Aus-CanPCRA Symposium Success

Delegates pronounce Aus-CanPCRA Symposium 2012 a resounding success!

The 2012 Australian-Canadian Prostate Cancer Research Alliance Symposium was held on Daydream Island from 13 to 16 April.

With 13 informative presentation and discussion sessions over three days, as well as a poster exhibit and networking opportunities, the Symposium attracted 87 participants, including 21 Canadian attendees.

A friendly, interactive atmosphere prevailed and all delegates agreed that the Symposium was a resounding success in terms of information sharing, discussion, and collaboration.

Top prostate cancer researchers present their latest findings

In attendance were some of the most influential scientists in prostate cancer research from around the world, many of whom shared their current research through informative presentations and interesting poster sessions. Topics discussed included:

• Androgen Targeting
• Androgen Function
• Bioinformatics
• Imaging
• Circulating Biomarkers
• Stress/DNA repair and new targets
• Molecular Pathology resources, markers and drug discovery
• Metabolism and Growth factors
• Tumour Models
• Preclinical and new therapeutics and screening
• Patterns of Practice and health economics

Positive feedback from delegates

Feedback received from delegates both during and after the conference confirmed that much was learned, many valuable discussions took place, and significant plans were laid for prospective collaborations among both first time attendees and seasoned Alliance members.

The following are just a few of the many positive comments from delegates:

“This was my first time attending the Australian-Canadian Prostate Cancer Research Alliance Meeting. I enjoyed meeting other conference attendees – both from Australia and Canada, and various scientific discussions that occurred throughout the meeting period – both inside and outside the conference venue. These scientific discussions led to a few potential collaborations.” Prof Bharati Bapat (University of Toronto)

“I consider this Aus-CanPCRA Symposium to be an unequivocal success for me, and am very happy to have been a part of it!” Dr Paul Boutros (University of Toronto)

“I thoroughly enjoyed the Aus-CanPCRA Symposium and very much appreciated the opportunity to share my work with an international community. My talk: “Insulin, IGFII and ADT induced Metabolic Syndrome: Pathways to Prostate Cancer Progression,” gave rise to many interesting conversation and new research questions for myself and for other researchers in overlapping fields. During the conference, I had many opportunities to foster collaborations with other research centers.” Dr Amy Lubik (Vancouver Prostate Centre)

“I feel that once again the annual Australian-Canadian Prostate Cancer Research Alliance meeting was a resounding success in providing a somewhat unique venue for sharing progress in prostate cancer research as well as for building collaborative ventures.” Prof Paul Rennie (University of British Columbia)

“Thank you for organizing the 2012 Aus-Can Prostate Cancer Research Alliance Symposium.  The meeting was outstanding and the location was superb.  It was a pleasure to meet with some new prospective collaborators as well as strengthening existing collaborative relationships.” Dr Christopher Ong (Vancouver Prostate Centre, University of British Columbia)

Collaborations celebrated and created

At the heart of the conference, and a theme throughout all the discussions and presentations was the value of collaboration opportunities offered to researchers from across the globe by the Alliance.

Existing collaborations which were celebrated included:

1. Prof Jeff Holst (Centenary Institute), Prof Colleen Nelson (APCRC-Q), Dr Melanie Lehman (Vancouver Prostate Centre/APCRC-Q), Dr Grant Buchanan (University of Adelaide), Dr Ladan Fazli (Vancouver Prostate Centre) and Prof Ron Quinn (Griffith University)
   Through his collaboration with Prof Colleen Nelson, Dr Melanie Lehman, Dr Grant Buchanan, Dr Ladan Fazli, and Prof Ron Quinn (all of whom are Alliance members), Dr Holst’s research demonstrated that by inhibiting the L-type amino acid transporters, tumour cell growth can effectively be diminished. At the 2012 Aus-CanPCRA Symposium, Dr Holst expanded on his findings that prostate cancer cells coordinate the expression of amino acid transporters, which led to a successful publication in the prestigious Cancer Research Journal.
2. Dr  Ladan Fazli (Vancouver Prostate Centre) and Ms Parisa Hesami (APCRC-Q)
   Dr Fazli met Ms Hesami at the 2010 Aus-CanPCRA Symposium held at the Gold Coast, Queensland. During a discussion over lunch, the two researchers discovered just how much they had in common and began a fruitful collaboration.
3. Prof Paul Rennie (Vancouver Prostate Centre) and Prof Ron Quinn (Griffith University)
   Prof Rennie and Prof Quinn met two years ago at the 2010 Aus-CanPCRA Symposium at the Gold Coast, Queensland and began a successful collaboration, which involved the search for small molecule natural products that bind to the C-terminal region of the androgen receptor. 

