Dr. Poul Sorensen’s breakthrough cancer research has saved countless lives. But he thinks we can cut the time from discovery to treatment by 50% — or more.
A recent Pathways Magazine issue featured UBC’s translational medicine achievements and initiatives. Learn how UBC researchers are accelerating scientific discovery to solve today’s most urgent health challenges.
We are very excited to welcome Dr. Stefan Burdach as the inaugural Academy of Translational Medicine (ATM) Visiting Professor to the University of British Columbia. Dr. Burdach is visiting from March to June of 2022 from the Translational Pediatric Cancer Research Action, Institute of Pathology and Children’s Cancer Research Center, Department of Pediatrics at Technical University of Munich School of Medicine and will be hosted at the BC Cancer Research Institute.
Dr. Burdach’s scientific merits include four decades of bringing together basic science and clinical application in the field of pediatric oncology and hematology and significant accomplishments in establishing a research collaboration across the Atlantic Ocean to fight childhood cancer, in particular the main cause of death in these diseases, metastasis. Dr. Burdach’s work has not only elucidated important mechanisms of metastatic spread but has also developed targeted immunotherapies to potentially target the metastatic process.
In acknowledging Dr. Burdach as a pioneer of translational medicine even before this term was coined, we are proud to welcome Dr. Burdach as the ATM’s inaugural Visiting Professor.
The ATM Visiting Professorship program aims to forge further collaborations between the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine and other translational medicine centres of excellence across the world.
“The ATM helped us devise a regulatory plan for the project and satisfy the regulatory affairs requirements in our NFRF application. This support was important for securing the NFRF funding and with so many moving parts to this project, it is amazing to have access to group of regulatory experts as we move forward.”
– Dr. John Madden, Director of the Mend the Gap team that recently secured $24M in funding from the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF)
“The new education programs in the ATM are meeting urgent needs for better knowledge and training in entrepreneurship at the intersection of science and business. Collaborative programs like these are crucial if we are to dramatically reduce cycle times from lab discovery to patient impact and fulfill the ambition to make UBC and Vancouver a global life science innovation hub.”
– Paul Cubbon, Assistant Dean of Innovation, UBC Sauder School of Business and CDL-Vancouver Lead at Creative Destruction Lab ATM Entrepreneurship course
B.C. is home to a booming biomedical sector that is turning scientific discoveries into life-saving treatments and preventions. But what if we could bring these new health innovations to patients in half the time?
We are entering a golden age of biomedical discovery, where new classes of therapeutics are expected to transform human health and drive economic growth over the next century. With world-class biomedical researchers and a vibrant life sciences ecosystem, BC has a distinct opportunity to lead this global transformation and shape a more healthy, sustainable, and innovative future for British Columbia. Never before have we had access to as much information and as many tools to advance research discoveries. Yet, in spite of the accelerated pace of fundamental discoveries across all areas of biomedicine, the timeline for translating this knowledge into concrete improvements in clinical care, continues to lag dramatically. This is a challenge that we need to solve and conquer, if we want to be internationally competitive.
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Dean Regier as Chair of the newly established Regulatory Advisory Council (RAC) within the Academy of Translational Medicine (ATM).
The post COVID-19 environment of using real world evidence alongside rapid, high-quality clinical trials presents a unique opportunity for creating lasting positive impact on regulatory and health policy systems in Canada. To embrace this opportunity, the ATM has established a Regulatory Advisory Council (RAC) with members from local and international industry and academic institutions, to provide guidance and advice to ATM and UBC for accelerating translational medicine. The RAC will serve to guide the regulatory direction of the ATM to best support UBC researchers, as well as advise on development of new regulatory affairs educational offerings and key services for the translational medicine ecosystem in BC.
“The regulatory advisory council provides unparalleled insight into current and anticipated regulatory landscapes,” says Dr. Regier. “The council is unique in that our collective experiences will help shape the Academy of Translational Medicine through regulatory science training and through innovative policy development for the effective, timely, and efficient translation of medical innovations into the clinic. I am very honoured and proud to Chair this incredibly experienced and ambitious council, and I look forward to being part of shaping the new regulatory affairs landscape in Canada and beyond.”
“I am very honoured and proud to Chair this incredibly experienced and ambitious council, and I look forward to being part of shaping the new regulatory affairs landscape in Canada and beyond.”
Dr. Dean Regier, Associate Professor, UBC and Chair of the Council.
Dr. Regier is an associate professor at the School of Population and Public Health and Director of the Health Economics Support and Research Unit (HESRU) at BC Cancer. He is also a Senior Scientist within Cancer Control Research, and currently serves on the province’s Drug Benefit Council, which makes evidence-informed recommendations to the Ministry of Health about the listing of drugs on the PharmaCare program formulary.
As Chair of the RAC, Dr. Regier will provide leadership to establish the RAC and the ATM as leaders in regulatory affairs in Canada, and guide the ATM and UBC through the evolving regulatory and health policy landscapes to advance the translation of scientific discoveries into solutions that improve patient care, therapeutics and research knowledge.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Regier on his appointment.