News

Thank you to everyone who attended the recent Department Seminar on February 26, 2026. More than 50 staff and students gathered at the Diamond Family Theatre and online, reflecting the strong engagement across our department. 

The seminar provided an opportunity to share program updates and highlight ongoing research initiatives. We were also pleased to welcome former Department Head, Rick Gallagher, whose attendance reflected the department's strong and continuing connection to its leadership and history. 

Today, the Honourable Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health, announced that the Government of Canada and partners are investing over $41 million in groundbreaking cancer prevention research.

When Dr. Jennifer Ritonja joined BC Cancer in July 2025 as a scientist, she set out to advance how we detect and prevent cancer in women. A trained epidemiologist, her research focuses on identifying early indicators of cancer in women, particularly for breast and ovarian cancers. 

We’re pleased to welcome Dr. Jennifer Ritonja to the Population Health Sciences department. Jen joins us as a scientist, bringing valuable expertise in cancer epidemiology. 

We were pleased to host a well-attended Special Talk on Thursday, July 24 as part of our Summer Student Get-together Series. The session brought together students, trainees, recent graduates, and department members interested in exploring career paths.

The talk "Critical Career Readiness Skills," explored how today’s evolving job landscape calls for adaptable and transferable skills.

A pan-Canadian research team led by Dr. Helen McTaggart-Cowan, a BC Cancer scientist, will receive $183,500 through a new Patient Voices in Research Initiative from the Terry Fox Research Institute’s Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network (the Network) to examine barriers to accessing homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) testing for patients with advanced ovarian cancer.