In this episode of ‘Behind the Breakthrough’ Princess Margaret Cancer Centre scientist Dr. Michael Hoffman explains how he leverages the power and speed of computers to understand the origins of cancer. He says cancer is a disease of the DNA –the genetic code that determines our individual characteristics. Essentially, our DNA acts as a program telling our cells what to do. In the case of cancer the wrong program gets run and cells divide in an unrestricted manner. The goal of Dr. Hoffman’s lab is to determine if there is a way of predicting when the wrong program gets run –before it ever happens.
We also learn that from age 4 Dr. Hoffman was in awe of the magic of computers, and how he turned his love for computers into a career in the emerging field of computational biology. He also speaks to the critical importance of training the next generation of cancer researchers, and how he views Twitter as a virtual meeting place for scientific exchange
Dr. Pamela Ohashi on revolutionizing cancer treatment with immunotherapy
Dr. Taufik Valiante invents implantable computer chip designed to stop epileptic seizures
Dr. Stephanie Protze on turning stem cells into pacemaker cells
Dr. Brad Wouters on UHN's COVID-19 research, leadership during the pandemic, and anti-vaxxers
Season 2…coming soon!
Dr. Donald Weaver's lifelong quest to cure Alzheimer's
Pioneering treatments to get spinal cord injured patients mobile, with Dr. Kristin Musselman
Reversing blindness and the serendipity of science, with Dr. Valerie Wallace
Repairing broken hearts with stem cells, with Dr. Michael Laflamme
Overcoming ‘impostor syndrome’ and helping the elderly live well, with Dr. Jennifer Campos
Meet the cancer code breaker, Dr. Mathieu Lupien
Robotics, rehabilitation therapy and learning from failure, with Dr. Milos Popovic
Challenging the meaning of palliative care, with Dr. Camilla Zimmermann
Chronic pain and scientific baseball, with Dr. Karen Davis
Heart failure, Artificial Intelligence and a near-death experience, with Dr. Heather Ross
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