News

Cole Foundation gives $700,000

Towards the fight against pediatric and young adult leukemia & lymphoma

Montreal, May 16, 2014 –The Cole Foundation continues its support of promising young scientists conducting research on leukemia and lymphomas in children and young adults with the announcement of fourteen new fellowship grants and one new investigator grant for a total funding value of $700,000.

Published: 16 May 2014

Since the inception of these grants eight years ago, the Cole Foundation has contributed over $6 million to more than 115 researchers in laboratories and hospitals situated in the Greater Montreal area through collaborations with l’Université de Montréal; McGill University; and INRS - Institut Armand-Frappier Research Centre.

“The Cole Foundation is committed to helping to develop the next generation of researchers, said Barry Cole, President of the foundation. The medical faculties at the Université de Montréal and McGill University, as well as the Institut national de recherché scientifique (INRS) - Institut Armand-Frappier are working diligently to advance the fight against pediatric cancer and we’re pleased to be able to contribute to these efforts by providing grants to deserving young researchers.”

"The continued support of the Cole Foundation to McGill and Quebec’s other leading institutions enables our early-career scientists to be at the forefront of pediatric leukemia research,” said Dr. David Eidelman, Vice-Principal (Health Affairs) and Dean of Medicine at McGill University. “This is a wonderful example of how philanthropic collaboration fosters discovery for the benefit of the communities we serve.”

"It is an immense pleasure for me to be able to once again thank the Cole Foundation on behalf of the ten grant recipients researching pediatric leukemia from the l’Université de Montréal, declared Dr. Hélène Boisjoly, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at l’Université de Montréal. The announcement of the financial contribution from the Cole Foundation has been a highly anticipated day for researchers over the past eight years. It provides them with very good news."

In connection with the new round of grants, the Cole Foundation also organized a day of discussions on the state of research in the field of pediatric cancer, held May 9 at McGill University. The day-long event included a special presentation by Dr. Charles Mullighan of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, who spoke about the acute lymphoblastic leukemia genome, providing insights from pathogenesis to therapy.

About the Cole Foundation

The Cole Foundation offers two-year fellowships to clinical, doctoral and postdoctoral graduate scientists dedicated to research in leukemia and leukemia-related diseases in children and young adults. Through its fellowships, the Cole Foundation has committed more than $6 million to support leukemia researchers in Greater Montreal laboratories and hospitals. The Cole Foundation was created in 1980 by the late businessman John N. (Jack) Cole to support Montreal-based research in pediatric oncology and hematology. He established the Penny Cole Laboratory at the Montreal Children’s Hospital and the Jack Cole Chair in Pediatric Oncology and Hematology at McGill University.

Cole Foundation Research Fellowships (2014–2016)

McGill University

Qianyu Guo, Lady Davis Institute, Experimental Medicine

Project: Elucidate the mechanisms of the increased anti-leukemic potency of darinaparsin compared to arsenic trioxide

Rayelle Itoua Maiga, McGill University, Biochemistry

Project: Engineering Chromosome Translocations to Recapitulate Primary Events of CML

Said Izreig, McGill University, Physiology

Project: Repression of LKB1 by miR-17/20 contributes to Myc-driven metabolism in lymphoma

Peng Wang, Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Centre
Project: Deciphering the Role of PP2A-855 Localization in Translation Control in Leukemia

Université de Montréal

Haithem Barbour, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital,

Project: Deregulations of DNA methyoation in pediatric hematological malignancies

Nadine Sen Nkwe Dibondo, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital

Project: Déregulation de l’ubiquitination de l’histone H2A dans les leucémies des enfantset des jeunesadultes

Nicolas Garnier, CHU Centre de recherche Sainte-Justine

Project: Targeted therapy strategy for childhood ALL

David Kachaner, IRIC, Biology

Project: Inhibition of Polo-like kinase 1 interactions to disrupt mitosis in leukemia cells

Vincent-Philippe Lavallée, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital,

Project: Development of a novel molecular classification for improved risk stratification of AML patients based on next-generation sequencing

Valérie Lemay, Université de Montréal, Kinesiology

Project: Modifications à long terme des paramètrescardiorespiratoires chez des survivants de leucémielymphoblastiqueaiguë: lien avec la pratiqued’activité physique

Alena Motorina, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital

Project: Understanding oncogene cooperation in pediatric acute megakaryoblastic leukemia

Alexandre Rouerre, IRIC, Medicine

Project: Le rôle de l’immunoprotéasomedansl’oncogenèse

Jérôme Roger, IRIC, Pathology and Cellular Biology
Project : Investigating the role of RSK in acute myeloid leukemia growth and chemoresistance

Clarisse Thiollier, IRIC, Medicine

Project: Inactivation de p53 dans les leucémiesaigüesmyéloïdes

Cole Foundation New Investigator Program

Valérie Marcil, Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Center
Project: Cardiometabolic long-term effects in ALL survivors

Websites:

McGill Faculty of Medicine: https://www.mcgill.ca/medicine/

Faculté de médecine de l’Université de Montréal: www.med.umontreal.ca

INRS–Institut Armand-Frappier: www.iaf.inrs.ca

Cole Foundation: www.colefoundation.ca

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Media contacts:

Cynthia Lee

Media Relations Officer

McGill University

514 398-6754

cynthia.lee [at] mcgill.ca