Dr. David Cescon, MD, Ph.D., FRCPC, is a breast Medical Oncologist and Clinician Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto.

Dr. Abby C. Collier joined Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada (PCFC) after a 25-year career in Academia, most recently as Professor of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics at the University of British Columbia. As an academic she secured multi-million-dollar investments in research grants, equipment and infrastructure, and worked with donors and fundraising to support academic and research programs. Dr. Collier has been involved in policy development/implementation and regulatory affairs for advising both the governments of Canada and the USA with respect to pharmaceuticals as well as environmental chemicals. Abby was appointed when PCFC became a national organization, where her experience and knowledge of academia, biotechnology & pharmaceutical industries, and governments underpins her commitment to support the prostate cancer community by promoting awareness, support, education, advocacy, and research for men, their families and carers, and our wider Canadian communities.

Lisa is a 43-year-old mother and wife. Her world was changed in an instant July of 2023 when she received her diagnosis. It has been a series of challenges and self-advocacy since that time. She chooses to live her life and make the most of every day, but it is amazing how this diagnosis can take over one’s life. She has taken up new hobbies such as pottery and baking in her spare time. She is also keen to find an advocacy role to help patients navigate this journey.

Maureen joined Pancreatic Cancer Canada in June 2024 bringing professional experience and knowledge gained through her 10+ years in the not-for-profit and community health sectors. She is passionate about program development and creating accessible, sustainable and adaptable services that put the individual first, bridge gaps in support, and hold space for those reaching out.  Having lost too many family members to cancer, she feels a deep personal connection to the patient advocacy community and is motivated to find new and innovative ways to support patients and caregivers.

A healthcare leader spanning over fifteen years with a graduate degree in health administration, Shalini has worked in small to large scale public and private healthcare clinics and integrative medicine clinics. During her tenure as a Medical Radiation Therapist, she was challenged daily to adapt to a complex and unpredictable healthcare system, questioning the status quo by aligning herself to quality patient care and supporting health disparities. She was recognized for her contribution to developing and launching the first Head and Neck Cancer Support Program in Vancouver, BC, addressing structural barriers to care. She has recently joined CCRAN as their Research Officer where she supports public policy spaces and a number of research and advocacy initiatives to implement strategic objectives in cancer research and quality care.

Dr. Giacomantonio is a surgical oncologist at the QEII Health Sciences Centre, professor of surgery and pathology at Dalhousie University and a senior clinician scientist of the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute. He completed his medical degree at Memorial University in Newfoundland followed by his surgical residency training and a master's degree in Pathology, both at Dalhousie. He went on to complete subspecialty training in general surgical oncology at the University of Calgary before returning to Dalhousie to practice as a surgical oncologist and clinical scientist in 1999.

Dr. Giacomantonio’s early research pioneered intra-tumoral immunotherapy, using a tuberculosis vaccine to stimulate immune responses against tumors, with findings published in 2004. In 2014, he established a lab in the Department of Pathology in partnership with Dr. Paola Marcato, focusing on innovative cancer immunotherapies. In 2023, he began collaborating with Sona NanoTech Inc. to explore Gold NanoRod-based targeted hyperthermia for cancers like melanoma, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer. His team has submitted findings for publication and is planning a first-in-human clinical trial of this hyperthermia therapy for metastatic melanoma in 2025.  

As Ramia Chair in Surgical Oncology, Dr. Giacomantonio is responsible for establishing and fostering a program of world-class research in cancer within the Department of Surgery, to drive innovative studies on the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of malignant diseases.  

Dr. Sharlene Gill is a Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia and a medical oncologist specializing in gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies at BC Cancer – Vancouver.  She received a Bachelors of Science in Pharmacy and an MD from the University of British Columbia in 1996 followed by residencies in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology. Dr. Gill subsequently completed a fellowship in Gl Oncology at the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN) and a Masters of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health. In 2017, she completed an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at the University of North Carolina.  She is actively engaged in education and research, with over 120 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters to her credit.  Dr. Gill serves as the Chair of the Canadian Clinical Trials Group (CCTG) GI Disease Site Committee and Chair of the UBC Department of Medicine Mentoring Committee.  She is the Editor-in-Chief for Current Oncology and is the President of the Canadian Association of Medical Oncologists. Her TEDx talk in 2022 on ‘How to Flip the Script on Cancer’ delivered her passion for patient advocacy and empowerment.

