VANCOUVER – The Terry Fox Research Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of a new node leader for the Province of Alberta.
Effective Jan. 1, Dr. David Eisenstat at the University of Alberta (U of A) in Edmonton assumed this leadership role for TFRI, replacing a long-time holder of the position, Dr. Carol Cass, also from the UofA and now retired.
“I am honoured to serve as the new TFRI executive representative for Alberta’s cancer physicians and scientists based in Calgary and Edmonton. We are pleased to be supporting the TFRI’s cancer centre network initiative as an essential step in our evolution as a progressive and innovative cancer research community in Canada.” says Dr. Eisenstat.
“We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Eisenstat as a member of our Executive committee representing our Alberta cancer research community. His background and knowledge base will deeply enrich our organization and executive,” remarks Dr. Victor Ling, TFRI president and scientific director.
Dr. Eisenstat is professor and chair of the Department of Oncology at the University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. He is a neuro-oncologist, clinician-scientist and member of the departments of pediatrics, medical genetics and oncology at U of A. His research looks at the interface between cell fate, cancer and development.
Dr. Eisenstat says he was inspired by Terry Fox to become a pediatric oncologist and cancer researcher. “The summer prior to beginning medical school in Toronto, I was a camp counsellor in the Muskokas in Ontario when Terry’s personal battle with cancer ended. I organized a run for the summer campers to raise funds for the local cancer charity in July 1981.”
Originally from Montreal, Dr. Eisenstat obtained his MD at the University of Toronto (1985) and completed his pediatrics residency and pediatric hematology-oncology clinical training at The Hospital for Sick Children. He then undertook fellowships in neuroscience, pediatric hematology-oncology and adult neuro-oncology at the University of California San Francisco and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston. Appointed to the University of Manitoba faculty in 1999, he held a variety of leadership roles there and at CancerCare Manitoba before joining the University of Alberta in 2011. Dr. Eisenstat was the inaugural head of the model system node for the TFRI PROFYLE project.
As TFRI-Alberta Node Leader, he will represent the clinical and scientific communities at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Alberta Children’s Hospital, the Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute, the University of Calgary, University of Lethbridge, the Cross Cancer Institute, Stollery Children’s Hospital, the Cancer Research Institute of Northern Alberta and the University of Alberta.
Read more about Dr. Eisenstat here.
About The Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI)
Launched in October 2007, The Terry Fox Research Institute is the brainchild of The Terry Fox Foundation and today functions as its research arm. TFRI seeks to improve significantly the outcomes of cancer research for the patient through a highly collaborative, team-oriented, milestone-based approach to research that will enable discoveries to translate quickly into practical solutions for cancer patients worldwide. TFRI collaborates with over 70 cancer hospitals and research organizations across Canada. TFRI headquarters are in Vancouver, BC. www.tfri.ca
Contact for media
Kelly Curwin
Chief Communications Officer
Terry Fox Research Institute
675 West 10th Avenue
Vancouver BC Canada V5Z1L3
kcurwin@tfri.ca
Office: 604-675-8223; cell: 778-237-8158