Rebecca Auer
Senior Scientist, Cancer Therapeutics Program
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Scientific Director, Cancer Therapeutics Program
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Professor, Department of Surgery and Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology. Faculty of Medicine
University of Ottawa
Surgical Oncologist, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, Immunology & Microbiology
The Ottawa Hospital
Tier 1 Clinical Research Chair, Perioperative Cancer Therapeutics
University of Ottawa
Research Interests
Dr. Rebecca Auer is interested in all aspects of cancer surgery, from diagnosis to surgery for metastatic disease. As a Surgeon-Scientist, Dr. Auer heads a research laboratory and is the principle investigator in related clinical trials. Her translational research program focuses on understanding the promotion of metastatic disease in the perioperative period, following surgical stress. In particular she is studying novel perioperative cancer therapies, including oncolytic viruses, cancer vaccines and low molecular weight heparin, which inhibit the formation of metastases postoperatively.
Brief Biography
Dr. Rebecca Auer is the Scientific Director for the Cancer Therapeutics Program at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. She is a Surgical Oncologist at The Ottawa Hospital and a Professor in the Department of Surgery and the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Auer holds a Tier 1 Clinical Research Chair in Perioperative Cancer Therapeutics and leads a translational research program focused on understanding the promotion of metastatic disease in the postoperative period. She had defined a mediating role for Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells and effector Natural Killer and T cells in cancer recurrence following surgery. Using surgically relevant preclinical animal models, Dr. Auer has identified candidate immunotherapies capable of counteracting the immunosuppressive effects of surgery. Dr. Auer has led six translational clinical trials of perioperative cancer therapies based on this preclinical research. She has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and received over $30 million dollars in peer-reviewed funding to support her work. Dr. Auer is also the co-founder of the Canadian Cholangiocarcinoma Collaborative (C3) which aims provide hope to Canadian patients with biliary tract cancers by integrating research into care, funded by the Canadian Cancer Society.
Selected Publications
Diseases, conditions and populations of interest
Research and clinical approaches
