Ontario Institute for Cancer Research
Encyclopedia
The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) is a not-for-profit organization based in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
that focuses on the prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer
. OICR intends to make Ontario more effective in knowledge transfer
and commercialization
while maximizing the health and economic benefits of research findings for the people of Ontario. OICR was launched in 2005 by the Government of Ontario
, which provides funding through the Ministry of Research and Innovation
. The Institute employs more than 200 people at its research hub at the MaRS Centre in downtown Toronto and funds more than 300 scientific staff at hospital-based research institutes and universities around the province.
, MD was appointed President and Scientific Director of OICR in June 2006 and Robert A. Phillips was appointed Deputy Director. Dr. Hudson consulted with the Ontario cancer research community and external experts to develop a strategic research plan for the institute in 2006. In February 2007 the completed strategic plan was approved by the Ministry of Research and Innovation.
In its first five years, OICR focused on creating or enhancing existing cancer research infrastructure in Ontario, recruiting outstanding scientists to the province and launching new programs and technology platforms to establish the foundation necessary to build translational research and commercialization within the province. Robert A. Phillips retired as Deputy Director in 2009. The current Deputy Director of OICR is Nicole Onetto, MD.
, the MaRS Centre’s neighbours include the University of Toronto
, the Provincial Legislature
, University Health Network
(including Princess Margaret Hospital
, Toronto General Hospital
and the Ontario Cancer Institute
), The Hospital for Sick Children and Mount Sinai Hospital. It is also located just north of Toronto’s financial district. OICR funds research in other affiliated labs and institutions located in Hamilton
, Kingston
, London
, Ottawa
, Sudbury, Thunder Bay
, Toronto
and Waterloo
.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
that focuses on the prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. OICR intends to make Ontario more effective in knowledge transfer
Knowledge transfer
Knowledge transfer in the fields of organizational development and organizational learning is the practical problem of transferring knowledge from one part of the organization to another part of the organization. Like Knowledge Management, Knowledge transfer seeks to organize, create, capture or...
and commercialization
Commercialization
Commercialization is the process or cycle of introducing a new product or production method into the market. The actual launch of a new product is the final stage of new product development, and the one where the most money will have to be spent for advertising, sales promotion, and other marketing...
while maximizing the health and economic benefits of research findings for the people of Ontario. OICR was launched in 2005 by the Government of Ontario
Government of Ontario
The Government of Ontario refers to the provincial government of the province of Ontario, Canada. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867....
, which provides funding through the Ministry of Research and Innovation
Ministry of Research and Innovation (Ontario)
The Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation is a government ministry of the Province of Ontario. The current minister is Glen Murray.-History:...
. The Institute employs more than 200 people at its research hub at the MaRS Centre in downtown Toronto and funds more than 300 scientific staff at hospital-based research institutes and universities around the province.
Ontario Cancer Research Network
OICR’s predecessor organization was the Ontario Cancer Research Network (OCRN), a not-for-profit corporation established by the Government of Ontario in November 2001 to increase translational research related to the development of new cancer therapies. OCRN’s four main program areas were: the Ontario Tumour Bank, Clinical Trials Programs, the Ontario Cancer Research Ethics Board and the Cancer Research Fund. The organization was headed by Robert A. Phillips, PhD. All of OCRN’s programs continue to function within OICR.Ontario Institute for Cancer Research
In May 2005 the Government of Ontario announced its intent to launch a new cancer research institute in the province. OCRN was asked to evolve into the new institute, which would later be named OICR. OICR was formally launched by Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty in December 2005 . OICR was designed to continue OCRN’s translational research programs while building new research capacity in the province. Thomas J. HudsonThomas J. Hudson
Thomas James Hudson, M.D., is a Canadian genome scientist noted for his leading role in the generation of physical maps of the human and mouse genomes and also his role in the International HapMap Project whose goal is to develop a haplotype map of the human genome.As director of the McGill...
, MD was appointed President and Scientific Director of OICR in June 2006 and Robert A. Phillips was appointed Deputy Director. Dr. Hudson consulted with the Ontario cancer research community and external experts to develop a strategic research plan for the institute in 2006. In February 2007 the completed strategic plan was approved by the Ministry of Research and Innovation.
