Profile of: Kate Reevey

Award received: CIHR Canada Graduate Scholarship - Masters

Awarded for the project: Translation of a Novel Bee Glue Drug Candidate as a Personalized Treatment for Myeloma

GAU: Interdisciplinary Studies

Supervisor: Dr. Alli Murugesan

What if honeybees help us discover a new treatment for blood cancer? Honeybees produce a natural substance called bee glue (i.e., propolis) which has several health benefits. Bee glue is antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, and holds immune-boosting properties.

The major bioactive ingredient in bee glue is Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester (CAPE), which can be chemically modified to create semi-synthetic derivatives, which together, are termed Bee Glue Molecules (BGM).

BGM have been shown to successfully slow the growth of cancerous cells in Multiple Myeloma, a type of blood cancer. Despite its promise, further research is required to explore the efficacy of BGM to see whether it could be a personalized medicine.

Multiple Myeloma remains incurable, and current treatments can be limited either in safety or effectiveness. The disease also exists on a spectrum: some patients having slow-progressing, asymptomatic precursor forms, while others experience rapid-progressing, symptomatic disease.

My Master’s research focuses on determining whether BGM could function across the myeloma spectrum by comparing its anti-myeloma properties between rapid-progressing and slow-progressing myeloma patient samples.

I also explore whether patterns in immune-related proteins can help predict if cells respond to BGM. The long-term goal of my translational project is to help shift Multiple Myeloma toward a more treatable disease by advancing personalized therapeutic strategies.