Two PhD students in the Faculty of Medicine have been selected to be among the inaugural recipients of the Prostate Cancer Canada Graduate Studentship Awards. Peter Axerio-Cilies and Philip Edgcumbe will split a total of $80,000 for two research projects with the potential to transform treatment and recovery for prostate cancer survivors.
Peter Axerio-Cilies
Axerio-Cilies, a PhD student in the Experimental Medicine program, received the Steve Winter Graduate Studentship Award. His research is working to overcome the challenges prostate cancer patients face when receiving drugs to target the male hormone androgen receptor. While effective early in treatment, this treatment strategy becomes less successful over time. The award will fund experiments designed to help overcome this issue by designing new drugs that will destroy the androgen receptor and hopefully lead to other new treatments for prostate cancer patients.
Philip Edgcumbe
Edgcumbe, a third year student in the MD/PhD program, received the Amy and Donald McInnes Graduate Studentship Award. Edgcumbe is a PhD student in the “Engineers in Scrubs” biomedical engineering training program. He is completing his PhD research under the co-supervision of Christopher Nguan (Department of Urologic Sciences) and Robert Rohling (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering) in the Robotics and Control Lab.
Patients with prostate cancer are often required to have surgery. To help reduce post-operative complications, Edgcumbe’s research proposes to develop an Augmented Reality Elastography Navigation Aid, called ARENA. ARENA will provide surgeons with a real-time and accurate ultrasound display of blood vessels, nerves and tumours beneath the surface during surgery.