Welcoming New Associate Members to the CDCR – Prof James Inkster and Boyang Zhang

The Centre for Discovery in Cancer Research (CDCR) at McMaster University is happy to announce the appointment of two new esteemed Associate members to the Centre. We welcome Professor James Inkster and Professor Boyang Zhang, two accomplished researchers with diverse expertise and a shared commitment to advancing cancer research. Meet our newest CDCR Associate members:

James Inkster, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. Previously, he had post-doctoral appointments at Hôpitaux universitaires de Genève and Boston Children’s Hospital. He obtained a MSc at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in synthetic organic chemistry and a PhD at TRIUMF in radiochemistry.

Professor Inkster’s lab focuses on three areas:

• The development of new bioconjugation methods for the radiolabelling of peptide and antibody-based targeting vectors for molecular imaging (optical and nuclear) and targeted radiotherapy applications.
• The synthesis and pre-clinical assessment of novel radiotracers targeting gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (GEP-NETs).
• The development of general manufacturing protocols for the sterile, automated synthesis of ¹⁸F-labelled radiopharmaceuticals (sTuch protocols are essential for their clinical translation).
  

Boyang Zhang, PhD, PEng is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering. He obtained his PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Toronto. Previously he was a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering in University of Toronto

Professor Zhang’s lab research combines human-relevant high-throughput Organ-on-a-Chip models with the analytical power of machine learning for drug development. In the past six years, his lab has developed a broad range of tissue and disease models for vasculature, lung, colon, kidney, and placenta. Their recent projects have led them to develop a unique cancer microenvironment model featuring cancer spheroids adjacent to a perfusable blood vessel. This setup allows for the long-term circulation of immune cells and enables detailed studies of their recruitment and interaction with cancer cells.

Professor Zhang has a spin-off company named OrganoBiotech offering state-of-the-art platform technologies that seamlessly replicate intricate biological processes.

With the newest Associate members joining the CDCR, the Centre’s Director, Dr. Sheila Singh, noted in welcoming our new Associate members, “Professors Inkster and Zhang, both accomplished in their respective fields, bring forth fresh perspectives, diverse expertise, and unwavering commitment. Our collaborative journey with their laboratories, underpinned by a unified vision of revolutionizing cancer research, eagerly awaits.”

About the Centre for Discovery in Cancer Research (CDCR):

The Centre for Discovery in Cancer Research (CDCR) at McMaster University features basic and translational cancer researchers from across Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, working together to provide a holistic research program. The CDCR builds expertise around treatment-resistant cancers of high need, significantly impacting those suffering from the disease in Canada and worldwide.