BC CANCER - Key Persons
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- Associate Professor, School of Biomedical Engineering / University of British Columbia
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- Deputy Head and Scientist, Cancer Control Research
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- Interim Co - Director / Group Leader, Biospecimen & Library Cores
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- Distinguished Scientist
- Distinguished Scientist at Canada 's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre
Dr. Angela Brooks-Wilson is a distinguished scientist at Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre. Her laboratory group investigates the genetic basis of cancer susceptibility. One of her primary interests is lymphoid cancers, which include Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and myeloma. Through collaboration with members of the Cancer Control Research Group at BC Cancer including Dr. John Spinelli, Dr. Brooks-Wilson studies the interaction between genetic susceptibility and environmental triggers in causing lymphoid cancers. She also collaborates with InterLymph, an international consortium of researchers studying the genetic and environmental basis of lymphoma. Her interest in cancer is complemented by her work on healthy aging, in which she studies "super seniors"-individuals 85 and older who have never been diagnosed with cancer, cardiovascular disease, major pulmonary disease, diabetes or dementia.
Affiliations
Distinguished Scientist, BC Cancer Research Centre, BC Cancer
Dean of Science, Simon Fraser University
Professor, Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University
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- Group Leader, Clinical Informatics
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- Head, Proteomics / Senior Scientist
Dr. Gregg Morin received his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1988. Following a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University and an assistant professorship at the University of California, Davis, Dr. Morin was the Director of the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at Geron Corporation. In 2004, he joined Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre where he is currently the Head of Proteomics. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at Simon Fraser University and an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia. Finally, he was the founding Scientific Director of the BC Proteomics Network, which provides proteomic support services and education to BC scientists.
Dr Morin's achievements include pioneering the use of mass spectrometry for analyzing protein-protein interactions involved in disease, mapping the interactions within the TNFα inflammatory pathway. He was the first to observe human telomerase activity and developed assays to detect and measure it. Based on these discoveries, Geron Corporation was formed. There, his group demonstrated that hTERT expression is sufficient to immortalize human cells in a landmark Science publication in 1998. Dr. Morin is listed as an inventor on 64 patents related to these telomerase discoveries and applications.
As Head of the Proteomics Platform at Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, Dr. Morin's role is to advance mass spectrometry-based oncology research with other investigators at BC Cancer and other institutions. This includes developing proteomic methods for quantitative global proteome profiling of clinical and research samples, basic and aberrant protein function research, and the comprehensive analysis of post-translational modifications (e.g., phospho, ubiquitin, methyl, acetyl). His expertise is in advanced proteomics methods, biochemistry, and RNA processing.
Dr. Gregg Morin has coauthored >70 publications (including reviews) that have been cited >19,000 times, and has 64 issued patents worldwide (37 in USA) related to his telomerase research.
Affiliations
Senior Scientist, BC Cancer
Associate Professor, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia
Adjunct Professor, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University
Job Titles:
- Distinguished Scientist
- Distinguished Scientist at Canada 's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre
Dr. Inanc Birol is a distinguished scientist at Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, a professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Department of Medical Genetics, an associate member of the Departments of Computer Science, and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UBC, and an adjunct scientist at BC Centre for Disease Control. Previously, he held research faculty and associate positions at Simon Fraser University, Illinois Institute of Technology and CERN - the latter, a knowledge centre for understanding the universe and home to the largest particle physics laboratory in the world.
To date, Dr. Birol's team has accelerated research with over 140 publications, which have practical applications in both ecosystems and human biology, including medical genomics. As of 2018, he is listed among the top 1% cited scientist in the world by Clarivate Analytics in the Cross-Field category.
Dr. Birol's research interests include the analysis of data from modern sequencing instruments to study genomes and transcriptomes of model species and humans. He directs the Bioinformatics Technology Lab, which develops bioinformatics tools for de novo sequence assembly, sequence mapping, downstream data analysis and visualization. He also directs a wet lab at BC Centre for Disease Control to study antimicrobial resistance and to develop novel strategies as alternatives to conventional antibiotics.
