Celebrating exciting milestones…together! A letter from Dr. André Veillette

Dear Colleagues, 

I’m excited to write to you today after a busy summer to share some exciting news! 

Over the last couple of months, we have reached two historic milestones that speak to the strength, dedication and collaborative spirit of our Network: 

• We have now surpassed 10,000 cases sequenced as part of our Gold Cohort, taking a huge step towards building the largest and most comprehensive cancer case resource in Canadian history! 
• We have officially grown to 51 member institutions from coast to coast, who are working together like never before under a single vision to bring precision oncology to more cancer patients across the country! 

These two incredible milestones represent years of hard work by hundreds of people across Canada. They reflect not only the dedication of our clinical, technical, administrative and scientific teams across the country, but also the generosity of patients who share their data and stories to help accelerate cancer research. None of this would have been possible without all of you, and for that, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks. 

As we celebrate these achievements, I want to invite everyone to join us across the country for the 45th annual Terry Fox Run on Sept. 14. Let’s come together to honour Terry’s legacy and show Canadians how their support is driving progress in precision oncology nationwide! 

In 1980, Terry Fox started a marathon against cancer. Together, we can finish it! 

Sincerely,

Dr. André Veillette
Executive Director,
Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network

Other News

Network news

• 2025 MOHCCN Clinician-Scientist Awards. Three outstanding early-career clinician-scientists will each receive $450,000 over three years to advance innovative research in precision oncology.  
• 2025 MOHCCN Health Informatics & Data Science Awards. We recently announced that eight talented early-career data scientists will each receive $80,000 over the next year to develop new tools and technologies to analyze cancer data and accelerate precision medicine. Notably, all recipients this year are women. 
• Impact Report published. In late August, the Terry Fox Research Institute and the Terry Fox Foundation published their joint annual impact report. This digital report includes research impact stories from across the country, including those funded by our Network.  
• ICYMI: First Network-wide paper published. Last April, we published our first landmark paper in the prestigious journal Cancer Cell. The paper highlights the Network’s history, objectives and key accomplishments to date, underscoring how this unprecedented national collaboration is working to transform precision oncology in Canada.

Network voices

• An introduction to Common Sense Oncology. In a thought-provoking opinion piece, Dr. Bishal Gyawali explains how the Common Sense Oncology movement is helping redefine precision medicine and improve patient experiences.

• “Genetic testing has given me the gift of life and has given my daughters lifesaving knowledge.” Graham Knope got his tumour sequenced as part of a MOHCCN study. In this personal account, he writes about how this not only helped personalize his treatment—it provided his family with life-saving information. 

• Understanding our growing impact across the country. Dr. Amber Simpson shares how the Network is helping to reshape cancer research and care in Kingston, ON. 

Team Canada of Cancer Research

• Meet our Project Managers: Last month, we launched a new series to highlight the work of the incredible project managers who are making the Network a reality. Meet Prabhjit Basra and Aileigh Kay (Ontario Cancer Consortium - UHN) and Neetu Singh (Atlantic Cancer Consortium, Memorial University, Newfoundland and Labrador).  

• Awards and recognitions. We would like to congratulate to Dr. Nadine Caron on her induction into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame and Dr. Rodney Ouellette on being named to the Order of New Brunswick for his contributions to cancer research. 

• New leadership at GCI. We would like to congratulate Dr. John Stagg on being named director of the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute. He takes over from Dr. Morag Park, who served as the GCI’s visionary Director since 2013.

Research highlights

• Novel approach helps uncover rare cancer cells responsible for driving tumour growth in breast cancer models. In a study published in Cell Reports, a team led by MOHCCN Clinician-Scientist Awardee Dr. Long V. Nguyen (Princess Margaret Cancer Centre) has revealed how a rare type of clonogenic cell drives tumour growth in breast cancer. 

• Understanding the real-world promise (and challenges) of precision oncology. A new study from a Network-funded team at Princess Margaret demonstrates how precision medicine can be put into practice, and the challenges that remain to make it a reality for all patients.

Upcoming events

• 45th Annual Terry Fox Run – September 14: Join thousands of Canadians across the country to celebrate Terry’s legacy, support the future of cancer research, and see who takes homes the coveted Terry Fox Run Challenge! Learn more. 

• MOH-Q Seminar Series – September 18: Hear from researchers and leaders in Québec as they share the latest updates from their consortium. Register now.