Dedicated to Novel Approaches to Cancer Treatment
Oncologist/Hematologist, Dr. William Harless received his PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Texas in Austin before earning his medical degree from the University of  Texas. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at  the University of Illinois where he also taught in the Department of  Pathology and Internal Medicine. Dr. Harless completed a fellowship in  Hematology and Oncology at West Virginia University.   Dr. Harless has worked as a consultant oncologist in the United States, New Zealand and Canada.  Dr. Harless has concentrated his research on discovering how the wound healing pathway triggered after cancer treatments may facilitate the growth and metastasis of surviving  cancer cell populations, and started ENCYT with this research focus.
The scientific team at ENCYT studied the inflammatory response triggered by cancer treatments in detail from patients diagnosed with a variety of malignances. They identified several specific cytokines that were predictably upregulated after cancer treatment and confirmed that these molecules were fostering cancer stem cell enrichment and a drug resistant cancer cell phenotype.
Based on these discoveries, ENCYT teamed up with the Dr. Szewczuk laboratory at Queen's University to test a novel therapeutic that could block simultaneously these pathways. Â Using this novel treatment approach in a preclinical animal model of pancreatic cancer, we demonstrated a 90% reduction in tumor growth and metastases compared to the current standard of care. Â ENCYT is focused on testing this novel treatment approach in human patients with pancreatic cancer, with plans for enrolling patients in a clinical trial in 2025.
Scientific Team
Since the formation of Encyt as a dedicated research organization in early 2014, a highly qualified team of scientists and technologists has been assembled at our new state-of-the-art research facility in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Beth Lewis,
MLT ART
Laboratory Director
Mary Mkandawire,
BSc MSc PhD
Senior Research Scientist
Dr. Rob Joseph,
BSc DDS PhD
Senior Research Scientist
Dr. Kuntal Desai,
BSc MD
Research Scientist
Dr. Alexander Wawer,
BSc MD
Research Scientist
Rania Mufti,
BSc MSc PhD
Senior Research Scientist
Dr. Shamano Minhas,
BSc DPM MD
Research Scientist
Dr. Fiona Haxho,
BSc MD PhD
Research Scientist
Sarah MacDougall,
BSc
Research Assistant
Kelli Hill
Veterinary Technologist
