Martin Gleave, MD, FRCSC, FACS
Scientific Advisor
Liber Ero British Columbia Leadership Chair in Prostate Research
Director, The Vancouver Prostate Centre
Distinguished Professor and Vice-Chair, Department of Urologic Sciences, UBC
Director of Research, Dept. of Urologic Sciences
Dr. Gleave is a BC Leadership Chair and Distinguished Professor in the Department of Urologic Sciences at the University of British Columbia. He is the Director of the Vancouver Prostate Center, and CEO of the PC-TRIADD National Centre of Excellence in Commercialization and Research, where he leads a multidisciplinary team of 20 scientists and several research programs that bridge the innovation gaps that confront competitive knowledge translation and commercialization. He has published > 300 papers and attracted >$60M in research funding. Dr. Gleave’s research characterizes molecular mechanisms mediating treatment resistance in cancer, focusing on stress-activated adaptive responses that drive acquired treatment resistance, and designing rational combination co-targeting strategies to abrogate the stress response to create conditional lethality and improve cancer control. He patented several anti-cancer drugs and in 2001 founded OncoGenex Technologies, now a Nasdaq-listed biotechnology company for which he serves as Chief Scientific Officer. Dr Gleave developed OGX-011, an inhibitor of the cell survival gene, clusterin, that potentiates anti-cancer therapies in many cancer models. 7 clinical studies have been completed, including a randomized trial demonstrating a 7 month gain in overall survival when OGX-011 was combined with docetaxel. Two Phase III registration trials with OGX-011 began in 2010. OGX-427 is another agent targeting Hsp27 that completed Phase I studies in 2010, and a TFRI grant was supported in 2010 to support Phase II studies initiated in 2011.
Dr. Gleave is the recipient of numerous awards, including the NCIC’s prestigious William Rawls Award for contributions to cancer control in Canada, the Society of Urologic Oncology’s Young Investigator Award, Finalist, Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, 2004, and Clinician-Scientist Award, Prostate Cancer Foundation. In 2003, he was appointed a Distinguished University Scholar at the University of British Columbia, and a BC Leadership Chair through the Province of BC’s Leading Edge Endowment Fund in 2005. Dr. Gleave was awarded the 2006 BC Biotech Award for Innovation and Achievement, and the 2007 BC Innovation Council Frontiers in Research Award.
Michael Pollak, MD
Scientific Advisor
Department of Oncology
Jewish General Hospital / McGill University
Dr. Michael Pollak holds the Alexander Goldfarb Research Chair in cancer research at McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and directs the Division of Cancer Prevention of the Department of Oncology. He practices medical oncology at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, and is involved in clinical trials of novel agents related to growth factor targets. He also runs a research lab at the Lady Davis Research Institute, which is affiliated with the Hospital and McGill. The laboratory conducts research focusing on insulin and IGF physiology in relation to cancer, and also provides specialized ELISA assays for epidemiologic and pharmaceutical collaborators.
Dr. Pollak has published more than 300 research papers and collaborates with leading cancer research groups worldwide in laboratory, clinical, and epidemiologic studies related to the role of growth factors in human cancer.
Marianne Sadar, BSc, PhD
Scientific Advisor
Senior Scientist
Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency
Dr. Marianne Sadar is the Chief Scientific Officer and one of the co-founders of ESSA Pharma Inc, a biotech company developing small molecule inhibitors for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. She is also the Provincial Program Leader for Prostate Cancer Research at the British Columbia Cancer Agency. Dr. Sadar is internationally known for her research on identifying mechanisms of activating the androgen receptor and developing therapeutics for advanced prostate cancer that target the N-terminal domain of the androgen receptor. Her research was the first to show that the N-terminal domain of the androgen receptor could be activated by alternative pathways and she proposed this domain as a therapeutic target. Later Dr. Sadar provided the first proof-of-concept that targeting the N-terminus of the androgen receptor results in a therapeutic response in an in vivo model of castration resistant prostate cancer.
Dr. Sadar received her BSc from Simon Fraser University, and PhD from the University of Bradford, UK. She carried out post-doctoral training at AstraZeneca (Astra Hässle), Department of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, Mölndal, Sweden and at the British Columbia Cancer Agency. She has served on more than 30 scientific panels, and has been a recipient of awards including the Terry Fox Young Investigator Award, Simon Fraser University Alumni Award for Academic Excellence, and the first non-American to receive the Society of Women in Urology/Society of Basic Urologic Research “Award for Excellence in Urologic Research.”
Howard R. Soule, PhD
Scientific Advisor
Chief Science Officer
The Prostate Cancer Foundation
Howard R. Soule, PhD, coordinates global academic, government and biopharmaceutical sector research activity and is responsible for the implementation of PCF’s global research strategies. From 1997 to 2004, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Science Officer of PCF. He is also a member of the Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program Integration Panel. Most recently, he was Managing Director of Knowledge Universe Health and Wellness Group, a private investment firm focused on companies in the general areas of disease prevention and treatment. Dr. Soule has been with the Foundation for 11 years.
Prior to joining PCF in 1997, Dr. Soule was a senior R&D executive for nine years at Corvas International, Inc., a public biotechnology company. He was responsible for the discovery and development of innovative products for the treatment of life-threatening cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Soule has considerable experience in medical diagnostic and device industries as well.
Dr. Soule received a PhD from Baylor College of Medicine in Virology and Epidemiology and was a Post Doctoral Fellow in Immunology and Vascular Biology at the Scripps Research Institute.
John Trachtenberg, MD
Board Member and Scientific Advisory Committee
Director, Prostate Centre
Princess Margaret Hospital
Dr. John Trachtenberg received his BSc, MD & CM from McGill University in Montreal. He completed his urologic residency at McGill University and succeeded to a fellowship in prostatic disease at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Trachtenberg is currently Professor of Surgery and Medical Imaging at the University of Toronto. He holds the prestigious Fleck Tanenbaum Chair in Prostatic Diseases at the University of Toronto and University Health Network. He is the Director of the Prostate Centre at the Princess Margaret Hospital of the University Health Network. He acts as a consultant to the Urology Department at numerous hospitals. Dr. Trachtenberg has published over 225 peer reviewed scientific papers and several books, and sits on many hospital, university and scientific committees throughout North America and Europe. His accomplishments have earned him 18 awards, including Man of the Year in Sciences and Medicine from the Canadian Prostate Cancer Research Fund. He has developed novel, minimally invasive surgical techniques for the treatment of prostate cancer and was instrumental in the development of the prostate-specific Clinical Research Program at Princess Margaret Hospital. His major interests include the investigation of novel treatments for localized and advanced prostate cancer, developing minimally invasive image guided treatments for prostate cancer, and the measurement and preservation of the quality of life of men with prostate cancer.