Silvia was born in Germany to Croatian parents and immigrated to Canada as an infant. She is fluent in Croatian and has a proficiency in German. Silvia pursued a double major in Political Science and Urban Studies from York University and graduated with Honours in 1990. This provided a foundation for a career in public policy and planning at the Metropolitan Toronto Planning Department. Eventually, she transitioned into the private sector managing condominiums. Currently she runs a successful business managing apartment units, overseeing day-to-day operations, tenant relations, leasing, and property maintenance.

Alongside professional success, Silvia has been married for 31 years and is the proud parent of two wonderful adult children. She loves spending quality time with family and friends. With a passion for cooking, she enjoys preparing meals for loved ones and experimenting with new recipes. Interior design and decorating are also hobbies, Silvia loves to create aesthetically pleasing and functional living spaces. She is also enthusiastic about exploring new destinations and has an appreciation for wine culture. Balancing a rich family life with professional achievements, Silvia remains passionate about the things that bring fulfillment, whether it’s a well-cooked meal, a beautifully decorated home, or creating lasting memories with those closest to her.

Jenn Gordon is the Lead, Strategic Operations and Engagement at Rethink Breast Cancer where she works with stakeholders including health care professionals, government agencies and industry partners to ensure the experiences of people living with breast cancer shape priorities, policies and decisions. Having worked with the breast cancer community for over a decade, Jenn strives to develop collaborative opportunities to address the many unmet needs of people living with breast cancer.

Robert Grant is an MD/Ph.D. Clinician Investigator at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, also affiliated with the Institute for Medical Science at the University of Toronto, ICES, and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. He is a practicing medical oncologist, specializing in the treatment of pancreatic and biliary cancers. His research focuses on applying artificial intelligence to clinical and genomic data to improve outcomes for people with cancer. He holds several awards, including the Hold'em for Life Professorship and the Marathon of Hope Clinician Scientist Award. He is currently the Principal Investigator of the AIM2REDUCE study, Co-Principal Investigator of the Legresley Biliary Registry, and Co-Lead of the PanCuRx Translational Research Initiative. 

Laura Hopkins is a Professor in the Department of Oncology and a Gynecologic Oncologist with the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency.  Laura has 25 years experience as a surgeon and oncologist.  She relocated to Saskatoon from Ottawa in 2019 and created a new clinical and academic program for patients with gynecologic cancer. Saskatchewan now has the fastest access to gynecologic cancer surgery in Canada, a new robotic surgery program and for the first time, a clinical trials program for patients with gynecologic cancer.

Laura holds nearly 3 million dollars in active research grants spanning precision medicine in oncology, surgical quality and safety and new technologies in oncofertility.  Laura leads the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency’s first investigator-initiated clinical pragmatic trial which explores patient’s preferences for precision medicine in ovarian cancer. This is also the first pragmatic trial in ovarian cancer to be conducted in Canada. This trial leverages the cooperation of patients, oncologists, pathologists and basic scientists in order to improve patient quality of life, promote informed patient decision making and has already set a new precision oncology standard of care for all patients with ovarian cancer in Saskatchewan.  Saskatchewan is the first jurisdiction in Canada to achieve this milestone and the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists of Canada has invited Laura to help lead the rest of Canada in achieving this same funded precision standard of care.

Don Husereau is an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at The University of Ottawa. He does freelance health care research and works with private and public sector life sciences organizations to help them understand the value of health technology and its implications for health and innovation policy.

Dr. Angela Hyde completed her MD and Ph.D. in Cancer Genetics at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Internal Medicine Residency at Memorial, and Medical Oncology at the University of Ottawa. She is a Medical Oncologist and Clinician Scientist with Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Disciplines of Oncology and Laboratory Medicine at Memorial University, and Oncology Lead at the Centre for Translational Genomics. Her clinical focus is gastrointestinal   malignancies and hereditary cancers. She is co-lead on numerous clinical and research initiatives relating to precision medicine, cancer genetics/genomics, and hereditary cancer syndromes.

