Robert Olson

Cancer | Health | Radiotherapy; Oligometastatic cancer; Clinical trials; Patient reported outcomes; Rural cancer care delivery

Dr. Robert Olson is a Professor and Division Head of Radiation Oncology in the Department of Surgery at the University of British Columbia. He is also a Radiation Oncologist and the Executive Medical Director of BC Cancer – Prince George. His clinical practice focuses on head and neck, breast, and oligometastatic cancers. Dr. Olson leads a research program centred on clinical trials in radiotherapy, particularly in oligometastatic disease, as well as patient reported outcomes and health services research related to cancer care delivery in rural and northern communities. He is the principal investigator of multiple national and international clinical trials, including SABR-COMET-3, a phase III randomized trial following the landmark SABR-COMET study published in The Lancet; the SABR-5 study with completed five-year follow-up; and the ongoing international SIMPLIFY-SABR-COMET trial. Additional breast cancer and SABR trials are currently opening or in development, led from Northern B.C. His research program has secured more than $10 million in peer reviewed funding (including CIHR) and $5 million in donor/foundation funding. Dr. Olson holds an affiliate appointment at UNBC, where he has supervised MSc students and is in the Division of Medical Sciences with the UBC Northern Medical Program at UNBC. He also mentors trainees and junior investigators in clinical trial development, including supervision of the first MD/PhD student based in Northern British Columbia. Olson, Dr. Robert's curriculum vitae