Our Network

Principal Investigator Coordinating Committee

The Principal Investigator Coordinating Committee (PICC) is an advisory and principal investigator committee that represents the Network’s clinical research interests through collaborative engagement across the network. The PICC assesses research opportunities, contributing to project design development and execution.

Dr. Helen Mackay - Chair, Head, Medical Oncologist,  MBChB, BSc, MRCP, MD

Dr. Helen MacKay is a Medical Oncologist and an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. and the Head of the Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology at the Odette Cancer Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Dr. MacKay’s clinical practice and research focus is on gynecological cancers. Her research involves collaborating with translational and basic scientists in the development and validation of novel therapeutic strategies. She is an investigator of a number of phase I, II and III clinical trials.

Dr .Quincy Chu Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry – Oncology Dept. MD, FRCP(C)

Dr. Chu is a medical oncologist who specializes in thoracic malignancies as well as early phase clinical trials. He received his M.D degree from University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada. He is an investigator with the Cross Cancer Institute’s New Drug Development Program, and is the incoming CCTG Investigational New Drug Committee Chair.

Dr. Mark Basik, Associate Member and Surgical Oncologist, MD

Dr. Mark Basik joined the Sir Mortimer B.Davis-Jewish General Hospital in 2003 as an Attending Surgical Oncologist. Previously he was an Attending Surgical Oncologist at Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal for seven years before spending 18 months as a Visiting Investigator at the National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH in Bethesda, Maryland, and 6 months as a Medical Researcher in the Translational Genomics Research Institute, Cancer Drug Development Laboratory in Gaithersburg, MD.

Dr. Gwyn Bebb, Medical Oncologist, MD

Dr. Gwyn Bebb is a Medical Oncologist at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre (Calgary, AB) with a clinical focus in the treatment of lung malignancies.  As Associate Professor of Medicine with The University of Calgary, he mentors graduate students, medical students, residents and other healthcare professionals. Since 2017, Dr. Bebb has developed and led POET (Precision Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics) as Executive Director. POET is a comprehensive and collaborative end-to-end program that incorporates novel biomarker-driven phase I clinical trials research into the routine management of cancer patients including a  partnership with the International Microbiome Centre (IMC).

Dr. Julie Carrier, MD-PhD

Dr. Carrier is a member of the research initiative: “Cancer: biology, prognosis, and diagnosis” of the CHUS, CRC-Étienne LeBel and the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Sherbrooke).

Dr. Bryan Lo, Lead Scientist and Medical Director MD-PhD

Dr. Bryan Lo is the lead scientist and medical director of the Ottawa Hospital’s Molecular Oncology Diagnostics Laboratory. Lo received his MD-PhD from the University of Toronto, finished his residency at the Hospital for Sick Children and was a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University. Dr Lo’s lab will undertake tumor genomics supporting Precision Oncology research and the personalization of treatment for each patient’s individual type of cancer.

Dr. Arif Awan, MD

Dr. Awan is a medical oncologist with the Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre with a strong interest in precision oncology, breast cancer, melanoma, clinical trials, artificial intelligence and education.

Dr. Eve St-Hilaire, Medical Oncologist, MD

Dr. St-Hilaire did her medical undergrad training, internal medicine and hematology residency training at Sherbrooke University and completed a fellowship in medical oncology at Dalhousie University.  She has been working at the Dr-Léon-Richard Oncology Center in Moncton since 2007.  Her professional interests include hematology, gastro-intestinal oncology and melanoma.  She is actively involved in clinical trials in these domains.  She has been clinical teaching professor in affiliation with the Sherbrooke University faculty of medicine since 2007.

Dr. Jonathan Spicer, Assistant Professor of Surgery, MD, PhD

Dr. Spicer completed his training in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the world’s largest cancer center – University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. His clinical interests focus on minimally invasive approaches to lung cancer as well as complex resections for advanced thoracic malignancies. He has paired his clinical focus with a comprehensive research program in cancer metastasis. His laboratory studies the link between inflammation and metastasis with a particular focus on neutrophil and circulating tumor cell interactions.

