrough Prize for discovery of hormone used in Ozempic, Mounjaro A Canadian researcher has won a 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for discovering the GLP-1 hormone used in diabetes and obesity medications — including Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro — that have...

Down to earth (as always) interview with @danieljdrucker.bsky.social on the impact of GLP1 agonists in fields of biology that he’d never anticipated but is leading the way on understanding - as awardee of th3 Breakthrough Prize with colleagues. www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/art...

Impact of BRCA mutations, age, surgical indication, and hormone status on the molecular phenotype of the human Fallopian tube - Nature Communications The human Fallopian tube (FT) is implicated as a site of origin for pelvic serous cancers. Here the authors conduct multi-omics analysis on over 100 FTs. The results challenge the assumption that BRCA...

Surprising findings of BRCA mutations on the Fallopian tubes. Result of a tremendous team effort with @shenhui1986.bsky.social @vainstitute.bsky.social, Chuck Drescher @fredhutch.bsky.social, and Jarrod Marto @danafarber.bsky.social.
@pennmedcso.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Bing Ren Appointed Scientific Director and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Genome Center - March 27, 2025 Read about Bing Ren Appointed Scientific Director and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Genome Center at the New York Genome Center on March 27, 2025

exciting news for our scientific community! www.nygenome.org/news-events/...

So happy to join the dream dean team at the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences!