Innovator

Rodney Ouellette

Atlantic Cancer Research Institute

Atlantic Cancer Research Institute

As founding CEO and scientific director of the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute (ACRI), Dr. Rodney Ouellette is a key player in New Brunswick's rapidly emerging health sciences and biomedical research cluster.

Born in 1964 in Cap-Pelé, a small seaside village in southeastern New Brunswick, Ouellette was drawn to science early in life. By 1988, he had earned bachelor's and master's degrees in biochemistry at the Université de Moncton. Further studies took him to Université Laval, where he earned a PhD in molecular and cellular biology and his medical degree. In the fall of 1996, he returned to Moncton to begin a residency in family practice.

"Before long," he says, "some clinicians here became interested in how advances in molecular technologies could improve diagnoses and care of cancer patients. The challenge reconciled my medical and research training."

Within two years, in December 1998, ACRI opened its doors as New Brunswick's first hospital-based biomedical research centre.

"Individuals such as Dr. Louis-Marie Simard, Pierre LeBouthillier and Joey Caissie – senior administrators at the time – understood the importance of integrating world-class research with the imperatives of tertiary medical care. The timing was right."

ACRI has grown rapidly. Under the leadership of Ouellette and executive director Françoise Roy, it now employs about three dozen people, 25 of them full-time research staff.

"We're deeply aware of the link between scientific discovery and the development of better clinical solutions," Ouellette says. "We leverage the technologies to unravel the complexities of cancer cells and pass the findings to the clinicians for testing and practical use with patients.

"ACRI is ideally positioned for that, thanks to partnerships with many of the province's universities and hospitals. Such collaboration is building a vibrant medical research cluster in New Brunswick."

Enhancing the growth of the cluster are a number of private biomedical enterprises, such as Soricimed Biopharma Inc. in nearby Sackville. Ouellette’s enthusiasm is clear as he projects his vision of New Brunswick’s new and growing role as a centre of high-tech excellence.

"...IT'S GETTING EASIER AND EASIER TO RECRUIT THE BRIGHTEST AND BEST TO JOIN OUR RESEARCH TEAM."

"People used to think the economy of New Brunswick was all about fish, forests and potatoes," he says, smiling. "Now, they’re tuning in to the knowledge economy. The most successful enterprises are investing in R&D and innovation."

Attracting investment to ACRI is crucial. Roy is immersed in planning a major campaign for a new research centre to triple ACRI’s current space.

"Community leadership has been priceless both provincially and from the private sector," she says emphatically. "Assumption Life has been a major corporate donor. Another New Brunswick company, Dooly’s, has pledged $100,000 per year for 10 years to our breast cancer research initiative. These are lasting commitments to the growth of a knowledge-based economy."

National organizations have helped, too. The Canadian Cancer Society recently announced two new research chairs affiliated with the University of New Brunswick and the Université de Moncton but housed at ACRI.

"To our knowledge, this is the first time a Canadian health charity has invested in research capacity-building in New Brunswick on this scale," Ouellette says. "It underlines why it’s getting easier and easier to recruit the brightest and best to join our research team.

"These things grow exponentially. In our first 12 years, we’ve built a team of 25 researchers at ACRI with another 10 or 12 linked to the university. Come back in five years and we’ll number 70 or more.

"I encourage young scientists to build their careers with us," he says. "The infrastructure and the vision are here. The quality of life is enviable. We literally have dozens, if not hundreds, of qualified applicants for every new position that we post. Health research is a growth sector in New Brunswick."