Affiliations
Professor, Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia
Associate Faculty, Computer Science, University of British Columbia
Associate Faculty, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia
Associate Scientist, Public Health Lab, BC Centre for Disease Control
Dr. Laura Evgin's research is focused on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) modified T cells and their use in conjunction with oncolytic viruses (OVs). OVs can help to overcome the myriad of immunosuppressive mechanisms employed by solid tumours to evade the immune system and which limit CAR T efficacy. She employs CRISPR to generate CAR T cells that can withstand the onslaught of inflammatory factors they are faced with when combined with oncolytic virus therapy. Using CRISPR screens, she aims to identify genes that either enhance or reduce CAR T cell efficacy with viral infection, and will then amplify or eliminate those genes, respectively, to create an optimized CAR T cell therapy. Dr. Evgin also aims to investigate the possibility of exploiting the endogenous T cell receptor present in CAR T cells to enhance their functionality. Specifically, she aims to use the specificity of the T cell receptor against viral proteins presented by the MHC of tumour cells infected with oncolytic viruses.
Dr. Evgin completed her PhD in the laboratory of Dr. John Bell at the University of Ottawa where she studied how neutralizing antibodies and complement limit the systemic delivery of oncolytic viruses. From there, she joined Dr. Richard Vile's laboratory at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Her post-doctoral research focused on how oncolytic viruses could be used to amplify the reach of CAR T cells.
Affiliations
Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia
Job Titles:
- Director of Canada 's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre
- UBC Canada Research Chair
Dr. Marco Marra has been instrumental in bringing genome science to Canada, working across diverse programs of research that have addressed pressing problems and key opportunities of relevance to Canada and Canadians. He has spent much of his career leading teams to conduct large-scale, high-throughput genomics projects with the aim of comprehensive identification of the gentic changes that drive cancer. He believes that better integration of informatics and biology in genome analysis and a strong interface between the lab and the clinic can change outcomes for cancer patients.
Dr. Marra has demonstrated the pivotal role that genomics can play in human health and disease research, including through contributions to the Human Genome Project, leading the sequencing of the SARS coronavirus genome and first proof-of-concept study demonstrating the effective use of whole genome analyses in personalized cancer medicine. His research has uncovered new cancer mutations, candidate biomarkers and therapeutic targets, and has been instrumental in demonstrating the functional interplay between the cancer genome and epigenome. Since 2014, he has been named as among the World's Most Influential Scientific Minds with more than 500 scientific publications, placing him in the top one per cent of cited scientists in his discipline worldwide.
Affiliations
Professor, Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia
Canada Research Chair in Genome Science, University of British Columbia
Terry Fox Research Institute, British Columbia Node Leader
Dr. Marco Marra is the UBC Canada Research Chair in Genome Science, a member of the Order of British Columbia, Distinguished Scientist of Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre and Professor of the Department of Medical Genetics in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. He is a recipient of the 2019 Don Rix Award for Lifetime Achievement from LifeSciences BC, the 2017 Canadian Cancer Research Alliance's Outstanding Achievements in Cancer Research Award, the 2015 Dr. Chew Wei Memorial Prize in Cancer Research, a 2013 UBC Killam Research Prize, a 2012 UBC Faculty of Medicine Distinguished Achievement Award, and the Medal of Merit Award from the International Association of Lions Clubs. From 2014 to 2018, Dr. Marra was listed among the World's Most Influential Scientific Minds by Thomson Reuters and by Clarivate Analytics. This list recognizes world-class researchers selected for their exceptional research performance, demonstrated by production of multiple highly cited papers that rank in the top one percent by citations for field and year in Web of Science.
