Meet the professionals who are elevating excellence in cancer care in Alberta.
By Nathan Kunz
Throughout the province, cancer care professionals work to improve every stage of the patient journey. From answering the tough questions following a child’s diagnosis to finding improvements for already innovative treatment methods, teams of dedicated researchers, clinicians and behind-the-scenes experts are building a better today and tomorrow for Albertans facing cancer.
Here, four cancer care leaders share what inspires them, how they’re working with other bright minds in Alberta and beyond, and what their work could mean for people living with cancer in years to come.
Dr. Hanne Ostergaard
Director, Cancer Research Institute of Northern Alberta
Professor, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry – Medical Microbiology and Immunology Department, University of Alberta
Whether she’s researching how to better use cancer-killing cytotoxic T lymphocytes (white blood cells) in the lab or fixing up a project car in her home garage, Dr. Hanne Ostergaard says she’s always searching for new problems to solve.
“I love when we get a result where you’re just scratching your head,” says Ostergaard. “When you see a result that just doesn’t work out as predicted — that’s fun.”
The California-born immunologist serves as the director of the University of Alberta’s Cancer Research Institute of Northern Alberta (CRINA) — one of the largest comprehensive cancer research institutes in Western Canada, with a team of 170 researchers working together to better understand and treat cancers.
Originally from Los Angeles, Ostergaard moved north with her husband, a fellow immunologist, in 1991. Finding a location that not only had openings for two immunologists but also aligned with Ostergaard’s collaborative-focused research philosophy was a tall task, but the pair found a home that checked both boxes in Edmonton.
“When you work on having a good research environment, that ‘lifts all boats,’” says Ostergaard. “That helps not just a single researcher but all of the researchers. And Edmonton has that.”
Three decades later, Ostergaard continues to foster CRINA’s collaborative environment. She credits the institute’s success to its culture of connection, strengthened by initiatives she’s maintained as director, like newsletters and social events. A constant on the CRINA calendar is the annual Research Day, where cancer researchers, postdocs and graduate students showcase their work while networking.
Ostergaard has also introduced her own initiatives, such as the CRINA Connects seminar series, where CRINA members and external experts lead lectures based on what they’re working on. “One of my primary goals is to get people working in teams and in groups — not just to solve little problems, but to solve the bigger problems,” says Ostergaard. “You need to work in teams to solve those big problems in cancer.”
The big problems are exactly what CRINA is built to address, and the institute attracts world-class researchers to Edmonton to solve them. Ostergaard says a recent project in which oncology researchers and biochemists are working together to better understand the entire tumour micro-environment perfectly exemplifies the innovative crossdiscipline work that makes CRINA special.
It’s cutting-edge research like this, Ostergaard explains, that’s kept her in Edmonton and keeps her excited to lead the collaborative team at CRINA.
What do you love most about your work?
“The thrill of discovery! For me, there is nothing that compares to the excitement of seeing new data from my research team that has never been done by anyone else. Sometimes it may be short-lived, but it is still very exciting.”
Dr. Khaled Barakat
Professor, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta
As a professor at the University of Alberta, a biophysicist and an electrical engineer specializing in super computers, Dr. Khaled Barakat is constantly surrounded by complex systems. His mission, however, is simple.
“My lab is focused on fulfilling my dream: using computer simulations to find a universal cure for cancer,” he says.
For nearly 20 years, Barakat has been using his unique skillset to help bridge the worlds of physics, pharmaceutical sciences and technology, all in search of better immunotherapy treatment options. Using computer simulations that mimic the human body, Barakat’s lab can test millions of chemical combinations in a shorter time frame and at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods. When a compound is effective in triggering a positive response, it’s translated into real-world models for further investigation.
Through this approach, Barakat recently contributed to an Alberta Cancer Foundation-backed, multi-lab study, resulting in the discovery of Compound B — a molecular compound that shows promise for use in future immunotherapies.
The water-soluble compound could allow for oral administration, quickly and effectively triggering an immune response. A short half-life, Barakat explains, would allow patients to be taken off the drug if they experienced severe side effects without long-term implications. Its tiny size may also allow Compound B to cross the blood-brain barrier and treat tumours that are inaccessible to the larger antibodies currently used for immunotherapy.
Compound B’s potential is exciting, but Barakat likens the project’s current stage to having only two sides of a Rubik’s Cube complete. While Compound B triggers an immune response with low toxicity, it’s lacking other features that will elevate it to “clinical lead” status. Next steps will see Barakat use generative artificial intelligence to produce derivatives of the compound, tweaking it to solve the rest of the metaphorical Rubik’s Cube.
From there, Barakat hopes to partner with a pharmaceutical company to bring Compound B to people living with cancer. With the right results and investments, Barakat says it could enter clinical research stages as early as 2027.
Barakat stresses that the road ahead is not an easy one. It takes hard work and some good fortune to translate a promising discovery into a game-changing treatment, and setbacks are all but inevitable. Despite the challenge, Barakat remains positive.
“I think every researcher is immune to failure. We get more negative results than we get positive,” he says. “But we don’t care about failing because that’s normal. And you only need to succeed one time.”
