Biomarker Conference
June 21-22, 2023

Dr. Stephanie Snow, MD FRCPC, Medical Oncologist (Committee Chair)

Dr. Stephanie Snow is a staff Medical Oncologist at the QEII hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia and is currently an Associate Professor at in the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie. After pursuing undergraduate training at McGill, she completed training at Dalhousie. She treats head and neck, thoracic and GI malignancies. She has a strong interest in Medical Education and is Vice Chair of the Royal College Medical Oncology Examination Board. She also has a keen interest in patient advocacy, serving as the current President of Lung Cancer Canada, and sitting on the medical advisory committees of several other patient advocacy groups in colorectal and gastric cancer.

Dr. Christine Brezden-Masley MD PhD FRCPC, Medical Oncologist

Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada

Christine Brezden-Masley, MD PhD FRCPC is a practicing Medical Oncologist and the Medical Director of the Cancer Program at Sinai Health System in Toronto, Canada. She is also the Director of the Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre at Sinai Health and holds the Marvelle Koffler Chair in Breast Research. She obtained her PhD in Medical Biophysics at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto and her Medical Degree from the University of Toronto. She is currently an Associate Professor at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto and an Associate Scientist at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Toronto, Canada. From July 2012-June 2019, Dr. Brezden-Masley was the Division Head of Hematology/Oncology and Co-Director of the Hematology/Oncology Clinical Research Group at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada.

Dr Brezden-Masley is the founder of the COMET (Community Oncologists of Metropolitan Toronto) Clinical Trials Consortium, a web-based virtual network promoting cancer clinical trials throughout the Toronto region. She treats both breast and gastrointestinal (colorectal and gastric cancers) malignancies, which are her major areas of research interest. Her main area of clinical research is cardiotoxicity from cancer therapy and is the Past-President of the Canadian Cardio-Oncology Network (2017-2022). She also serves on the International Cardio-Oncology Society (ICOS) annual summit steering committees and co-chaired the 2022 Global Cardio-Oncology Summit in Toronto. She co-chairs the Junior Mentoring Program JuMP that fosters mentorship/sponsorship of junior medical oncology faculty across Canada and serves on the executive of WinC (Women in Cancer/All in Cancer). She is an advocate for patients and serves as a board member of ReThink Breast Cancer and MyGutFeeling and also serves on the scientific committee for the Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network.

Honourable Fred Horne, ECA, MBA, Former Alberta Minister of Health

Fred Horne is a Canadian health policy consultant and former Alberta Minister of Health.

A frequent speaker and panelist on health system issues, he is Principal of Horne and Associates, Health Policy Consultants; Senior Advisor to Ottawa-based 3Sixty Public Affairs; and Chair of Mohawk Medbuy Corporation, a national, not-for profit shared services organization.

Horne serves as Adjunct Professor at the University of Alberta’s School of Public Health and volunteers his time to support policy education and patient engagement initiatives across the country. His career in health policy spans over thirty years. Current areas of focus include value-based health care, seniors care, health system governance and pharmaceutical policy.

Horne was appointed a Senior Fellow of the C.D. Howe Institute in January 2023. He is a Director of the Canadian Frailty Network (National Centre of Excellence) and Providence Living (BC).

Dr. Michael Raphael, MD FRCPC, GI Medical Oncologist

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.

Ms. Natalie Lipschultz, Colorectal Cancer Patient

"My name is Natalie Lipschultz and I am a 38 year old Stage 4 CRC survivor. I was initially diagnosed with Stage 3 in 2019 when a completely unrelated health issue brought me into the ER. I was having what I now know were CRC symptoms for a few years prior and brushed off by doctors because of my age.

I had a small recurrence in my liver found in January 2022, again found due to an unrelated issue, and was then referred to BC Cancer for care. I completed neoadjuvant chemotherapy and a liver resection in July 2022.

I live in Vancouver, BC with my husband and 18 month old daughter and work in the Group Benefits Insurance field.

Every day I remember that I need to be here for my daughter and my hope is that for her sake, we will make some big changes in our healthcare system."

Dr. Sharlene Gill, BSc, MD, MPH, MBA, FACP, FRCPC, Medical Oncologist

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.

Dr. Aaron Pollett

Dr. Aaron Pollett is the Provincial Head, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Program at Ontario Health - Cancer Care Ontario. He is an Anatomic Pathologist and Co-Director of the Division of Diagnostic Medical Genetics at Mount Sinai Hospital and an associate professor in the department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Pollett has a speciality interest in gastrointestinal pathology and pathology informatics with a Master’s Degree from the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto. He is the review pathologist for tumour based registries constructed to analyze the genetic basis of gastrointestinal cancers.

