McGill University · LDI-JGH · RI-MUHC
We look for the inherited genetic changes that raise the risk of cancer in people and families, from hereditary breast cancer to rare tumour syndromes such as DICER1 syndrome and SCCOHT, and turn those discoveries into better diagnosis, screening and care.
About the lab
Led by Dr. William Foulkes, our team studies why some people are born with a higher risk of cancer. We combine clinical cancer genetics with genome sequencing, tumour pathology and laboratory models to find predisposing genes, understand how they work and improve care for families at risk.
We work at the Lady Davis Institute of the Jewish General Hospital and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, with collaborators across Canada and around the world.
Research programs
Our lab showed that inherited SMARCA4 mutations cause small cell carcinoma of the ovary, hypercalcemic type (SCCOHT), and is now searching for treatments that exploit this weakness.
Read more 02 BRCA1BRCA2PALB2Searching for the missing heritability of breast cancer, using founder populations in Quebec and the mutational signatures left in tumours.
Read more 03 DICER1Describing the tumours linked to DICER1 syndrome and how inherited and acquired mutations disrupt microRNA processing.
Read more 04 BUB1BFGFR1DGCR8Using exome sequencing to find the genetic cause of rare cancers in families and in people with multiple primary tumours.
Read moreParticipate
We are looking for people diagnosed with DICER1 syndrome, multiple primary tumours or SCCOHT. Taking part can be as simple as asking your clinic to send us a few samples.
Principal Investigator
Dr. William Foulkes is a Distinguished James McGill Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Oncology, Human Genetics and Experimental Medicine at McGill University. He is a researcher-clinician who has practiced clinical cancer genetics at McGill-affiliated hospitals since 1996 and who heads cancer genetics research laboratories at two McGill-affiliated, hospital-based research institutes, the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research…
Meet the teamPublications
2024
Chong AL, Thorner P, Ellis M, Swensen J, Benlimame N, Fiset PO, Gatalica Z, Evans MG, Foulkes WD. Am J Surg Pathol. 2023 Dec 5. doi: 10.1097/PAS.0000000000002162. Online ahead of print.
2024
Pelletier D, Rath A, Sabbaghian N, Pelmus M, Hudon C, Jacob K, Witowski L, Saskin A, Heinen CD, Foulkes WD. Fam Cancer. 2023 Nov 14. doi: 10.1007/s10689-023-00350-3. Online ahead of print.
2024
Tessier-Cloutier B, Kommoss FKF, Kolin DL, Němejcová K, Smith D, Pors J, Stewart CJR, McCluggage WG, Foulkes WD, von Deimling A, Köbel M, Lee CH. Mod Pathol. 2023 Nov 3;37(1):100374. doi: 10.1016/j.modpat.2023.100374. Online ahead of print.
2023
Apellaniz-Ruiz M, Sabbaghian N, Chong AL, de Kock L, Cetinkaya S, Bayramoğlu E, Dinjens WNM, McCluggage WG, Wagner A, Yilmaz AA, Foulkes WD. Fam Cancer. 2023 Oct;22(4):487-493. doi: 10.1007/s10689-023-00336-1. Epub 2023 May 30.
Where we work
RI-MUHC
LDI-JGH
