Diana N. Ionescu, MD, FRCP(C), FCAP
Consultant Pathologist BC Cancer Agency
Medical Lead Anatomical Pathology
Medical Director Cervical Cancer Screening Laboratory
Medical Director Clinical Trials, BCCA Laboratories
Clinical Professor of Pathology, University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC

Dr. Ionescu is a graduate of University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu” in Cluj Napoca, Romania. She completed her postgraduate training in Anatomical and Clinical Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and a Fellowship in Gynecological Pathology at Vancouver General Hospital. She has practiced as a Consultant Pathologist at BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver since 2006. She is currently a Clinical Professor of Pathology at UBC and served as the residency program director for the Anatomic Pathology Residency Program between 2009 – 2017.

Her specific areas of diagnostic expertise are lung, gynecologic and breast pathology. She is an author of over 60 scientific publications and book chapters. She is the author and invited speaker at numerous regional, national and international lectures. Her investigation interests include oncologic pathology and molecular biomarkers, lung cancer and adult health education. She is the Canadian Anatomic and Molecular Pathology (CAMP) and CAMP pathology Oncology Digital Series (CAMP-PODS) course director.

Dr. Ionescu is an enthusiastic advocate of pathologists participating in numerous patient education forums, TV shows, advocacy and fundraising campaigns, being Medical Advisor for Lung Cancer Canada, moderator, presenter and community excellence awardee at ROMPOST TV on Omni TV, and in 2015 supporting biomarker testing before the House of Commons Committee on Health.

Barbara Melosky, MD, FRCP(C)
Professor of Medicine, UBC
Medical Oncologist, BC Cancer
Vancouver, BC

Dr. Melosky is a Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia and a Medical Oncologist in Vancouver at BC Cancer. She graduated from medical school at the University of Manitoba and did a residency in internal medicine and an oncology fellowship at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Melosky specializes in the field of thoracic malignancy. She sits on the Executive Lung Site Committee for CCTG Canadian Clinical Trials Group.

Her main focus of clinical trials is on EGFR inhibitors; she is published in this area and is considered a national and international expert. Dr. Melosky has chaired the Canadian Lung Cancer Conference for the last 12 years, which is attended by over 350 participants. She chairs and organized the multi-disciplinary Lung Cancer Journal Club three times yearly. She is chair and created the British Columbia Lung Cancer Biobank.

She is also the chairperson of the Colorectal Screening Program of British Columbia and has a special interest in EGFR receptors and management of side effects.

Stephen Yip MD, PhD, FRCPC
Neuropathologist, Vancouver General Hospital
Associate Professor of Medicine, University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC

Stephen Yip completed his combined M.D-Ph.D. training followed by 4 years of neurosurgical training at UBC. He switched to neuropathology and obtained his Royal College certification in 2007. He completed fellowship training in molecular neuro-oncology at the Massachusetts General Hospital under the mentorship of Dr David Louis as a RC Clinician Investigator Program fellow and molecular genetic pathology at MGH/Harvard Medical School under the supervision of Dr John Iafrate. He is on staff at Vancouver General Hospital and BC Cancer (VCC). Specialty: neuropathology, molecular pathology. Hobby: neuropathology, molecular pathology.

Patrice Desmeules
Anatomic and Molecular Pathologist,
IUCPQ/Quebec Heart and Lung Institute
Montreal, QC

Patrice Desmeules is an anatomic and molecular pathologist at IUCPQ/Quebec Heart and Lung Institute since 2017 after completing anatomic pathology residency at Université Laval in Quebec City and fellowships in oncologic surgical and thoracic molecular pathology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NY. His interests are focused on translational research and development of biomarkers and molecular assays relevant to thoracic neoplasms.

Zu-hua Gao, MD, PhD, FRCPC
Head of Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine,
University of British Columbia
Provincial Program Medical Director,
BC Cancer
Vancouver, BC

Dr. Zu-hua Gao obtained his Medical degree from Qingdao Medical College, Master degree from Harbin Medical University, and PhD degree from Peking Union Medical College. Dr. Gao received his post-doctoral fellowship training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, pathology residency training at Dalhousie University, and subspecialty pathology fellowship at the University of Chicago. As a surgical pathologist, Dr. Gao’s clinical expertise is gastrointestinal and liver pathology. As an educator, Dr. Gao teaches undergraduate medical students pathology courses, supervises graduate students, residents, and fellows. Dr. Gao has written three textbooks: The Clinical Skills Review for medical students (3 editions), the Pathology Review and Practice Guide book for pathology residents (3 editions, translated into 4 languages) and Gross Morphology of Common Diseases. As a research scientist, Dr. Gao published 179 peer reviewed articles in Lancet, Science, Nature Medicine, and peer reviewed pathology journals. Dr. Gao received many awards including the Junior Scientist Award at CAP-ACP, the Dalhousie Medical Foundation award, the McGill University Health Center Foundation award, etc. As an administrator, Dr. Gao had been the Division Head of Anatomical Pathology and Cytopathology at the University of Calgary and Calgary Laboratory Services between 2007-2011. Since 2012, Dr. Gao has been the Chair and Chief of the Department of Pathology at McGill University. Since 2019, Dr. Gao has been the President of Canadian Chairs of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. In 2017, Dr. Gao became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (London UK). In 2019, Dr. Gao became a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. In 2021, Dr. Gao became the Head of Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia and Provincial Program Medical Director at BC Cancer.