In his various roles, Dr. Pollett oversees the molecular analysis of solid cancers as well as the development and implementation of molecular biomarkers.

Dr. Alicia Tone, Ph.D.

Dr. Alicia Tone serves as Scientific Advisor at Ovarian Cancer Canada, the only national charity dedicated to overcoming ovarian cancer. Dr. Tone has been in the ovarian cancer field for 20 years. Her history prior to joining Ovarian Cancer Canada includes a PhD in ovarian cancer biology at the University of Toronto in Ontario, post-doctorate training in ovarian cancer genomics at BC Cancer, and 7 years as a Scientific Associate in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. In 2019, Dr. Tone started her work with Ovarian Cancer Canada where she runs the national OvCAN research initiative and performs collaborative research to understand and improve care along the ovarian cancer continuum (prevention, diagnosis, treatment, supportive care) for all individuals with or at risk of ovarian cancer.

Mr. Allen Chankowsky

Allen Chankowsky is an author, international speaker, sales promotion marketing expert, and 31-year cancer survivor who is currently surviving a rare form of stage-4 cancer. As the author of his best-selling and multi-award-winning book, On the Other Side of TERMINAL, Allen hopes to share his incredible story of survival by inspiring readers with an enduring message of hope and resilience in the face of a life-shattering diagnosis.

Allen credits his survival to the love and tireless support of his girlfriend Cynthia and their four children. He’s committed to raising awareness about cancer and helping other survivors find the strength they need to reclaim their lives from illness. He has been invited to speak at major international cancer events - most recently as the keynote speaker at TargetCancer Foundation’s 2022 gala. He was also invited to be the patient keynote at a precision medicine conference where he presented to world leaders in cancer research, molecular pathology and oncology. Allen has appeared in a television commercial in support of the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, a movie theater trailer, referenced in national and international news publications.

Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Allen currently resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In his spare time, he can be found winning backgammon tournaments at the United States Backgammon Federation, where he won the Intermediate Division at the 2021 US Open. For more information about Allen and his work, visit his website at: AllenChankowsky.com

Dr. David Josephy, Ph.D.

David Josephy is a retired professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Guelph. His research interests have included toxicology, carcinogenesis, and cancer therapy. He has been a member of advisory panels to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO). In 2008, he helped to establish Life Raft Group Canada, the national support group for GIST (gastrointestinal stromal tumour) patients, and he continues as President of this charitable organization. He also participates in the work of the CanCertainty Coalition, which informs decision-makers about the need to improve the availability of cancer treatments across Canada. For GIST patients, priorities include the removal of barriers to diagnostic molecular (mutational) testing and ensuring access to oral cancer drugs.

Dr. Dennis Dobrovolsky, Ph.D.

Dennis Dobrovolsky is a life sciences industry professional with 15+ years of experience including management consulting, business development, and research. He is a Harvard PhD graduate in Chemistry and Chemical Biology with a strong scientific background and proven success as a leader and manager. He is passionate about solving challenging problems within the healthcare/life sciences industry and creating solutions for patients around the world.

Dr. Don Husereau

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.

Ms. Eva Villalba, MBA

Eva Villalba is the Executive Director of the Quebec Cancer Coalition, an influential Canadian non-profit patient advocacy group dedicated to improving the Quebec health-care system for people affected by cancer. Since 2008, she has been involved in health-care charities, advocacy groups and non-profits. She graduated from McGill University with a double major in Psychology and Applied Linguistics, then completed an MBA from HEC Montréal with the objective to apply best business practices to the non-profit sector. Eva is passionate about good governance, public policy, community impact, health-care reform and social innovation. She is a volunteer board member of the Artificial Intelligence Impact Alliance (AIIA) and sees great potential in applying AI and technological innovations to the health-care sector to prevent and improve health outcomes. Eva is the first Quebecker and Canadian to obtain a graduate degree in Value-Based Health Care (VBHC) with a MSc. in Health Care Transformation at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also the co-chair of the Resilient Healthcare Coalition (RHC), a diverse group of health system leaders across the public, private, and non-profit sectors committed to helping Canadian health care systems enhance patient care and improve health outcomes by becoming faster, nimbler, and better able to adapt to future shocks.

