This series is for genetics health professionals led by the Canadian College of Medical Genetics and co-sponsored by Can-GARD. Speakers will be translation-focused researchers, clinicians and innovators. The series will help attendees anticipate, access, and apply new approaches and technologies for patient care.
The Can-GARD/CCMG Leading Strand Series is a self-approved group learning activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
We are pleased to share that as of the 2026/2027 season, the Garrod Association will be providing two presentations per season.
To register, click the button below or go to: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_e2yO6xnsSK2v70BLslqwjA
2025-2026 Leading Strand from 12:00pm – 1:00pm ET on:
Friday May 29, 2026
Identifying Cancer Driver Genes Using In Vivo Functional Genomics
Chromosome instability is highly prevalent in cancer and drives large scale chromosomal imbalances, known as aneuploidies. However, how aneuploidy contributes to tumorigenesis remains difficult to study due to the vast numbers of genes affected. To overcome these challenges, we established a CRISPR Knock Out and Activation Linked Assay (CRISPR-KOALA), enabling high-throughput bidirectional genetic screens in immune-competent mouse models of cancer. Using CRISPR-KOALA, we screened the mouse orthologs of 3,752 genes on these arms and identified 90 cancer driver genes, the vast majority of which have undescribed functions in cancer. These genes drive distinct signalling pathways, reflecting the high degree of BLBC heterogeneity. Lastly, manipulating the identified cancer driver genes overcomes the need for CNAs in p53-mutant BLBC mouse models suggesting that CNAs can function to select specific driver genes.
Learning Objectives:
- Compare different types of functional genomics approaches
- Describe how chromosomal instability selects for specific cancer drivers
- Reflect on the idea that our catalogue of cancer driver genes may be incomplete
Speaker: Dr. Khalid Al-Zahrani
Khalid Al-Zahrani graduated with an Honors Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry before joining the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa for his PhD. During his training, Khalid became very interested in new and emerging gene editing technologies and particular their applications in vivo. Khalid joined the LTRI as a postdoctoral fellow in Daniel Schramek and Jeff Wrana’s laboratories in 2019 and has been the recipient of several postdoctoral fellowships including the Canadian H.L. Holmes Postdoctoral Fellowship and the Cancer Research Society Next Generation of Scientists Award. Khalid started his own independent research group in September 2025 at the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research where he and his team are continuing to develop new functional genomics tools to understand how chromosomal instability drives cancer and can be exploited therapeutically.