Dr. Mahmoud Abdelsalam, Medical Oncologist MD, CCFP

Dr. Abdelsalam completed a residency period of Clinical Oncology from the period September 1993September 1995. Since completing his PhD qualifications in 2000, he has been a faculty member in Kasr Al Eini cancer center, Cairo University and currently as a Professor of Clinical Oncology (June 2011-Present). In 2002, Mahmoud was awarded a Diploma in Cancer prevention from the NCI, Bethesda, Maryland, USA in addition to conducting a training period at the Navy Hospital in Cancer Vaccination. He has conducted more than one period of training. This includes MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA, Princess Margaret Hospital (neuro-oncology) and St. Michael’s Hospital in Canada.

Dr. Louise Provencher, Surgeon and Oncologist MD

Dr. Louise Provencher is a surgeon-oncologist at the CHU de Québec-Laval University. She is also a clinical researcher at the Research Center of the CHU de Québec-Laval University, and clinical professor at the Laval University School of Medicine. Dr. Provencher is part of the research group of the Centre des Maladies du Sein of CHU de Québec-Laval University.

Dr. Dr. Zhaolin Xu, Professor Department of Pathology MD, FRCPC, FCAP

Dr. Xu is a Pulmonary Pathologist and Cytopathologist, QE II Health Sciences Centre, NSHA and Senior Scientist, Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute, He is also Chair, Pathology Working Group and Network Member, Pan-Canadian Lung Cancer Screening Network, Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and Chair, Pathology Working Group and Steering Committee Member, Lung Cancer Screening Network, Cancer Care Nova Scotia. Dr. Xu is also a Committee Member, Correlative Sciences and Tumor Biology Committee, and Lung Tumor Sub-committee, Clinical Trial Group, National Cancer Institute of Canada.

Dr. Stephen Welch, University & Staff Medical Oncologist, London Regional Cancer Program, MD

Dr. Stephen Welch joined the Department of Oncology and the Division of Medical Oncology in London, Ontario in September 2007. Currently, he is the Medical Director of the Baines Clinical Cancer Research Unit in London and was appointed as Chair of the Division of Medical Oncology in 2018. Dr. Welch received undergraduate medicine and internal medicine credentials at the University of Manitoba and subsequently trained as a resident in medical oncology at Western University and as a clinical research fellow in oncology early phase clinical trials at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.

Laboratory Committee

The Lab Committee represents the 5 federated laboratories of the Network and provides advice and guidance on operational and analytical issues related to clinical samples profiling results. Committee recommendations bring medical and scientific knowledge, reflects patient advocacy and current clinical practices with the objective to maintain high-quality and performance of the Exactis laboratory network.

Dr. Bryan Lo, Chair, Lead Scientist and Medical Director MD-PhD

Dr. Bryan Lo is the Lead Scientist and Medical Director of the Ottawa Hospital’s Molecular Oncology Diagnostics Lab. Dr. Lo received his MD-PhD from the University of Toronto, finished his residency at the Hospital for Sick Children and was a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University. Dr Lo’s lab facilitates analysis of genetic flaws inside tumor cells, which will allow the personalization of treatment for each patient’s individual type of cancer.

Dr. Arun Seth, MS. PhD

Dr. Seth is a Molecular cancer researcher at Sunnybrook health Science Center with broad based expertise in leading and directing research activities in oncogenesis and molecular diagnostics. Over three decades, led the creation, design, and initiation of independent research work, securing funding through government, charity, and industry sources. The founding Editor-in-Chief for the journal “Cancer Genomics and Proteomics” and an Associate Editor for “Cancer Research” he also serves as an editorial board member of five cancer related international journals.

