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CRP  |  Cancer Research Program

Leadership and Management

The Cancer Research Program (CRP) Management Committee meets four times a year and is responsible for evaluating program performance and advising its leadership team on the program’s vision, mission, goals, recruitment strategy, activities and future orientations. 

 

Program Co-leaders
Patricia Tonin, PhD, is a Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Human Genetics, and Associate Member in the Program for Cancer Genetics of the Department of Oncology and the Goodman Cancer Research Centre at McGill University. Prof. Tonin's research focuses on the identification of cancer-predisposing genes, such as BRCA1 and BRCA2, and their contribution to the hereditary form of breast and ovarian cancers. Her research has led to the development of genetic tests for identifying women at risk for cancer for management and prevention options. Her research also focuses on the biology of ovarian cancer through the study of the molecular genomic attributes of cancer specimens and cell line models. As a member of the Banque de tissus et de données (cancer du sein ou ovaire) of the Réseau de Recherche sur le Cancer du Fonds de recherche du Québec — Santé, she oversees the organization of DNA samples collected from familial cases of breast and ovarian cancer for researching hereditary cancer-predisposing genes. She co-chairs the study committee for the use of tissue samples in the COEUR (Canadian Experimental Unified Resource), the unique Ovarian Cancer Pan-Canadian Program of The Terry Fox Foundation Research Institute. A scholar of the Medical Research Council and Cancer Research Society, she is also a recipient of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation award for the discovery of BRCA1. Prof. Tonin has received research funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Genome Canada, Cancer Research Society, FRQS, The Terry Fox Foundation and Ovarian Cancer Canada, and has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles on the genetics and molecular genetics attributes of breast and ovarian cancer.

Livia Garzia, PhD is a Scientist in the Cancer Research Program at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (The Institute) and an Associate Professor in McGill University’s Department of Surgery. Her research focuses on the molecular mechanisms driving metastasis and therapy resistance in pediatric solid cancers, particularly bone sarcomas and brain tumors.

After completing her PhD in Life Sciences at the Telethon Institute for Genetics and Medicine in Naples, Italy, Prof. Garzia trained in cancer genetics at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Her team uses functional genomics to identify the genetic and epigenetic factors behind tumor progression and relapse. Recent work has revealed the role of histone mutations in neurodegeneration (Cell, 2023) and the impact of the epigenetic regulator EZHIP in osteosarcoma (Nature Communications, 2025).

She also established Quebec’s largest sarcoma biobank, advancing translational research and redefining how pediatric brain tumors metastasize. Recipient of awards from the FRQS, CIHR and the Nicole et François Angers Sarcoma Research Chair, Prof. Garzia’s research continues to shape the future of pediatric oncology.