He was elected to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2009, received the Frontiers in Research Award from the BC Innovation Council in 2008, was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2007, and was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2019. He was a recipient of a Genome BC Award for Scientific Excellence, a MSFHR Career Investigator Senior Scholar Award, and the Simon Fraser University President's 40th Anniversary Award. In 2004, he received a Terry Fox Young Investigator Award and BC Biotech's Innovation and Achievement Award (together with the staff of Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre) for sequencing the SARS coronavirus genome. His contributions to genome science led to an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Simon Fraser University in 2004, and an honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of Calgary in 2005.
Job Titles:
- Distinguished Scientist and Head of Epigenomics at Canada 's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre
- Head, Epigenomics
Dr. Hirst is a Distinguished Scientist and Head of Epigenomics at Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Associate Director of the Michael Smith Laboratory at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Dr. Caron is an advocate for marginalized peoples' rights in health care and research. Her scholarly and professional activities centre on optimizing Indigenous and northern Canadians' health, and addressing inequities in access to surgical services, cancer care, prescription medications and research.
In January 2020, Dr. Caron was appointed the inaugural First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) Chair in Cancer and Wellness at University of British Columbia. In this position, Dr. Caron is developing strategies to better understand, prevent and address cancers among Indigenous peoples in Canada. This position was created following research led by Dr. Caron that illustrated how rates of some cancers are higher, and survival rates for almost all cancer types, lower, for First Nations compared with non-First Nations in British Columbia. This research underpins B.C's First Nations Cancer Strategy-a multi-year partnership between BC Cancer, FNHA, Métis Nation British Columbia and the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres.
As co-Lead of Genome Canada's $10.4 million Silent Genomes grant, which commenced in 2018, Dr. Caron aims to address inequity endured by Indigenous peoples who lack access to the medical benefits of genome research. To do so, her team is establishing guidelines for genomic research with Indigenous peoples, developing project-specific governance structures, improving access to and impact of precision medicine by creating an Indigenous background variant library and evaluating the impacts of these efforts from a socio-economic lens.
In 2016, Dr. Caron received $1.25 million from Genome British Columbia for the Northern Biobank Initiative to address a growing risk that rural and remote communities in B.C. could be excluded from significant advances made in genomic research and precision medicine. The NBI project includes consultations with the general public, researchers, health care providers, staff, and administrators; creation of a retrospective Northern B.C. Breast Cancer biobank, and consultations with 54 First Nations, including development of the Northern First Nation Biobanking Advisory Committee.
In 2014, Dr. Caron helped to found and now co-directs UBC's Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health in order to improve recruitment and retention of Indigenous students into health professions, to develop curricula addressing Indigenous health concerns, and to conduct further research into Indigenous health in general. This initiative has resulted in a cultural safety and humility curriculum for UBC students and a graduate certificate in Indigenous Public Health that equips Indigenous community members and scholars with necessary skills to address public health issues in First Nations, Inuit, Métis and other Indigenous communities. Dr. Caron also teaches at Johns Hopkins University, Center for American Indian Health, where her curriculum incorporates research ethics, cultural competency and public health through an Indigenous lens.
Affiliations
General and Endocrine Surgeon, University Hospital of Northern BC
Professor, Surgery, University of British Columbia, Northern Medical Program and Department of Surgery
Founding Co-Director, University of British Columbia, Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health
First Nations Health Authority Chair in Cancer and Wellness at University of British Columbia
Associate Faculty, Johns Hopkins University, Center for American Indian Health
Job Titles:
- Co - Director, BC Cancer Immunotherapy Program
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- Group Leader, Instrumentation
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- Platform Manager, Proteomics
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- Group Leader, Clinical Genetics
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- Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee
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- Group Leader, Bioinformatics - Databases
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- Head, Sourcing and Procurement
- Head, Sourcing and Procurement / Purchasing
George Yang leads the Sourcing and Procurement team at Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre. The team maintains vendor relations and provides support to the Lab, Systems, and Operations groups by sourcing and facilitating the purchase of consumables, reagents, equipment, and services. They deliver value by leveraging the Genome Sciences Centre's (GSC) buying power and establishing preferred contracts ensuring efficient and cost effective procurement of goods. George is responsible for supply management and strategic sourcing initiatives centralized at the GSC. He also provides guidance to secure project supplies and equipment and advises on competitive bid processes required by health authorities, academic institutions, and funding agencies. George has 10 years of experience in supply chain management in addition to 15 years of experience in wet lab environments. He holds a B.Sc. from the University of British Columbia and has held leadership roles in both the private and public sectors. He has been with the GSC since 2000.
