
Grace Egan
Biography
Dr. Grace Egan completed her paediatric residency at New York University in New York City and her fellowship in paediatric haematology/oncology at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto. She obtained a PhD from the Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto and completed post-doctoral research training at Princess Margaret Cancer Center.
Dr. Egan is an assistant professor at the University of Toronto and a clinician-scientist and staff physician at the Hospital for Sick Children.
Research
While outcomes for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia have improved significantly, paediatric and adolescent/young adult (AYA) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a more difficult disease to treat and outcomes remain poor. Despite advances in next generation sequencing diagnostics, there remains a lack of identifiable targetable alterations in childhood/AYA AML.
Dr Egan’s research program focuses on using genomic and bioinformatic approaches to identify and study proteins and pathways that contribute to leukemogenesis in childhood and adolescent/young adult (AYA) AML, ultimately with a goal to discovering compounds that can target these proteins and pathways. The primary goal of her research program is to identify new, effective, therapeutic strategies for childhood AML.
Education and experience
- 2024–Present: Associate Member, Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto
- 2023–Present: Early-Career Investigator, Ontario Institute of Cancer Research
- 2022–Present: Clinician Scientist, SickKids Research Institute
- 2022–Present: Staff Physician, Division of Haematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children
- 2022–Present: Assistant Professor, Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto
- 2022: PhD, University of Toronto
- 2022: Clinician Investigator Program, University of Toronto
- 2019: FRCPC, Paediatric Haematology/Oncology, Medical Council of Canada
- 2017: FRCPC, Paediatrics, Medical Council of Canada
- 2012: MD, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
Achievements
- Wiley Top Downloaded Article, 2021
- American Association of Cancer Research Bristol Myers Squibb Oncology Scholar-in-Training Award, 2021
- American Association of Cancer Research Abbvie Scholar-in-Training Award, 2020
- Poster Award in Basic Research (first prize). Till & McCulloch Meeting, Stem Cell Network, 2020
- Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) Award of Excellence, 2020
- GFCC Leukemia Clinical Scientist Fellowship Award 2021, 2020, 2019
- Victor S. Blanchette Award for Leadership and Innovative Thinking, The Hospital for Sick Children, 2018
- Ministry of Health and Long-term Care (MOHLTC) Clinician Investigator Award, 2018
Publications
- Egan G, Tasian SK. Precision Medicine for High-Risk Gene Fusions in Pediatric AML: a focus on KMT2A, NUP98, and GLIS2 Rearrangements. Blood, doi: 10.1182/blood.2024026598.
- Egan G, Tasian SK. Relapsed pediatric acute myeloid leukaemia: state-of-the-art in 2023. Haematologica, 108(9): 2275-2288
- Egan G, Schimmer AD. Contribution of metabolic abnormalities to acute myeloid leukemia pathogenesis. Trends Cell Biol, 33(6):455-462 (2022).
- Thomas GE*, Egan G*, Garcia-Prat L, Botham A, Voisin V, Patel PS, Chin J, Nachmias B, Kaufmann KB, Khan DH, Hurren R, MacLean N, Wang X, Gronda M, Singh RP, Hoff FW, Harding SM, Raught B, Arruda A, Minden M, Bader GD, Hakem R, Kornblau S, Dick JE, Schimmer AD. The metabolic enzyme Hexokinase 2 localizes to the nucleus in AML and normal hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells to maintain stemness. Nature Cell Biology, 24(6): 872-884 (2022). *Contributed equally.
- Egan G, Khan DH, Lee JB, Mirali S, Zhang L, Schimmer AD. Mitochondrial and metabolic pathways regulate nuclear gene expression to control differentiation, stem cell function, and immune response in leukemia. Cancer Discov, 11(5): 1052-1066 (2021).
- Egan G, Chopra Y, Mourad S, Chiang KY, Hitzler J. Treatment of acute myeloid leukemia in children – a practical perspective. Pediatric Blood & Cancer, 68(7):e28979 (2021).