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Dr. Lorenzo Ferri

Academic title(s): 
  • Professor of Surgery 
  • Professor, Oncology 
  • Head, Division of Thoracic and Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery, MUHC 
Dr. Lorenzo Ferri
Contact Information
Email address: 
lorenzo.ferri [at] mcgill.ca
Department: 
Surgery
Division: 
General Surgery
Thoracic Surgery
Degree(s): 

PhD, MDCM, BSc 

Location: 
Montreal General Hospital
Graduate supervision: 

Currently supervising students

Group: 
Currently Recruiting
M.Sc. Students
M.Sc. Non-Thesis projects
Ph.D. Students
Research areas: 
Surgical Outcomes and Quality
Surgical Education and Simulation
Surgical Oncology
Translation and Innovation
Precision Health
Areas of expertise: 

Dr. Ferri is an independent investigator with active basic science, translational and clinical research programs, all concentrated primarily on malignancies of the chest and foregut.  Dr. Ferri has initiated numerous clinical programs and studies for esophageal cancer including: Novel combination chemotherapy regimens for neoadjuvant treatment of adenocarcinoma; Optimizing the palliation of metastatic disease; and extensive work into the investigation and optimization of outcomes after esophageal surgery. He is the first physician in Canada to introduce a novel technique of removing early cancers of the esophagus and stomach through endoscopic means (Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection), and has been invited throughout North America to speak on this method. 

This clinical work is closely coupled to both translational and fundamental research in the area of cancer-inflammation cross talk. Dr. Ferri is the recipient of numerous peer review grants (including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Canadian Cancer Society) for his work into the inflammatory basis of cancer metastasis. He has identified the important role of bacterial antigens and host neutrophils in propagating cancer dissemination, thus representing a new paradigm in the metastatic process.  One of his most recent discoveries highlighting the novel finding implicating Neutrophil Extracellular Traps in the metastatic process (Journal of Clinical Investigation – August 2013) was widely reported in the global lay media including National Public Radio, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Radio Canada. 

Current research: 

My research focuses on improving outcomes in the treatment of gastric and esophageal cancers, as well as on the basic mechanisms involved in resistance to neoadjuvant/adjuvant therapy and the development of model systems/tumour avatars to investigate and identify clinically useful approaches to abrogate such resistance. I also have a strong research interest in the role of the microenvironment in cancer progression and resistance to therapy, specifically focusing on the role played by inflammation, bacterial antigens and host neutrophils in these processes. My team is involved with several large team projects, including studies funded by the Cancer Research UK Grand Challenge and Marathon of Hope mechanisms; I am also the lead investigator for Department of Defense (Impact) and Canadian Cancer Society/CIHR (Breakthrough) group grants that aim to translate high-throughput patient-specific cancer model-based drug testing approaches into clinical applications. 

Clinical Interests: 

Upper G.I. Cancer Program, Clinical Chemotherapy Trials for Thoracic Malignancies Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy – Gastric and Esophageal Cancer - Adjuvant Chemotherapy – Lung Cancer 

Areas of interest: 
  • altered leukocyte function in sepsis
  • lung/esophageal cancer cell migration
  • outcomes for esophageal resection
  • the role of circumferential resection margin status in esophageal cancer
Biography: 

Dr. Ferri is the holder of the David S. Mulder Endowed Chair in Surgery and a tenured Professor in the Departments of Surgery and Oncology at McGill University. He is a surgeon-scientist with a focus on Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer who couples his clinical activity with an active translational and fundamental research program investigating the mechanisms of therapy resistance in gastro-esophageal adenocarcinoma, and the inflammatory basis of cancer progression. Dr Ferri has led the Division of Thoracic and Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery since 2011. Under his leadership, the Division has flourished, growing from three surgeons to eight with the addition of two research faculty members, and has advanced exponentially in terms of volume, research, grants, publication, philanthropy, and education. The Division is recognized as a leading program, both nationally and internationally, with close to 200 publications and $10 million of grants in the last five years. 

Selected publications: 

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