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- Professor, Department of Neurological Surgery, UCSF
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- Group Leader, Bioinformatics - Analysis
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- Chairman in Molecular Neuro - Oncology
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- Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee
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- Administrative Coordinator
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- Administrative Assistant
- Dr. Tai 's Administrative Assistant
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- Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee
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- Director
- Distinguished Scientist
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- Head, Quality Systems
- Head, Quality Systems / Quality
Miruna Bala, P.Eng is the Quality Systems group leader and staff scientist 2, at the GSC. Her primary responsibility is to design, implement and monitor Quality Management Systems (QMS) in accordance with applicable regulatory and accreditation standards. She is a qualified Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) and a certified project management professional (PMP). Miruna is a certified College of American Pathologists (CAP) auditor and a British Standards Institution ISO lead auditor.
Miruna is responsible for bringing key quality programs, Change Control, Audit, Validation, Document Control and Corrective Action/Preventative Action Management programs into compliance with CAP and ISO 27001 standards. She has successfully led the GSC through five CAP accreditation inspections since 2011 and one ISO 27001 certification audit in 2018. Miruna ensures that systems and processes are in place to meet requirements set forth by the ISO 27001 standards.
Miruna also provides quality oversight to the Conconi Family Immunotherapy Laboratory at Deeley Research Centre, BC Cancer. She ensures quality system processes, policies and procedures are developed and implemented in accordance with the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and cell therapy guidelines in order to meet applicable regulations set forth by Health Canada under the Food and Drug Act. She provides quality and regulatory affairs leadership for the development of clinical trial applications and other regulatory documentation for the immunotherapy program, at CFIL.
Miruna brings 20 years of QMS work experience in the genomic, biotechnology, cell therapy and nutritional supplement industries with extensive knowledge in designing QMS in accordance with CAP, GMP, ISO 9001, ISO 27001 and CLIA standards. She holds a Bachelors of Applied Science Degree in Biological and Process Engineering from the University of British Columbia. Miruna also holds a Master Certificate in Project Management from the Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria.
Miruna believes in the concept of building quality into processes and products by everyone in the organization to see maximum benefit from the quality program implementation. She is very passionate about ensuring the delivery of high quality data and products consistently to patients and clients in the healthcare industry.
Miruna provides leadership and direction to maintain culture of quality and works collaboratively to set quality framework for the GSC production laboratories and bioinformatics. Formulates, implements, communicates and monitors quality management system processes and policies to meet regulatory requirements, accreditation and certification standards. Provides oversight for the implementation and management of quality activities throughout the GSC including peer reviews, quality initiatives and performance improvements. Provides guidance and mentorship to seven quality professionals at the GSC in quality activities, including but not limited to, internal audit program, corrective and preventive action system, validation program, document control and managing external audits. Responsible for leading the organization through various regulatory, certification and accreditation audits such as CAP, ISO and others as required. Provides continuous support, training, mentoring and development to ensure GSC quality system performs at a maximum performance level. Communicates GSC's quality framework, policies and procedures to internal staff and external collaborators.
Job Titles:
- Professor, Medical Genetics
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- Group Leader, Bioinformatics Technology Lab
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- Head, Department of Molecular Oncology
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- Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee
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- Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee
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- Employee Relations Manager
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- Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee
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- Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee
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- Administrative Coordinator
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- Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences / Simon Fraser University