Lisa-Monique Edward 👩🏾‍💻🇱🇨

(She/Her) | Bioinformatician at @SickKidsNews 👩🏾‍💻 | Precision Oncology/Cancer Genomics Researcher 🧬 | @WesternUScience alum 💜 | #BlackAFinSTEM 🇱🇨

[Lisa-Monique Edward 👩🏾‍💻🇱🇨 @_LisaMonique]

Hi everyone 👋🏾!

I’m a Bioinformatician 👩🏾‍💻 in a Cancer Genomics lab @SickKidsNews and I primarily work with the pediatric precision medicine program based out of my lab aimed at integrating NGS into clinical oncology care.

#BlackInCancerRollCall #BlackinCancerWeek #BICRollCall

[Aakash Gupta @aakashgupta]

This isn’t a random scientist who got lucky.

Mariano Barbacid discovered the first human oncogene in 1982. He isolated H-RAS from bladder cancer cells and proved a single point mutation could trigger cancer. That finding launched the entire field of molecular oncology.

KRAS mutations cause 90% of pancreatic cancers. For 43 years, oncologists called KRAS “undruggable” because the protein had no obvious binding pocket. Barbacid spent the last decade using genetically engineered mice to systematically test every node in the KRAS signaling pathway, looking for combinations that would work without killing the patient.

The triple therapy blocks KRAS three ways at once: the main growth signal, the escape routes through EGFR and HER2, and the stress-response backup through STAT3. Cut the engine, seal the exits, disable the emergency system. Tumors vanished in mice and didn’t return for 200+ days after treatment stopped.

Pancreatic cancer has a 13% five-year survival rate. 8% for the ductal adenocarcinoma type this therapy targets. Most patients live one year after diagnosis.

The catch: this is preclinical. Human trials are 3+ years away. One of the drugs, RMC-6236, might get approved this year, but the full triple combination has regulatory hurdles.

Still. The man who discovered human oncogenes in 1982 may have just figured out how to eliminate the cancer those genes cause. That’s a 43-year arc from first principles to potential cure. Science rarely works this clean.

[Gender Pay Gap Bot @PayGapApp]

In this organisation, women's median hourly pay is 54.6% lower than men's.

[Gender Pay Gap Bot @PayGapApp]

In this organisation, women's median hourly pay is 36.8% lower than men's.

[Gender Pay Gap Bot @PayGapApp]

In this organisation, women's median hourly pay is 17.2% lower than men's.

[Gender Pay Gap Bot @PayGapApp]

In this organisation, women's median hourly pay is 30.9% lower than men's.

[Gender Pay Gap Bot @PayGapApp]

In this organisation, women's median hourly pay is 14.6% lower than men's.

[Lisa-Monique Edward 👩🏾‍💻🇱🇨 @_LisaMonique]

Hi everyone 👋🏾!

I’m a Bioinformatician 👩🏾‍💻 in a Cancer Genomics lab @SickKidsNews and I primarily work with the pediatric precision medicine program based out of my lab aimed at integrating NGS into clinical oncology care.

#BlackInCancerRollCall #BlackinCancerWeek #BICRollCall

[The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) @SickKidsNews]

New #SKResearch published today in @NatureComms: Dr. Adam Shlien, Senior Scientist, SickKids, & Dr. Rebecca Gladdy, surgeon-scientist, @SinaiHealth, have identified 3 subtypes of #leiomyosarcoma & found evidence its origins begin years prior to diagnosis. https://t.co/LYT5PH1N3V

[CP24 @CP24]

UHN will require that unvaccinated employees test negative for COVID-19 before arriving at work https://t.co/hMaoVzPALW

[Lisa-Monique Edward 👩🏾‍💻🇱🇨 @_LisaMonique]

~15 mins into a pre-conference workshop for my first big-girl [virtual] academic conference and I’m already loving it 🥺

[Jessica Esquivel @DrEsquivelPhD]

An important conversation, the most striking is the gender/race gap in STEM. I always thought I was catching up by accumulating education but was hit w/ this reality back in 2019 https://t.co/6tG62tsCC8

[anode manuka 🇵🇸 🌍 @th33mdphd]

Was in awe listening to Dr. Katalin Karikó describe the 60 years of mRNA research leading up to the mRNA COVID vaccines that I've had the privilege of putting into others' arms 💉. Fund basic science because the return on investment is huge. #RNAMedicine2021

[Lisa-Monique Edward 👩🏾‍💻🇱🇨 @_LisaMonique]

@enbybird I was watching med content from @ericaogwumikee and her sister tag with @nnekaogwumike & @chiney came up... went down the rabbit hole and became instantly obsessed 😅

[Jordan Mah @JordanKM19]

Just wanted to share my experience

[Lisa-Monique Edward 👩🏾‍💻🇱🇨 @_LisaMonique]

Just wow

[Naheed Dosani @NaheedD]

#BREAKING: Peel Region orders all businesses with 5+ recent work-acquired #COVID19 cases to shut down immediately.

Kudos to Dr Loh for doing what the government of Ontario won’t do: Help save the lives of essential workers.

[Jonah Furman @JonahFurman]

Chauvin is the 7th on-duty cop to be convicted of murder since 2005, out of around 15,000 police killings in that time.

[Lisa-Monique Edward 👩🏾‍💻🇱🇨 @_LisaMonique]

2. ... plus immense ashfall even blanketing neighbouring islands (which can have significant health and environmental impacts), all in the middle of a pandemic and you’re acting like the volcano had a calendar and picked a week to... inconvenience vacationers ?

[Lisa-Monique Edward 👩🏾‍💻🇱🇨 @_LisaMonique]

1. I still can’t put into words how upset I am by this headline. Half of the island have had to leave their homes and lives behind and the entire island is dealing with constant explosive eruptions, water and power outages, limited access to food or even mattresses to sleep on...

[Fox News @FoxNews]

Volcano eruption in Caribbean prompts mass evacuation during popular vacation week
https://t.co/mhwjkj8DQY