Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

There are two types of colorectal cancer that cause different outcomes in patients with one type being more aggressive than the other. Patients with the less aggressive type of colorectal cancer survive longer because that cancer triggers a stronger immune defence response from the body. Genetic differences between the two cancer types leads to cell damage in different cell structures. A key structure in cells is the mitochondria. These structures generate energy and are more damaged in patients with the less aggressive type of colorectal cancer. Damaged mitochondria act as an alarm telling immune cells - the body's defence system - to kill cancer cells. Our goal is to learn more about mitochondria damage in the less aggressive colorectal cancer and investigate how it affects the body's cancer killing ability. Mouse colorectal cancer cells are grown in a dish and used to model the two types of colorectal cancer. We damaged mitochondria in cells of both cancer types to see how that damage changes mitochondria function, structure, and the cells' defence response. Mitochondria structure and function will be studied using a microscope and related back to the defence response seen in each cancer type. The defence response will be evaluated by measuring signals made by cancer cells to alert immune cells. Immune cells will be grown together with the cancer cells on a dish to see how much cancer cell killing occurs when we cause mitochondria damage versus an absence of mitochondria damage. The amount of killing will also be compared between the two types of cancer. From these experiments, we hope to find new ways to boost the body's defence response against more aggressive types of colorectal cancers and identify new approaches to strengthen treatments against the less aggressive cancers. By finding ways to boost natural immune defences against cancer, we hope to reduce the use of anti-cancer drugs that have many side effects.