Dr. Brad Nelson named Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

17/09/2025

The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) has named its incoming class of 2025, electing BC Cancer distinguished scientist Dr. Brad Nelson as a Fellow – the highest honour an academic can achieve in Canada.

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Photo courtesy of BC Cancer Foundation

A world-renowned immunotherapy expert, Dr. Nelson was the founding director of BC Cancer's Deeley Research Centre in 2003. He continues to lead groundbreaking research today as the scientific director of BC Cancer's provincial immunotherapy program and was recently named as the first Lynda and Murray Farmer Immunotherapy Research Chair – a position established through a generous donation from the longtime BC Cancer Foundation supporters.

Dr. Nelson's research focuses on engineering the immune response to cancer, particularly gynecological and lymphoid cancers. Using advanced genomic and imaging tools, his team has revealed how T cells, B cells and other immune cells work together to recognize and attack tumours. At the same time, he has co-led the Canadian-Led Immunotherapies Collaborative (CLIC), which is conducting innovative clinical trials of genetically engineered cell therapies aimed at transforming patient outcomes while ensuring affordability and accessibility in Canada's public healthcare system. CLIC has two ongoing trials of CAR-T cells to treat patients with aggressive leukemias and lymphomas that are no longer responding to standard treatment options.

"Ever since a close family member was diagnosed with ovarian cancer over 30 years ago, I have focused my research on developing new treatments that harness the amazing ability of the immune system to recognize and destroy tumours," said Dr. Nelson. "Thanks to my incredible team and the enduring support of our patients and community, we've been able to create innovative immunotherapies that are now helping cancer patients across the country. Immunotherapy has finally come of age, and the best is yet to come!"

Dr. Nelson is also a professor of biochemistry and microbiology at the University of Victoria, and professor of medical genetics at the University of British Columbia. He received his B.Sc. from the University of British Columbia in 1987 and Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1991.

One hundred and two new RSC Fellows have been elected by their peers for their outstanding scholarly achievements. This recognition by the RSC is the highest honour in the Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences.

Congratulations to Dr. Nelson on this tremendous achievement!