Dr. Sorana Morrissy
Positions
Assistant Professor
Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Full Member
Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute
Child Health & Wellness Researcher
Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute
Affiliations
Associate Director of Discovery and Innovation
Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute, Riddell Centre for Cancer Immunotherapy
Contact information
Location
Office: ACCCCYC072705
Background
Educational Background
B.S. , Simon Fraser University, 2002
Doctor of Philosophy , University of British Columbia, 2011
Biography
Dr. Sorana Morrissy is an Assistant Professor in the Cumming School of Medicine and the Charbonneau Cancer Institute. Her expertise in computational cancer biology and high-throughput ~omics data analytics has enabled several impactful contributions to translational cancer research, including development of novel immunotherapies currently being tested in clinical trials. Her lab is focused on understanding tumor heterogeneity and evolution in response to therapy, and how these aspects of cancer biology can inform improved design of therapies for patients with high-risk solid tumors.
Research
Areas of Research
- Bioinformatics
- Genomics
- Tumor Evolution
- Immunotherapy
- Spatial biology
Success in precision oncology relies not only on a catalogue of cancer genes, but critically, on deciphering the rules that govern tumor evolutionary processes involved in progression and treatment resistance. My research program brings together an interdisciplinary team of bioinformaticians, computer scientists, and biologists to study the dynamics of tumor evolution and response to therapy. We integrate data from state-of-the-art molecular profiling technologies (spatial transcriptomics, single cell sequencing, proteomics, and genomics among others) with bioinformatics and machine learning / computational approaches for analysis. Together with collaborators in oncology, biobanking, cancer modelling, and immunology, we seek to understand cancer as a dynamic ecosystem, and to design therapies that can perturb the ecosystem beyond its ability to recover. These goals are tightly aligned with development of novel immunotherapies, and my research program is embedded in the Riddell Center for Cancer Immunotherapy, and within the Precision Oncology Initiative at the Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre.
Participation in university strategic initiatives
Are you the profile owner?
Login to edit.