There is a wide range of cancer research being conducted in Nova Scotia. The following studies are related to cell cycle regulation and the development of cancer:

Dr. Brent Johnston is working to understand how white blood cells move from the blood to the tissues in order to protect the body from foreign pathogens and cancerous cells. Natural Killer T (NKT) cells are a type of white blood cell, which play an important role in the control of cancer cells and have been shown to induce potent tumor responses. Dr. Johnston is working to identify the molecules that tell NKT cells where to go and when to turn on their anti-tumor functions. This information could possibly be used to develop therapies that direct NKT cells to kill tumors more efficiently in cancer patients, or prevent the spread of cancer cells to other tissues. 

The primary focus of Dr. Paola Marignani’s laboratory is to understand how and why we get cancer. To do this Dr. Marignani uses cutting edge proteomic and genomic strategies that allow her and her team to study the communication or signaling pathways between groups of proteins that have developed changes or mutations. These mutations are damaging and lead to the development of cancer and sometimes other serious diseases. Once the mutations in the proteins and the errors in signaling pathways between different proteins have been identified, Dr. Marignani will use these findings to correct the mutations that will return the communication between the groups of proteins back to normal. Dr. Marignani’s research program will lead to the development of better treatments for cancer and hopefully cures for cancer.

Read the full article at https://web.archive.org/web/20140819193117/http://www.cancercare.ns.ca/en/home/researchstatistics/researchoverview/basicresearch.aspx