CANSSI Ontario STAGE Welcomes PhD Trainee Nina Adler

CANSSI Ontario STAGE Announces Nina Adler as Trainee Award Recipient.

CANSSI Ontario STAGE is pleased to announce that Nina Adler has been selected as the CANSSI Ontario STAGE Trainee for the project “Developing multi-ancestry polygenic risk scores (PRS) for lung cancer to improve risk stratification.” Nina, a PhD student in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto, is currently conducting her research under the supervision of Drs. Rayjean Hung and Esteban J. Parra.

Nina’s research background focuses on the intersection of genetics and environmental exposures, particularly how tobacco smoke interacts with DNA at a molecular level to promote lung cancer. Now, through the CANSSI Ontario STAGE program, she is expanding her expertise into the realm of risk prediction by developing polygenic risk scores for lung cancer. Prior to pursuing her PhD, she obtained a Master of Health Science from the University of Toronto.

Her CANSSI Ontario STAGE project aims to develop a novel multi-ancestry PRS for lung cancer and assess whether incorporating it into a risk-factor-based model can enhance lung cancer risk stratification across diverse ancestry groups. The research objectives include:

1. Benchmarking several leading multi-ancestry PRS methodologies to evaluate their accuracy.

2. Developing and validating a risk model that integrates the most effective PRS approach.

3. Estimating the five-year and lifetime lung cancer risk for individuals using absolute risk models.

By improving lung cancer risk stratification, Nina’s work has the potential to advance precision medicine and promote equitable health outcomes across populations. CANSSI Ontario STAGE is proud to support her research and looks forward to the impact of her findings on cancer prevention and risk assessment.