BC Cancer’s 2024 Cancer Emerging Multidisciplinary Research Programs supports research teams to initiate novel multidisciplinary research projects that aim to tackle well-defined issues or problems that affect patients living with cancer or at risk of developing cancer. Funding for the programs is provided through the BC Ministry of Health in collaboration with the BC Cancer Foundation.

2024 Emerging Multidisciplinary Research Programs Recipients: 

We are excited to announce the recipients of round two of the inaugural BC Cancer Clinician Researcher Start Up Competition. 

BC Cancer Clinician Researcher Start Up Competition 2024 recipients – Round 2

Alan Nichol (BC Cancer – Vancouver): Predicting upgrades from non-invasive core biopsy specimens to invasive ductal carcinoma in surgical specimens using histology-based DNA organization analysis

Alison Weppler (BC Cancer – Vancouver): The utility of ctDNA to detect and monitor minimal residual disease in resected stage IIB-IV melanoma

Five BC Cancer researchers are 2024 recipients of the Michael Smith Health Research BC’s Scholar and Health Professional-Investigator competition, receiving new funding to conduct critical research, develop innovative treatments, and translate their findings into practices that benefit people across BC.

Scholar award recipients 

Scholar awards support early career health researchers, allowing them to form their own research teams and research programs. Recipients dedicate 75 per cent of their time to health research activities. 

​Dr. Jessica McAlpine, surgeon-scientist, BC Cancer and Vancouver General Hospital and professor and Dr. Chew Wei Chair in Gynaecologic Oncology at UBC

Using artificial intelligence (AI) to spot patterns across thousands of cancer cell images, the researchers have pinpointed a distinct subset of endometrial cancer that puts patients at much greater risk of recurrence and death, but would otherwise go unrecognized by traditional pathology and molecular diagnostics.

BC Cancer – Prince George celebrated a significant milestone in early 2024 with the opening of a new clinical trial called CIRCULATE-NORTH-AMERICA, or CRC10, which marked the first time a systemic therapy clinical trial has been offered in northern B.C. to people with cancer. Since opening CRC10 in January 2024, the team in Prince George has enrolled two patients in this study.

Dr. Robert Olson, executive medical director at BC Cancer – Prince George, and Dr. Bernie Eigl, deputy head, department of clinical research at BC Cancer, have been honoured with 2024 Clinical Trials BC Awards for their outstanding contributions to the clinical trials community in British Columbia and beyond. 

Clinical Trials BC, part of Michael Smith Health Research BC, recognizes individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to strengthening BC’s clinical trials ecosystem through these annual awards. 

We are excited to announce the recipients of round one of the inaugural BC Cancer Clinician Researcher Start Up Competition. The competition will help facilitate stand-alone research projects for clinician researchers at BC Cancer that will support future grant or investigator-initiated studies to be funded by other organizations. 

Personalis’ Next Personal™ liquid biopsy assay will be deployed in study collaboration 
 

Dr. Stephen Chia was recently announced as the new head of clinical research at the BC Cancer Research Institute. In addition to this role, he retains his position as a medical oncologist at BC Cancer - Vancouver, a Professor of medicine within the Department of Medicine at UBC and the Division head for Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, UBC.

An active clinician-researcher, Dr. Chia is the current chair of the BC Cancer Breast Tumour Group and Chair of the BC Cancer Tumour Group Council. He is also the co-chair of the Breast Disease Site for the CCTG.