Our Research

Located in Vancouver, Canada at the University of British Columbia, the Wyatt lab specializes in lethal metastatic prostate and bladder cancer genomics. We study both liquid (i.e., ctDNA) and tissue biopsies, using novel bioinformatic techniques to discover and validate new biomarkers and to better understand therapy resistance and cancer evolution. We profile correlative samples from prospective clinical trials and operate a provincial blood bank to study real-world patients. Learn more about our research here.

With just a tablespoon of blood, B.C. researchers aim to transform cancer treatment

Learn about our precision oncology approach

Toward Informed Selection and Interpretation of Clinical Genomic Tests in Prostate Cancer – JCO Precision Oncology – Vandekerkhove et al.

Dr. Gillian Vandekerkhove and the PRECISION Registry explore the current prostate cancer clinical genomic testing landscape, covering the pros and cons of testing modalities, and key considerations when interpreting genomic results.

From Blood to Diagnosis: the Role of ctDNA in Prostate Cancer Treatment – In this discussion between Alicia Morgans and Alexander Wyatt, the two delve into the complexities of using circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) in the treatment of prostate cancer.

This educational podcast with COR2ED in November 2023, focused on the pre-analytical phase challenges and biomarker testing in prostate cancer. The podcast was endorsed by the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP).

Recent publications

Deep whole-genome ctDNA chronology of treatment-resistant prostate cancer

From Ph.D. students, Cameron Herberts, Matti Annala, and Joonatan Sipola, our latest paper in Nature showcases opportunities for deep whole-genome ctDNA sequencing to dissect metastatic prostate cancer clonal complexity and the emergence of treatment resistance. Read a summary here or the entire manuscript here.

Evaluating ctDNA in metastatic urothelial carcinoma

From now post-doctoral fellow, Dr. Gillian Vandekerkhove, we found that liquid biopsies are a tissue surrogate and ctDNA levels in blood are highly prognostic of patient outcomes. Read a summary here or the full Nature Communications paper here.