Five-Year Impact Report to the Community

The Riddell Centre for Cancer Immunotherapy and its predecessor program, the Alberta Cellular Therapy and Immune Oncology (ACTION) initiative, is a flagship centre within the Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute. Housed at the University of Calgary (UCalgary) and Alberta Health Services (AHS), the Riddell Centre enables the cutting-edge research required to make breakthrough discoveries in cancer immunology and bring them to clinical impact.

The centre exists because of the vision, generosity, and support of our donors, partners and collaborators. Your commitment has enabled us to push the boundaries of cancer research, advance novel immunotherapies and create a space where innovation thrives. We extend a heartfelt thank you to all of those who have made this possible.

We are pleased to share this Five-Year Impact Report to the Community on the Riddell Centre and ACTION. This report highlights many defining milestones in our community from April 2020 to March 2025, including the establishment of the Centre, our research progress, and the many scientific and clinical research programs being led by our members.

Together, we are revolutionizing cancer care through research.

In 2020, significant philanthropic investment from the Canadian Cancer Society, the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation and other generous community members enabled the creation of the ACTION Program at the Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute. This program brought together a diverse team of scientists and clinicians to develop new and improved cell and immune therapies. The ACTION Program made significant progress and laid the foundation for future cancer immunotherapy research in Calgary.

In late 2023, a transformational gift from the Riddell family to the OWN.CANCER Campaign made it possible to launch the Riddell Centre, the next phase of cancer immunotherapy research and translation at UCalgary and AHS. A centre of the Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute, the Riddell Centre builds on the momentum of ACTION while significantly expanding capacity in discovery and innovation research, translational research, biomanufacturing, and clinical research to accelerate the development of new cancer immunotherapies.

The investments made into cancer immunotherapy research in Calgary have already delivered tangible impact.