Adrienne Weeks, PhD Assistant Professor, Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University Website | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it | Publications Tel: (902) 473-2656

Research

Dr. Adrienne Weeks is a neurosurgeon, interventional neuroradiologist and scientist with a particular interest in brain cancer. In the OR, she removes the bulk of glioblastoma tumours—hard-to-treat tumours that spread spider-web like throughout the brain. In the lab, she cultures patients' cancer cells into models of glioblastoma, so she can study the role of RNA stress granules in the deadly cancer's progression. RNA stress granules are tiny particles of RNA and proteins that form when the brain is under stress, creating a protective barrier around healthy and cancerous cells alike. She hopes to find a way to disable them to make chemotherapy and radiation more effective. Among many grants and awards, Dr. Weeks has received:

• Genome Canada funding to identify biomarkers for pediatric and adult high grade astrocytoma through genomics and epigenomics
• Meaghan's Walk Brain Child Synergy Grant
• A Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation equipment grant
• Seeding funding from Dalhousie University Department of Surgery and the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute

In 2017, Dr. Weeks and her colleagues, Drs. Jeremy Brown, James Fawcett, John Frampton, and Rob Adamson, received a $2.68 million Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF) project to develop a miniature ablation endoscope for guided neurosurgery, with a focus on tumour removal.

Academic background

Adrienne Weeks attained her BSc in physiology from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, in 1999, followed by an MD in 2003, also at UBC. After her undergraduate training, Dr. Weeks moved to Toronto, where she completed her neurosurgery residency at the University of Toronto. Partway through her residency, she embarked on a PhD in laboratory medicine and pathophysiology, and continued that work while she transitioned to a clinical fellowship in interventional neuroradiology. When her training was complete, she moved to Halifax to accept a position as assistant professor in the Division of Neurosurgery at Dalhousie Medical School.

 Selected Publications

Journal Articles

Weeks, Adrienne; Agnihotri, Sameer; Lyme, Jenny; Chalil, Alan; Diaz, Roberto; Smith, Christian and JamesT Rutka. (2016). ECT2 and AURKB Modulate Stress Granules that Harbour Diverse Cellular Pathways inAstroctyoma Cells. American Journal of Pathology. 186(6): 1674-1687.

Weeks A , Okolowsky N , Golbourn B , Ivanchuk S , Smith C , Rutka JT. (2012). ECT2 and RASAL2 mediate mesenchymal-amoeboid transition in human astrocytoma cells. The American Journal of Pathology. 181(2)

Seol HJ , Chang JH , Yamamoto J , Romagnuolo R , Suh Y , Weeks A , Agnihotri S , Smith CA , Rutka JT. (2012). Overexpression of CD99 Increases the Migration and Invasiveness of Human Malignant Glioma Cells. Genes & cancer. 3(9-10)

Nagai S , Moreno O , Smith CA , Ivanchuk S , Romagnuolo R , Golbourn B , Weeks A , Seol HJ , Rutka JT. (2011). Role of the cofilin activity cycle in astrocytoma migration and invasion. Genes & cancer. 2(9)

Rutka JT , Kongkham P , Northcott P , Carlotti C , Guduk M , Osawa H , Moreno O , Seol HJ , Restrepo A , Weeks A , Nagai S , Smith C. (2009). The evolution and application of techniques in molecular biology to human brain tumors: a 25 year perspective. Journal of Neuro-Oncology. 92(3)

Book Chapters

Weeks A, Puget S, Partridge E, Kongkham P, Smith C and James Rutka. (2015). Molecular Biology of Brain Tumours. Coleman. Molecular Basis of Human Cancer.

Adrienne Weeks, Aria Fallah and James Rutka. (2012). Posterior Fossa and Brainstem Tumours in Children. Adullraf and Ellenbogen. Principles of Neurological Surgery. 3: 169-186.

Adrienne Weeks and Michael Taylor. (2010). Pediatric Carniopharyngiomas, Mixed Glioneuronal Tumours and Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumours.Estilin, Gilbertson and Wynn. Pediatric Hematology and Oncology. : 62-74.

Weeks, A and Rutka JT. (2007). Choroid Plexu Papillomas. Baehring J. Brain-Tumours-A Practical Guide to Diagnosis and Management. 1: 219-228.