David R. Gandara, MD
Professor of Medicine Emeritus
Co-Director, Center for Experimental Therapeutics in Cancer
Senior Advisor to the Director
UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center
Adjunct Clinical Professor, Translational and Clinical Research Program,
University of Hawaii Cancer Center
Chief Medical Officer, International Society of Liquid Biopsy
Sacramento, CA

David Gandara, Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the University of California, Davis. He is the co-director of the Center for Experimental Therapeutics in Cancer and Senior Advisor to the Director at UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. He was recently appointed Adjunct Clinical Professor, Translational and Clinical Research Program at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center and Chief Medical Officer for International Society of Liquid Biopsy (ISLB) a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the science and clinical application of liquid biopsy in cancer diagnosis and therapy. He is an internationally known clinician-scientist and lung cancer thought leader, and has published over 450 peer-reviewed papers. He has led many notable research projects in lung cancer including early therapeutics trials through an N01-sponsored award, cooperative group trials as past-chair of the SWOG Lung Committee, and multi-institutional translational science projects such as clinical director of the patient-derived xenograft (PDX) lung program in collaboration with The Jackson Laboratory Cancer Center. Dr. Gandara has been selected for many awards and honors including the lifetime Scientific Award from the International Association for Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), the Team Science Award from the Addario Lung Cancer Foundation, and the Trajectory Achievement Award from the ISLB. He is current principal investigator for a National Cancer Institute UG1 award to UCDCCC for cancer clinical trials, co-leader of Lung MAP, a unique NCI-sponsored public-private partnership for new drug development in lung cancer, and is founding co-chair and current member of the NCI-directed Investigational Drug Steering Committee (IDSC). Dr. Gandara is past Editor-in-Chief of the journal Clinical Lung Cancer. He served as president of the IASLC from 2009-2011 and as treasurer from 2013-2017. He is a prior member of the board of directors and secretary-treasurer of ASCO.

Cheryl Ho, MD, FRCP(C)
Clinical Associate Professor
University of British Columbia
Medical Oncologist
British Columbia Cancer
Vancouver, BC
Cheryl Ho, MD is a medical oncologist at BC Cancer and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia. Her clinical practice focuses on thoracic and head & neck malignancies. Dr. Ho evaluates the impact of therapies proven in clinical trials in the real world through population-based analysis. Her current focus is on developing a learning health care system with a real-world data evidence-generation framework to inform healthcare decision-makers.

Mary Kinloch MD, FRCPC
Gynecologic Pathologist,
Division Head of Anatomic Pathology,
Saskatoon, SK

Dr. Kinloch is a practicing gynecologic pathologist and division head of Anatomic Pathology in Saskatoon on Treaty 6 territory, homeland of the Metis.

Provincially she sits as co-chair for Biomarker Development and Quality Assurance Committee and Cervical Cancer Screening task force in Saskatchewan.

Most recently, she is the pathology lead for CCTG’s clinical trial, EN.10, in endometrial cancer which requires biomarker read out and molecular classification of a patient’s endometrial cancer for patient enrollment and trial arm determination.

Zuzana Kos, MD, FRCPC (she/her)
Pathologist, BC Cancer Vancouver Centre
Vancouver, BC

Dr. Zuzana Kos is a breast and gynecological pathologist at BC Cancer - Vancouver Centre and clinical assistant professor at the University of British Columbia. She serves as the breast pathology supervisor for residents and fellows at BCC and is the pathology lead for the provincial BC Cancer Breast Screening program. She participates in multiple national and international collaborations and working groups. Her research interests focus primarily on biomarkers in breast cancer.

Vania Nosé, M.D., Ph.D
Professor of Pathology,
Harvard Medical School
Pathologist and Consultant,
Endocrine Pathology,
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA

Vania Nosé, M.D., Ph.D., is a Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School and practicing pathologist and consultant in Endocrine Pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, USA). Dr. Nosé brings more than 30 years of experience as Surgical Pathologist with expertise in Endocrine Pathology, Head and Neck Pathology, and Familial Cancer Syndromes. She is past-President of the Endocrine Pathology Society. She has numerous peer reviewed manuscripts and is an editor of 2022 books “WHO Classification of Tumours: Head and Neck Tumours” and “WHO Classification of Tumours: Endocrine and Neuroendocrine Tumours”, as well as author of books titled “Diagnostic Pathology: Endocrine” and “Diagnostic Pathology: Familial Cancer Syndromes”. In addition to that, she also serves as Program Director of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Surgical Pathology Fellowship Program for the last 10 years. Vania Nosé is member of the Board of Directors of the WTR since 2022.

