Thursday, May 5, 2005

Regional Cancer Care at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) is pleased to announce the appointment of a new physician, Dr. Nicole Laferriere.

Dr. Laferriere recently joined the Medical Oncology team at Regional Cancer Care, specializing in Haematology. She spent her summers as a child in Northwestern Ontario. She studied Medical Laboratory Science at Lakehead University and was awarded the Dean of Science Gold Medal for Biology. Dr. P. Pan of the Lake of the Woods District Hospital (now deceased) was an important mentor to her. She then moved on to the University of Ottawa to complete a Ph.D. in Cell Biology, where she had an NSERC scholarship to study proteins in developing neurons. She became highly involved with tutoring, advising and instructing to medical and summer students, developing curricula in a cell biology laboratory course. She also took the opportunity to become involved with students in Northern Ontario, and was a distance tutor and role model for science students.

Upon completion of graduate school in Ottawa, she moved into postdoctoral work at the National Research Council in Ottawa in 1996, under Dr. P. Morley in the Heart and Stroke group. She then did Undergraduate Medicine at McMaster University and then returned to the University of Ottawa for Internal Medicine training where she began to concentrate her efforts on haematology, culminating in the chief resident position in the Haematology Fellowship program. “In the final year of my Haematology training program, my husband and I discussed our next steps, and began to look at different facilities across Canada,” commented Dr. Laferriere. “My first choice was Northwestern Ontario, and when I began to research the cancer program at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, our decision was made. In my opinion, Regional Cancer Care has superior standards in patient care, and with the new partnerships with Lakehead University and the medical school, a great potential for teaching and research that will position Northwestern Ontario as a hub of excellent service standards and opportunity.”

Dr. Laferriere has collaborated on a number of published articles, including articles on cancer cells. She has been invited to speak at various symposia and institutes, including the International Cell Motility Symposium in France, and the International Congress on Cell Biology in Spain. She is a member of the American Society of Haematologists, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the Canadian Medical Association.

Haematology is crucial in the diagnosis and treatment of cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. Blood cells, consisting of red cells, white cells, and platelets, are made in the bone marrow, a soft, spongy tissue found in the centre of large bones. In healthy people, millions of new blood cells are produced each hour to carry out important body functions. Red blood cells (erythrocytes) carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. White blood cells (leukocytes) fight infections and illness. Platelets (thrombocytes) cause the blood to clot, a process that stops bleeding when there is an injury. The body carefully regulates the activity of bone marrow to produce the correct number of each type of cell. If this regulation process is disrupted and the marrow produces too many or too few cells, a blood disorder occurs. Haematology and oncology study the relationship of the bone marrow to cancer cells to produce treatment options for cancer patients, and looks at the physiology of the body in establishing diagnosis and treatment.

“We are very fortunate to have Dr. Laferriere join our team,” stated Dr. Dimitrios Vergidis, Chief of Oncology at TBRHSC, also a specialist in Haematology. “With the cancer centre’s clinical standards and volumes and the academic initiatives of Lakehead and the new Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), the possibilities for teaching and education are enormous. With physicians like Dr. Laferriere on staff, that seek opportunities for teaching and education, our program is poised for growth.”

With the addition of highly specialized physicians and health professionals like Dr. Laferriere, the opportunity to expand the “health sciences” aspect of the cancer centre and TBRHSC is wide ranging and exciting. “We have been anticipating the accelerated growth of the Integrated Cancer Program at TBRHSC from the moment we moved,” said Michael Power, Vice President of Regional Cancer Services and Diagnostic Imaging. “When you begin to see the growth and interest in the facility and everything that we, as a community, have built, it all comes together, and continues to generate new opportunities for program expansion; we are on the brink of creating a comprehensive program of care, education, and research.”

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