Dr. Rodney Ouellette MD, PhD

Dr. Ouellette is currently the President and Scientific Director of the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute. Dr. Ouellette received both his MD and PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Université Laval in 1996. He then completed his residency in Family Medicine from Université de Sherbrooke in 1998. Currently, he is adjunct professor of biochemistry at Université de Moncton and adjunct professor of biology at the University of New Brunswick.

Mr. Nicholas Crapoulet, PhD, FCCMG in-training

Nicolas Crapoulet is a Clinic Specialist in Molecular Genetics at Réseau de Santé Vitalité – Georges-Dumont hospital.

Ms. Adriana Aguilar, PhD

Adriana Aguilar is a Scientific Director of Cancer Genomics and Translational Research Laboratory and the Jewish General Hospital / Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research.

Mr. Andreas Papadakis PhD

Andreas I Papadakis currently works at the Molecular Pathology Research Lab of the Segal Cancer Centre of the Jewish General Hospital. Andreas is interested in the clinical arm of cancer research and utilizing state of the art molecular and NGS approaches geared toward precision cancer therapy.

Dr. David Hwang MD, PhD, FRCPC

Dr. David Hwang is a pathologist at UHN and an Associate Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. He completed MD and PhD degrees at the University of Toronto, followed by residency training in Anatomical Pathology. Complementing his clinical practice in pulmonary pathology, his primary research focus is in pulmonary infectious disease. He is currently funded by the National Sanitarium Association to study bacterial community-wide gene expression and its role in antibiotic responses and resistance in the cystic fibrosis lung.

Dr. Pinaki Bose, PhD

Dr. Bose scientifically leads the Precision Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics (POET) program at the University of Calgary. He also directs the translational research program of the Ohlson Research Initiative. He combines his expertise in cancer biology and genomics to run this multidisciplinary head and neck, glioblastoma and lung cancer research program involving surgeons, pathologists, bioinformaticians, statisticians and basic researchers. His laboratory also employs high-throughput screening techniques to find novel prognostic and predictive biomarkers, and therapeutic targets.

Network Locations

Research Centers, Exactis Innovation

JGH: Jewish General Hospital / Segal Cancer Center
3755 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine,
Montréal, QC H3T 1E2

MUHC: Montreal University Health Center
1001 Decarie Blvd, Montreal,
Quebec H4A 3J1

CHUM: Centre Hospitalier Université de Montreal
1051 Rue Sanguinet, Montréal,
Québec, H2X 3E4

CHUQ: Centre Hospitalier Université de Quebec
11 Côte du Palais,
Québec, QC, G1R 0A2

CIUSSS MCQ: CIUSSS de la Mauricie-et-du-Centre-du Quebec
1991, boulevard du Carmel,
Trois-Rivières, QC, G8Z 3R9

CHUS: Centre Hospitalier University de Sherbrooke
3001 12 Ave N, Sherbrooke,
Quebec, J1H 5H3

HSCH: Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montreal
5400 Boul Gouin O, Montréal,
Québec, H4J 1C5

TOH: The Ottawa Hospital
501 Smyth Rd, Ottawa,
Ontario, K1H 8L6

SBH: Sunnybrook Hospital
2075 Bayview Ave, Toronto,
Ontario, M4N 3M5

QEII Health Sciences Centre
5790 University Ave,
Halifax, NS, B3H 1V7

TMH: The Moncton Hospital
135 Macbeath Ave, Moncton,
New Brunswick, E1C 6Z8

GDH: Dr. George Dumont Hospital
330 Université Ave, Moncton,
New Brunswick, E1C 2Z3

CCI: Cross Cancer Institute
11560 University Ave, Edmonton,
Alberta, T6G 1Z2

TBCC: Tom Baker Cancer Center
1331 29 St NW, Calgary,
Alberta, T2N 4N2

Cape Breton Cancer Centre
1482 George St.,
Sydney, NS, B1P 1P3

London Health Sciences Centre
800 Commissioners Rd E, London,
Ontario, N6A 5W9