Eva is a fierce patient advocate and believes strongly in the potential of the Quebec health-care system to be a world-class leader in Value-Based Care. Eva has an extensive international network of Value-Based Health Transformation Leaders, has a VBHC Green Belt Certification from VBHC Center Europe and is their official Canadian Ambassador.

Dr. Eve St. Hilaire, MD FRCPC

Dr. St-Hilaire did her medical undergrad training, internal medicine and hematology residency training at Sherbrooke University (1998-2007) and completed a fellowship in medical oncology at Dalhousie University (2009-2010). She has been working at the Dr-Léon-Richard Oncology Center in Moncton since 2007. Her professional interests include hematology, gastro-intestinal oncology and melanoma. She is actively involved in clinical trials in these domains. She has been clinical teaching professor in affiliation with the Sherbrooke University faculty of medicine since 2007.

Ms. Filomena Servidio-Italiano, Hon B.Sc., B.Ed., M.A.

President & CEO,
Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network (‘CCRAN’)

Filomena is the President and CEO of the Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network (“CCRAN”) – a patient-focused organization championing the health and wellbeing of Canadians touched by colorectal cancer and others at risk of developing the disease. Her undergraduate and graduate work lie in the biological sciences and educational studies. As a caregiver to her father, who was afflicted with and succumbed to metastatic cancer, his journey has served as the impetus for the founding of CCRAN, one month post his passing in August of 2006.

The past seventeen years have been dedicated to the cause of supporting, educating, and advocating on behalf of colorectal cancer patients and caregivers, to improve patients’ quality of life and longevity through the provision of evidence-based information and access to innovative patient programs, such as CCRAN’s innovative “My CRC Consultant”, an online tool providing the metastatic patient with evidence-based and expert reviewed, potential therapeutic options based on the patient’s tumour’s molecular profile. She has been working closely with valued health care professionals across the continuum of colorectal cancer care to ensure content acumen. She is humbled to be published alongside world-renowned experts in areas such as colorectal cancer management, PROs and PROMs, early age onset colorectal cancer awareness and education, promoting national LDLT efforts, education on molecular profiling, and more.

Filomena is a strong proponent of HTA patient evidence submissions since the inception of pCODR, ensuring the patient voice is captured and well incorporated into her submissions. She prepares these submissions not only for colorectal cancer drug therapies under review, but within therapeutic areas for which there are no representative patient advocacy groups or on behalf of patient advocacy groups who may not have the capacity to make these critically important submissions. She strives to secure robust patient and caregiver participation to help identify patients’ unmet needs, as well as capture their fundamentally important values, preferences, and priorities with the goal of ultimately ensuring reimbursement of effective treatments based on thoughtful and compelling input. She continues to be a passionate advocate for the Canadian cancer patient and their caregiver.

ABOUT CCRAN

The Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network (“CCRAN”) is a national, not for profit patient organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating on behalf of colorectal cancer patients and caregivers across Canada. It is a patient-focused organization whose programs are inspired by two patient advisory councils, one of which is dedicated to Early Age Onset Colorectal Cancer (EAOCRC). Its members identify unmet patient needs to serve as the inspiration for the development of thoughtful and relevant patient programs to help improve the quality of life and longevity for patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

Dr. Harriet Feilotter, PhD, FCCMG

Professor, Dept of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Queen's University
Service Chief, Laboratory Genetics and Director, Molecular Diagnostics, Kingston Health Sciences Centre

Dr. Feilotter is a Professor in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at Queen’s University, where she maintains an active program dedicated to the assessment of methods for biomarker validation and to the transfer of clinically actionable molecular assays to the clinical setting. Her roles as Service Chief of Kingston Health Sciences Center’s Laboratory Genetics and Senior Scientist for Molecular Diagnostics and Translational Research within the Canadian Clinical Trials Group allow her to focus on methods to bridge the gap between research and clinical application of biomarker findings. She holds appointments at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research where she acts as Director of the Ontario Molecular Pathology Research Network within the Adaptive Oncology program and Lead for Clinical Implementation within the Clinical Translation program.

Dr. Ju Yoon Yoon

I serve as a staff pathologist at St. Michael's Hospital, where I serve as a surgical (GYN, THO) and molecular pathologist.

I pursued my MD/PhD training at University of Manitoba, which was followed by Anatomic Pathology residency at the University of Toronto.

I pursued two clinical fellowships; molecular genetic pathology (U. Pennsylvania) and gynecological pathology (Brigham & Women's Hospital).

