Dr. John-Jose Nunez is an Associate Medical Director for Supportive Care at BC Cancer and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia. He was recently awarded a 2026 Canadian Cancer Society Emerging Scholar Research Grant for his work developing an AI tool to help people find the cancer care they need.
“For patients, a cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming,” says Dr. Nunez. “Just coming to terms with what a diagnosis means can make it difficult to know what to ask for in terms of support or care.”
To help cancer patients identify the information they need, Dr. Nunez and his team are developing an AI-powered assistant to navigate the health system and empower them to find the right resources at the right time. By using the patient’s information, the tool can anticipate what their requirements might be, recommend appropriate resources, and provide information in easy-to-understand language.
“When I first began treating cancer patients I was immediately struck by the extent to which a cancer diagnosis can be completely life-changing,” says Dr. Nunez. “Far beyond the basics of treatment, a cancer journey touches nearly every aspect of our lives, from pain management, to our sense of self, to our relationships and our dreams for the future. There are thousands of potential resources for patients, but knowing what to ask can be daunting and knowing what resources are best for which patients can be overwhelming for clinicians.”
Having studied computer science along with medicine since his undergraduate degree, Dr. Nunez has been developing machine-learning based approaches for over a decade. The goal of this work is to use predictive modeling and generative AI work trained on trusted documentation to generate safe, personalized information for an individual patient’s needs.
The Emerging Scholar Research Grant is part of the Canadian Cancer Society’s (CCS) aim to strengthen the future of the cancer research ecosystem in Canada. The opportunity is meant to support promising early career investigators across Canada, with a focused commitment to undertaking cancer research.