Dr. Itani received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Medical Laboratory Technology followed by her Doctor of Medicine Degree from the American University of Beirut. She is American Board Certified in Anatomical and Clinical Pathology with subspecialty specialization in Hematopathology and Molecular genetics Pathology.

Dr. Itani started her practice at the Foothills Medical Center, Calgary, Alberta where she strived for exemplary clinical practice and pursued, in the form of self-study, another field of interests: Bone and Soft Tissue Pathology. Given her passion for translational research, she was appointed the “Liaison for Translational Research” allowing for multiple collaborations between pathologists, surgeons, oncologists, and basic science researchers. Currently, Dr. Itaniis an Associate Professor at Dalhousie University and the Head of the Division of Molecular Diagnostics and Cytogenetics Laboratory at Saint John Regional Hospital where she has introduced Comprehensive Genomic Profiling as a routine practice in clinical genetic tumor testing, the first in Canada. She continues to implement cutting edge technology such as Optical Genome Mapping providing advanced complex but essential clinical services to New Brunswick patients.

Dr. Jason Karamchandani graduated from Harvard College followed by medical school at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he remained for his residency training in anatomic pathology, and then fellowship training in surgical pathology and neuropathology. Dr. Karamchandani went on to practice neuropathology at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, before moving to practice neuropathology full time at the Montreal Neurological Institute. He is currently the Scientific Director of the MNI's Open Science C-BIG Repository and patient registry. He has authored or co-authored over 80 journal articles in peer-reviewed publications as well as 5 book chapters. He is the current president of the Canadian Association of Pathologists.

Dr. Omar Khan is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Cumming School of Medicine and Medical Oncologist at the Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre in Calgary, Alberta, treating breast cancer and sarcoma. He completed his Medical Doctorate at the University of Calgary in 2013, followed by Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology residency training at the University of Calgary from 2013 – 2018. He completed a fellowship in Breast Cancer and Health Administration from 2018 – 2019. He also completed an executive MBA degree at the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario, graduating in 2020. His research interests are in the application of artificial intelligence to clinical cancer care, particularly with the use of imaging biomarkers to predict prognosis in various malignancies.

Razelle Kurzrock is a world-renowned physician-scientist leader in precision medicine as well as in the development of novel therapeutics in the field of oncology. She is recognized for founding, developing and chairing one of the largest Phase 1 clinical trial departments globally while at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; the central theme of the department was a personalized medicine strategy. She is one of the pioneering trialists of the WINTHER precision medicine international trial focusing on transcriptomics in addition to genomics. This trial was the signature study of the Worldwide Innovative Network (WIN) consortium (Nature Medicine).  She also developed and led some of the first tumor-agnostic cancer clinical trials. During her time at the University of California San Diego Health, Dr. Kurzrock’s founded and led the Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy as well as the Experimental Therapeutics program. She also founded a Rare Tumor Clinic focused on precision medicine. The signature study was I-PREDICT (Nature Medicine, 2019) that gave individualized N-of-1 matched combination therapies to patients with lethal malignancies. This work was presented at the Nobel Symposium, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden in September 2023. Dr. Kurzrock has performed key early-phase studies of 8 drugs that have gone on to FDA approval. Many of her studies have also been incorporated into NCCN guidelines. Dr. Kurzrock is also an entrepreneur. She is co-founder of CureMatch, and on the Board of CureMetrix, CureMatch, and Xzom.

Dr. David Laidley completed his undergraduate medical degree at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He then completed his Nuclear Medicine residency training at Western University with an Oncology PET fellowship at McGill University and Theranostic Fellowship at Western University.  Dr. Laidley has extensive experience in theranostics and has acted as the primary investigator on various prostate theranostic trials such as VISION, ARROW, SPLASH, PR.21 and various NET trials including NETTER-2, CCO Ozmosis-617 and ACTION-1.