Ms. Kathleen Barnard

Kathleen Barnard is Founder and President of Save Your Skin Foundation (SYSF), a national not-for-profit group dedicated to the prevention of non-melanoma skin cancers, melanoma, and ocular melanoma.

In 2003, Kathy was diagnosed with stage 4 malignant melanoma. By the establishment of SYSF in 2006, her cancer had spread to her vital organs and her treatment options were limited. Fortunately, one of her sons discovered an immunotherapy trial treatment taking place in Alberta, Canada; this trial would save Kathy’s life. While her cancer treatments have finished, the battle with melanoma is not over for Barnard. Kathy prioritizes patient care and support.

Kathy was a key player in federal tanning bed legislation for Canada’s Youth, and is the recipient of the British Columbia Community Achievement Award for her leadership in addressing and raising awareness around skin cancer issues. Additionally, Kathy is on the Conference Board of Canada advisory committee for Value of Oncology Innovation in Canada.

Ms. Kimberly Carson, MA, BA, BA

Kimberly Carson is the CEO of Breast Cancer Canada. With 25 years of experience in the charitable sector, Kimberly has dedicated her career to creating deeper accountability in the nonprofit industry through progressive thought leadership. After joining Breast Cancer Canada in 2015, Kimberly restructured the organization and formed the BCC Scientific Advisory Committee and set a new direction for research for the organization. Through Kimberly’s leadership, Breast Cancer Canada has undergone a rebirth, focusing on bringing information full circle for donors and the breast cancer community by establishing volunteer hubs in cities across Canada which takes national research and brings it to the local level. With a commitment to research that is patient focused in precision oncology and encompasses AI, the research Breast Cancer Canada funds and conducts is innovative and forward looking. The revitalized BCC brand shows how beautiful the progress of science and research is in the face of this ugly illness. Like Kimberly, the new direction is bold which allows Breast Cancer Canada and its’ campaigns to break free from the typically sterile and distant portrayal of researchers. The results thus far have been visually stunning and incredibly thought-provoking. Kimberly holds a MA in Leadership from Royal Roads University, a BA in Psychology from York University and a BA in ‘Managing the Not For Profit’ from the University of Western Ontario.

Dr. Mary De Vera, Ph.D.

Dr. Mary De Vera, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Associate Dean Postdoctoral Fellows in the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at the University of British Columbia. She holds a Tier II Canada Research in Health Outcomes and Treatment Adherence and conducts “patient-powered, data-driven research” that combines her expertise in epidemiologic and health services research using various data sources and draws inspiration from lived patient experiences, particularly in arthritis and cancer. In 2016, Mary was diagnosed with early-age onset colorectal cancer at the age of 36. Mary’s cancer treatment involved five weeks of chemoradiation, two major surgeries, a temporary ileostomy, and four months of chemotherapy. Challenges and experiences of her cancer journey, especially as a young adult cancer patient has inspired Mary to apply her expertise in epidemiology to the study of her own disease.

Dr. Michael D. Carter, MD PhD FRCPC

Dr. Carter completed medical school at the University of Toronto, followed by residency training in Anatomical Pathology at Dalhousie University and a 1-year fellowship in Molecular Genetic Pathology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI.  He began as an Anatomical and Molecular Pathologist at NSH Central Zone and Assistant Professor of Pathology at Dalhousie University in 2018 and, in July 2021, was appointed Medical Director of Molecular Diagnostics at NSH. He is also Medical Director of Research, Division of Anatomical Pathology, and co-chair of the Molecular Oncology Diagnostic Testing Provincial Stewardship Committee for NSH.

Ms. Michele Wright

Michele Wright is the Coordinator, Patient Care Initiatives at Lung Cancer Canada.  After obtaining her degree in Developmental Psychology and Sociology at the University of Toronto, Michele has worked in health care supporting patients for over 20 years.  Her previous roles include Patient Care Coordinator for Heart and Lung Transplant at SickKids Hospital in Toronto.  She values a person-centered approach and seeks to empower patients to take a partnership role with their health care providers.  During the pandemic, she moved to rural Tottenham, ON, with her husband and bulldog, where they make maple syrup and raise bees.

Dr. Minetta C. Liu, M.D.

Dr. Minetta Liu, M.D. joined Natera in June 2022 as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Oncology. In this role, Dr. Liu sets the direction for the company’s clinical and scientific roadmap in oncology, primarily to prove the clinical utility of Signatera™ and incorporate it into standard medical practice across tumor types and indications.

