Philipp Lange
Philipp Lange, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, is the winner of the 2016 Great Canadian Innovation Grant, a program from the Canadian Cancer Society that supports researchers who are thinking “outside of the box” when investigating cancer.
The charity launched its third annual GivingTuesday campaign to fund scientists who are undertaking high-risk/high-reward projects with the potential to greatly advance our understanding of cancer. This year, the campaign added a twist by giving donors the ability to vote for one of three nominees they think most deserves the $200,000 Great Canadian Innovation Grant.
Dr. Lange, an investigator with the Michael Cuccione Childhood Cancer Research Program at BC Children’s Hospital and a Canada Research Chair in Translational Proteomics of Pediatric Malignancies, is seeking to reduce long-term health issues in childhood cancer survivors by exploring unique proteins in leukemia to find more effective and less harmful treatments for children.
“Side-effects from cancer treatments are particularly daunting for children, who will live for decades after successful treatment,” Dr. Lange says. “Thanks to the support of Canadian Cancer Society donors we can now explore new treatment options that will hopefully spare vulnerable kids from long-term damage and improve their quality of life.”
The CCS’s Innovation Grants program supports researchers who are taking unique approaches to investigating cancer in the hope of making unexpected discoveries that could change the way we prevent, diagnose and treat the disease, including improving the quality of life of survivors.
“It is inspiring to see so many Canadians understand the need to support researchers who are investigating cancer from what seems like a rather unusual perspective,” says Michael Wortzman, Assistant Director of Research Programs for the Canadian Cancer Society. “Congratulations to Dr Lange and his team and thank you to the caring Canadians who made a donation.”