Senior Researchers

Outstanding scientists and researchers from around the world

Dr. Samuel Aparicio
Dr. Sam Aparicio is head of the molecular oncology and breast cancer research program at the BC Cancer Agency. He also holds the position of the Nan and Lorraine Robertson Chair in Breast Cancer Research at UBC, and the position of Canada Research Chair in Molecular Oncology.

Dr. Aparicio's research program focuses on the use of genetics and genomics to better understand the development of breast cancer; to help devise improved detection methods, and identify new therapies.

Since joining the BC Cancer Agency in June of 2005, Dr. Aparicio has established his laboratories and recruited a number of researchers, using funds raised for the BC Cancer Foundation from the 2004 and 2005 Weekend to End Breast Cancer walks. In addition, his department has developed a unique archive of 4,300 breast cancer tumour specimens (collected over the last 10 years) that will allow Dr. Aparicio and his team to understand the underlying nature of tumours.

Dr. Joseph M. Connors, MD
Joseph M. Connors, MD is a clinical professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, at the University of British Columbia and the chair of the Lymphoma Tumor Group for the British Columbia Cancer Agency.

Dr. Connors is best known for his clinical investigations into the treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemias and multiple myeloma. He serves as a member of the executive committee of the Hematology Site Group for the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group, as chair of the small meetings subcommittee of the Education Committee of the American Society of Hematology and on the scientific advisory boards of the Lymphoma Foundation Canada and the Lymphoma Research Foundation of the United States.

Dr. Connors has published over 180 peer-reviewed scientific articles addressing various aspects of research into lymphoid cancers.

Dr. Karen Gelmon
Dr. Karen Gelmonis a Medical Oncologist at the BC Cancer Agency and a Professor of Medicine at UBC, combining clinical and translational research with the care of patients. She is Chair of the Provincial Breast Tumour Group and Clinical leader of Advanced Therapeutics department. She is also an active teacher and has recently been awarded a Vancouver, YWCA, Woman of Distinction award.

Dr. Steven Jones
Dr. Steven Jones is head of Bioinformatics at BCCA's Genome Sciences Centre, which uses expression profiling techniques to understand changes in early stage cancers. Previously, Steven Jones was a researcher at the Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK., responsible for the computational analysis of the Caenorhabditis elegans sequence resulting in the derivation of the first complete genome of a multi-cellular organism. Another contribution was his invention of the web-based blast server, which is now the most common interface through which DNA and protein sequence searches are now performed. He is a founding director of the CIHR/MSFHR Bioinformatics Training Program, a core faculty member of the Canadian Bioinformatics Workshop and Associate Director of the University of British Columbia Bioinformatics Centre.

Dr. Victor Ling
Dr. Victor Ling is currently Vice-President of Discovery at the BC Cancer Agency and BC Cancer Research Centre. He also holds the position of Assistant Dean, Cancer Research at the University of British Columbia and is Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. He is a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Distinguished Scholar. He is co-director of the Centre for Integrated Genomics, a partnership between the BC Cancer Agency and the University of British Columbia.

A major focus of Dr. Ling's research is the investigation of mechanisms of drug resistance to anticancer drugs, particularly those mechanisms which involve alteration in the transport of such compounds. He is best known for his discovery of P-glycoprotein associated with multiple drug resistance in cancers. His lab is also involved in genomics research to identify genes important in early stage cancers. Dr. Ling's work to date has been documented in over 200 peer-reviewed publications.

Dr. Marco Marra
Dr. Marra is the Director of the BC Cancer Agency's Genome Sciences Centre. Dr. Marra is also a Senior Scientist at the British Columbia Cancer Research Centre. He is an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia and an Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University.

Dr. Marra has received numerous prestigious awards, including (with the entire GSC staff), the BC Biotech's 2004 Innovation and Achievement Award for being the first group in the world to sequence the genome of the coronavirus responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). In 2001, he received a Career Investigator Award from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. This same year, Business of Vancouver named him with a 40 Under 40 Award Recipient. On July 1, 2000, the Globe and Mail profiled 133 young Canadians. One of these was Dr. Marra, who was recognized in the field of medicine. In December 1999, he was awarded a Simon Fraser University Outstanding Alumnus Award for Academic Achievement.

To date, Dr. Marra has authored/co-authored 101 scientific papers, 90 of which have been published.

Dr. Brad Nelson, Ph.D.
Dr. Nelson received a B.Sc. from the University of British Columbia in 1987 and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1991. He completed postdoctoral training and held a faculty positions at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington in Seattle, before moving his lab to the Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason in 1997. Since 2003, he has served as the founding Director of the BC Cancer Agency's Trev and Joyce Deeley Research Centre in Victoria BC. Dr. Nelson's research interests include tumour immunology, immunotherapy, signal transduction and cell cycle control.

Dr. Ivo Olivotto
Dr. Ivo Olivotto is the Chief Physician and Head of Radiation Oncology at the BC Cancer Agency Vancouver Island Centre in Victoria and is a professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of British Columbia. He is the founder and head of the BCCA's Breast Cancer Outcomes Unit and the former medical leader of the Screening Mammography Program of BC. Dr. Olivotto's clinical and research work has focused on the care and treatment of patients with beast cancer since he started working at the BCCA in 1987.