Health

A new prostate cancer test aims to deliver more precise testing for a leading cause of death among men while minimizing the risks of overdiagnosis. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer, and one of the leading causes of cancer-related death, among Canadian men. Despite its prevalence, current screening methods—most notably the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) […]

There are >500,000 bloodstream infections (BSIs) resulting in >90,000 deaths per year in North America. Every hour that elapses between the onset of BSI symptoms and the administration of appropriate antibiotics increases the risk of dying by 7%. Current diagnostic tools take 24–48+ hours to identify which antibiotics will be effective. During this time, clinicians

Kidney transplantation is the best treatment for patients with kidney failure. However, over 25% of kidney transplants in Canada fail within 10 years due to both rejection and other causes of injury. Currently, doctors rely on an old blood test called creatinine to monitor the health of the kidney organ, but it is known that

This project will develop, validate, and roll out an updated and expanded pharmacogenetic test panel that will predict the risk of 7 severe chemotherapy-induced adverse drug reactions (ADRs – also known as ‘side effects’) in pediatric oncology. This test panel is a practical solution for adopting and implementing a precision health strategy into pediatric oncology.

Pharmacogenetics (PGx) testing helps doctors tailor medications and doses based on a patient’s genetic profile, improving treatment outcomes and reducing side effects. Despite its proven clinical and economic benefits, PGx testing has not been widely adopted. This is partly due to challenges in standardizing how genetic test results are reported and integrating these results into

Infections due to multidrug-resistant infectious diseases are a growing, silent pandemic, causing millions of deaths worldwide. An estimated 14,000 Canadians died due to drug-resistant bacterial infections in 2018. Hospital-associated (also known as nosocomial) drug-resistant infections burden healthcare systems due to severe medical complications and death. Management of these infections is estimated to cost hundreds of

Fusion genes, created when two genes combine, play a major role in fueling cancer growth and are important targets for diagnosis and treatment. Detecting these genes is critical, especially for cancers like sarcomas and pediatric tumors, and has led to life-saving drugs like ALK inhibitors for certain lung cancers and NTRK inhibitors for tumors with

This project aims to address the urgent need for the early detection of lung cancer (LC). Nearly 50% of Canadian LC cases are diagnosed at Stage IV, leading to very low survival rates. This project focuses on two key objectives: 1) developing and validating a blood plasma-based, laboratory-developed test (LDT) for early-stage LC detection and

Heart muscle disorders are a common cause of heart failure: a life-threatening condition that can cause dangerous abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmia) and a buildup of fluid in the body (edema). In British Columbia (BC) and Alberta, patients with heart failure are cared for in specialized Heart Function Clinics (HFC). Providers in these clinics rapidly diagnose