Sarah McComb Award for Cancer Research
The Sarah McComb benefit fund awards a major prize to a top scientist from St. Michael’s Hospital for their innovative cancer research project. The award honours and celebrates Sarah McComb, a former breast cancer patient at St. Michael’s Hospital, and raises money for cancer research through the annual Rock With Love charity concert in support of Angels Den and St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation.
The winner was announced on October 22, 2025, at Angels Den—Canada’s biggest and most influential medical research competition, hosted by St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation. All finalists receive funding for their innovative projects.
Rock with Love
The 2025 Rock with Love fundraiser is taking place November 8th at the Opera House (735 Queen Street East, Toronto, ON M4M 1H1). For tickets, visit RockWithLove.ca or follow @rockwithlove1 on Instagram.
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Past Winners
Sarah McComb Award for Cancer Research
Viral Strike: Using Viruses to Attack Cancer
Dr. Kelsie Thu
Dr. Kelsie Thu
Scientist, Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science, St. Michael's Hospital
Scientists have identified a protein called CD47 that is commonly found on cancer tumours, but existing therapies have been unable to target it effectively. To address this challenge, Dr. Kelsie Thu has developed custom-engineered viruses that can target CD47 on cancer tumours—a potentially groundbreaking new approach to immunotherapy, which stimulates the immune system to attack tumours. Through this study, the team will test the viruses in tumour models with the aim of establishing this treatment as the next transformative immunotherapy for cancer patients.
Sarah McComb Award for Cancer Research
Brain Waves: A New Treatment to Target Tumours
Dr. Vitor Pereira
THE CHALLENGE: Meningiomas are the most common type of primary brain tumour in adults. They begin in the brain and spinal cord. The standard protocol is surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible, followed by radiation therapy. However, open brain surgery is an extremely high-risk procedure and standard radiation therapy is not precise leading to side effects of exposing health brain tissue. We need new non-invasive ways to provide targeted treatment for brain tumours.
THE SOLUTION: Dr. Vitor Pereira has designed a procedure that delivers a radioactive particle directly to the site of the tumour through a series of tiny catheters. The catheters enter the body through the wrist or groin, instead of through the skull. This procedure has shown promise for liver cancer. Now, they want to determine if it is safe and effective for brain cancer.
Sarah McComb Award for Cancer Research
What are the mediators of brain metastasis in patients with breast cancer?
Dr. Sunit Das
THE CHALLENEGE: Thirty to 50 percent of patients with breast cancer will develop intracranial metastatic disease (IMD), which occurs when a cancer that starts in one part of the body spreads (metastasizes) to the brain. The development of IMD has a significant impact on a patient’s survival and their quality of life. Women with metastatic HER2-positive (HER2+) breast cancer, in particular, are at a higher risk of developing IMD. The big question is why?
THE SOLUTION: We will analyze tumour tissue from patients with HER2+ breast cancer and IMD in order to determine if the development of brain metastasis is associated with loss of HER2 expression or resistance to medicines that target HER2. The study will give us insight into disease mechanisms that lead to IMD in these patients, and help researchers identify new targets for more effective treatments.