Dr. Laidley is currently an Associate Professor and Program Director within the Division of Molecular Imaging and Theranostics at Western University, an Associate Scientist at the Lawson Research Institute and a member of the OH RLT Working Group.  

Cassandra is the Chief Research Officer at the Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network (CCRAN). She leads and contributes to CCRAN’s patient-focused and evidence-based initiatives to provide support, education, and advocacy for colorectal cancer and other tumour-type patients and caregivers, as well as those at risk of developing the disease. Cassandra has a clinical background as a Medical Radiation Technologist in addition to a graduate degree in health studies and leadership. She has worked in both patient-facing and project management roles and led the start-up of two nuclear medicine programs which improved access to diagnostic imaging in her community. She is passionate about health quality and improving the patient experience and is honoured to have the privilege of supporting, educating, and advocating on behalf of cancer patients.

Eddy Nason is the Director for the Health Knowledge Area at The Conference Board of Canada. In this role, he spearheads the efforts of the health team, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, relevant, and impactful research and products to clients and stakeholders within the health sector.

Prior to joining The Conference Board of Canada, Eddy accumulated 20 years of experience at the intersection of health, science, public policy, and research, with a particular focus on research impact. During this time, he collaborated with national and international think tanks such as the Institute on Governance and RAND Corporation, as well as research funding organizations like the Ontario SPOR SUPPORT Unit and Genome Canada. Eddy has provided guidance to policymakers, health system managers, private sector partners, and not-for-profit stakeholders on a wide array of health issues, ranging from health human resources to drug plan management, to patient-partnered clinical research.

He is internationally recognized as an expert in research impact, having served as Program Director for the International School on Research Impact Assessment, contributed to the development of the precursor to the ResearchFish research impact system, authored the influential CAHS framework for ROI in health research, and has advised research systems across the globe.

Dr. Ramjeesingh is an Associate Professor in the Division of Medical Oncology at Dalhousie University. He completed his MD (2008) and Ph.D. in cancer research (2004) at the University of Toronto. He completed his residencies at Queen’s University and a clinical trials fellowship at the Canadian Cancer Trials Group. His main clinical expertise is in the areas of hepatopancreobiliary (HPB) cancers and breast cancer. He is currently the chair of the HPB Disease site group in Nova Scotia and is the Medical Director of AACRU, the Nova Scotian oncology clinical trials group. Nationally, he is a founding member of the Canadian GI Oncology Evidence Network and is a board member of Craig’s Cause Pancreatic cancer society. His research activities are in the fields of health service delivery, and translational research in oncology.

Dr. Raphael is a Medical Oncologist at the Odette Cancer Center at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center. His practice is dedicated to the care of patients with gastrointestinal cancers. He completed his medical degree at Queen’s University and his internal medicine and medical oncology training at the University of Toronto. He then completed an advanced cancer health services research fellowship and a Master’s of Science (Healthcare Quality, Risk and Safety) at Queen’s University. His research focus is on population-based cancer care. His research aims to identify ways to optimize the coordination and delivery of cancer care services, and to describe gaps in care, disparities in access to treatment, uptake of cancer therapies, and real-world toxicity and effectiveness. His research has already influenced practice guidelines globally and led to a new quality metric that is routinely captured by Cancer Care Ontario (“time to initiating adjuvant chemotherapy”). He is also a valued member of CCRAN’s Scientific & Medical Advisory Board.

Matt is not just the founder and visionary behind Genomic Focus, but also a testament to the profound impact and potential of targeted cancer treatments. As a long-term stage 4 cancer survivor, his life story took a hopeful turn with the advent of biomarker testing and advanced targeted and immunotherapy treatments. His experience underscores the pivotal role that genomics plays in revolutionizing cancer outcomes. At Genomic Focus, Matt's journey fuels their dedication to helping cancer patients and their caregivers.

Monika Slovinec D’Angelo, Ph.D. is a health scientist with extensive experience in population health and healthcare transformation. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa and a health system services and policy consultant.  Her work is focused on promoting value-based healthcare, with expertise in implementation science, impact assessment, intervention design, and change management. She has been working across healthcare delivery, health research, and academic organizations, engaging with stakeholders across the health ecosystem in the design, implementation, and evaluation of strategic healthcare and population health improvement and capacity building initiatives.

