People to Watch: Stem-cell researcher aims to kill root of cancer recurrence
The young researcher has found a way to deactivate the gene responsible for tumour growth and regeneration.
Stem-cell researcher Antonija Kreso takes her first selfie.
Antonija Kreso is pioneering a new way to treat cancer.
The 27-year-old University of Toronto med student has spent the past five years researching the characteristics of colon cancer stem cells. In the process, she has discovered that it is possible to deactivate the gene responsible for tumour growth and regeneration.
In 2014, she will continue her work at a downtown Toronto lab near Bay and College Sts., screening dozens of drugs to see which are most effective at killing the cancer cells permanently.
“She did most of this work almost single-handedly in terms of developing this whole approach,” says Dr. John Dick, the internationally renowned stem-cell biologist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto. Twenty years ago, Dick was the first to identify cancer stem cells in leukemia.
“She’s incredibly gifted,” says Dick, who was Kreso’s PhD advisor and with whom she will continue to work in 2014.
Earlier this month, the respected medical journal Nature Medicine published the results of her latest work. She was lead author on a study that used a small-molecule inhibitor — a drug — that made it impossible for the cancer stem cells transplanted in mice to self-renew.
“In other words,” Dick said, “the cancer was permanently shut down.”
In the new year, with guidance from Dick and Dr. Catherine O’Brien — a surgeon who inspired Kreso to pursue a medical degree — the young scientist will screen about 50 more drugs provided by the Structural Genomics Consortium in the hunt for additional targeted cancer treatments.
Based out of the MaRS complex, Kreso splits her time between her academic work and research, thanks to several scholarships.
“I think it’s definitely the way of the future,” says Kreso, who grew up in Hamilton, the daughter of a Croatian electrician and seamstress. She begins her third year of medical school in 2014 and hopes to specialize in surgery.
“By going after these cancer stem cells with very targeted molecules, we’re shrinking the tumour and getting rid of the key cells. The number one reason why patients die is because the cancer comes back. You can cut out a tumour very easily, give radiation and the patient will be fine but five, 10 years later the cancer comes back. This is really what our work is trying to address.
“We’re really targeting the root of the cancer.”
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