The CDCR builds expertise around treatment-resistant cancers of high need, significantly impacting those suffering from the disease in Canada and worldwide.
The Centre for Discovery in Cancer Research (CDCR) at McMaster University features basic and translational cancer researchers from across Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, working together to provide a holistic research program.
03/09/2026
Dr. Gregory Steinberg and colleagues, including CDCR Principal Investigator Dr. Jonathan Bramson and members of the Bramson Lab, published back in July with a paper titled “ACLY inhibition promotes tumour immunity and suppresses liver cancer” in Nature.
🔗 Link in bio to learn more about their methods and results.
👏🏻 Congratulations to Dr. Bramson and colleagues on your publication!
02/12/2026
Dr. Karen Mossman, Maria Davola, and Olga Cormier have published in Seminars in Immunology. The paper is titled "Antiviral humoral immunity: Enemy or ally of viral immunotherapy?"
🔗 Link in bio to learn more.
👏🏻 Congratulations to Dr. Mossman et al!
11/24/2025
🎉 MIRC x CDCR Holiday Week is almost here! 🎉
📅 December 8th–11th
Get ready for four days of festive fun! We’ve got a full lineup of holiday activities, including:
✨ Holiday Bake Sale
✨ Door Decorating Contest
✨ Gingerbread House Competition
✨ Holiday Trivia
✨ And our big Holiday Potluck + Raffle to wrap up the week! 🎁🍽️
To give everyone a bit more time, the deadline to submit all forms has been extended from Nov 21 → **** TODAY!!!!! **** .
Don’t miss your chance to participate —you might even be our raffle winner! 😉
More details are included in each form, and our FAQ document is available if you need extra info.
We can’t wait to celebrate the holiday season with you all! ❤️💚
11/21/2025
Dr. Tobias Berg and colleagues have just recently published a journal titled “Sensitization of Non-M3 Acute Myeloid Leukemia Blasts to All-Trans Retinoic Acid by the LSD1 Inhibitor Tranylcypromine: TRANSATRA Phase I Study” in The European Journal of Haematology.
🔗 Link in bio to learn more about their methods and results.
👏🏻 Congratulations to Dr. Berg and colleagues on your publication!
11/11/2025
👏 🥳 Congratulations to Dr. Sheila for being awarded the 2025 Translational Research Grant in Brain Cancer Award' that is jointly funded with Brain Canada Foundation and the Cancer Research Society.
"Dr. Singh’s project, “GPNMB CAR-T Cells as a Multi-Pronged Immunotherapeutic Approach for Glioblastoma,” will accelerate a next-generation cell therapy strategy aimed at one of the most lethal brain cancers. By engineering CAR-T cells to target GPNMB, the team is pursuing a multifaceted approach to glioblastoma, with a clear path toward clinical translation."
Thank you to the Brain Canada Foundation and the Cancer Research Society for funding this significant research project.
🔗 Link below to learn more:
https://cdcr.mcmaster.ca/cdcr-director-dr-sheila-singh-awarded-brain-canada-cancer-research-society-grant-to-advance-glioblastoma-immunotherapy/
👏 Congrats again to Dr. Singh!
11/11/2025
A poppy is a symbol of remembrance and respect.
A moment of silence for those who have fallen.
11/10/2025
Let us introduce our September 2025 Trainee of the month, Erika Apel! She is a 1st-year MSc student (Biochemistry) in the Houlahan Lab.
Swipe to learn more about her and her research.
Congratulations again, Erika! 👏🏻🥳
11/10/2025
The Pirates of the Cure-Abbean team, led by Dr. Juliet Daniel and the Daniel Lab, surpassed their $15,000 goal at the BRIGHT Run back in September. Every dollar goes directly to local breast cancer research at the Juravinski Cancer Centre and McMaster.
BRIGHT Run is special: it is entirely volunteer-powered, community partners cover event costs, and participant donations fund research 100%. Since its inception, the event has supported 21 research projects—including four new ones in 2024. This year, 1,700 participants and 200 volunteers made the day electric, inspiring, and energizing.
Congratulations to the Pirates of the Cure-Abbean, and thank you to all of the donors who made reaching the goal possible!
10/14/2025
"Grants are the lifeblood of scientific discovery – fuelling the questions we ask, the experiments we run, and the breakthroughs that shape our world.
But securing a grant is no easy feat – it often takes a team. That’s why Health Research Services (HRS), within McMaster University’s Faculty of Health Sciences, provides researchers with guidance through the funding process; from finding funding sources and completing grant applications, to policy and guideline compliance."
"Jonathan Bramson and Julie Croskill discuss the steep competition for research grants in Canada, how Health Research Services supports scientists through the funding process, and why successful grant writing is as much about resilience as it is about storytelling."
Link below to learn more:
https://healthsci.mcmaster.ca/fly-on-the-wall-the-art-and-science-of-grant-writing/
10/14/2025
Dr. Ali Ashkar, Elizabeth Balint, and colleagues have just recently published a journal titled “Biological S*x Influences Human Bystander CD8+ T Cell Activation” in the European Journal of Haematology.
🔗 Link below to learn more about their methods and results:
https://doi.org/10.1002/eji.202451673
👏🏻 Congratulations to Dr. Ashkar, Liz, and colleagues on your publication!
10/14/2025
Our new seminar video featuring our recent speakers, Drs. Tobias Berg and Aly-Khan Lalani, is out now!
🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel for access to insightful seminar talks by leading experts in the field. We post some of our presentations from our monthly seminar series so that you can catch up on any talks that you may have missed or rewatch any that you found interesting and helpful.
Link below to go to our Youtube channel!
https://youtu.be/wCT7xYna8g0
