Meet the Island Scientists Changing the Future of Immunotherapy

At BC Cancer – Victoria’s Deeley Research Centre (DRC), a new generation of scientists, led by emerging visionaries in immunotherapy Drs. Julian Smazynski and Nicolette Fonseca, is taking the Island’s foundation of donor-supported excellence to new heights.

Their pioneering work in empowering the body’s immune system to treat unresponsive cancers is driven by collaboration, innovation and a commitment to improving outcomes for patients across Canada.

Dr. Julian Smazynski: Harnessing the Immune System to Fight Cancer

Dr. Smazynski began his career at BC Cancer as an undergraduate volunteer. Now, more than a decade later, he’s working alongside Dr. Brad Nelson, the Lynda and Murray Farmer Immunotherapy Chair, who built the DRC’s immunotherapy program from the ground up, to lead one of the most promising fields in cancer care: Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy.

The cutting-edge immunotherapy collects a patient’s own immune cells and genetically engineers them in the lab (the DRC was the first in Canada to deliver this clinically in-house) to seek out and destroy cancer cells with missile-like precision.

“These aren’t traditional therapies. They’re living drugs — a patient’s own white blood cells that we’re making stronger,” says Dr. Smazynski.

And the results so far are astounding. In a groundbreaking CAR T-cell therapy clinical trial, co-led by BC Cancer and Ottawa Hospital, 43% of leukemia and lymphoma patients — who had exhausted all other treatment options — achieved complete regression.

A second ongoing trial, targeting a different protein produced by leukemia and lymphoma cells, is treating patients who didn’t respond in the first trial, with an expanded focus to include pediatric patients.

Taking Aim at Hard-to-Treat Cancers

Building on this success, Dr. Smazynski and his team are expanding into new territory: CAR T-cell therapy for solid tumours such as ovarian and pancreatic cancer — two of the most difficult diseases to treat as they’re often diagnosed late-stage when treatment is less likely to be beneficial. And their early preclinical research is showing powerful promise.

“When you see something work that you’ve taken from an idea and translated it into the lab where it’s curing a lot of our preclinical models, there’s no feeling like it,” says Dr. Smazynski.

He’s looking forward to bringing this “home-grown therapy” to clinical trial in collaboration with BC Cancer – Victoria and Vancouver with plans to begin treating patients in B.C., Calgary and Ottawa.

Beyond Canada, Dr. Smazynski is also optimistic about BC Cancer’s ability to unlock the power of CAR T-cell therapy against ovarian cancer — a disease in which 55% of patients diagnosed will not survive five years past diagnosis — on a global level.

“We are standing on the shoulders of more than two decades of experience in studying ovarian cancer, we have the knowledge and technology to translate these discoveries into cures.”

The Future of Cancer Care Is Being Built Here

Making the DRC even more extraordinary is its proximity to care, says Dr. Smazynski.

“People are being treated downstairs just below our labs. As a scientist, I don’t get to interact with patients as an oncologist would, but walking through that space everyday gives my work a whole other level of motivation.”

Founded in 2003, the fully donor-funded research centre has evolved at a pace rarely matched even by private firms, says Dr. Smazynski.

“Not only are we discovering new ways to target cancer, we are providing full circle care by designing and running clinical trials and treating patients with the therapies that we develop in the lab — on a scale and speed that is unheard of, even in a biotech setting.”

Dr. Nicolette Fonseca: Decoding Prostate Cancer’s Defenses

While immunotherapy has revolutionized treatment for several cancers, and is showing incredible promise against others, it remains largely ineffective for prostate cancer.

Dr. Nicolette Fonseca is leading transformative research that could help change this.

Using leading-edge genomic and spatial imaging technologies, she is researching the complex interactions between prostate cancer cells and the immune system.

Her findings are guiding the development of a blood test that can detect genetic changes in prostate tumours that help them suppress or evade immune detection. Understanding when and how often these genetic alterations occur will inform the design of new immune-based therapies and help doctors tailor these treatments to individual patients.

“Often, it’s difficult to access tumour tissue via a biopsy, and so being able to do a simple blood test that will inform on a patient’s genetic alterations is very helpful,” she says.

Dr. Fonseca worked with computer scientists to co-develop a machine-learning tool, now available worldwide, that predicts whether a patient’s blood sample will yield useful genetic information to minimize time or resources spent on uninformative tests.

“This clinically interpretable research tool is publicly available so users anywhere in the world can log onto the website, enter in the specific patient information and it will predict whether the blood sample that the patient provides will be informative for a particular genetic alteration of interest.”

Learning from Global Leaders

Dr. Fonseca credits her success to the collaborative ecosystem at BC Cancer where she was mentored by Drs. Kim Chi and Alex Wyatt, global leaders in prostate cancer research and care, and now also works closely with Dr. Nelson, a world-renowned expert in immunotherapy.

“Working alongside these luminaries and seeing how they’ve moved their discoveries from bench to bedside to improve care for patients is very inspiring — and it shows me that I too can make an impact,” she says. “And in return, I am very dedicated to building my lab and research program to train the next generation of scientists.”

Investing in Discovery, Changing Lives

The DRC opened its doors more than 20 years ago thanks to donor vision and generosity — including a transformative $5 million gift from local philanthropist Trev Deeley. That same spirit of giving drives innovation in immunotherapy today.

Dr. Smazynski witnesses this impact daily. “Donor support touches every aspect of our work — from developing new treatments and therapies to allowing us to train graduate students and trainees.”

Dr. Fonseca says in addition to fuelling the BC Cancer Genitourinary Biobank — a one-of-a-kind in B.C. resource of human samples, such as blood and tissue, and the backbone of her research — donor support gives her the freedom to pursue bold ideas.

“As an early career researcher, it allows me to dream big and conduct research that may be high risk but also high reward.”

The results of this donor-driven vision are clear. From launching Canada’s first in-house CAR T-cell program to training world-class scientists and advancing clinical trials that bring hope to patients across B.C. and beyond, the DRC has become a national leader in immunotherapy research.

Each breakthrough and every life touched is a testament to the power of philanthropy — proof that investments made years ago continue to deliver life-changing results today.