The vast majority of cancer research is focused on finding new ways to kill cancer cells. But Michael Olson, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biology at TMU, is taking a different approach. He's looking at how to stop cancer from spreading from one area of the body to another, also known as metastasis.
Getting rid of the cancer should be the primary goal. But what really kills cancer patients is the spread of the cancer," explains Olson, who is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Molecular Cell Biology. "So if we can stop the cancer from spreading, that could also prolong lives."
Professor Michael Olson will receive the top TMU research recognition, the Sarwan Sahota Distinguished Scholar Award at the Met Awards Gala on May 8.
This spring, Olson will receive the Sarwan Sahota Distinguished Scholar Award, which is presented annually to a TMU faculty member who has made an outstanding contribution in their areas of expertise. It's part of the TMU employee recognition program co-ordinated by Human Resources. Olson was selected because of the significance of his body of work, including his key discoveries of how proteins that regulate cancer cells' cytoskeleton work.
Olson studies the cytoskeleton, a network of proteins within cells that interact with each other to give cells their shape. The cytoskeleton is flexible and constantly re-organizing; it can cause cells to change shape, or to move in a particular direction. Proteins from within and outside of the cell signal to the cytoskeleton to tell it to change shape and organization.
To metastasize, cancer cells may become softer, so they can squeeze through very small spaces in a blood vessel wall. Or cancer cells, which are usually tightly packed and firmly stuck to each other, may need to move away, and break off from the pack. The network of proteins that make up the cytoskeleton are what allow cancer cells to metastasize.
As Olson puts it, "In cancer, this signalling process goes wrong, because metastatic cancer cells acquire a greater ability to move around."
Much of Olson's research involves growing cells in Petri dishes. "It doesn't look that exciting, because all you see are plastic dishes filled with a red liquid." But what's happening in these dishes is fascinating. For example, in one study, Olson's team of researchers put cancer cells on one side of a filter with pores that were only a few micrometres wide (a millionth of a metre). Then they studied the cancer cells that had gotten through the micropores. "We found that the cells which had squeezed through the small space had a more active form of a particular signalling protein that is a major contributor to cancer. Because of that, they became physically softer and better able to squeeze through these narrow spaces."
Blocking metastasis
Olson hopes to contribute to the development of therapies that can destroy or block the proteins that contribute to metastasis. Already, his lab is studying a compound in mouse models that demonstrated the ability to stop ovarian cancer cells from spreading in Petri dishes.
The work is a team effort, Olson stresses. "The graduate students, the post-doctoral fellows, the research assistants, technical help, they're the ones who really do the work."
It's also work that requires collaborations with other academic and research institutions. Olson often learns about new protein discoveries that play a role in a certain cascade of signalling - ultimately affecting cytoskeleton behaviour - from other publications and conferences. He often collaborates on research projects with other academics in the U.S. and Canada.
"Scientists all around the world build upon each other's work," he explains. Being in Toronto has its advantages too. Olson's lab is located in the biomedical research facilities at the MaRS Discovery District and he has partnerships with the Princess Margaret Cancer Center and the Mount Sinai Hospital. "It's great to be right in the middle of things, because we get access to DNA sequencing and other advanced technologies."
Another aspect that Olson appreciates about TMU is teaching undergraduate students. "I've had students who have told me they were so interested in something I taught them as undergraduate students, that they realized this is the area they want to be in," he says. "It's gratifying to think that you've had a positive effect on people's lives."
It's also rewarding for Olson to see graduate student researchers blossom in the lab. "Graduate students come in and they don't always know what they're doing in the lab. Then, in a few years, not only do they know what they're doing, they can suggest good experiments and start to lead their research projects. They have a new ability to be independent and really think critically about things," he says.
Michael Olson will receive the Sarwan Sahota Distinguished Scholar Award at the Toronto Met Awards Gala on May 8, 2025.
