Senior Leadership

Dr. Jennifer Vena, PhD
Dr. Jennifer Vena, PhDScientific Director

As scientific director of ATP, Dr. Jennifer Vena is entrusted with setting the project’s long-term scientific strategy. Dr. Vena works jointly with ATP’s Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) and Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) to identify emerging areas of cancer and chronic disease research, and secures funding from external sources to support day-to-day operations and future sustainability of the project. Dr. Vena also collaborates with other Canadian researchers as co-lead of the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath), a consortium of 6 cohorts across the country funded by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and a number of provincial agencies.

Dr. Vena is a home-grown Alberta scientist, having conducted her training at the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta. Her postdoctoral research took her to Texas for two years before returning to Calgary for additional postdoctoral training in the areas of nutrition and metabolic disorders. She then advanced to a research leadership position with ATP where her focus has been on cancer prevention and the diverse opportunities associated with cohort studies. Building partnerships to support better disease prevention and creative public health initiatives are research priorities for Dr. Vena.

Shandra Harman, MHSc
Shandra Harman, MHScStrategic Director

As Strategic Director, Shandra Harman is responsible for the development and implementation of strategic initiatives to ensure the advancement of ATP as a major platform that supports health research in the province of Alberta and beyond. Key to her role is developing and fostering critical and collaborative relationships beyond the scientific arena. Ms. Harman is responsible for human resources, financial management, accountability and reporting within ATP.

Shandra brings 15 years of experience in strategic planning, management of and leading research programs. She has held leadership positions across healthcare and research institutions including: Director of W21C – a University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services (AHS) research and innovation centre, has worked with both the Cancer and Surgical Strategic Clinical Networks,  and has consulted for various research programs within AHS. Previously, Shandra was with the University Health Network in Toronto. She holds a MHSc in Clinical Engineering and BSc in Biomedical Engineering.

Grace Shen-Tu, PhD
Grace Shen-Tu, PhDResearch Lead

As Research Lead, Dr. Shen-Tu is responsible for managing, mentoring and leading members of the research team in developing publications and grant proposals, as well as helping build research capacity by supervising and mentoring students and trainees. Dr. Shen-Tu fosters scientific and stakeholder relationships by providing research support and collaboration to external scientists applying for access to ATP data, and engages evidence users to identify impact-driven, data-informed research and knowledge translation opportunities.