Using a combination of cutting-edge tools from biology and computer science, a Faculty of Science led research project will explore ways to improve treatment outcomes for the extracranial childhood cancer neuroblastoma.

“In the neuroblastoma tumour, we know there are populations of cancer stem cells, immature cells that drive the aggressiveness and therapy resistance, and our lab focuses on the biology of those cells — especially cell cycle regulation,” says biomedical science’s Dorota Lubanska.

“With this project we will be addressing different aspects of therapy resistance by collaborating with computer science.”

Biomedical science researchers will grow novel 3D organoid models, or tumours, in a dish, with live-cell imaging. The study will focus on understanding cell cycle regulation in cancer stem cells, specifically how proteins like Spy1 influence the behaviour of these cells within the tumour.

“We can manipulate those tumours easily; we can introduce genetic changes to study cell cycle and trace progression of tumour in a dish over time,” says Dr. Lubanska.

“Cell cycle uses dynamic signalling, and intricate mechanisms are lost when you have to take the tumour out and section it. Using the organoid model, we can in real time look at changes over the time of the tumour progression without disrupting any signalling networks.”

She says they will apply diverse types of treatment to this 3D organoid model to see how certain cells in the microtissue respond to current therapies and their combinations.

“This is a complex approach; we’ll deal with a lot of imaging and a huge output of imaging data which requires someone with expertise to create bioinformatics tools to quantify those changes.”

With the copious amounts of data collected, computer science researchers led by professor Alioune Ngom will implement bioinformatics and deep learning methods to rapidly create cell cycle characterization models to aid prediction of tumour behaviour and predict response to treatment.

“The collected 3D data will be analyzed to assess whether regions of the organoid are exhibiting difference in cell cycle activity in the presence or absence of Spy1 and under therapy pressure in developing microtissues,” says Dr. Ngom, project lead researcher.

“This interdisciplinary approach, to access novel bioinformatics tools, will also have a broader impact in fundamental health science by contributing to better understanding of tumour biology and to strengthening of current expertise in our community and will lead to direct outcomes for patients with neuroblastoma.”

Biomedical science alum Antonio Roye-Azar, who also has a computer science degree, will liaise between the two disciplines. The findings are expected to address critical gaps in current tumour models and provide new strategies for more effective neuroblastoma treatment.

The project was awarded a 2024 WE-Spark Igniting Discovery grant funded by ChildCan, an agency designed to support families affected by childhood cancer.

Suzanne Elliott, ChildCan’s executive director, says it funds research because without research, there is no hope.

“Started in 1974, ChildCan provides financial, emotional and social support to those families who have just heard the horrible words, ‘your child has cancer’,” she says. “This project is an excellent fit for our community because so many children are diagnosed with brain tumours, which are a complex diagnosis to treat.”

Lubanska says this seed money is deeply appreciated.

“This community support inspires us and gives us lots of motivation because it shows community trust in advancing fundamental local cancer research.”

What does it take to win the Ron W. Ianni Memorial Scholarship in Music Performance competition?

First, you must earn the top mark in your instrument category in the December juries to qualify. And second, you will need to have technical mastery of the repertoire you’re performing and be comfortable playing in front of an audience.

All the students who performed in this competition Friday played with confidence and authority. At the conclusion, adjudicators Nicholas Papador and Bruce J.G. Kotowich selected violinist Alice Zacharias as the winner.

Zacharias is a third-year Bachelor of Music student with a minor in history. For this competition she played the first movement of Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto Op.14, accompanied by pianist Lorna Cameron-Price. Her violin instructor Lillian Scheirich is also the concert master of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra.

Zacharias started playing the violin when she was four years old and studied under Irene Tandberg while in high school. She also played in ensembles at the Young Artists Pre College Academy and Forest City School for Talent Education in London.

“I was exposed to a lot of chamber music,” says Zacharias. “My experience playing in chamber groups through middle and high school gave me lots. Learning how to perform for an audience and playing through whatever happens live is a skill I started to develop because of chamber music.”

She says she practises late at night or first thing in the morning.

“I start with scales and practise with a metronome,” Zacahrias says. “I like to listen to a performance of a piece I’m learning. It’s a process of trial and error.”

Now, she says she’s learning to express emotion through music.

“Often, I’ll sing along with playing as I’m learning to internalize the music. The piece must become a part of you.”

Zacharias admits it was a bit nerve-racking to be the first performer taking the stage in the Ianni competition.

Besides Zacharias, competitors included:

• Joshua Dunkley, classical voice
• Yu-Jin Kwon, classical piano
• Madeline Abanid, jazz voice
• Dreya Whited, jazz clarinet
• Joseph Maceroni, percussion
• Calvin Sulja, jazz bass

The scholarship is open to full-time students enrolled in a music program and was established by Mina Grossman-Ianni and the School of Music in 2005.

Watch an excerpt of Zacharias’s performance:

The arrival of near-record cold temperatures this week brings with it tips for winter safety from the Office of Campus Safety and Emergency Planning.

“Be sure to bundle up in these freezing conditions,” says director Sherri Lynne Menard. “Extreme cold threatens everyone’s health, from illnesses to such injuries as hypothermia and frostbite.”

She recommends covering as much exposed skin as possible and dressing in layers with a wind and water-resistant outer layer as well as hats, mittens, and scarves. Other ways to combat the cold include drinking warm fluids and limiting time spent outdoors.

“Take extra care to protect yourself from the risks posed by frigid temperatures,” Menard says.

Find additional information on how to beat the cold on the website of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.

What is it like when groundbreaking work is in its early days? How can you build success at scale? The journey is ambiguous, hard, and money is scarce. Failures happen daily, but success means achieving something transformational.

Adrien Coté, executive director of the University of Waterloo’s flagship entrepreneurship centre Velocity, will share how it inspires and drives innovation in a free presentation entitled “Building Success from Scratch,” hosted by Innovation UWindsor on Friday, Jan. 24.

Citing examples of starting from an idea and quickly entering the market, Coté will discuss the centre’s focus on fostering personal development for entrepreneurial success and how universities, along with their students and researchers, can use entrepreneurship to tackle consequential challenges and win outsized opportunities.

The event will run 3 to 4 p.m. in Room 102, Anthony P. Toldo Health Education Centre. Registration is free but required; save your space here.