Dr. John E. Dick, Ph.D., University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Guest Speaker

Dr. John Dick is a professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto, Senior Scientist, Division of Cellular and Molecular Biology at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute and Affiliate Scientist, Division of Stem Cell and Developmental Biology and the Ontario Cancer Institute.  As a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a recipient of a Canada Research Chair in Stem Cell Biology, and a founding member of Canada’s Stem Cell Network, Dr. Dick is renowned for the development of an in vivo stem cell assay using the NOD/SCID mouse, and from these findings proposed a “cancer stem-cell hypothesis”.  His work involves isolating the most primitive hematopoietic and leukemic stem cells and defining their antigenic expression with the goal of identifying regulatory pathways that may be altered in leukaemia.  His research programme is now expanding beyond leukaemia to identify cancer stem cells for various types of cancer and develop therapies to eradicate disease.  Dr. Dick will present his latest work in Symposium II:  Etiology and Prevention – Cells of Origin and Stem Cells.