Some examples of prospective collaborations from the 2012 Aus-CanPCRA Symposium include:

1. Dr Lidija Jovanovic (APCRC-Q) and Ms Jenny Bazov (Vancouver Prostate Centre)
   As a result of their discussions at the 2012 Symposium, Ms Bazov and Dr Lidija Jovanovic are working to set up a collaborative effort to develop, validate, and verify methodology and protocols used in both the Queensland and our Vancouver labs.
2. A/Prof Chris Hovens (APCRC-Epworth) and Dr Paul C. Boutros (University of Toronto)
   Dr Boutros had extensive discussions with Dr. Chris Hovens, the Scientific Director of the Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre - Epworth, Victoria. Dr Hovens is sequencing several primary tumours with multiple metastases. They plan to compare the genomic aberrations identified in metastases in Dr. Hovens’ lab with those discovered in CPC-GENE.
3. Prof Paul Rennie (Vancouver Prostate Centre) and Dr Karen Chambers (APCRC-Q)
   Prof Rennie of the Vancouver Prostate Centre once again found the Aus-CanPCRA Symposium very helpful in terms of establishing meaningful collaborations with other researchers. He has plans for a prospective collaboration with Dr Karen Chambers.
4. Dr Kieran Scott (University of New South Wales), Prof Pamela Russell (APCRC-Q), Prof Colleen Nelson (APCRC-Q), and Dr Lidija Jovanovic (APCRC-Q)
   This collaboration will combine the considerable expertise established in the Nelson laboratory in tumour models and transcript expression analysis with the experience and knowledge of phospholipase A2 inhibitors and lipid metabolism of Dr Scott’s lab to discover how these inhibitors modify tumour transcription patterns.

Posters showcase research findings and encourage discussion

Daily poster sessions allowed researchers from both countries to present their work visually and to answer questions and engage in discussions about their individual research projects.  The posters were also featured in the symposium abstract booklet provided to all delegates at the conference for easy reference and further information on the various areas of research.

Acknowledgements

Aus-CanPCRA sincerely thanks all symposium delegates, who represented a wide variety of world-class Research Institutes and Organisations, including:

• Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre – Epworth
• Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre – Queensland
• Bond University’s Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine
• Centenary Institute’s Origins Cancer Group
• Griffith University’s Eskitis Institute for Cell and Molecular Therapies
• Jewish General Hospital’s Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research
• McGill University’s Department of Surgery; Division of Urology
• Monash University’s Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology; Institute of Medical Research
• Movember
• Mt Sinai Hospital
• Prince of Wales Hospital’s Department of Medical Oncology
• Princess Alexandra Hospital’s Department of Urology and Transplant
• Prostate Cancer Canada
• Queensland University of Technology’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation
• Royal Melbourne Hospital’s, Department of Urology
• Toronto Western Research Institute’s University Health Network
• University of Adelaide’s Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Research
• University of Adelaide’s Dame Roma Mitchell Cancer Research Laboratories
• University of British Columbia’s Department of Urologic Sciences
• Vancouver Prostate Centre
• University of Calgary’s Department of Oncology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• University of Melbourne’s Department of Surgery
• University of New South Wales’ St George Hospital Clinical School
• University of Queensland’s Diamantina Institute for Cancer Immunology and Metabolic Medicine; Cancer Genomics and Trascriptomics Group
• University of Toronto’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology; Pharmaceutical Sciences
• University of Toronto’s Department of Medical Biophysics

For further information about future Aus-CanPCRA events and how to join the Alliance...

Please visit the Australian-Canadian Prostate Cancer Research Alliance website for more information on how to join the Alliance as well as updates on future events and research opportunities.

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