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Forty-five years after Terry Fox set out on his Marathon of Hope, his legacy continues to shape how cancer is studied and treated in Canada. That vision now drives the (MOHCCN), where Queen’s researchers are applying their expertise and collaborating to strengthen cancer research and care.

Supported by Health Canada and led by the and the , the MOHCCN unites genomic and clinical data from across the country to strengthen cancer research and treatment. The network expands patient access to advanced testing and equips researchers with tools to investigate cancers in greater depth. More than 50 partner institutions form regional consortia that are building a national cancer data resource of unprecedented scale, linking researchers and clinicians from coast to coast.

Queen’s joined the Ontario Consortium of the MOHCCN in 2022, adding Kingston as a sequencing site and expanding patient access to advanced testing. The consortium brings together the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, the  (SCRI) at Queen’s, (KHSC), and institutions across the province to strengthen the national network. In Kingston, Queen’s researcher (Biomedical and Molecular Sciences/Computing), an expert in biomedical data science and artificial intelligence, leads the university’s involvement. She directs one of the few MOHCCN centres in Canada with the capacity to both recruit patients and complete the full cycle of technical sequencing and analysis, positioning Kingston as a hub for advanced cancer genomics.

Across the university, 15 principal investigators lead MOHCCN-funded projects, supported by clinicians, scientists, and trainees. Their work advances discoveries from to .

Reaching more patients

For many patients, living outside a major cancer centre has meant later diagnoses and fewer treatment options. Queen’s researchers are helping change this reality by delivering genomic sequencing and clinical trials across southeastern Ontario and into northern Indigenous communities. Their work brings advanced testing and clinical research to patients who have long faced barriers to care.

“Patients in our region now have access to state-of-the-art tests that were once only available in Toronto, Vancouver, or Montreal,” says Dr. Simpson. “This can mean earlier diagnoses, more tailored treatments, and better chances of survival.”

Building partnerships and data resources

MOHCCN has strengthened collaboration between Queen’s researchers and partners including KHSC and the SCRI-based (CCTG). Together, they are expanding clinical and research capacity, building infrastructure, and recruiting leading oncologists and data scientists to Kingston. Graduate students and trainees play a central role in this work, from preparing and analyzing patient samples to developing tools that help interpret complex genomic data. 

“This project has created real opportunities for young investigators and trainees,” says Dr. Kyster Nanan, scientific and operational lead for research genomics in the Department of Pathology & Molecular Medicine at Queen’s. “Graduate students are gaining direct experience with genomic sequencing and data analysis that they simply would not have had access to without the network.”

Kingston’s patient samples feed into a secure national platform that is building one of Canada’s most comprehensive cancer datasets. One flagship project within MOHCCN will generate genomic and clinical data from 15,000 patients in its first five years. As part of this effort, Kingston researchers will contribute data and samples from up to 1,000 patients, including 250 through KHSC and 750 through the CCTG, broadening the national resource with diverse patient representation.