Torsten Nielsen
Anatomical Pathology
JP 1401 - 855 W. 12th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9
Tel: 604-875-4111, local 66768 (office)
604-875-4111, local 62649 (lab)
Fax: 604-875-4797
Email: torsten@interchange.ubc.ca

Dr. Torsten Nielsen is an Assistant Professor and clinician-scientist in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and an Associate Member of Orthopaedics. He is based at the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre and at the British Columbia Cancer Agency, working out of the Department of Pathology, the Genetic Pathology Evaluation Centre, and the Prostate Centre at the Jack Bell Research Pavilion.

25% of his time is devoted to clinical work: diagnostic pathology for bone and soft tissue tumors in the province of British Columbia, weekly sarcoma and musculoskeletal tumor treatment planning conferences, and teaching residents and medical students at UBC. His research interests are in understanding the etiology of cancer, in how molecular changes in cancer cells impact upon diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment, and in developing new and clinically practical molecular diagnostics and targeted therapies for human cancer (particularly sarcomas and breast cancer).

Dr. Nielsen’s active research encompasses two major areas of translational cancer research. As co-director of the Genetic Pathology Evaluation Centre at Vancouver Hospital, he leads several active tissue microarray projects, focusing on the confirmation and clinical correlation of results from gene expression profiling of breast cancer and sarcomas. As an independent principal investigator, his lab is also actively seeking to develop much-needed systemic treatments for sarcomas, particularly synovial sarcoma, a malignancy most commonly occurring in the limbs of young adults. Dr. Nielsen has external grant support from several Canadian and U.S. agencies, including the Terry Fox Foundation.

Dr. Nielsen has a web site with additional information: http://members.shaw.ca/tonielsen.