Self-eating cells aid cancer therapy research

Impeding cells from digesting parts of themselves – a process called autophagy – could play a key role in improving therapies for cancer, says a Simon Fraser University researcher and B.C. Cancer Agency (BCCA) senior scientist studying the process.

Sharon Gorski brings her fascination with autophagy – and how it plays into cancer therapy research – to SFU's next Café Scientifique, on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 7 – 8:30 pm at the CBC studios on Hamilton Street in Vancouver. The event is free and open to the public.

"Autophagy occurs in response to conditions of low nutrients and other forms of cell stress," says Gorski, who became interested while studying a developmental cell death process. "The process helps the cells to adapt to this stress by consuming parts of themselves. These parts may be harmful to the cell or unnecessary, and are recycled into a nutrient or other component that can help the cell adapt and survive.

"We're interested in targeting this survival process during cancer therapy as these therapies can act as forms of cell stress that induce the autophagy process," Gorski explains. "The autophagy induced helps to protect the cell from the effects of cancer therapy. We're interested in the potential of inhibiting autophagy concurrently with cancer therapies to gain a better therapeutic response."

Gorski began postdoctoral studies with the late Dr. Michael Smith and then worked with Dr. Victor Ling at the BCCA, utilizing genomics approaches to study cell death. She was later promoted to senior scientist and joined SFU's Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry as an associate professor in 2008.

Gorski is the third in a series of five SFU speakers to take part in the popular Café Scientifique, which offers informal discussions that connect SFU research to important health-related issues of interest to the community.

Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), SFU's Faculty of Science and the SFU Alumni Association are sponsoring the series.

Provided by Simon Fraser University