LeBrun | Sinclair Cancer Research Institute | School of Medicine

David P. LeBrun MD

Position(s)

Principal Investigator, CBG Division

Contact Info

613-533-3209

Faculty Bio:

Dr. David LeBrun obtained his M.D. from Queen’s University in 1984. He completed residency in anatomical pathology at the University of Toronto in 1990 then moved to Stanford University where he underwent postdoctoral training in lymphoma diagnosis and, as a Medical Research Council Canada Research Fellow, in experimental research pertaining to molecular mechanisms of leukemogenesis. He has held a faculty appointment in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at Queen’s University since 1994 and holds the rank of Professor. He conducts correlative and mechanistic research on lymphoma and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. His research has been supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada, the Cancer Research Society and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. Dr. LeBrun serves as the senior consultant in lymph node pathology for the Southeastern Ontario region.

Research Interests:

MOLECULAR MECHANISMS IN LEUKEMIA

Our lab carries out experimental and correlative research related to lymphoid cancers. The experimental component of our work is directed at understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie acute lymphoblastic leukemia, an aggressive and relatively common cancer in children. We are especially interested in an oncogenic transcription factor called TCF3-PBX1 (formerly called E2A-PBX1). TCF3-PBX1 disrupts the normal regulation of cellular proliferation and differentiation by mechanisms that involve physical interactions with other proteins and DNA; these ultimately lead to abnormal gene regulation. We use a wide range of biochemical and cell biology techniques to identify and elucidate key physical and functional molecular interactions involved in transforming normal hematopoietic cells into leukemic ones.

TRANSLATIONAL LYMPHOMA RESEARCH

Lymphomas are relatively common solid tumours derived from lymphoid cells. Since they are clinically and biologically diverse, as well as relatively well-characterized from a molecular point of view, lymphomas offer a particular opportunity to exploit new insights in basic cancer biology in order to improve the diagnosis and clinical management of patients. Our work in this area has essentially entailed correlating histological, immunohistological or molecular findings derived from primary lymphoma tumour samples with clinical data. Our correlative lymphoma studies been made possible by the Queen's Laboratory for Molecular Pathology, which provides access to research pathology services, including construction of tissue microarrays, routine and fluorescence-based immunohistology, computer-assisted image analysis services, nucleic acids extraction and access to a NanoString platform.

Publications

LeBrun Lab

Faculty

Abraham, Sheela A., Principal Investigator (CBG Division)

Allingham, Dr.John, Prof, Associate member, SCRI

Ashworth, MD, FRCPC, Allison, Assistant Professor

Baetz, Tara, Member, Division of Cancer Clinical Trials

Basta, Dr.Sam, Prof, Associate member, SCRI

Berman, David M., Principal Investigator, CBG Division

Biagi, Jim, Member, Division of Cancer Clinical Trials

Bingshu, Chen, Senior Biostatistician, CCTG

Booth, Christopher, Director, CCE Division

Brundage, Michael, MSc, FRCPC, MD

Chen, Bingshu, Senior Biostatistician, CCTG

Cottrell, Tricia, Senior Investigator, CCTG

Craig, Andrew, Director, Sinclair Cancer Research Institute

Dancey, Janet, Director, CCTG

Davey, Scott K., past CBG Division

Ding, Keyue, Biostatistician, CCTG

Feilotter, Harriet, Senior Scientist, CCTG

Flemming, Jennifer, Principal Investigator, CCE Division

Galica, PhD, RN, CON(C), Jacqueline, Associate Professor

Gaudreau, Pierre-Olivier, Senior Investigator, Investigational New Drug Program, CCTG

Gauthier, Isabelle, Senior Scientist, Business Development & Collaborations, CCTG

Gee, Dr.Katrina, Prof, Associate member, SCRI

Gooding, Robert, Member, Division of Cancer Biology & Genetics

Graham, Charles, Member, Division of Cancer Biology & Genetics

Greer, Peter A., Principal Investigator, CBG Division

Groome, Patti, Professor Emerita, CCE Division

Gyawali, Bishal, Principal Investigator, CCE Division

Hanna, Timothy, Principal Investigator, CCE Division

Hay, Annette, Senior Investigator, CCTG

Izard, Jason, Member, Division of Cancer Care & Epidemiology

Koti, Madhuri, Principal Investigator, CBG Division

Kubes, Paul, Professor, CBG Division

Madarnas, Yolanda, Member, Division of Cancer Biology & Genetics

Mahar, Alyson, Principal Investigator, CCE Division

Massey, Thomas, Member, Division of Cancer Biology & Genetics

Mathews, MBBS, MD, Jean, Assistant Professor, Division of Palliative Medicine

Merchant, Shaila, Associate Professor

Mueller, Christopher R., Principal Investigator, CBG Division

Mulligan, Lois, Principal Investigator, CBG Division

Nanji, Sulaiman, Associate Professor

Nicol, Christopher, Director, CBG Division

O'Callaghan, Chris, Senior Investigator, CCTG

Othman, Maha, Professor, Associate Member SCRI

Panchenko, Anna, Professor, DBMS; Sr. Investigator, OICR

Parulekar, Wendy, Senior Investigator, CCTG

Patel, Sunil, Principal Investigator, CCE Division

Pater, Joseph, Senior Investigator, CCTG

Peng, Yingwei (Paul), Biostatistician, CCE Division

Petitjean, Anne, Member, Division of Cancer Clinical Trials

Petkovich, P. Martin, Principal Investigator, CBG Division

Postovit, Lynne-Marie, Head, Dept. of Biomedical & Molecular Sciences

Raptis, Leda, Member, Division of Cancer Biology & Genetics

Rauh, Michael, Member, Division of Cancer Biology & Genetics

Renwick, Neil, Assistant Professor, Translational RNA Biology

Richardson, Harriet, Investigator, CCTG and CCE divisions

Robinson, MD, MSc, FRCPC, Andrew, Associate Professor

Rushton-Marovac, Moira, Senior Investigator, CCTG

Schreiner, John, Member, Division of Cancer Clinical Trials

Seymour, Lesley, Director, Investigational New Drug Program, the Canadian Cancer Trials Group

Shepherd, Lois, Senior Investigator, CCTG

Siemens, Robert, Member, Division of Cancer Care & Epidemiology

Simpson, Amber, Senior Scientist, CCTG

Szewczuk, Dr.Myron, Prof, Associate member, SCRI

Talbot, Dr.Sebastien, Associate Prof, Associate member, SCRI

Tu, Dongsheng, Senior Biostatistician, CCTG

Tu, Wei, Senior Biostatistician, CCTG

Wijeratne, MSc, MD, Don Thiwanka, Associate Professor

Wilson, MBBS, MSc, FRACP, Brooke, Assistant Professor

Winn, Louise, Member, Division of Cancer Biology & Genetics

Yang, Xiaolang, Member, Division of Cancer Biology & Genetics

Yeates, MPH, MD, Karen, Professor

Ynoe de Moraes, Fabio, Principal Investigator, CCE Division

Team

Faculty