Dr. Chi is a medical oncologist with the BC Cancer Agency who, at a relatively early stage in his career, has received national and international recognition for his contributions to prostate cancer research. Dr. Chi's research is focused in the area of genitourinary cancers with a special interest in prostate cancer and investigational new drugs. This includes phase I, II and III clinical trials, therapeutic use of antisense oligonucleotides and mechanisms of treatment resistance. He holds peer reviewed grant funding from the National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC), The U.S. Department of Defense, and the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada. Nationally, he has led a number of multi-centre phase I and II clinical trials, and is a co-chair on an NCIC-Clinical Trials Group phase III trial evaluating neoadjuvant docetaxel and hormone therapy prior to radiation therapy for patients with localized, high-risk prostate cancer. Internationally, he has contributed to numerous trials, and is a co-chair on a multi-centre, multi-national phase III trial evaluating DN101 (a high dose formulation of calcitriol) in patients with hormone refractory prostate cancer.
Dr. Chi is the medical director of the Clinical Trials Unit at the BC Cancer Agency – Vancouver Centre, which provides access for patients to the latest in investigational new drugs through phase I, II and III clinical studies. This is the largest cancer clinical trials unit in British Columbia and directly employs 30 full time staff. Under his guidance, the not-for-profit Clinical Trials Unit has been able to almost double patient accrual to trials, becoming a self-sustaining growth operation with revenues projected at over $3.3 million for fiscal year 2007-2008.
An Assistant Professor with the Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, Dr. Chi was appointed Chair of the Genitourinary Systemic Group at the BC Cancer Agency in 2003. This group is responsible for developing systemic treatment management guidelines for patients with genitourinary cancers in the province of British Columbia (available at www.bccancer.bc.ca) and securing access to new therapies through the province’s health care system.
Dr. Chi is an Executive Committee Member of the Genitourinary Disease Site for the National Cancer Institute – Clinical Trials Group (NCIC-CTG)/Canadian Uro-Onology Group (CUOG), and the Chair of the sub-site Advanced Prostate group. This committee and group are responsible for developing, undertaking, organizing and coordinating the genitourinary and prostate cancer trials respectively undertaken by investigators at a national cooperative group level. Dr. Chi is also an Executive Committee Member of the Investigational New Drug Site for the NCIC-CTG which is responsible for developing, undertaking, organizing and coordinating early phase trials across the NCIC-CTG disease sites. |