Prior to her transition to industry, Dr. Liu served as Professor and Research Chair in the Department of Oncology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. In her ten years at Mayo Clinic, she held a secondary appointment in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, served as Co-leader of the Genomics in Action Strategic Priority for the Center of Individualized Medicine, and established the first Precision Oncology Clinic.

Dr. Liu brings a wealth of experience in developing blood-based biomarkers to predict treatment benefit and outcomes for patients with solid tumors. She chaired the Circulating Biomarker Working Group of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. She also co-chaired the Correlative Science Working Group and led several multi-institutional clinical trials through the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium.

Dr. Liu received her B.A. from Princeton University and her M.D. from Jefferson Medical College. She completed her internal medicine residency and hematology/oncology fellowship at Georgetown University Medical Center.

Dr. Monika Slovinec D’Angelo, B.Sc., M.Ed., Ph.D.

Monika Slovinec D’Angelo, PhD is a health scientist with broad experience in population health and healthcare transformation. She specializes in health promotion, chronic disease prevention and optimized management, with expertise in intervention and implementation research, program development and evaluation, stakeholder engagement, and strategic capacity building at organizational and system levels. She has worked across healthcare delivery, health research, and academic organizations, and in consultancy roles, collaborating with health system stakeholders nationally and internationally to develop and deploy evidence-based solutions in support of innovative initiatives and sustainable programs and systems. She is a firm believer of health in all policies and applies systems thinking to problem solving. Her passion lies in co-creating strategic solutions to promote health and wellbeing across populations.

Dr. Patricia Tang MD, FRCPC

Patricia Tang MD, FRCPC is a medical oncologist at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre and a Clinical Associate Professor at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. She specializes in the treatment of breast and gastrointestinal malignancies.

She obtained her Bachelor of Medical Science Degree (Distinction) and Medical Doctorate (Distinction with Honors in Research) from the University of Alberta where she also completed her internal medicine training. After medical oncology residency at the University of Calgary, she completed an Investigational New Drug Fellowship at Princess Margaret Hospital, University of Toronto. As the Provincial Gastrointestinal Cancer Tumor Group Leader for Alberta, she is involved in development of clinical practice guidelines and pathways.

She is the Centre Representative to the Canadian Cancer Clinical Trials Group for Calgary, and was awarded the Ralph Meyer Phase III Program Young Investigator Award in 2016. Dr. Tang’s research interests include clinical trials and health services research. She is a co-investigator on numerous CIHR funded grants and is currently serves on the pCODR Expert Review Committee.

Dr. Tang is currently a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Nucleus Committee for Medical Oncology. She received the 2016 Luminary Award for Teaching in the Department of Oncology.

Dr. Ravi Ramjeesingh MD, Ph.D., FRCPC

Dr. Ramjeesingh joined the Division of Medical Oncology at Dalhousie University in May 2015 as a staff physician and promotion to Associate Professor in 2020. He completed his Ph.D in cancer research in 2004, and his doctor of medicine in 2008 at the University of Toronto. He then subsequently completed his Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology residencies at Queen’s University before completed a clinical trials methodology fellowship at the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG) in Kingston, Ontario. 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. Razelle Kurzrock, MD

Professor of Medicine, Associate Director of Clinical Research
Linda T. And John A. Mellowes, Chair of Precision Oncology, MCW Cancer Center
Linda T. and John A. Mellowes Center for Genomic Sciences and Precision Medicine
Founding Director, Michels Rare Cancers Research Laboratories, Froedtert and MCW

I have considerable experience in early phase clinical trials, precision oncology, genomics and immunotherapy. I founded and directed a Rare Tumor Clinic at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) as well as the UCSD Center for Personalized Medicine and I led the Experimental Therapeutics program. Before my recruitment to UCSD, I served as Professor and Chair for the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics (Phase I Program) and held the Anderson Clinical Faculty Chair for Cancer Treatment and Research at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC). I founded this department in 2004 and, at the time of my recruitment to UCSD at the end of 2012, it was the largest Phase I clinical trials program in the world, with 130 therapeutic protocols and 34 correlative protocols (therapeutic accrual ~ 1300 patients per year). I have been the PI on over 100 clinical trials involving novel biologic or targeted agents and have overseen over 500 trials (between experience at MDACC and at UCSD), with eight Phase I drugs recently studied that have gone on to FDA approval. I have also supervised a highly successful basic/translational research program (producing more than 850 peer-reviewed papers) (Google Scholar H-Index of 129, with ~70,000 citations). I am the recipient of numerous clinical research related awards and multiple grants and was the PI of the NCI U01 grant “Phase I Studies of Targeted Anti-Cancer Therapies” for almost a decade at MD Anderson. I have also been the MD Anderson PI of the University of Texas Health Science Center CTSA grant that was funded in 2006 (~35 million dollars). In 2010, I assumed the role of Chair of the Early Therapeutics and Rare Cancers Committee for SWOG, and I am a member of the SWOG Board of Governors and serve as a PI for DART, which is the SWOG national immunotherapy trial for rare cancers, now open at almost 800 sites. I have served/was elected to the NCCN Executive Committee of the NCCN Board of Directors. I currently serve as Chief Medical Officer and on the Executive Directorate Board for the Worldwide Innovative Network for Personalized Cancer Therapy (international non-profit consortium). My expertise/experience is in rare cancers, precision medicine, phase I clinical trials, and the marriage between genomics and immunotherapy.

