Donation to renamed cancer research institute will be 'transformative' – Kingston News

The Queen's Cancer Institute will be renamed the Kara and Murray Sinclair Cancer Institute in recognition of the donation, which the university calls “transformative.”

The new name was unveiled in the Faculty of Medicine Atrium during a ceremony recognising the $25 million gift by Cara, Murray and Sinclair on Monday, June 10, 2024. The university says the gift will be extremely beneficial in advancing cancer research at Queen's.

Carla Sinclair is a veteran volunteer who has dedicated her life to improving the well-being of Vancouver's at-risk and often homeless youth, for which she was awarded the British Columbia Outstanding Citizen Award in 2021. Murray Sinclair (not to be confused with Senator Murray Sinclair, Chair of the Indian Residential School Truth and Reconciliation Commission) is a graduate of Queen's University with a Bachelor of Commerce (1984).

On the occasion, the couple was introduced by Queen's University President and Vice-Chancellor, Patrick Dean, who said, “Murray's sharp business acumen and Carla's experience in setting up registered charities make them a truly incredible team. They are both philanthropists who want to make a difference, and with today's announcement, they will bring about groundbreaking change in cancer research in this country.”

The name change was announced by Dr. Jane Philpott, former Minister of Health and Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine at Queen's University. “The Kara and Murray Sinclair Cancer Institute (also known as the Sinclair Cancer Institute) is the only research centre in Canada that brings together experts in three major cancer fields: cancer biology and genetics, clinical trials, and cancer treatment and epidemiology. From basic science research to testing new agents to assessing the impact of treatments, the Sinclair Cancer Institute is translating cancer research from the lab to the bedside and back again,” said Dr. Philpott.

“Such a broad range of research at one institution is very rare,” Philpott continued. “We look forward to building on this unique foundation by strengthening research, improving training and launching new programs that position Sinclair Cancer Institute as a leader in cancer research on the global stage.”

The Sinclairs themselves said they had mixed emotions ahead of the ceremony.

“It's estimated that an average of 675 people are diagnosed with cancer every day in Canada. I say that again, every single day. The impact is devastating. We know that because cancer impacts our lives,” said Murray Sinclair.

Fighting back tears, he spoke of his brother's death just a few months ago at age 55 after a three-year battle with glioblastoma, a type of malignant brain cancer.

“Sadly, our losses are not unique,” Kara Sinclair says, “because cancer affects all of us. We have a common goal. We're all in it. We understand how important it is to act. We're all hurt by cancer, and that's why we can find the collective strength and motivation to do something about it.”

“Queen's University has a uniquely collaborative approach to cancer research, integrating multiple disciplines to solve problems in new ways and always focusing on improving patient outcomes,” the Sinclairs said. “Our family is proud to support the Institute and hopes that this donation will further support cancer research at Queen's University.”

Dean renewed his gratitude to the Sinclairs, saying, “Their donation will strengthen the Kara and Murray Sinclair Cancer Institute's capacity to discover new treatments, test new drugs and evaluate the impact of these treatments on patients. It will also help develop highly skilled trainees who will be the next leaders in cancer research.”

As Philpott alluded to, the Sinclair Cancer Institute is the only centre in Canada that brings together experts in cancer biology and genetics, clinical trials, cancer treatment and epidemiology to share knowledge, advance treatments and evaluate the impact on patients. The centre's clinical trials department is already an international leader in cancer research and drug development, and the institute is home to world-class researchers, including Dr. Paul Kubes, who holds the Canada Distinguished Research Chair in Immunophysiology and Immunotherapy, as well as several other Canada Research Chairs.

The Impact of One Family’s Generosity

Philpot then led a discussion about how this generous donation will impact cancer research at the university.

Dr Andrew Craig, director of the Sinclair Cancer Institute, said the donation “will have a profound impact on improving our cancer research capabilities. We have plans to build new state-of-the-art facilities to improve the way we visualize cancer.” [and] “We're going to train doctors who are going to be involved in cancer care. And we're going to do that while encouraging more trainees to build their resumes and experience in a way that other facilities can't. So we plan to do a lot of things.”

Dr Annette Hay, one of the researchers who has already contributed to cancer research and treatment, explained her research and said the donation will include investment in a biomanufacturing facility to develop new immunotherapies, a groundbreaking approach to cancer treatment.

