Matricentric Policy Research: Making Room for Mothers in an Inclusive Research Partnership

In this article, I argue inclusive policy research using "big data" that is informed by matricentric feminist values can yield analysis and recommendations that will be empowering for mothers. Drawing on my experience as a feminist legal scholar and my developing interest in social policy as a means to achieve justice for mothers and other carers, I contend that legal challenges to advance equality for mothers have not been as successful as early assessments might have predicted. Instead, I explore how an inclusive team approach to the kind of social problems that make life difficult for many mothers in Canada could yield better policy that brings them closer to equality. I describe a policy research partnership that includes public servants and community groups as well as academics, informed by an intersectional approach. The partnership will make use of administrative data in Manitoba to explore social policy challenges, including affected community members and public servants from all relevant departments from the outset, ensuring that the questions that are explored reflect the real needs of the people the policies are intended to serve. With two examples of previous research, I illustrate how mother-focused recommendations can flow from the kind of big data available in Manitoba

Accurate Estrogen Receptor Quantification in Patients with Negative and Low-Positive Estrogen-Receptor-Expressing Breast Tumors: Sub-Analyses of Data from Two Clinical Studies

<p>Full copyright for enhanced digital features is owned by the authors.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Article full text</strong></p><p><br> The full text of this article can be found <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12325-019-0896-0"><b>here</b>.</a> <br> <br> <strong>Provide enhanced digital features for this article</strong><br> If you are an author of this publication and would like to provide additional enhanced digital features for your article then please contact <u>[email protected]</u>.<br> <br> The journal offers a range of additional features designed to increase visibility and readership. All features will be thoroughly peer reviewed to ensure the content is of the highest scientific standard and all features are marked as ‘peer reviewed’ to ensure readers are aware that the content has been reviewed to the same level as the articles they are being presented alongside. Moreover, all sponsorship and disclosure information is included to provide complete transparency and adherence to good publication practices. This ensures that however the content is reached the reader has a full understanding of its origin. No fees are charged for hosting additional open access content.<br> <br> Other enhanced features include, but are not limited to:<br> • Slide decks<br> • Videos and animations<br> • Audio abstracts<br> • Audio slides</p> <p> </p

Integrated DNA and RNA Sequencing Reveals Drivers of Endocrine Resistance in Estrogen Receptor Positive Breast Cancer

PURPOSE: Endocrine therapy resistance (ETR) remains the greatest challenge in treating patients with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer. We set out to identify molecular mechanisms underlying ETR through in-depth genomic analysis of breast tumors. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We collected pre-treatment and sequential on-treatment tumor samples from 35 patients with estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant then adjuvant endocrine therapy; 3 had intrinsic resistance, 19 acquired resistance, and 13 remained sensitive. Response was determined by changes in tumor volume neoadjuvantly and by monitoring for adjuvant recurrence. Twelve patients received two or more lines of endocrine therapy, with subsequent treatment lines being initiated at the time of development of resistance to the previous endocrine therapy. DNA whole-exome sequencing and RNA sequencing were performed on all samples, totalling 169 unique specimens. DNA mutations, copy-number alterations, and gene expression data were analyzed through unsupervised and supervised analyses to identify molecular features related to ETR. RESULTS: Mutations enriched in ETR included ESR1 and GATA3. The known ESR1 D538G variant conferring ETR was identified, as was a rarer E380Q variant that confers endocrine hypersensitivity. Resistant tumors which acquired resistance had distinct gene expression profiles compared with paired sensitive tumors, showing elevated pathways including ER, HER2, GATA3, AKT, RAS, and p63 signaling. Integrated analysis in individual patients highlighted the diversity of ETR mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS: The mechanisms underlying ETR are multiple and characterized by diverse changes in both somatic genetic and transcriptomic profiles; to overcome resistance will require an individualized approach utilizing genomic and genetic biomarkers and drugs tailored to each patient

The Full SPECTRUM: Developing a Tripartite Partnership between Community, Government and Academia for Collaborative Social Policy Research

Problem: In Canadian society, public policies guide the development and administration of social services and systems, including the public education system, the justice system, family services, social housing and income support. However, because social services are often planned and implemented&nbsp;in a ‘siloed’ manner, coordination and collaboration across departments, sectors and organisations&nbsp;is sorely lacking. Data and resource constraints may prevent services being evaluated to ensure they meet the needs of the people for whom they are intended. When the needs of individuals are not addressed, the result is poor outcomes and wasted resources across multiple areas.Our Response: In 2018, we formed the SPECTRUM Partnership in response to a recognised need&nbsp;for collaborative cross-sector approaches to strengthening the policies that shape social services&nbsp;and systems in our country. The tripartite SPECTRUM partnership comprises representatives from community organisations, government and academia, and is an entity designed to conduct social policy research and evaluation, incorporating interdisciplinary perspectives and expertise from its members. Guided by community-driven research questions and building on existing data resources, SPECTRUM seeks to address specific knowledge gaps in social programs, services and systems. New research findings are then translated into viable public policy options, in alignment with government priorities, and presented to policy-makers for consideration.Implications: In this practice-based article, we describe the key steps we took to create the SPECTRUM partnership, build our collective capacity for research and evaluation, and transform&nbsp;our research findings into actionable evidence to support sound public policy. We outline four of SPECTRUM’s achievements to date in the hope that the lessons we learned during the development&nbsp;of the partnership may serve as a guide for others aiming to optimise public policy development in a collaborative evidence-based way