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Hawkins Lab

Brief Biography

Dr. Hawkins obtained her PhD in 1996 and her MD in 1997 from the University of Western Ontario. She completed her residency training in neuropathology at the University of Toronto in 2002, including a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Zurich. Dr. Hawkins joined The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) as a neuropathologist in 2002 and has been appointed at the Research Institute in the Cell Biology program since 2004. She is a principal investigator at the Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre and an assistant professor at the University of Toronto.

Clinical Care Activities

Dr. Hawkins is a paediatric neuropathologist at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). Her practice involves both surgical and autopsy neuropathology and includes neuro-oncologic, neuromuscular and neurodevelopmental disease.

Research Interests

• Identification of novel prognostic and therapeutic markers for paediatric brain tumours
• Telomerase in paediatric ependymoma
• Molecular pathogenesis of paediatric astrocytomas

Research Activities

Our research focuses on genetic and proteomic markers for prognostication and therapy guidance in paediatric brain tumours including medulloblastoma, astrocytoma and ependymoma. We developed a clinical-biologic model to predict survival in medulloblastoma and are now working to acquire more detailed knowledge of the biology of medulloblastomas in order to tailor therapy to the particular biology and predicted behaviour of an individual patient's tumour. To better understand the genes important for development of paediatric astrocytoma, we are using genome-wide approaches.

I am also the reference pathologist for a national study of paediatric thalamic brain tumours and for a national study of low grade astrocytomas. Through our research we have found that expression of telomerase, a protein important for continued cell division, can predict outcome in paediatric ependymoma more effectively than clinical prognostic factors and we are investigating its potential as a therapeutic target for these tumours.

In addition to my major research activities, I collaborate with a number of clinicians and scientists on projects including paediatric stroke, neuromuscular disease, mitochondrial disease and developmental disorders.

External Funding

• Canadian Institute of Health Research
• National Cancer Institute of Canada
• b.r.a.i.n.child
• Brain Tumor Society
• C17 Research Network

Achievements

• 2003-2007 CIHR/Eli Lilly/ CCO Charles H. Hollenberg Translational Research Award
• HFSP Long-term Fellowship, 2001
• Mary Tom Award, Canadian Association of Neuropathology, 2000

Publications

Kamnasaran D, Hawkins C, Guha A. Characterization and transformation potential of "Synthetic" astrocytes differentiated from murine embryonic stem cells. Glia. 56(4):457-70, 2008

Kamnasaran D, Qian B, Hawkins C, Stanford WL, Guha A. GATA6 is an astrocytoma tumor suppressor gene identified by gene trapping of mouse glioma model. PNAS. 104(19):8053-8, 2007

Tabori U, Ma J, Carter M, Zielenska M, Rutka JT, Bouffet E, Bartels U, Malkin D, Hawkins C. HTERT expression predicts progression and survival in pediatric intracranial ependymoma. J Clin Oncol 24(10):1522-28, 2006

Singh S, Hawkins C, Clarke ID, Squire JA, Bayani J, Hide T, Henkelman RM, Cusimano MD, Dirks PB. Cancer stem cells exclusively initiate human brain tumor growth in vivo. Nature. 432:396-401, 2004

Ray A, Ho M, Ma J, Parkes R, Mainprize TG, Ueda S, McLaughlin J, Bouffet E, Rutka JT, Hawkins CE. A Clinico-Biologic model predicting survival in medulloblastoma. Clin Cancer Res. 10:763-7620, 2004.

A complete list of Dr. Hawkins' publications is available at Pub Med.