News

Lyndsey De Guzman, who is pursuing her Master’s degree in the DaCosta Lab, won 2 awards as part of the World Molecular Imaging Congress (WMIC). The first award was the ORT Conference Participation Award. The Office of Research Trainees (ORT) provides a limited number of conference participation awards that enabled graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to participate in national and international conferences and share their research in oral and/or poster presentations. The objective of the ORT Conference Participation Award is “to advance research, enable knowledge translation and contribute to the career development of UHN research trainees and postdocs.” The second…

Dr. Elyse Digby and Lyndsey De Guzman presented their poster at the World Molecular Imaging Congress in Prague, Czech Republic, on September 5-9th. The World Molecular Imaging Congress invites professionals, researchers, and industry leaders from around the world who are dedicated to advancing the field of molecular imaging and offers a unique platform for attendees to exchange ideas, present the latest findings, and engage in fruitful discussions on the most recent advancements and challenges in molecular imaging. Two members of our team, Dr. Elyse Digby and Lyndsey De Guzman, presented their poster, entitled “Using Intravital Fluorescence Imaging to Understand the…

We are pleased to announce that Maryam Naimi, who returned to the DaCosta Lab as a summer student, was awarded a UHN Summer Training and Research (STAR) Outstanding Research Presentation Award! Maryam presented her winning presentation live at the UHN STAR Research and Networking Day on August 10th at the Toronto Rehab Institute. This session provided Maryam and other summer students with the opportunity to listen to presentations of other research projects and network with UHN trainees and staff. Maryam was also presented with an award certificate and a gift card to Chapters Indigo. Congratulations again, Maryam!

Our recent publication, “Quantitative intravital imaging for real-time monitoring of pancreatic tumor cell hypoxia and stroma in an orthotopic mouse model,” which was selected for the cover of the journal Science Advances, was announced on the UHN Research News portal. “A research team led by Dr. Ralph DaCosta, Senior Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, recently developed an innovative optical imaging platform that can monitor pancreatic tumours in real time and at the cellular level over prolonged periods in experimental models of human pancreatic cancers. The technique is shedding new light on the tissues and blood vessels that surround pancreatic tumour…

There is a pressing need to improve the ways in which the outputs from scientific research is evaluated. To date, outputs from scientific research, which include research articles, intellectual property, and trained young scientists, are being evaluated based on Journal Impact Factor. The Journal Impact Factor is calculated by Thomson Reuters and was originally created as a tool to help librarians identify journals to purchase, not as a measure of scientific quality of individuals and institutions. Using such a tool for research assessment is problematic. Citation distributions within journals are highly skewed, the properties of the Journal Impact Factor are…

Dr. DaCosta presents an oral presentation and Shirley and Arcturus present a poster at the Image-Guided Therapeutics Symposium 2023. This scientific conference, held at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, brings together scholars, students, academic, and industry researchers from the clinical and research communities to share the latest advances in the field of biomedical and diagnostic imaging, artificial intelligence, and image-guided therapeutics. Dr. DaCosta presents an oral talk while Shirley and Arcturus present a poster on the “First-in-human Phase II Trial: Intra-Cavity Imaging of 5-Aminolevulinic Acid-induced Fluorescence to Detect Subclinical Breast Cancer Intraoperatively.”  This phase II trial (n=30) is an ongoing study…

We are excited to announce that our paper was chosen for the cover of Science Advances! The DaCosta Lab is pleased to announce that our recent publication, “Quantitative Intravital Imaging for Real-time Monitoring of Pancreatic Tumor Cell Hypoxia and Stroma in an Orthotopic Mouse Model” was chosen to be on the cover of Science Advances. Link to publication: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ade8672 Authors: Dr. Timothy Samuel, Dr. Sara Rapic, Cristiana O’Brien, Michael Edson, Yuan Zong, and Dr. Ralph S. DaCosta Abstract: Pancreatic cancer is a lethal disease with few successful treatment options. Recent evidence demonstrates that tumor hypoxia promotes pancreatic tumor invasion, metastasis, and…

The DaCosta Lab congratulates Dr. Timothy Samuel for successfully defending his PhD on May 2, 2023! His PhD thesis, entitled “In Vivo Effects of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy on the Pancreatic Tumor Microenvironment,” focuses on improving our understanding of how different elements of the pancreatic tumor microenvironment (e.g., tumor cells, blood vessels, oxygenation and collagen structures) respond to high-dose radiotherapy. This work provides both important preclinical research methodologies and scientific findings that can help broaden the capacity for pancreatic cancer research and move the field forward. In addition to studying pancreatic cancer, Tim has led several collaborations (both within and…

Dr. Shirley Wang has been promoted to Clinical Research Coordinator II.  Dr. Wang has worked in the DaCosta lab since 2018, managing several clinical trials, namely the FLIGHT Phase IV trial, the ALA Breast Cancer Phase III trial, and the Wound Area Reduction trial. She has been responsible for ensuring project milestones are met, initiating new clinical trials, directly supervising research teams consisting of staff members and students, and assisting with preparation of research grant applications.  In addition, she has developed a strong working relationship with surgeons, physicians, unit and PK nurses, operating room staff, pathologists, and medical imaging team…

Dr. Elyse Digby successfully defended her PhD thesis on April 4, 2023!  Her PhD research project focused on applying novel small molecule photosensitizers to improve the efficacy of PDT.  She studied the design of photosensitizers that would be selectively activated in cancers overexpressing certain enzyme targets (e.g.., human NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1), a photosensitizer that was able to directly target and damage DNA (Br-DAPI), and a proof-of-concept molecule that was demonstrated to produce ROS without the requirement of light (where the limited penetration depth of visible light used in PDT is a drawback of the therapy). One of the exciting things…