John Bell is a Senior Scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and Professor of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. He is the founder of the Canadian Oncolytic Virus Consortium (COVCo), the first of its kind in the world, and aims to expand cancer virotherapy discovery and application at all levels, from preclinical to clinical applications.
Bell has co-founded three biotech start-up companies, Jennerex Biotherapeutics, Turnstone Biologics (NASDAQ) and Esphera SynBio to commercialize his discoveries. Bell is the Scientific Director of the Network of Centres of Excellence for the development of Biotherapeutics for Cancer Therapy (BioCanRx). Under his vision and leadership, BioCanRx developed the first made-in-Canada chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy to treat Canadian leukemia patients.
He is the Scientific Co-Director of Canada’s Pandemic Preparedness Hub, a trans-Canadian network of GMP manufacturing centres. He was honoured with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal for extraordinary contributions to Canadian science and is an Officer of the Order of Canada, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.
About the CMHF
The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame (CMHF) celebrates Canadian heroes whose work advances health in Canada and the world, fostering future generations of health professionals through the delivery of local and national youth education programs and awards.
This enduring tribute to our country’s rich medical history is showcased here and in our physical exhibit hall in London, ON
