Alistair Baillie was the Medical Physics leader at BC Cancer Kelowna from the time of the centre’s construction until his retirement in 2017. In addition to being a thoughtful and kind leader, Alistair acted as a mentor to many other leaders and was tireless in his efforts to ensure that the people of BC’s Interior had access to the best radiation therapy possible. He never believed that the Kelowna centre should be anything less than world class and to that end he supported, facilitated, and encouraged the growth of the stereotactic radiotherapy and the brachytherapy programs in Kelowna, both of which are second to none. He also recognized that the best innovations often come through both training and working with the next generation of young physicists. He supported his team to conduct research into topics ranging from early detection of cancer to improving the precision of radiotherapy delivery to the development of novel brachytherapy techniques. He advocated for them to be a vital part of medical physics education in BC, first through remote teaching for the University of Victoria and UBC-Vancouver. To bring students into the Kelowna centre, he recruited undergraduate physics students from UBC-Okanangan to work with Kelowna Medical Physicists and negotiated with the University of Victoria to permit graduate students to perform their research in Kelowna. Ultimately this led to the development of a Medical Physics graduate program at UBC-Okanagan, which now has 12 graduate students, 5 of whom are doing vital research at the cancer centre. Alistair’s legacy is, thus, felt throughout our community via the commitment to clinical excellence and leading edge treatment he instilled in the radiotherapy program, as well as across the world through the innovations brough to life here in Kelowna.

To continue this legacy we are establishing a fund to support a Summer Student in Medical Physics at the Kelowna Cancer Centre. A Summer Student is an undergraduate physics student who works on a research project between academic terms. Summer student positions are a chance for bright young minds to learn about the possibilities of Medical Physics as a career and a chance for Medical Physicists to share their passion for their field. This fund will provide the salary for a student each summer.

For more information, please contact Drew McLaughlin, Development Officer - Interior (drew.mclaughlin@bccancer.bc.ca)