Robby Spring is an experienced professional in health innovation, commercialization, patient engagement, and public affairs, holding a B.Sc. in Medical Biophysics, an M.Sc. in Neuroscience, and an MHSc in Translational Research. Robby has over 15 years of experience across academia, hospital, government, industry and charitable organizations in the health and life sciences sector. Her recent experience as both a breast cancer patient and care partner has enriched her perspective on the healthcare system. Leveraging her professional background and personal insights, Robby is committed to making significant contributions as a consultant focused on patient engagement as well as improving and increasing the adoption of health technologies.

Dr. David Stewart trained in medical oncology in the Department of Developmental Therapeutics at Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1976-1978. He was on staff at MD Anderson 1978-1980 and 2003-2011, and at the University of Ottawa (Ottawa, Canada) 1980-2003 and 2011 to the present. His areas of research interest have included pharmacology of cisplatin and other anticancer agents; anticancer drug resistance mechanisms; new drug development; use of nonlinear regression analysis of survival curves to provide new insights into factors limiting therapy efficacy; and assessment of how markedly dysfunctional clinical research regulation drives up drug costs while delaying access to effective new drugs that could save lives and alleviate suffering. He has more than 340 peer-reviewed publications. He has also published several Op Eds in the lay press dealing predominantly with patient access to care. In April 2022 he published a book intended for both patients and physicians covering the full spectrum of cancer, entitled “A Short Primer on Why Cancer Still Sucks”, available through Amazon books. The aims of the book are to educate and to advocate. He has given a free copy to all Canadian MPs and senators and offers a free PDF copy to all his patients and trainees. He has also launched an accompanying YouTube channel

Dr. Gilad W. Vainer is a Senior Staff Pathologist, who heads the thoracic pathology unit, and the Onco-proteomics Lab at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, Israel. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. in Molecular Biology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem (2007). Dr. Vainer is a world leader in molecular pathology and a valued speaker. In recent years, Dr. Vainer gave many several high-profile lectures at different global meetings and conferences, such as the ESMO. In 2016, Dr. Vainer published the first harmonization of PDL1 (22C3 assay), generating one of the most commonly used protocols globally. He continued to educate about PDL1 testing and quality assurance, both locally and internationally. In 2019-2022, Dr. Vainer presented and advised the Israeli health basket on the advances and medical need for CGP in numerous solid tumors. Dr. Vainer is a member of several global and regional advisory boards focusing on pathology, oncology, and molecular pathology diagnostics. He received numerous competitive grants and is currently an evaluator with several cancer funding organizations, including the ERA-personalized medicine program.

Laura Weeks is the Director of Health Technology Assessment, within the Evidence Products and Services Business Unit at CADTH, where she oversees a team responsible for the conduct of evidence assessments to support Canada's health system decision makers. She holds a PhD in Community Health and Epidemiology, and has nearly 20 years experience in evidence synthesis and health technology assessment acquired through her work with CADTH, AHRQ, academia and the Cochrane Collaboration. During her 10 years at CADTH, she has contributed as an author and methodologist to over 20 HTAs, and has contributed to training, methods development and the academic literature in a range of disciplines relevant to HTA including clinical reviews, qualitative synthesis, patient engagement and reporting guidelines.

Nora Woo is a mother of 2, wife and licensed realtor in British Columbia. In 2022, when her husband Toby was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer, she found herself taking on the role of caregiver and patient advocate. The challenges they faced while navigating the healthcare system has motivated her to continue to participate in patient and caregiver groups. Her interests include expansion of patient accessibility for prevention, comprehensive genetic testing at diagnosis and multimodal treatment plan options.

Winky Yau is the Manager, Medical Affairs at Lung Cancer Canada, joining the team in July 2021. At LCC, her work primarily revolves around advocating on behalf of the patient voice for better access to new therapies, and is passionate about health promotion, working to remove barriers and inequities in healthcare accessibility. Winky holds a BSc in Health Sciences from the University of Waterloo and lives in Markham, ON.