Scientific advocacy has been and will be a critical aspect to successfully Changing Stories.
Scientific advocacy means having a passion to want to make a difference. Scientific advocacy means understanding the scientific process and the impediments to translating promising research to our kids (and beyond).
Scientific advocacy requires a delicate balancing act between patience and impatience. The patience to gain an informed understanding and the impatience to push to change that which both must and can be changed.
At the end of the day, Scientific Advocacy matters and Team Finn takes it very seriously.
Ac2orn
The Team Finn Foundation is actively involved in Ac2orn (Advocacy for Canadian Childhood Oncology Research Network). Ac2orn’s mission is to “Advocate for Canadian researchers and clinicians as they implement the dream of curing pediatric cancer through translational research and effective treatments.
Ac2orn will focus on working collaboratively, professionally, and constructively to:
- Understand and overcome the challenges associated with conducting childhood cancer research in Canada by bridging the gaps that occur when moving a promising idea through the various stages of discovery and into clinical trials.
- Address and remove the barriers that exist in accessing targeted and promising pediatric cancer trials for children with cancer in Canada.
- Educate and activate government leaders, policy makers, industry and others active in the Canadian medical community to effectively address the issues facing pediatric cancer oncologists, researchers, patients and their families to better improve and streamline access to innovative treatments.
- Connect with childhood health advocacy groups across Canada to strengthen our collective voice in fighting for world-class care for children
Terry Fox Research Institute Regional Advisory Counsel
Aside from Raising and Leveraging Funds In January 2013, Patrick Sullivan of Team Finn was invited to become a member of the Pacific District Regional Advisory Committee for the Terry Fox Research Institute. The Terry Fox Research Institute is the brainchild of The Terry Fox Foundation. The Institute seeks to improve significantly the outcomes of cancer research for the patient through a highly collaborative, team-oriented, milestone-based approach to research that will enable discoveries to translate quickly into practical solutions for cancer patients worldwide and serves as the research arm of The Terry Fox Foundation.
Canadian Cancer Research Alliance
In October 2014, Patrick Sullivan of Team Finn became a Board member of the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance (“CCRA”). CCRA is an alliance of organizations that collectively fund most of the cancer research conducted in Canada – research that will lead to better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer and improve survivor outcomes.
CCRA’s members include the Terry Fox Foundation, C-17, the B.C. Cancer Agency, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, the Canadian Institute of Health Researchers, the National Research Council, Genome Canada, Prostate Cancer Canada, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada, the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and many more. The CCRA members include federal research funding programs/agencies, provincial research agencies (the BC Cancer Agency for example), provincial cancer care agencies, cancer charities, and other voluntary associations.
AACR Pediatric Think Tank
In October 2014, Patrick Sullivan of the Team Finn Foundation was invited to an international pediatric think tank hosted by the American Association of Cancer Research. The think tank was made up of about 30-40 top scientists and advocates banding together to examine how to advance pediatric cancer research internationally.