BC Cancer Consortium
Officially designated as a member of the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network (MoHCCN) in June 2021, the BC Cancer Consortium brings many years of experience to advance the network’s precision medicine initiatives.
As a part of the MOHCCN, the BC Cancer Consortium aims to strengthen cancer research and partnerships, improve our ability to support innovation in clinical care, and firmly embed precision medicine into our clinical care system. With the support of the Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI) and MOHCCN, we will: enhance support for our patients by scaling up precision medicine initiatives, improve our biospecimen and data collection infrastructure, accelerate our ability to translate research discoveries into improved clinical cancer care, and participate in data sharing initiatives across Canada and the world. As a world-leading research center, BC Cancer has a vision of “a world free from cancer” and a mission to reduce the burden of cancer. Research supporting patient care is fundamental at BC Cancer, as illustrated by a long history of internationally recognized cancer research discoveries, many of which have been made possible by a strong foundation of genomics research, to clinical adoption of transformational technologies and new treatment strategies for difficult-to-treat cancers.
Prior participation in the Terry Fox Canadian Comprehensive Cancer Centres Network (TF4CN), a collaborative project with the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre to provide proof of concept for national data sharing and collaborative translational research, led to the development of tools and frameworks that will be leveraged for the current network. As a world-leading research center, BC Cancer has developed a fertile landscape for emerging clinical and research trainees, a foundation that will strengthen the knowledge sharing aspect of the network. Combined with sequencing and data infrastructure housed at Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, the BC Cancer Consortium is poised to lead and support data and knowledge sharing for all network members.
The BC Cancer Consortium is co-led by Drs. François Bénard, Marco Marra, and Daniel Renouf with the support of many researchers and clinician scientists at principal academic and health care organizations within the province including BC Cancer, the BC Cancer Research Institute (BCCRI), and Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre. BC Cancer is part of the Provincial Health Services Authority and the University of British Columbia, participating jointly through the BCCRI.
Goals and Objectives
In 2019, BC Cancer developed a five-year strategic plan that includes priorities aligning with the vision of the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network (MOHCCN) for a world free of cancer. Our goals and objectives, under our strategic priorities and in collaboration with MOHCCN, are to:
- Leverage genomic discoveries to overcome incurable cancers
- Translate cancer biology into diagnostic and therapeutic innovations
- Increase clinical capacity to enable translation of innovations
- Innovate for a sustainable cancer control system
- Strengthen the research infrastructure
Partners
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Member
Projects
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Pancreatic cancer precision medicine project
Key Researchers -
Personalized OncoGenomics (POG) program
Key ResearchersPOG is a cutting-edge research program analyzing incurable cancers through swift, clinically deployed whole genome and transcriptome analysis. It aims to identify and comprehend genomic driver alterat...Read more -
Enabling precision oncology of sarcomas in Canada
Key Researchers -
Building learning health systems to improve precision oncology care in CanadaRead more
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Using Natural Language Processing to Generate Text Summaries of Genomic Findings in Precision Oncology
Key ResearchersCreating a knowledge database of accurate cancer data to improve models related to precision oncology.Read more -
Unsupervised Histopathology Search Engine for Diagnosis of Primary and Metastatic Cancers (CANCERCH)
Key ResearchersCreating an AI tool that analyzes imaging data to distinguish the origin of primary and metastatic cancers more efficiently.Read more
Consortium Leadership
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Christian
ResearcherMOHCCN Network CouncilWorking Group Chair
Steidl -
Steven
ResearcherMOHCCN Steering CommitteeWorking Group Chair
Jones -
Marco
ResearcherMOHCCN Network CouncilWorking Group ChairConsortium LeaderWorking Group Member
Marra -
Daniel
MOHCCN Steering CommitteeConsortium LeaderWorking Group Member
Renouf -
Francois
MOHCCN Network CouncilConsortium Leader
Benard -
Dermot
Research Lead
Kelleher
Project Management Team
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Jessica
Project ManagerWorking Group Member
Nelson
Project and Cohort Leaders
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Aly
Project Leader
Karsan -
Andrew
Researcher
Weng -
Bernie
Researcher
Eigl -
Calum
Researcher
MacAulay -
Christian
ResearcherMOHCCN Network CouncilWorking Group Chair
Steidl -
David
Project Leader
Sanford -
David
Project Leader
Schaeffer -
Dean
Project LeaderMOHCCN Steering CommitteeWorking Group Chair
Regier -
Howard
Project Leader
Lim -
Janessa
Project LeaderWorking Group Chair
Laskin -
Kasmintan
Project LeaderWorking Group Member
Schrader -
Martin
Project LeaderWorking Group Member
Hirst -
Pamela
Project Leader
Hoodless -
Peter
Researcher
Watson -
Rebecca
Project Leader
Deyell -
Rob
ResearcherWorking Group Member
Holt -
Samuel
Project LeaderWorking Group Member
Aparicio -
Sophie
Project Leader
Sun -
Stephen
Project Leader
Chia -
Stephen
Project Leader
Yip -
Steven
ResearcherMOHCCN Steering CommitteeWorking Group Chair
Jones -
Torsten
Project Leader
Nielsen -
Rod
Project LeaderWorking Group Member
Rassekh -
Nadine
MOHCCN Network CouncilProject LeaderWorking Group Chair
Caron -
David
Project LeaderWorking Group Member
Scott
Related News
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New study explores patient preferences and concerns to improve data sharing for precision oncology across Canada
A team of health researchers that includes MOHCCN members conducted focus groups with individuals with lived and living experience with cancer to understand their values, expectations, and concerns fo... -
Network names 10 early-career data scientists as recipients of its 2024 Health Informatics & Data Science Awards
Each will receive $40,000 from the Network over the next year to be matched by their host institutions for a total of $80,000 to support groundbreaking research in precision oncology. -
BC Cancer Consortium leadership and members share updates with the Network
The presentation was part of MOHCCN Seminar Series, which features virtual talks from MOHCCN research partner investigators and trainees, providing a platform for MOHCCN members to share their ongoing... -
Reflecting on the Year of Data Acceleration: A Network update by Dr. André Veillette
Dr. André Veillette, Executive Director of the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network, provides an update on the Year of Data Acceleration. Dr. André Veillette, Executive Director of the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network, provides an update on the Year of Data Acceleration.