What inspires you?
“I’m inspired by the potential to make a positive impact on people’s lives. Knowing that the work I do could contribute to better treatments for diseases motivates me every day. I’m inspired by the creativity and dedication of the people I work with. Science is a team effort, and I learn so much from others.”
Dr. Sarah McQuillan
Clinical Associate Professor, Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Calgary
Division Head, Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, Alberta Health Services
Program Director, Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Fellowship Program, University of Calgary
A child’s cancer diagnosis comes with a lot of big, overwhelming questions. For many families, they may not even think about anything related to the potential impact of treatment on future fertility. Thanks to Dr. Sarah McQuillan, these questions get prompted and discussed early on now, and come with more answers.
“I feel really fortunate to work with families to provide the best care,” says McQuillan, who treats patients under 18 with ovaries as a pediatric and adolescent gynecologist. “When they walk away feeling secure, feeling that their situation has been slightly improved — I find that really rewarding.”
Alongside Dr. Philippa Brain, an obstetrician and gynecologist, McQuillan helped develop Alberta’s first pediatric and adolescent gynecology fellowship program in Calgary in 2013.
McQuillan says many of her patients face the same gynecologic difficulties as adults. Her work, however, also includes specialized care, including exploring options for young patients undergoing treatments that may impact future fertility, such as those facing cancer.
Notably, Calgary is one of only a few Canadian cities to offer ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) — in which a portion of the ovary is removed prior to treatment and frozen. After treatment, and when a patient is ready to start having children, that ovarian tissue is then reinserted. Unlike egg freezing or other fertility preservation methods, OTC is effective for even pre-pubescent patients.
“[Offering these options] provides long-term hope to families,” says McQuillan, citing multiple studies that link preservation exploration to survivors’ long-term selfsatisfaction and quality of life. “Even just having that discussion creates some hope.”
Starting in 2024, treatments that may affect fertility trigger a pop-up when entered into Alberta’s electronic medical record, prompting standardized early discussions. Young patients are also connected with McQuillan’s team to explore how they can help.
Alberta’s pediatric and adolescent gynecology clinic has grown exponentially since 2013, with McQuillan attributing the success to fruitful collaborations with oncology and bone marrow transplant teams and the regional fertility program. There are now five gynecologists serving young patients in Calgary versus just one 12 years ago. McQuillan is also investing in the future by leading Alberta’s pediatric and adolescent gynecology fellowship program.
While the progress is meaningful, there’s still work to be done. Because tissue freezing, processing and storage are not covered by healthcare or many insurance programs in Canada, treatments remain cost-prohibitive — an obstacle McQuillan and her colleagues hope to knock down.
“In the next 10 years, I hope there are no barriers stopping families from exploring and receiving fertility preservation,” she says.
What inspires you?
“I love working with patients and seeing their resilience in difficult situations. With my children, I love watching the world through their eyes and learning new ways of seeing something as adults we take for granted.”
Chris Normandeau
Executive Director, Cancer Research & Analytics, Cancer Care Alberta
Like many, Chris Normandeau’s path to cancer care came from close-to-home connections. Born and raised in St. Albert, Normandeau supported his brother during his cancer journey while they were young adults. Shortly after Normandeau graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Commerce, a close friend passed away from the disease. The loss, Normandeau says, inspired him to shift his career ambitions.
“A lot of times you feel a bit helpless when you know someone who has a cancer diagnosis,” says Normandeau, who started as a data manager with the Alberta Cancer Board (now part of Alberta Health Services) in 2007. “Once I moved into the cancer world, it felt like I was making a difference.”
Today, Normandeau helps to improve cancer journeys throughout the province as executive director of Cancer Care Alberta’s Cancer Research & Analytics (CR&A) team.
In this role, he oversees the strategic direction of two worlds. On the research side, Normandeau supports projects led by CR&A teams and external researchers, while also managing biobanks — such as tumour banks and blood samples collections — and working with frontline staff to address systemic shortcomings.
The data side sees Normandeau working with epidemiologists, IT analysts and biostatisticians to gather numbers, find meaning in them and use them to improve care.
When a 2015 national report ranked Alberta as the province with the lowest rate of mastectomies as day surgeries (1.3 per cent in Alberta vs. 34.4 per cent in Ontario), for example, the cancer data team jumped into action. Working alongside the Cancer Strategic Clinical Network and clinical leads, they helped shift standard care practices towards same-day mastectomies, all while maintaining positive patient outcomes. By 2022, 74 per cent of mastectomies in Alberta were performed as day surgeries, allowing more patients to get home sooner and freeing up more beds in the process.
Normandeau credits his success to collaborating with his colleagues. There are no better moments, he says, than when he’s helped bring the right people together. “What’s most exciting is meeting with people with so many different perspectives but the same common desires: to improve patient outcomes, create efficiencies and make the whole system run smoother.”
What do you love most about your work?
“It’s always most exciting when there is a new initiative being planned out and people across multiple departments come together with the same goal — of figuring out the best way to make a difference.”
