Jeffrey B. Matthews, PhD
Director of Communications
Vancouver, BC, Canada

Jeff Matthews has been with the ITN since its beginnings, assisting Director Jeffrey Bluestone in the planning and preparation of the original ITN proposal prior to assuming his current role as Director of Communications and Publications.

Dr. Matthews received his Bachelors in Physics (Summa Cum Laude) from McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1989 and PhD in Physics from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada in 1996. For his PhD thesis, he developed an automated fluorescence microscopy technique for quantitating low frequencies of apoptotic cells, in order to assess the mode of cell death due to very low doses of radiation. An experienced grant writer, Jeff pursued a number of other interests following his studies: providing grant writing assistance to other scientists; starting a web design firm; promoting concerts and benefit shows in the Vancouver area; and as a technology consultant for several Canadian brokerages. Immediately prior to joining the ITN, he worked as a freelance science reporter for several Vancouver television stations, reporting on the local science and technology scene.

As Director of Communications, Jeff oversees promotion, marketing and member, public and media relations for the ITN. He also oversees the adminstration of the ITN's publications policy, patient awareness campaigns for ITN clinical trials, and is the main writer and editor of the ITN website. He currently resides just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia, where he likes to extoll the virtues of being able to ski in the morning and windsurf in the afternoon, even though he has never done so.