Hay called the day “bittersweet,” saying it was “a wonderful day, full of excitement and hope and promise.” But he also said the achievement is linked to the many loved ones who have been lost to the deadly disease, and “that's what drives us to go forward and do better.”

She gave a concise and fascinating explanation of immunotherapy: “Immunotherapy is a consistent cancer treatment that is highly effective for some cancer patients. And the fact that the people in this room today are here for immunotherapy is one of the biggest reasons we can all smile.”

Hay noted that there are many different types of immunotherapies, many of which are currently being tested in Canada, “but they don't work for everyone, and they don't work for everyone at once. There's a lot of research to do to understand how to develop new treatments that are more effective for more people.”

That same day, she described cell therapy, a specific type of immunotherapy that sounds like science fiction but is actually science fact: “It involves taking a small amount of cells from a cancer patient, flying them to a manufacturing facility, and processing them to recognize that person's particular cancer.”

Once the cells are engineered, they are returned to the patient, where they attack cancer. Hay said the approach has “proven a cure for some patients with certain types of leukemia and lymphoma.”

“This donation will enable us to move research like this forward more quickly,” she said, explaining that currently all of this involves long journeys of cells and patients who need treatment.

One such patient, Cathy Tidman, attended the launch with her husband, David. As one of Dr. Hay's patients, Cathy had to travel to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio for the cell therapy because it wasn't available in Canada. She's excited that the therapy will soon be available locally, calling it a “total game changer.”

Cathy described the process she went through: She and David traveled to Cleveland for about a week so that she could receive chemotherapy and have her cells harvested. She then stayed home for eight weeks while the cells were prepared, and then returned to Cleveland for six weeks so that she could receive more chemotherapy and have her redesigned cells harvested.

“Our kids were in their late teens and early twenties and were old enough to understand why we were travelling, and our work allowed us to travel, but being away from home for weeks on end was difficult.”

The Tidmans highlighted disparities in access to care when it comes to receiving treatment far from home, meaning it may be unavailable to those who don't have the means to travel or afford childcare costs.

“I've been yelling this out loud ever since Kathy got sick, we don't brag enough about Kingston and this region about what we have here and what we can do. This is world class. Unfortunately, we tested out different places to get care – Cleveland, Toronto, Ottawa, Kingston – and after doing our research, we thought Kingston was by far the best,” said David Tidman.

He mentioned the saying “speed is deadly,” but pointed out that what many people don't understand about cancer is that “it doesn't progress slowly. Every second counts, and when you see the tumor get bigger and the blood get worse in the meantime… can we speed it up? Unfortunately, we've spent a lot of time in hospitals. We've seen a lot of people who couldn't be saved. So, do we speed it up and build a research facility here? These are real people, real lives that are being saved here.”

New facilities and innovations in care

The Sinclair family's donation will be used to support two new science facilities with equipment to help researchers advance new discoveries and treatments for patients.

State-of-the-art imaging facilities will enable researchers to observe how the immune system interacts with cancer cells in real time, improving our understanding of how cancer cells defend themselves against the immune system and resist treatment, and allowing researchers to develop new drugs and treatments.

The second specialized biomanufacturing facility will be developed to enable personalized cellular immunotherapy treatments that harness the power of the body's own immune system to target and destroy cancer cells. These therapies are among the most promising new approaches to cancer treatment, and the facility aims to bring these therapies to Canadian patients for clinical trials sooner.

The donation will also strengthen researchers' capacity to evaluate the impact of treatments on patients and assess the effectiveness of drugs, and will establish an innovation fund to support research collaborations and strengthen team-based research.

Nurturing the next generation of cancer researchers

The Sinclair family's donation will also benefit aspiring cancer researchers: the university said it will establish a new training program to give students and young researchers hands-on experience in a multidisciplinary environment and mentorship from senior cancer researchers so they can develop into highly skilled leaders in the field.

“From basic science research and clinical trials of new drugs to evaluating the value of treatments, this donation will support the institute's efforts to bring cancer research from the lab to the patient and back again,” said Craig, the institute's director. “This donation has the potential to dramatically improve the way cancer is treated.”

Founded in 2001, the Sinclair Cancer Institute has grown to become Queen's Health Sciences' largest research center, working to improve cancer control through research that spans disciplines and explores the connections between basic, clinical and population research. To learn more about this important gift and its impact, visit Kara and Murray Sinclair Cancer Institute website.