Seven Canadian research teams, led by Dr. John Bell, a professor and senior scientist at the University of Ottawa, the Ottawa Health Research Institute and The Ottawa Hospital Regional Cancer Centre, will share a $6.3 million grant to collaboratively develop and test oncolytic viruses as cancer therapeutics. The grant was awarded by the Terry Fox Foundation through the National Cancer Institute of Canada after a competitive peer-review process.
Oncolytic viruses infect and destroy cancer cells without harming normal cells. While oncolytic viruses have been known to exist for decades, there has been a resurgence of interest in recent years as scientists have discovered new oncolytic viruses and engineered them to be better and safer. Studies in laboratory models have shown that these viruses are very effective against many cancers and early clinical studies in patients have been encouraging.
