Dr.
Lam, Wan
BSc, MSc, PhD, (Dalhousie Univ), MRC
e-mail:
Lab Website
Academic Rank:
Professor, Distinguished Scientist
Affiliation(s):
BC Cancer Agency, BC Cancer Research Centre
Location:
BC Cancer Agency
Short Bio
Dr. Lam received his graduate training in Biochemistry at Dalhousie University with Dr. W. Ford Doolittle. As a post-doctoral fellow, he trained with Nobel Laureate Dr. Walter Gilbert at Harvard University. Dr. Lam returned to Canada in 1998 as a Senior Scientist in Cancer Genetics and Developmental Biology at the British Columbia Cancer Agency. Currently, he is Professor of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, and a faculty member of the Interdisciplinary Oncology Program, at the University of British Columbia.
Dr. Lam’s primary research interest is in understanding the events leading to cancer progression. Early detection and treatment is key to a favorable prognosis in cancer. His laboratory has developed novel whole genome approaches for tracking genetic, epigenetic and gene expression changes in order to identify genes and pathways critical to cancer progression, and signatures for treatment response.
Current Appointments
- Distinguished Scientist, Integrative Oncology, BC Cancer Agency
- Deputy Head, Integrative Oncology Department, BC Cancer Agency
- Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia
- Faculty Member, Interdisciplinary Oncology Program, University of British Columbia
Academic Backgrounds
- Postdoctoral Research Associate (Molecular and Cellular Biology) Harvard University. 1994-1998
- MRC Postdoctoral Fellow (Cellular and Developmental Biology) Harvard University. 1991-1994
- PhD (Biochemistry) Dalhousie University. 1991
- BSc and MSc (Microbiology), University of Alberta. 1983, 1986
Awards & Recognition
Selected Publications
- Martinez VD, Becker-Santos DD, Lam S, Lam WL (2012) How should treatment differ for lung cancers caused by arsenic exposure? Lung Cancer Management 1: 243–246.
- Hubaux R, Becker-Santos DD, Enfield KSS, Lam S, Lam WL, Martinez VD (2012) Arsenic, asbestos and radon: Emerging players in lung tumorigenesis. Environmental Health 11:89, 1-12.
- McKee C, Xu D, Cao Y, Kabraji S, Allen D, Kearsman V, Beech J, Smart S, Hamdy F, Ishkanian A, Sykes J, Pintile M, Milosevic M, van der Kwast T, Zafarana G, Ramnarine VR, Jurisica I, Malloff C, Lam W, Bristow RG, Muschel R (2012) Protease Nexin 1 modulates prostate adenocarcinoma by regulating the Hedgehog pathway in humans and mice. Journal of Clinical Investigation 122: 4025-36.
- Selamat SA, Chung BS, Girard L, Zhang W, Zhang Y, Campan M, Siegmund KD, Koss MN, Hagen JA, Lam WL, Lam S, Gazdar AF, Laird-Offringa IA (2012) Genome-scale analysis of DNA methylation in lung adenocarcinoma and integration with mRNA expression. Genome Research 22:1197–1211.
- Vucic, EA, Thu KL, Robison K, Rybaczyk L, Chari R, Alvarez CE, Lam WL (2012) Translating cancer omics to outcomes. Genome Research 22:188-95.
- Hubaux R, Becker-Santos DD, Enfield KSS, Lam S, Lam WL, Martinez VD (2011) MicroRNAs as biomarkers for clinical features of lung cancer. Metabolomics 2:108, 1-11. 2012
- Lockwood WW, Thu KL, Lin L, Pikor LA, Chari R., Lam WL*, Beer DG* (2012) Integrative genomics identified RFC3 as an amplified candidate oncogene in esophageal adenocarcinoma. Clinical Cancer Research 18: 1936-46.
- Lin L, Bass AJ, Lockwood WW, Wang Z, Silvers AL, Thomas DG, Li W, Chang AC, Orringer MB, Glover TW, Giordano TJ, Lam WL, Meyerson M, Beer DG (2012) Activation of GATA6 sustains oncogenic lineage-survival in esophageal adenocarcinoma. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 109:4251-6.
- Enfield KSS, Pikor LA, Martinez VD, Lam WL (2012) Mechanistic roles of non-coding RNAs in lung cancer biology and their clinical implications. Genetic Research International 2012: 737416, 1-16.
- Martinez VD, Vucic EA, Lam S, Lam WL (2012) Arsenic and lung cancer in never smokers: Lessons from Chile. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 185: 1131-2.
Current Openings & Opportunities
Current Projects In My Lab include
Research
- Cancer progression
- Genome biology
- Epigenetics
- Molecular Systems Biology
- Lung Cancer
- Technology Development
- Dr. Lam’s primary research interest is in understanding the events leading to cancer progression. Early detection and treatment is key to a favorable prognosis in cancer. His laboratory at the British Columbia Cancer Research Centre (http://www.bccrc.ca/dept/ic/genetics) has developed novel whole genome approaches for tracking genetic, epigenetic and gene expression changes in order to identify genes and pathways critical to cancer progression and signatures for treatment response.