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Meet Dr. Dirks & the BTRC

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Dr. Peter Dirks is a neurosurgeon at The Hospital for Sick Children and a principal investigator in the Brain Tumour Research Centre (BTRC) and the Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology within the SickKids Research Institute. He has worked at SickKids since 1998. One of his clinical interests focus on the surgical treatment of childhood brain tumours.

Dr. Dirks’ lab within the BTRC comprises a dedicated team of professionals whose mission is to find new information about the roots of paediatric brain tumours with the hope that one day, childhood brain tumours will cease to exist. The team’s collective efforts also focus on cancer stem cells, neural stem cells and neural development.

The Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre (BTRC) is a multi-institutional project led by SickKids, the University Health Network (UHN) and the University of Toronto (UofT). Housed within the SickKids labs at the Medical and Related Sciences (MaRS) building, the BTRC brings together scientists and clinicians dedicated to understanding and eliminating brain tumours. 

As the first brain tumour research centre in Canada dedicated to basic science and the first in North America to focus on both paediatric and adult brain tumours, the BTRC’s goal is to foster excellence in brain tumour research. Within the BTRC, a stimulating research environment has been created allowing scientists to share ideas, resources and equipment in an atmosphere conducive to achieving excellence in molecular neuro-oncology research, scientific publications, and translational research.  Another unique aspect of the SickKids research environment is also emphasized by Dr. Dirks’ appointment in the Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Program, allowing Dr. Dirks and his team to bring knowledge of brain development and stem cells to cancer research.

Since its inception in 1996, the BTRC’s mission has been to foster leading-edge brain tumour research. In 2003, a research team led by BTRC investigator Dr. Peter Dirks identified for the first time a cancer stem cell in both malignant and benign brain tumours. This discovery has changed how brain tumours are studied and may change the treatments available to patients in the future.

Each year in Canada, 300 children under the age of 15 will be diagnosed with a brain tumour. Brain tumours are the second most common type of cancer in children and the leading cause of cancerous death in children under 20 in Canada. The establishment of The Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre has been a vital resource in the search for new answers and new treatments for patients with brain tumours.

Donations Make the Difference: Giving to SickKids is truly a heroic gesture. Your donations help children every day. You fund research breakthroughs that mean less pain for children, a higher survival rate, and less time in the hospital. Please give generously now.