Laurie Ailles

Biography

Laurie Ailles is a Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, and Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto. Dr. Ailles earned a Master’s Degree in Pathology from Queen’s University (Kingston, ON, Canada) and a Ph.D. Degree in Genetics from the University of British Columbia. She then went on to a postdoctoral fellowship in Turin, Italy, in the laboratory of Dr. Luigi Naldini, followed by a second post-doc at Stanford University in the laboratory of Dr. Irv Weissman. Dr. Ailles started her own laboratory in Toronto in 2008. Laurie Ailles is a Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, and Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto. Dr. Ailles earned a Master’s Degree in Pathology from Queen’s University (Kingston, ON, Canada) and a Ph.D. Degree in Genetics from the University of British Columbia. She then went on to a postdoctoral fellowship in Turin, Italy, in the laboratory of Dr. Luigi Naldini, followed by a second post-doc at Stanford University in the laboratory of Dr. Irv Weissman. Dr. Ailles started her own laboratory in Toronto in 2008.

Research Interest

Focus of the lab includes cancer stem cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts, clonal heterogeneity and epigenetics All work is done using primary patient-derived cancer tissue specimens, as well as patient-derived primary cultures and xenografts Diseases studied include head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, high-grade serous ovarian cancer and clear cell renal cell carcinoma We have established a “living biobank” of patient-derived xenografts that can be used to assay cancer stem cells, evaluate drug responses and development of drug resistance, and to perform a wide range of novel, clinically relevant studies. We collaborate extensively with other labs, clinicians and clinician scientists