Research graduate student position starting September 2026 :

The research project: Investigating brain metastasis of HER2+ breast cancer

We are looking for a motivated graduate student interested in pursuing experimental cancer research work at the Master’s or PhD level.

The research project received funding from national (CIHR, CRS) and university (UCRP) sources and utilizes a pre-clinical mouse model of patient-derived HER2+ breast cancer brain metastasis (BCBM). Upon intracardial and intracranial xenografting, BCBM tumors developing in mouse brains are treated with covalent HER2 inhibitors alone or in combination with other small molecule compounds to study potential synergistic in-vivo effects and to monitor recurrent tumor development in the brain. Mechanistic studies are performed on BCBM cells re-isolated from treated and recurrent mouse metastatic brain tumors.

The student will be trained to perform breast cancer cell xenografting in mouse brains. They will monitor tumor growth and treatment response by small animal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). They will further be trained in multiplex immunofluorescence and spatial image analysis techniques to determine changes in cellular responses in the brain tumor microenvironment over time. Previous experience with animal work is an asset but is not essential requirement. Re-isolation of BCBM cells from mouse brains for further mechanistic studies require cell culture training and diverse functional investigative methodology.

You will be supported by a dedicated team of experienced investigators and graduate students, including clinical collaborators and patient advocates. Hombach/Klonisch labs - https://hombachklonisch.com/

If you are interested in this pre-clinical brain metastasis research project contact the principal investigators Dr. Sabine Hombach-Klonisch [Sabine.Hombach-Klonisch@umanitoba.ca] or Dr. Thomas Klonisch [Thomas.Klonisch@umanitoba.ca], Department of Human Anatomy and Cell Science, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba.

Hombach/Klonisch labs

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Graduate student: Cancer Research