Facilitating the research of numerous nationally and internationally recognized scientists, in over sixty labs across British Columbia, to improve cancer care.

BC Cancer Research strives to improve the lives of patients through the integration of basic biomedical research, genomics, clinical trials, health services research, cancer surveillance, population health, and the development of innovative new technology, programs, and interventions. Organized through departments and programs with various themes, BC Cancer supports groundbreaking cancer research and personalized care approaches through world-class facilities and platforms including genomics, bioinformatics, imaging, drug development and tissue banking.

Our Research

The success of BC Cancer is driven by the people and their passion to reduce the impact of cancer on people and society. Our 2023 Research Report showcases how BC Cancer continues to be internationally recognized for our excellence in cancer research and its integrated model of cancer planning and care. 

Read the 2023 BC Cancer Research Report

News & Events

Enhancing Long-Read Sequencing: Introducing the Agilent Femto Pulse System at the GSC

We are excited to announce the arrival of the Agilent Femto Pulse System at the GSC! This high-sensitivity automated pulsed-field capillary electrophoresis instrument will be a game changer for nucleic acid quality control - detecting nucleic acids down to 50 fg/µL of DNA or RNA per sample and resolving fragments from 100 base pairs (bp) to over 165 kilobases (kb) in about 1.5 hours.

Canada joins Federated EGA, establishing a significant global repository for secure sharing of human genomic and health data

Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer hosts the Canadian Node of the Federated EGA

In a major milestone for international biomedical research and the future of personalized medicine, the Canadian Genome-Phenome Archive (CGA), part of the Pan-Canadian Genome Library (PCGL) has joined the Federated European Genome-Phenome Archive (Federated EGA), marking the federation’s first significant expansion outside of Europe.

Canada joins Federated EGA, establishing a significant global repository for secure sharing of human genomic and health data

Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer hosts the Canadian Node of the Federated EGA

In a major milestone for international biomedical research and the future of personalized medicine, the Canadian Genome-Phenome Archive (CGA), part of the Pan-Canadian Genome Library (PCGL) has joined the Federated European Genome-Phenome Archive (Federated EGA), marking the federation’s first significant expansion outside of Europe.

The CGA  is hosted by Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer.

Research Recovery Resources

BC Cancer Research is taking a gradual and careful approach to re-opening research activities to protect our staff, patients and communities.

Access our COVID-19 recovery resources.

Our Strategic Plan

Our Strategic Plan outlines our direction to strengthen our research capabilities and collaboration with departments and partners to improve our ability to generate knowledge, enhance the impact of our research, and support innovation in clinical care.  

Read the BC Cancer Research Strategic Plan.

Facilitating research excellence through management of day-to-day operations.

Office of Research Administration

Conducting research to improve the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer.

Cancer Control Research

Developing and deploying genomics technologies and services in support of cancer and life sciences research.

Genome Sciences Centre

Making novel discoveries in the biology underlying normal development and cancer progression.

Terry Fox Laboratory

Characterising the molecular changes that underpin the progression and pathogenesis of cancer.

Molecular Oncology

Researching the optical, radiobiological and genetic properties of cancer.

Integrative Oncology

Improving patient outcomes by gaining a deeper understanding of lymphoma biology and progression, for use in clinical applications.

Lymphoid Cancer Research

Defining better intervention strategies for individuals diagnosed with aggressive cancers.

Experimental Therapeutics

Clinical Research

Harnessing the immune system to detect and treat cancer.

Deeley Research Centre

The Nursing and Allied Health Research and Knowledge Translation department promotes innovation and excellence in interprofessional research and knowledge mobilization to drive evidence-informed improvements in care, better patient outcomes and increased system performance.

Nursing and Allied Health Research and Knowledge Translation

Publications

Dynamics of molecular heterogeneity in high-risk luminal breast cancer-From intrinsic to adaptive subtyping.

Cancer Cell, 2025
Denkert C, Rachakonda S, Karn T, Weber K, Martin M, Marmé F, Untch M, Bonnefoi H, Kim SB, Seiler S, Bear HD, Witkiewicz AK, Im SA, DeMichele A, Pehl A, Van't Veer L, McCarthy N, Stiewe T, Jank P, Gelmon KA, García-Sáenz JA, Westhoff CC, Kelly CM, Reimer T, Felder B, Olivé MM, Knudsen ES, Turner N, Rojo F, Schmitt WD, Fasching PA, Teply-Szymanski J, Zhang Z, Toi M, Rugo HS, Gnant M, Makris A, Holtschmidt J, Nekljudova V, Loibl S.
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Comparative transcriptomics reveals a mixed basal, club, and hillock epithelial cell identity in castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025
Pitzen, Samuel P, Rudenick, Amber N, Qiu, Yinjie, Zhang, Weijie, Munro, Sarah A, McCluskey, Braedan M, Forster, Colleen, Bergom, Hannah E, Ali, Atef, Boytim, Ella, Lafin, John T, Linder, Simon, Ismail, Mazlina, Devlies, Wout, Sessions, Conner J, Claessens, Frank, Joniau, Steven, Attard, Gerhardt, Zwart, Wilbert, Nelson, Peter S, Corey, Eva, Wang, Yuzhuo, Lang, Joshua M, Beltran, Himisha, Strand, Douglas, Antonarakis, Emmanuel S, Hwang, Justin, Murugan, Paari, Huang, R Stephanie, Dehm, Scott M
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