In its first five years, OICR focused on creating or enhancing existing cancer research infrastructure in Ontario, recruiting outstanding scientists to the province and launching new programs and technology platforms to establish the foundation necessary to build translational research and commercialization within the province. Robert A. Phillips retired as Deputy Director in 2009. The current Deputy Director of OICR is Nicole Onetto, MD.
Innovation Programs
- The Ontario Health Study
- The One Millimetre Cancer Challenge
- The Cancer Stem Cell Program
- Cancer Genomics and the International Cancer Genome Consortium
- The Selective Therapies Program
- Immuno- and Bio-therapies Program
Technology Platforms
- The Imaging Pipeline Platform
- Transformative Pathology Platform
- Genome Technologies Platform
- Medicinal Chemistry
- Informatics and Bio-computing
Translation Programs
- The High Impact Clinical Trials Program
- The Health Services Research Program
- The Patents to Products (Commercialization) Program
Other Programs
- OICR Investigator Program
- Personalized Medicine Research Fund
- Ontario Cancer Research Ethics Board
OICR Leaders
- Rima Al-awar, PhD – Platform Director, Medicinal Chemistry
- John Bartlett, PhD - Platform Director, Transformative Pathology
- John Bell, PhD – Program Leader, Immuno- and Bio-therapies
- Janet Dancey, MD – Program Leader, High Impact Clinical Trials
- John Dick, PhD – Program Leader, Cancer Stem Cells
- Craig Earle, MD – Program Leader, Health Services Research
- Aaron Fenster, PhD - Platform Leader, Imaging Pipeline Platform
- Thomas J. HudsonThomas J. HudsonThomas James Hudson, M.D., is a Canadian genome scientist noted for his leading role in the generation of physical maps of the human and mouse genomes and also his role in the International HapMap Project whose goal is to develop a haplotype map of the human genome.As director of the McGill...
, MD - President and Scientific Director, OICR - John McPherson, PhD – Platform Leader, Genome Technologies
- Michele Noble, MBA – Corporate Secretary, OICR
- Nicole Onetto, PhD – Deputy Director, OICR
- Lyle Palmer, PhD – Program Leader, Ontario Health Study
- Robert Rottapel, MD – Program Leader, Selective Therapies Program
- Lincoln SteinLincoln SteinProfessor Lincoln D. Stein is a scientist and leader in bioinformatics and computational biology at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. Current projects include Reactome, WormBase,, BioPerl, , ENCODE , the Generic Model Organism Database and Cloud computing...
, PhD – Platform Leader, Informatics and Bio-computing - Frank Stonebanks, MBA - Vice-President, Commercialization and Chief Commercial Officer, Patents to Products (Commercialization) Program
- Jane van Alphen, BScN, MBA, Vice-President, Operations, OICR
- Martin Yaffe, PhD - Program Leader, One Millimetre Cancer Challenge
Facilities
OICR occupies three labs and more than 56331 square feet (5,233.3 m²) of space in the MaRS Centre in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in the heart of Toronto’s Discovery DistrictDiscovery District
The Discovery District is an area of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that features a high concentration of hospitals and research institutions, particularly those related to biotechnology...
, the MaRS Centre’s neighbours include the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, the Provincial Legislature
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...
, University Health Network
University Health Network
University Health Network is a medical centre that comprises three teaching hospitals affiliated with the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine....
(including Princess Margaret Hospital
Princess Margaret Hospital
Princess Margaret Hospital may refer to:* Princess Margaret Hospital in Canada specializing in Oncology* Princess Margaret Hospital * Princess Margaret Hospital in New Zealand...
, Toronto General Hospital
Toronto General Hospital
The Toronto General Hospital , is a part of the University Health Network, and a major teaching hospital in downtown Toronto, Ontario. It is located in the Discovery District, directly north of the Hospital for Sick Children, across Gerrard Street West, and east of Princess Margaret Hospital and...
and the Ontario Cancer Institute
Ontario Cancer Institute
The Ontario Cancer Institute is the research division of Princess Margaret Hospital, part of the University Health Network of the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine. As Canada's first dedicated cancer hospital, it opened officially and began to receive patients in 1958, although its...
), The Hospital for Sick Children and Mount Sinai Hospital. It is also located just north of Toronto’s financial district. OICR funds research in other affiliated labs and institutions located in Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, London
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Sudbury, Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay
-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....
.