BRAS DDP trains

drug development physicians

of the future

Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Bras Drug Development Fellowship Program

The goal of the BRAS DDP Fellowship Program is to train early career investigators in experimental therapeutics and translational research.  The BRAS DDP Fellowship Program is directed by Dr. Anna Spreafico and includes 4-8 clinical research fellows annually.  In the last 2 decades, over 50 fellows have been trained in the Phase l Program.  The BRAS DDP Fellowship Program is a world class training program in experimental therapeutics and has consistently attracted trainees worldwide!

Fellows accepted to the program are expected to complete a two-year research fellowship, which entails a focused training in early Drug Development following their board certification in Medical Oncology in Canada or another jurisdiction.  There is a structured curriculum that includes active participation in the planning, coordination and implementation of selected clinical trial protocols led by the BRAS DDP Phase l Program.

Fellows develop skills in writing protocols and letters of intent; analyzing trial data; presenting results at local, national, and international meetings and preparing final peer-reviewed manuscripts for publication.  Fellows are assigned to an early phase clinical trial patient roster one day per week.  They assess patients in screening and/or actively participating in trials run by the BRAS DDP with staff supervision.  This approach provides board hands-on experience with the day-to-day conduct of early phase clinical trials, including patient assessment, toxicity management, attribution and documentation and communication with the study team.  In addition, fellows participate in ambulatory medical oncology clinics to gain additional expertise in their disease sites of interest, including the weekly phase l new referral assessment clinic. A minimum of fifty percent of the fellows’ time is protected for clinical research.  While the focus of the BRAS DDP Fellowship program is clinical/translational research in experimental therapeutics, fellows who have an interest to spend time in a basic research laboratory may be able to do so.

All fellows are assigned a supervisor or co-supervisors in the BRAS Drug Development Program and the Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.  The supervisor(s) are responsible for providing opportunities for fellows to lead research projects and other academic pursuits.  Fellows develop and implement translational research projects that leverage ongoing collaborations with scientists at the Princess Margaret Cancer Research Institute in areas such as cancer genomics and immunotherapy.

This fellowship provides numerous career-enhancing opportunities so that every trainee can develop a research niche, and ultimately be recognized nationally and internationally as expert in such field.  Many former fellows are now well recognized academic oncologists and leaders and continue to maintain links to the Princess Margaret team as valuable colleagues and collaborators, with a spirit of collegiality nurtured by our Program.

Dr. Anna Spreafico, Director of the BRAS DDP Fellowship Program
Dr. Lillian Siu, Director of the BRAS DDP Phase l Clinical Trials Program

For more information on the BRAS Fellowship Program, at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, please contact the Director of the BRAS Fellowship Program Dr. Anna Spreafico anna.spreafico@uhn.ca

 

Meet Bras DDP Fellows

We are proud that many former fellows hold leadership positions in academic Phase l clinical trials units. With this worldwide community of present, and former fellows collaborating in the area of early drug development, we have reason to believe that We Will Conquer Cancer in Our Lifetime!

  • “It is rewarding that many of them have become phase l trial leaders back home and training their own next generation. Not too many phase l programs in the world can that they have done that?”

    Dr. Lillian Siu Director BRAS DDP Phase l Clinical Trials Program

BRAS DDP

FELLOWS AROUND THE WORLD

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ASCO AWARDS

2020 RECIPIENT – DR. SIU

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TESTIMONIALS

WHAT FELLOWS SAID

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