Rob L.

Following my initial diagnosis of an adenocarcinoma at the recto-sigmoid junction in late 2014, which turned out to be Stage I, I was looking forward to a bright and cancer-free future. However, without sufficient information regarding testing and screening, I discovered a 5.6cm mass in the left lobe of my liver 4 years later in 2019, and subsequently had the left lobe surgically removed. Two years later, in 2021, a 2.6cm cardiophrenic mass was discovered floating in fatty tissue just under the xyphoid process and it too was taken out. I then flew to Germany to undergo Transarterial Chemo Perfusion (TACP), a targeted therapy delivering chemo to the location of the removed mass. Two more years passed, and with a much more robust understanding of screening techniques, and the help of my Oncologist, I took part in using ctDNA as a tool to monitor any further evidence of disease. And in December of 2022, based on the results of ctDNA, a PET/CT was order, which discovered a suspicious lymph node at the esophageal hiatus - so early that it was too small to remove yet lead to close monitoring, pre-emptive chemo as management, and, when viable, its subsequent removal in April of 2023. My hope is to share my story, what I have learned, and how ctDNA has played a role in my life in dealing with recurrence.

Dr. Shaqil Kassam MD. MSc. FRCPC

Shaqil Kassam completed his Honours Bachelors of Science degree with a Minor degree in Medical Physics at McMaster University. He then pursued a Masters in Radiation Biology and DNA repair similarly at McMaster University. After completing undergraduate medical training at the University of Toronto, he then trained in Radiation Oncology for 2 years after which he completed his Fellowship in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology at the University of Toronto. During his Medicine and Oncology training, Dr. Kassam also continued his basic science research under the guidance of Dr. Gurmeet Singh at the Jurvinski Cancer Center, and also Dr. Robert Bristow at Princess Margaret Hospital- University of Toronto - for his research work Dr. Kassam received the University of Toronto's Department of Medical Oncology Resident research award.

Dr. Kassam is currently the Medical Director of research at the Southlake Regional Health Centre, where he has consolidated research activities at the Centre and also facilitates further research in the areas of Cardiology, Medicine and Intensive care. He is also the head of Oncology Research at the Stronach Regional Cancer center - where he has brought several international Phase III randomized trials to the centre. Dr. Kassam is currently the Primary Investigator on several open and in progress trials at the Cancer Centre.

Currently Dr. Kassam is a Staff Medical Oncologist at the Stronach Regional Cancer Centre in Newmarket Ontario, specializing in the treatment of Thoracic, Gastrointestinal, Neuroendocrine and Genitourinary malignancies. He is also the Skin cancer Lead Oncologist for the Centre and is also the Centre's Immunotherapy and NGS expert where he is instrumental in developing the Molecular diagnostics department at Southlake Regional Health Centre.

Dr. Timothy Asmis

Dr. Asmis is a Medical Oncologist at The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre as well as Associate Professor and Director of the Medical Oncology Fellowship Program in the Department of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. He obtained his MD at the University of Ottawa and completed his postgraduate training in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology at the University of Ottawa. Following his postgraduate training, he pursued a fellowship year in Gastrointestinal Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Dr. Asmis is dedicated to improving patient care in oncology. As lead of the GI Disease Site Group, he oversees care provided to patients with gastrointestinal cancers at the Ottawa Hospital. He has also led the development of clinical guidelines with Cancer Care Ontario which has directly improved care for cancer patients in Ontario and he is committed to developing a provincial strategy for cancer research. In addition, Dr. Asmis is currently Vice-President of the Ottawa Hospital Medical Staff Association. He is an active member of CCTG, CAMO, ASCO and ESMO.