Dr. Jennifer Chan reappointed director of Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute

The Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) and Alberta Health Services (AHS) are pleased to announce the reappointment of Dr. Jennifer Chan, MD, as director of the Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute. The reappointment took effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

Dr. Chan is a renowned neuropathologist and cancer researcher, and an associate professor with the CSM Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. She was recruited to the University of Calgary from Harvard Medical School in 2008 as a clinician-scientist and has been an integral member of the Charbonneau Institute ever since. She served seven years as deputy institute director before she was appointed director in 2021.

Dr. Chan holds clinical and research expertise in brain tumour biology and genetics and is highly skilled in translational medicine, molecular biology, anatomic pathology and biobanking. She leads a prolific research program at UCalgary that is part of several large-scale projects to discover new genes and therapeutic targets in a variety of cancers. She led the design of new childhood cancer research labs at UCalgary and is the director of the Clark Smith Neurologic and Pediatric Tumour and Tissue Bank.

During her past five years as institute director, Dr. Chan has led remarkable growth in cancer research, treatment and lab infrastructure, including with the new Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre.

Dr. Chan holds the Alberta Cancer Foundation Chair in Brain Tumour Research and formerly served as lead for the Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders Research Program, a partnership between AHS, the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Charbonneau Institute and the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute.

Dr. Chan received her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and her medical degree from McGill University. She completed her residency in anatomic pathology and a fellowship in neuropathology at Harvard University. After an additional research fellowship in pediatric oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, she became pathology leader of the Biospecimens Platform at the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard.

Dr. Chan has a strong history of national and local impact in cancer research. In her first term as Charbonneau Institute director Dr. Chan led growth in several key areas including research grant competitiveness and total research revenue, and the development of new translational research infrastructure such as the Cancer Translational Research Core at the Arthur Child and the CSM’s Environmental Exposures Hub.

Dr. Chan has also supported the development of new research programs that have attracted nearly $60 million, including the Riddell Centre for Cancer Immunotherapy, the Arthur Child Precision Oncology Initiative and the Prairie Cancer Research Consortium within the national Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network. During her tenure, the Institute has supported the recruitment of 17 new scientists spanning cancer immunotherapy, DNA science and genome editing, precision oncology, brain cancer and health services research. In her second term, Dr. Chan will seek to grow the Charbonneau Institute by driving cancer innovation through interdisciplinary collaboration, harnessing emerging scientific opportunities, translating discoveries into meaningful clinical impact, and expanding partnerships with the health system, patients, and industry.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Chan on her renewed term as director.

Sincerely,

Todd Anderson, MD                                                                    Mark Anselmo, MD                                           
Dean, Cumming School of Medicine                                         Calgary Zone Medical Director                
University of Calgary                                                                   Alberta Health Services