I spoke at the TEDx conference at York University last Saturday, November 6th, and I am speaking at an International Business Students Conference tomorrow November 12th at Schulich school of Business at York. In both talks, I raise the idea that we are living in a “Post-Google World”. To summarize, the Post-Google World is upon us and is characterized by floods of information, data, knowledge……”just Google it” has become the mantra of everyone with an internet connection. If we have “all the answers all the time”, then it strikes me that the real value comes in “Asking the right questions”. The Post-Google world is all about asking the right questions and less about knowing the right answer. We actually need to change the view of “what is smart” in this post-google world to “asking the right question- not just having the right answer”. A great example of this is Dr. Tak Mak. Tak is a true genius and has a way of asking brilliant questions. His simple question about “why cancer patients lose so much weight” led to questions about cancer metabolism and how cancer cells burn fat. These simple but astute questions led to the formation of a company called Agios which has secured a $120 million investment from pharma company Celgene. In the Post-Google world “getting smart and staying smart” is all about asking the right questions. When you have a huge, personal, provocative, interesting, and passionate question that keeps you up at night, you have what I call a “Beach Ball Question”. A Beach Ball Question is one where, like a beach ball you blow up and try to hold under water, just won’t stay down! Having “Beach Ball Questions” is what drives discovery, innovation, and smart people to ask smart questions. It’s not just scientists who can have “Beach Ball Questions”. In the Post-Google World, think about finding your own “Beach Ball Questions”! Remember, the new measure of “being smart” is about “asking the right questions”!

It was November 2nd, 2002, eight years ago, that my Mom- Pat Alofs, died at home from her breast cancer. I work every day with people who have such personal experiences with cancer. A day doesn’t go by where I don’t think of my Mom. She was an amazing mother, a gifted grade school teacher, a community volunteer, a huge NFL football fan. She left a big smile on the faces of all her kids, grand kids, extended family of hundreds of kids she taught……she was just a spectacular and special person. Many of us are blessed to have these kind of special people in our lives. Saying good bye is always so, so hard. Last Friday evening some of us from PMHF and PMH attended a “celebration of the life and times” of Joe Finley. Joe was just an inspirational person- a great husband, Dad, business guy, and a philanthropic leader is an extraordinary way. Joe founded “Joe’s Team” triathalon, entered a big team in our RTCC, helped out the CNIB is significant ways. Joe was and is an inspiration. It is always sad when we say goodbye to someone we love, to someone who has inspired us, to someone who has shown kindness and gone “that extra mile”. At the same time, the memories we carry transform us. I am working at PMHF 7 years after my Mom’s passing. Her courage and spirit still energize, inspire, and sustain me. Our creed here at PMHF is inspired by personal stories and our belief that-- “We will conquer cancer in our lifetime”-- gives us energy and intensity beyond belief. We work with (and are saddened to say goodbye to) many people. People like Joe Finley inspire, energize, and sustain our commitment. So Nov. 2nd is an important anniversary for the Alofs family as we remember Pat (Mom). Along with Pat, people like Joe, Eric, Annie, Brian, Audrey, James, Haydain…..so so many, energize us, inspire us, and sustain our belief and our work. God bless you Pat Alofs…..keep those angels doing their good work….and see if you can give the Buffalo Bills a little help to win a game!

Barack Obama gave an outstanding speech last week where he outlined vision, action and programs in many areas. I was most interested when President Obama talked about healthcare and research. His remarks about cancer and funding cancer research in a very significant way were also noted. When he said that he was touched by cancer in his family, most of us could immediately relate. What I found very interesting was when he said we must “cure cancer in our time.” Of course, we at The Princess Margaret have been using the call to action of “Help Conquer Cancer In Our Lifetime” for over a year now. Many staff and volunteers mentioned the similarity between our “Creed” and President Obama’s call to action on cancer. We are, of course, delighted that President Obama is focused on making significant gains in the battle to conquer cancer in our lifetime. We hope that politicians and leaders in Canada will begin to understand the excellence of the cancer research community here in Canada and will help build Canada’s cancer research community. Canada has the intellectual capital represented by scientists and doctors across this country to make this country a world leader in the fight to conquer cancer. Every country is examining its own economy and “what it is good at” and Canada is a powerhouse in cancer research. We are delighted President Obama would choose to use a call to action which is so similar to our own and we are proud here at Princess Margaret to be one of the world’s top 5 cancer research centres. On President Obama’s next visit to Canada, we hope we can encourage him to stop by The Princess Margaret so our leading scientists can report on the strides we are making here to conquer cancer.

The September 13th – 19th edition of The Economist has a front page story titled Cancer and Stem Cells – The connection that could lead to a cure. It is an excellent and optimistic article about the importance of cancer stem cell research. Consider the impact of the Princess Margaret Hospital on all things related to cancer stem cell research. First, Drs. Till and McCulloch are credited with discovering stem cells and were awarded the American equivalent of the Nobel Prize – the Lasker Award for their groundbreaking discovery. Drs. Till and McCulloch work at Princess Margaret. The article quotes Dr. John Dick and Dr. Dick has been a pioneer in cancer stem cell research. Dr. Dick works at Princess Margaret and collaborates extensively globally. The article also mentions the drug Tarceva. This important lung cancer drug was developed under the watchful eye of principle investigator, Dr. Frances Shepherd and yes, Dr. Shepherd works at Princess Margaret and also collaborates extensively. So, one of the world’s most promising avenues of cancer research is built around discoveries which have close ties back to scientists associated with The Princess Margaret.

As Canadians, the idea that we have world leaders in such an important area of cancer research is something we should take collective pride in. The importance of our biotech and health sciences sector is also something we should recognize, celebrate, and nourish. Canadian scientists like Dr. John Dick, Dr. Ben Neel and others who work at University Avenue and College in downtown Toronto and collaborate globally, is worthy of our support and admiration. The thought leadership and scientific brilliance behind Till and McCulloch and research doctors like John Dick needs to be understood in both the private and public sectors, both provincially and federally. Great science can lead to significant breakthroughs in cancer research and can also help provide high paying new jobs in Canada’s new economy. We have the intellectual capital to be world leaders in cancer stem cell research and we need to ensure we have the philanthropic capital and the venture capital to support these thought leaders. I hope you can pick up a copy of The Economist or check out the article online. You’ll be proud at what we have been able to accomplish and what the potential is for cancer stem cell research to provide a key foundation to help conquer cancer in our lifetime.

To find out more about the Cancer Stem Cell Research that is going on at The Princess Margaret Click Here