Prof. Hannah Garner joins the GCI in a joint GCI/MIMM appointment

The Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute (GCI) is delighted to announce the GCI's newest member, Prof. Hannah Garner, effective August 30th, 2024.  Hannah joins McGill University as an Assistant Professor, jointly appointed in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology (MIMM) and the GCI.

During her Bachelor's degree at the University of Cambridge, Hannah developed a deep fascination with the immune system, which inspired her to pursue a Master’s degree in immunology and infectious diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Hannah completed a Ph.D. at King’s College London in Prof. Frederic Geissmann's lab, where she focused on the ontogeny and function of myeloid cells. Her research centered on understanding the origins of different monocyte subsets in the bone marrow.

After her Ph.D. she moved to Amsterdam to continue her research as a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Prof. Karin de Visser at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI). Her work combined extensive phenotypic characterization of the systemic landscape in breast cancer patients with preclinical in vivo studies using spontaneous mouse models of mammary carcinogenesis. This research aimed to uncover the causal mechanisms by which breast tumors induce systemic inflammation, promote inflammatory hematopoiesis, and facilitate metastatic spread.

Hannah is excited to join the McGill community and looks forward to forging new collaborations. Her work will focus on uncovering fundamental insights into how chronic systemic inflammation alters myeloid cell development and functionality and the role this plays in potentiating cancer progression. Her research will particularly explore how breast and ovarian cancers evolve into systemic diseases. She is passionate about making science engaging, inclusive, and enjoyable.

Prof. Morag Park, director of the GCI, issued a warm welcome: "We are excited to welcome Hannah as a new principal investigator at the GCI and in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at McGill. She brings new understanding into complex myeloid cell biology in cancer and how this is shaped by the tumor microenvironment, a new therapeutic frontier." Please join us in welcoming Hannah to the GCI!