Canary Derby

About Canary Foundation of Canada

Vision

A world of simple tests that identify and isolate cancer at its earliest most curable stage.

Mission

Deliver early detection tests for solid tumor cancers by 2015.

Strategy

Stimulate investment in the cancer diagnostics industry by demonstrating the first set of efficient, cost-effective early detection tests.

Canary Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the goal of identifying cancer early through a simple blood test and then isolating it with imaging. Canary Foundation has always sought the best researchers and has taken steps to ensure the most expedient accomplishment of its mission.

It's not surprising that the first international outreach of Canary Foundation was to Canada. After all, Canary founder Don Listwin was born and raised in Canada, but Canary's initial foray into the north was primarily because of the connection between researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the BC Cancer Agency — particularly Dr. Nicole Urban and Dr. Brad Nelson. They had worked together on research to create a simple blood test to screen women for ovarian cancer, and both have since expanded their work to study other tumor types.

Much of the additional funding raised through the BC Cancer Foundation has been through Canary board member Michael Ball's vision of a soapbox derby fundraiser in Victoria and Vancouver, BC. Funds raised through the 2007 Canary Derby helped to purchase the Biacore X100, which enabled Dr. Brad Nelson's research team to develop immunoassays at a greatly accelerated pace. Before the arrival of the Biacore X100, it could take anywhere from several weeks to several months to identify pairs of antibodies that work well together in an immunoassay. The new equipment reduces or eliminates the need to scale up, purify, and label antibodies, such that the process can be accomplished in a matter of days.

Canary Foundation has committed additional funds to Dr. Nelson's lab to expand resources to meet the projected increased demand for antigens, antibodies and immunoassays resulting from the expansion of Canary Foundation's mission to include the early detection of pancreatic, lung and prostate cancer.

Canary continues to bring together the finest scientists and medical researchers in varied fields so that they can connect their research endeavors, and so that a breakthrough in one place today can be shared and leveraged tomorrow by other researchers.

All funds raised stay right here in Canada!

For more information, please visit our site at http://www.canaryfoundation.org/canary-canada.cfm.