News

Moncton, NB - As the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute (ACRI) looks to the future with its partners, the next transformational step in ACRI’s growth as a research organization is redefining its scientific priorities and future directions. The appointment of a new Scientific Director for ACRI will help achieve this step in its reorganization and succession planning. This step is undertaken with an academic lens and with a focus on aligning ACRI’s key scientific initiatives with academic and healthcare partners throughout the region. All this while maintaining ACRI’s research excellence and harnessing its great in-house competencies and expertise.

It is ACRI’s pleasure to announce that Dr. Stephen Lewis will be assuming the full-time role of Scientific Director. Dr. Lewis has held the position of Assistant Scientific Director at ACRI since 2013 and his scientific rigour and mentorship has helped shape ACRI as a reputable research centre. In addition to his role at ACRI, Dr. Lewis is currently Chair of the Management Advisory Council of the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute, a member of the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation’s Board of Directors and is a Provincial Co-lead for the Terry Fox Research Institute’s Atlantic Cancer Consortium of the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network.

Dr. Lewis’s mandate will focus on overseeing the scientific research development of the Institute while continuing to pursue his own research program as a principal investigator. Dr. Lewis will lead the identification of ACRI’s strategic scientific objectives and will contribute to the development of resulting action plans. He will also develop new partnerships and see to the maintenance of dynamic relationships with granting agencies and existing strategic partners.

ACRI wishes to thank its long-time Scientific Director Dr. Rodney Ouellette for his nearly 25 years of scientific leadership at ACRI. The team and the local research ecosystem are indebted to Dr. Ouellette for all that he has done to establish and grow ACRI. The Institute thanks him for his passion, his know-how, and his unwavering efforts that have made ACRI the unique and vibrant research institute that it is today. Dr. Ouellette will continue to focus on his research programs at ACRI as Founding Scientist and the R.R. Leger-NBHRF Chair in Precision Cancer Research. He will also be continuing his research activities with the Vitalité Health Network as a clinician researcher. His contributions and ongoing support continue to be highly valued by all members of ACRI and the broader scientific community.

The Atlantic Cancer Research Institute anticipates that this restructuring will bring positive change to the Institute’s scientific research objectives as it faces an ever-evolving research landscape.

About the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute

ACRI is a non-profit research organization founded in 1998 and located within the New Brunswick Center for Precision Medicine in Moncton. ACRI works on cutting edge research in the quest to find solutions to cancer and impact patient care in the region and around the world. ACRI scientists are advancing their research with the aim to improve patient care through precision medicine. To this end, ACRI researchers are making significant contributions in liquid biopsy for cancer diagnosis, disease monitoring, and detection of treatment response. In addition, ACRI scientists are pursuing studies on cancer cell biology, gene editing, and the discovery of targeted treatments.

ACRI is a team of over forty researchers, support staff and students with a wide range of expertise in genomics, proteomics, molecular biology, cell biology, immunology, bioinformatics, pathology, mass spectrometry, as well in vitro and in vivo testing. Through its work, ACRI is making positive contributions to research efforts locally and globally, all aimed at defeating cancer.