Gina Ogilvie, MD MSc FCFP DrPH
Professor, School of Population and Public Health
University of British Columbia
Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, Global Control of HPV Related Diseases and Prevention
Vancouver, BC

Gina Ogilvie, MD MSc FCFP DrPH is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Global Control of HPV related diseases and prevention, and Professor at the University of British Columbia in the School of Population and Public Health. She is also Senior Public Health Scientist at BC Centre for Disease Control and Senior Research Advisor at the BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre. She was previously Medical Director of Clinical Prevention Services at BC Centre for Disease Control where she provided both operational and scientific leadership to an integrated public health unit with over 100 staff. This unit focuses on providing public health leadership and service in STIs, HIV, Hepatitis and Tuberculosis provincially, nationally and globally. Dr. Ogilvie is currently principal investigator on over 10 million dollars in research grants and she has received funding from NIH, PHAC, CIHR, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, Canadian Foundation for Innovation and private foundations including BC Women’s Hospital Foundation among others. Her research is focused on both the public health and clinical aspects of reproductive health, sexually transmitted infections, HPV screening and the HPV vaccine, and her findings have been highly influential in setting and directing health policy both in Canada and globally. Among other research projects, she is principal investigator for the ASPIRE program, a global health initiative conducting research and providing women-centred, innovative solutions for cervical cancer prevention and reproductive health in sub-Saharan Africa. She also leads HPV FOCAL DECADE, which is a randomized trial of over 25,000 women comparing primary screening for cervical cancer, and QUEST, a pragmatic randomized trial defining the effectiveness of reduced dosing of the HPV vaccine.

She has published over 200 peer reviewed manuscripts and has provided advice and consultation to national and global institutions, including the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, Public Health Agency of Canada, the World Health Organization and Ministries of Health globally on STI, HIV and HPV vaccine policy and programming. She speaks widely at international and national research and education conferences, and has supervised medical students, residents, and graduate students throughout her career. Dr. Ogilvie received her MD from McMaster University, and completed a specialty in Family Medicine and a fellowship in Population Health and Primary care. She received her Master of Science at UBC, and her Doctorate in Public Health from the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health. Dr. Ogilvie is the recipient of several honors, including UBC Killam Research Prize (2021); American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association Achievement Award (2020);
Michael S. O’Malley Alumni Award for Publication Excellence (2019); YWCA Woman of Distinction (2018); President’s Award, Children and women’s Health Centre of BC (2018); Options for Sexual health Sexual Health Champion of the Year (2018); Provincial Health Officer’s Award for Excellence in Public health (2015); Researcher of the Year, College of Family Physicians of Canada (2014); YWCA Women of Distinction Nominee (2014); Distinguished Achievement in Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia (2014). In 2019, she was part of the Governor General’s Official Delegation to the 25th Commemoration of the Rwandan Genocide. She is one of the inaugural recipients of the highly prestigious CIHR ‘Foundation Grant’ awards, given to leading scholars to pursue 7 years of research in a field.

Frederique Penault-Llorca
Centre Jean Perrin
Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France

Frédérique PENAULT-LLORCA, MD, PhD, graduated as a medical specialist in pathology in 1993 and in oncology in 1995. Also, in 1995, she received a PhD from the Université d’Aix-Marseille II in cellular biology and microbiology, on the topic of HER2. Frédérique PENAULT-LLORCA is currently professor of Pathology at the University of Clermont-Ferrand, CEO of the Comprehensive Regional Cancer Institute Centre Jean PERRIN, Clermont-Ferrand, France, deputy director of the research team INSERM 1240 IMoST, and head of the Molecular Biology Plateform at Centre Jean Perrin. She serves as vice-president of the UNICANCER group and chairs of the Immuno-Oncology group at UNICANCER R&D. She is a member of several pathology and oncology societies, with her main areas of expertise being female cancers. She co-chairs the French breast cancer guidelines of Nice-St Paul. Frédérique PENAULT-LLORCA has conducted various biomarkers-based research studies in breast, GYN, lung, digestive tract, prostate and thyroid cancer in relation to response to targeted therapies and immunotherapies. Frédérique PENAULT-LLORCA has participated to more than 480 peer-reviewed publications and several books on female cancers and pathologic testing methods and issues.

David Schaeffer, MD, FRCPC
Associate Professor,
Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine,
University of British Columbia
Gastrointestinal Pathologist,
Head of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine,
Vancouver General Hospital (VGH)
Vancouver, BC

Dr. Schaeffer is an associate professor in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at University of British Columbia and the Head of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH), where he practices as a gastrointestinal pathologist. Dr. Schaeffer obtained his medical degree from the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany. After a residency program in Anatomical Pathology in Vancouver he completed his gastrointestinal pathology fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Dr. Schaeffer is the co-director of Pancreas Centre BC and the Pancreatic Cancer Research Chair at Vancouver General Hospital. He has an active research program focusing predominately on translational research in colonic and pancreatic cancer.