The Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM) and Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, in partnership with 7 academic institutes and networks across Quebec, invite you to the 1st Basic and Clinical Oncology (BCO) Conference, which will take place at the IRCM on May 7, 2025.

This conference will bring together participants who are experts in fundamental research and clinical practice to share the latest advances in cancer research, oncology practice and how to bridge the two realms together. This conference is an extension of the BCO initiative that started as a monthly seminar series in 2021-2022 and resumed in 2024-2025. BCO aims at fostering collaborations between cancer researchers and oncologists across Quebec and Canada. 

Organizer:

• Islam Elkholi, MD, PhD, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, McGill University

Advisory Committee:

• Jean-François Côté, PhD, Montreal Clinical Research Institute, Université de Montréal
• Stephen Robbins, PhD, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, McGill University
• Gerardo Ferbeyre, PhD, Montreal Cancer Institute and CRCHUM, Université de Montréal 

Scientific Committee:

• April Rose, MD, PhD, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, McGill University
• Arielle Elkrief, MD, Montreal Cancer Institute, Université de Montréal
• Benjamin Martin, PhD, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, McGill University
• Elena Kuzmin, PhD, Centre for Structural and Functional Genomics, Concordia University
• Geneviève Deblois, PhD, Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Université de Montréal
• Hannah Garner, PhD, Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute, McGill University
• Livia Garzia, PhD, McGill University Health Centre, McGill University
• Mark Basik, MD, Jewish General Hospital, McGill University
• Mohan Malleshaiah, PhD, Montreal Clinical Research Institute, Université de Montréal

Keynote and guest speakers:

Sohail Tavazoie, MD, PhD Professor and Head, Laboratory of Systems Cancer Biology and Attending Physician, Rockefeller University

 
Dr. Sohail Tavazoie is the Leon Hess Professor and Head of the Meyer Laboratory of Systems Cancer Biology at The Rockefeller University. He is the director of the Black Center for Metastasis Research at Rockefeller University and an attending medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard Medical School. Following internship and residency training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and postdoctoral training at Harvard, he conducted oncology fellowship training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Sohail has been the recipient of the NIH Innovator Award, the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize, the NCI Outstanding Investigator Award and the DOD Era of Hope Award. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the past president of the American Society of Clinical Investigation. Sohail's lab studies the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying cancer metastasis and they apply these insights towards the development of novel experimental therapeutics that target the biology of metastatic disease.

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Gerald Batist, MD  Professor of Oncology and Director of the Segal Cancer Centre at the Jewish General Hospital, McGill University

 
Dr. Batist was University Chair of Oncology for 10 years. He is now the Deputy Director and leader of the Cancer Axis of the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research. Dr. Batist led the development of the Segal Cancer Centre at the Jewish General Hospital, which intimately links research and clinical care and has generated novel treatment models. He co-created the Q-CROC Quebec-wide network and was a co-founder the WIN global consortium for personalized medicine, which is based in Paris. He is a medical oncologist and molecular pharmacologist, whose research focuses on novel drug development and therapeutic resistance. He has published over 200 papers, and book chapters and shares multiple patents for new chemical entities with novel therapeutic potential. Dr. Batist has achieved significant funding for personalized medicine initiatives, leading large groups in biopsy-driven innovative studies designed to identify molecular signatures of resistance and novel therapeutic targets.

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Sonia del Rincón, PhD Associate Professor in Oncology, McGill University and Co-director of the RRCancer Network, one of the thematic networks supported by the FRQ.

 
Dr. del Rincón is a principal investigator in the Cancer Axis at the Lady Davis Institute-Segal Cancer Centre, McGill University. Her research lab undertakes fundamental and translational themes to develop novel therapeutic approaches for patients with cancer. She is the co-director of the RRCancer Network that fosters a research community of cancer researchers at all career stages, clinical practitioners and patient partners from all the major teaching hospitals and universities across Quebec. RRCancer has developed strategic alliances with private foundations and other partners to help finance its various activities.

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Olivia Novac, PhD Associate Director, Technology Transfer, Innovation and Partnerships (I+P) Office of the Vice-President (Research and Innovation) McGill University

 
As Associate Director for Technology Transfer team at McGill University, Olivia Novac is responsible for the assessment and management of the IP generated at McGill University and its affiliated hospitals, including patent filing, technology licensing and supporting spinoff companies. She is also the Chair of the AUTM Canadian Licensing Survey and serves as a Scientific Officer at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). In this role, she is involved in overseeing the peer review process for research funding applications for the commercialization project grant competitions. Before joining McGill, Ms. Novac spent six years in the biotechnology industry, where she held various positions focusing on intellectual property and business development. She holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University.

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Valérie Thibodeau, PhD, Mcb.A. Scientific Entrepreneurship Advisor, Millénium Québecor, Université de Montréal

 
Dr. Valérie Thibodeau is an expert in innovation and scientific entrepreneurship with over 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical, academic, and non-profit sectors. In addition to holding a doctorate in Immunology and Virology from the Université de Montréal, Valérie Thibodeau excels in scientific management, business development, and establishment of strategic partnerships. Her diverse career includes key roles such as scientific entrepreneurship advisor at Millénium-Québecor-UdeM, innovation broker at CHU Sainte-Justine, director of operations and strategy at BNK Laboratories in clinical research, and director of the PROCURE prostate cancer biobank. Her major achievement was coordinating a collaborative network between four university hospitals in Quebec, demonstrating her ability to unite key players around innovative projects. Valérie Thibodeau stands out for her in-depth knowledge of Quebec's innovation ecosystem and her aptitude for creating synergies between academic research and the entrepreneurial world.

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Registration Deadline: April 23, 2025

Abstract Submission: April 6, 2025

Oral talk notifications: Mid-April, 2025

Program: