Our project is aimed at improving women+’s health through personalized medicine. We are focusing on inflammation and its effects in women’s health in three particular areas: ovarian and breast cancer, autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis and breast and vaginal mesh/pelvic floor implants.
Our goal is to develop and implement imaging and immunological biomarkers that will let us personalize therapies to improve health outcomes in women+. We already have some people with lived experience in ovarian cancer, but we want to ensure that we have partners that represent all of our research pillars to help us best direct the research and represent their voices.
People with lived experience will be involved in crafting the research plans, particularly in the areas of the clinical research trials where we will be designing surveys and other outreach tools to gather women+’s perspectives. We are currently at the grant writing stage and would welcome patient partners to be involved during this stage as well as the project once funded.
Eligibility
We would like the partners to have lived experience in breast or ovarian cancer, or multiple sclerosis or a related autoimmune disorder, or breast or vaginal mesh/pelvic floor implants in Atlantic Canada. Given our focus on women+ health and identifying biomarkers, priority will be given to women and gender diverse individuals who have or had a uterus.
Time Commitment
Engagement starts immediately, time commitment will be on average 2 hours per month with occasional emails and other meetings that would add an additional 3-4 hours over the span of a year. If funded, the project is anticipated to last 6 years, however partners are not required to commit for the entire time and can commit for shorter terms.
Compensation
We are currently at the stage of applying for grants and patient partner compensation will be built into our grant budget. We are also applying for patient compensation support from other patient support programs as well, including The Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute (BHCRI).