Translational Cancer Research Institute

Transforming Cancer Therapy Development

At the University of Guelph, we have a unique capacity to conduct companion animal clinical trials on a variety of cancer types alongside laboratory bench-top research. The Ontario Veterinary College Health Sciences Centre is the first Canadian institution involved in the NIH Comparative Oncology Trial Consortium.

Our extensive experience in companion animal clinical trials allows us to fill an unmet translational gap in cancer therapy design for people. Through this work, we will establish regulatory pipelines to change the landscape of how cancer interventions are evaluated and approved. 

Our Interdisciplinary Research Team Will Focus On The Following Themes to Address the Unmet Need of Developing Effective and Impactful Cancer Therapies

Interdiscipinary Translational Cancer Therapeutics and Intervention

  • Existing and future pan-cancer and cancer-specific therapies that can be tested in companion animal cancer clinical trials 
  • Development of canine PDX models – feed back to murine models for therapy refinement and further testing in clinical trials 
  • Improvements in medical devices and staging/surgical/ procedural companion animal cancer treatment that can be applied to human cancer therapy (vice versa)

Personalized Medicine and Cross-Species Genomics

  • Matching therapies with genetic mutations 
  • Identification of unique biomarkers of disease progression and response to therapy 
  • Bi-directional information sharing on genetic similarities/differences, and identification of predictive tools and therapeutic targets

Maximizing Quality of Life in Cancer Patients

  • Pain mitigation using cannabinoids and other supportive interventions 
  • Impact on human-animal bond 

Social Impact, Ethics, and Economics of Translational Cancer Therapeutics

  • Placing translational cancer therapeutics and research in the broader context of social, ethical and economic considerations
  • Designing, implementing, and handling feedback regarding potential policies and funding for emerging cancer therapeutics

Our Chair Members

Facilities and Collaborations

The key members of the Kennel to Cure work collaboratively with experts from diverse disciplines and backgrounds to make integrative contributions and create innovative approaches to translational research and clinical trials. Kennel to Cure research activities benefit from access to and involvement with the following facilities:

OVC Mona Campbell Animal Cancer Centre

  • State of the Art companion animal cancer treatment facility
  • Optimized for conducting companion animal clinical trials
  • 1072 animals enrolled in clinical trials

Companion Animal Tumour Sample Bank (CATSB)

  • 18,000 samples from 1250 unique cases

Institute for Comparative Cancer Investigation

  • Launched in 2007
  • 37 faculty spanning 8 departments
  • Integral to Clinical Trials management