91°”ÍűœûÇű

From their laboratories, medical researchers are eager to make a difference. So, imagine the feeling when they get to witness that impact.

, PhD, was at a clinical trial participant’s bedside when medicine developed by his 91°”ÍűœûÇű cancer immunotherapy team was administered to someone for the first time. 

“It was a privilege, it was powerful,” says Mahoney, director of the , a specialized research hub within 91°”ÍűœûÇű  at the  (CSM), in partnership with . “When we learned that it shrunk 83 per cent of her cancers, we immediately knew that this medicine could work.”

The GCAR 1 single-patient trial in 2023, published July 1 in and , was approved to treat a Canadian woman with advanced alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) — a rare muscle cancer — who had run out of treatment options. It extended her life by 18 months, giving her precious time to spend with her family, including her young son. A second participant, who is also a parent, was approved to receive the immunotherapy and saw his tumours shrink. 

Read more about the experimental medicine

Major breakthroughs like these deserve acclaim, but the Riddell team says this one could never have happened without donors. Giving catalyzed this first-in-Canada research, which shows lifesaving promise.

This includes support from the Riddell Centre, established through a transformational gift from the Riddell family — and from  partners the  (ACF) and the  (ACHF) and many other organizations and individuals. 

“Our family is so pleased to be able to support this groundbreaking work happening in our own backyard,” said Sue Riddell Rose when her family’s . “Our hope is that the discoveries that come from the Riddell Centre for Cancer Immunotherapy will quickly take immunotherapy to a mainstream treatment protocol and very directly improve care and outcomes for cancer patients in Alberta and beyond.”

Adds Mahoney: “It's pretty cutting-edge research at the vanguard of immunotherapy development.”   

“To translate a finding in the lab to early clinical testing in human patients, that's really expensive and requires a lot of infrastructure, a lot of co-ordination and a mindset to just get it done. What philanthropy offered us, obviously, was a lot of funding resources. It also allowed us to bring the transdisciplinary teams close enough together that we could actually pull this off.”

The team’s recent discoveries are detailed in two articles in the scientific journals Nature and Nature Cancer. “It’s recognition that the highest-calibre science is being done here at UCalgary,” Mahoney says. “That is really important for the Riddell Centre.”

The work of Riddell Centre researchers, who collaborated with McMaster University investigators, is prominent in both papers. Thanks to their discovery of biomarkers on cancer cells in sarcomas and glioblastomas, their will help patients’ immune cells destroy cancer in their own bodies.

Philanthropy accelerates bold research to improve lives 

“Our donors are powering progress, right here in Alberta — and Dr. Mahoney’s work is proof-positive of that impact,” says Wendy Beauchesne, BA, CEO at ACF. 

“We are thrilled to see these immunotherapy breakthroughs coming from the Riddell Centre, and the promise they hold for thousands of Albertans impacted by cancer. We’re writing the future of cancer care in our very own province.”

Adds ACHF president and CEO Saifa Koonar, BComm, MBA: "We are extremely grateful to our community for supporting the groundbreaking work of Dr. Mahoney's team and, just as importantly, for helping recruit him to Calgary in the first place.

"Over the past 14 years, those generous investments have enabled incredible discovery, innovation, and the development of what will hopefully be the first of many lifesaving therapies for children and adults facing cancer."

When high-risk — and costly — studies pay off, it’s gratifying for researchers to share the good news with donors.

“I’m able to say, ‘We did something that was almost impossible. We gave a person with an incurable disease two more Christmases with her child. We have another patient right now who looks like he’s approaching disease-free status,’” says Mahoney. 

“Donors give because they trust us. They believe in us as scientists and as people. It means so much to say, ‘Listen, we’ve been able to make real progress.’”

Representing five years of sustained effort across UCalgary and the Cancer Care Alberta immunotherapy team — and collaboration with national and international groups — this research integrates discovery scientists, product developers, biomanufacturing experts and clinical translation teams under the umbrella of the Riddell Centre.

“This is a spark of hope for every family dealing with a sarcoma or glioblastoma diagnosis,” says Dr. Ed McCauley, PhD, UCalgary president and vice-chancellor. 

“Our community puts their trust in the 91°”ÍűœûÇű to drive cancer solutions that will improve health for generations to come. That’s what the team is focused on achieving at the Riddell Centre. With the backing of our community of donors, UCalgary is fuelling innovation, accelerating discovery and translating breakthroughs from lab bench to bedside.”

Advancing Living Medicines 

The breakthrough is a key achievement for the , which drives development of medicines that program the body’s own cells, genes and microbes to recognize and respond to cancer, genetic disorders and more. UCalgary is poised to make Canada a world leader in this revolutionary field — building on its expertise in molecular- and cellular-based science and immunology to discover, develop, manufacture and test new therapies that harness treatments that come from the body itself to transform health care and save lives.

While Mahoney singles out for praise teammates such as research associate and first author, Dr. Franz Zemp, PhD, co-principal investigators Dr. Mona Shafey, MD, and Dr. Sorana Morrissy, PhD, and clinical translation lead Zack Breckenridge, he reserves his biggest shout-outs for donors and their invaluable commitment to science.

“That is the critical enabler of everything — research, infrastructure for the research, infrastructure for the manufacturing, expenses associated with manufacturing these medicines to clinical grade,” he says. “Biomedical research is about as expensive as research gets.”

And, because philanthropic funding is flexible, appreciative scientists can maintain research momentum without slowing to seek out grant money.

Getting an opportunity to repay the faith by showcasing life-changing discoveries, such as the ones featured in Nature and Nature Cancer, is “amazing,” says Mahoney. “The best feeling ever.” 

“We are trying to solve some of the hardest problems in medicine. And none of this would happen without donors. Zero,” says Mahoney. “We’re really fortunate to have the donor community that we have in Calgary. There’s philanthropy everywhere, but here it’s different — a much more engaged community.”