Sylvia Ng


About the Principal Investigator

Sylvia Ng
E-mail: sng@bccrc.ca
Phone: 604-675-8027
Fax: 604-675-8183

Training

Degree: B.Sc., Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Institution: University of British Columbia
Year: 1996
Degree: M.Sc., Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Institution: University of British Columbia
Year: 1998
Degree: Ph.D., Medical Biophysics
Institution: University of Toronto
Year: 2002

Current Position

Position: Assistant Professor Senior Research Scientist
Institution: BC Cancer Agency

Research Interests

  • Ancreatic cancer
  • Drug resistance
  • Tumor-stromal interactions
  • Angiogenesis
  • Preclinical anticancer drug development

Research Focus

Pancreatic cancer has the worst survival rates of any cancer with a typical life expectancy of 3-6 months after diagnosis. This malignancy is extremely resistant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. My research program is focused on the study of the molecular interactions between pancreatic cancer cells and stromal cells (namely, fibroblasts and endothelial cells). Our goals are to identify novel therapeutic targets and to develop more effective treatment strategies using new drugs or combinations of existing drugs for the treatment of this devastating disease.

Current Projects

Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts and drug resistance

The predominant cell type in the tumor stroma is cancer-associated fibroblasts. We are currently investigating the role of these cells in mediating drug resistance in pancreatic cancer.

Preclinical Evaluation of Novel Agents for Cancer Therapy

My laboratory develops and utilizes multiple in vitro and in vivo pharmacodynamic assays to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of new anticancer drugs (molecularly targeted and otherwise) for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Selected Publications

  • Ng, S.S.W., Gütschow, M., Eger, K. & Figg, W.D. (2004). Antitumor effects of thalidomide analogues in human prostate cancer xenografts implanted in immunodeficient mice. Clin. Cancer. Res., 10: 4192-4197.
  • Ng, S.S.W., Figg, W.D. & Sparreboom, A. (2004). Taxane-mediated antiangiogenesis: influence of formulation vehicles and binding proteins. Cancer Res., 64: 821-824.
  • McMadonald, D.M., Teicher, B., Stetler-Stevenson, W., Ng, S.S.W., Figg, W.D., Folkman, J., Hanahan, D., Auerbach, R., O’Reilly, M., Herbst, R., Cheresh, D., Gordon, M., Eggermont, A. & Libutti, S.K. (2004). Report from the Society of Biological Therapy and Vascular Biology Faculty of the NCI workshop on angiogenesis monitoring. J. Immunotherapy, 27: 161-175.
  • Ng, S.S.W., Gütschow, M., Weiss, M., Hauschildt, S., Hecker, T.K., Teubert, U., Luzzio, F.A., Kruger, E.A., Eger, K. & Figg, W.D. (2003). Antiangiogenic activity of N-substituted and tetrafluorinated thalidomide analogues. Cancer Res., 63: 3189-3194.
  • Macpherson, G.R., Ng, S.S.W., Forbes, S., Melillo, G., Karpova, T., McNally, J., Martinez, A., Cuttitta, F., Price, D.K. & Figg, W.D. (2003). Antiangiogenic activity of human endostatin is HIF-1-independent in vitro and sensitive to timing of treatment in a human saphenous vein assay. Mol. Cancer Ther., 2: 845-854.
  • Ng, S.S.W., Tsao, M.S., Nicklee, T. & Hedley, D.W. (2002). Effects of the epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor OSI-774 on downstream signalling pathways and apoptosis in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Mol. Cancer Ther., 1: 777-783.
  • Ng, S.S.W., Tsao, M.S., Nicklee, T. & Hedley, D.W. (2001). Wortmannin inhibits PKB/Akt phosphorylation and promotes gemcitabine antitumor activity in orthotopic human pancreatic cancer xenografts in immunodeficient mice. Clin. Cancer Res., 7: 3269-3275.
  • Ng, S.S.W., Tsao, M.S., Chow, S. & Hedley, D.W. (2000). Inhibition of phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase enhances gemcitabine-induced apoptosis in human pancreatic cancer cells. Cancer Res., 60: 5451-5455.
  • Andrikopoulos S, Hull RL, Verchere CB, Wang F, Wilbur SM, Marzban L, Wight TN and Kahn SE: Extended life span is associated with insulin resistance in a transgenic mouse model of insulinoma secreting human islet amyloid polypepetide. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 286: E418-E424, 2004.
  • Marzban L, Park K and Verchere CB: Islet Amyloid and type 2 diabetes. Exp Gerontol 38: 347-351, 2003.
  • Marzban L, Rahimian R, Brownsey RW and McNeill JH: Mechanisms by which bis(maltolato)oxovanadium(IV) normalizes phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and glucose 6-phosphatase expression in STZ-diabetic rats in vivo. Endocrinology 143(12): 4636-4645, 2002.

 

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