Dr. Rebecca Tamarchak joins OICR’s executive team after eight years with the organization.

OICR is excited to welcome Dr. Rebecca Tamarchak to its executive team, a move that will help the institute realize its commitment to partnering with a diverse community of cancer researchers, patients and other groups to make cutting-edge advances in cancer diagnosis, detection, treatment and prevention.

Tamarchak takes on the role of Head of Strategy, Governance and Partnerships, overseeing a broad range of OICR activities to set and achieve OICR’s strategic goals.

Since joining OICR in 2015, Tamarchak has served as Director and then Senior Director of Strategy and Governance. In these roles, she led the roll out of new strategic initiatives, developed new systems to measure and report on OICR’s impact, stewarded the drafting of institutional reports and strategic plans, and implemented new approaches to engage patients, academics and other partners.

Now, as part of the executive team, her expanded duties include overseeing OICR’s patient partnership and equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) activities. She will take on a leadership role in facilitating OICR’s interactions with the Ontario government, working closely with government and other OICR partners to bring research discoveries to patients who need them. She will work closely with other members of the executive team to help develop more collaborations with public and private organizations nationally and internationally to maximize OICR’s health and economic impact.

“Rebecca has been an essential part of OICR’s success and growth over the past eight years, and has consistently been an outstanding performer,” says OICR President and Scientific Director Dr. Laszlo Radvanyi. “We are excited to now have her on the executive team, where her talents and experience can make an even greater impact on OICR’s vision of cancer solved together.”

Before joining OICR, Tamarchak held several senior roles in the healthcare and not-for-profit sectors. She has a Bachelor of Science from Concordia University and a PhD in Cell Biology and Immunobiology from Yale University.

Tamarchak says she looks forward to learning from her colleagues on OICR’s executive and applying her diverse experience.  

“I am very excited to be joining the executive team and playing a bigger role in steering the institute’s success and impact,” she says.