Benjamin Lok, University of Toronto

Research

Read how they describe their research on their University of Toronto profile.

Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment Resistance Chemotherapy Dna Repair Cell-Free Dna Epigenetic Ezh2 H3k27me3

Latest papers

Antioxidant premedication reduces mitochondrial and nuclear DNA damage repair in interventional physicians performing X-ray-guided angiography procedures: a pilot clinical intervention study.
CVIR endovascular · 2026
Retrospective cohort study assessing clinical outcomes of patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer treated with and without consolidative thoracic radiotherapy at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
BMJ open · 2025 · senior author
3'-Deoxy-3'-(18F) Fluorothymidine Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Treated With Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy: A Pilot Study.
Advances in radiation oncology · 2022

All 4 publications

Latest funding

Liquid-biopsy profiling of EZH2-driven H3K27me3 remodeling to overcome treatment resistance in small-cell lung cancer
CIHR · 2026 · Nominated PI
$1,109,250
Epigenetic dynamics of small cell lung cancer during therapy
CIHR · 2025 · Supervisor
$120,000
Rapid on-site mass spectrometry for non-subjective determination of lung cancer pathologies
CIHR · 2025 · Co-investigator
$753,526

All 5 grants and awards

4 publications.

01

Antioxidant premedication reduces mitochondrial and nuclear DNA damage repair in interventional physicians performing X-ray-guided angiography procedures: a pilot clinical intervention study.

Murphy K, Lindsay T, Tan K, Lau S, Elias G, Luke K, Nederveen J, Xhuti D, Minhas M, Lok B, Zhu S, Pron G, Tarnopolsky M

CVIR endovascular2026

DOI: 10.1186/s42155-026-00777-6 PMID: 42771222

02

Retrospective cohort study assessing clinical outcomes of patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer treated with and without consolidative thoracic radiotherapy at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

Sugumar V, Salunkhe R, Lone H, Ye X, Zhan L, Sun A, Bezjak A, Cho J, Raman S, Hope A, Giuliani M, Leighl NB, Sacher AG, Shepherd F, Bradbury PA, Liu G, Lok B

BMJ open2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-093943 PMID: 40118489

03

3'-Deoxy-3'-(18F) Fluorothymidine Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Treated With Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy: A Pilot Study.

Lewis S, Chan M, Weiss J, Raziee H, Driscoll B, Bezjak A, Sun A, Lok B, Vines D, Cho J, Bissonnette JP, Raman S, Hope A, Giuliani M

Advances in radiation oncology2022

DOI: 10.1016/j.adro.2022.101037 PMID: 36420186

04

New Approaches to SCLC Therapy: From the Laboratory to the Clinic.

Poirier JT, George J, Owonikoko TK, Berns A, Brambilla E, Byers LA, Carbone D, Chen HJ, Christensen CL, Dive C, Farago AF, Govindan R, Hann C, Hellmann MD, Horn L, Johnson JE, Ju YS, Kang S, Krasnow M, Lee J, Lee SH, Lehman J, Lok B, Lovly C, MacPherson D, McFadden D, Minna J, Oser M, Park K, Park KS, Pommier Y, Quaranta V, Ready N, Sage J, Scagliotti G, Sos ML, Sutherland KD, Travis WD, Vakoc CR, Wait SJ, Wistuba I, Wong KK, Zhang H, Daigneault J, Wiens J, Rudin CM, Oliver TG

Journal of thoracic oncology : official publication of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer2020

DOI: 10.1016/j.jtho.2020.01.016 PMID: 32018053

Liquid-biopsy profiling of EZH2-driven H3K27me3 remodeling to overcome treatment resistance in small-cell lung cancer

Nominated PICIHR2026Project Grant

Principal investigators: Lok, Benjamin

Keywords: Cell-Free Dna; Chemotherapy; Epigenetic; Ezh2; H3k27me3; Immunotherapy; Liquid-Biopsy; Small Cell Lung Cancer; Treatment Resistance

$1,109,250

Epigenetic dynamics of small cell lung cancer during therapy

SupervisorCIHR2025DRA : Canada Graduate Research Scholarship - Doctoral Program (CGRS D)

Principal investigators: Aamir, Aleem

Keywords: Cancer Biology; Cell-Free Dna; Chromatin; Epigenetics; H3k27me3; Histone Modifications; Liquid Biopsy; Pharmacodynamics; Small Cell Lung Cancer; Treatment Resistance

$120,000

Rapid on-site mass spectrometry for non-subjective determination of lung cancer pathologies

Co-investigatorCIHR2025Project Grant

Principal investigators: Zarrine-Afsar, Arash

Keywords: Lung Cancer; Mass Spectrometry Profiling; Pathology; Rapid Diagnosis

$753,526

Investigating the mechanism of arginine methyltransferase PRMT1 in regulating mRNA splicing and as a therapeutic target against small cell lung cancer

Nominated PICIHR2024Project Grant

Principal investigators: Lok, Benjamin

Keywords: Arginine Methyltransferase; Chemotherapy; Dna Damage; Dna Repair; Mrna Splicing; Novel Therapeutics; R-Loops; Radiation Therapy; Small Cell Lung Cancer

$948,600

The SCF(FBXO11) - XAB2 axis mediates DNA repair and therapeutic resistance in small cell lung cancer

Nominated PICIHR2019Project Grant

Principal investigators: Lok, Benjamin; Raught, Brian

Keywords: Cisplatin; Crispr Genetic Screen; Dna Repair; Homologous Recombination; Lung Cancer; Parp Inhibitor; Patient-Derived Xenografts; Small Cell Lung Cancer; Treatment Resistance; Ubiquitin-Proteasome Pathway

$984,555

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Department of Radiation Oncology
Radiation Oncology
Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation
Epidemiology Division

Co-authors at University of Toronto, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Meredith Giuliani

Department of Radiation Oncology

2 shared papers, latest 2025

Andrew Hope

Radiation Oncology

2 shared papers, latest 2025

Gaylene Pron

Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Geoffrey Liu

Epidemiology Division

1 shared papers, latest 2025

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their CIHR grant from 2026

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Small Cell Lung Cancer Dear Professor Lok, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Antioxidant premedication reduces mitochondrial and nuclear DNA damage repair in interventional physicians performing X-ray-guided angiography procedures: a pilot clinical intervention study." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your CIHR-funded project "Liquid-biopsy profiling of EZH2-driven H3K27me3 remodeling to overcome treatment resistance in small-cell lung cancer" (2026), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]