Dr. Rod Rassekh, Clinical Site Node Lead

Dr. Rod Rassekh is a clinician at the BC Children and Women’s Hospital, Associate Clinician Scientist at the Child and Family Research Institute and Clinical Assistant Professor in the Division of Oncology at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Rassekh's research interest is in the treatment and long term outcomes of children treated for cancer, with a specific focus on quantifying what complications are seen in survivors of childhood cancer.

Dr. Suzanne Vercauteren, Biobanking Node

Dr. Suzanne Vercauteren is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine at UBC, Head of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Hematological Pathologist and Investigator at the BC Children’s Hospital.  In addition, she is the Director of BC Children’s Hospital BioBank at BC Children’s Hospital. Dr. Vercauteren’s main research area of interest is biobanking and public education and engagement in research participation.

ALBERTA

Dr. Jennifer Chan, Biobanking Node

Dr. Jennifer Chan is a neuropathologist and Assistant Professor of Pathology at the University of Calgary. She was previously Pathology Leader of the Biological Samples Platform at the Broad Institute (MIT/Harvard), overseeing development of its tissue repository, and contributed to the experimental design and execution of all tissue‐based cancer projects. Dr. Chan directs the Brain and Pediatric Tumour Bank at the University of Calgary, including the development of unique live cell resources.

Dr. Jan-Willem Henning, Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Node

Dr. Jan-Willem Henning is a Medical Oncologist at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Calgary Alberta and Clinical Assistant Professor, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. He received his medical degree (MBChB) in 1999 from the University of Orange Free State, South Africa and after immigrating to Canada; he received his certification of specialty training in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology at the Royal College of Canada (FRCPC). His areas of clinical expertise include Breast Cancer, Sarcoma and Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology. Dr. Henning is the immediate past program director for the medical oncology residency program in Calgary, and currently serves as the vice-chair for the Royal College Subspecialty Training Program for Medical Oncology. His research interest includes leading therapeutic clinical trials, health services research in AYA-oncology, Breast Cancer and Sarcoma. He is the AYA-oncology medical lead in Southern Alberta and co-chair of the Systemic Treatment Council at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre.

Dr. Meredith Irwin, Model Systems Node

Dr. Meredith Irwin is a pediatric oncologist and clinician-scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and Associate Professor in the Department of Paediatrics & Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Toronto. Dr. Irwin's main areas of research are p53-family protein biology, signaling, apoptosis, and neuroblastoma. Her neuroblastoma studies include the identification of signaling pathways involved in cell survival and invasion, identification of drug targets and therapies through functional screens, and cellular and animal models of metastatic neuroblastoma.

Dr. Adam Shlien, Genomics and Bioinformatics Node

Dr. Shlien's research uses the tools of modern sequence-based genomics to discover the mutations that are present in the genomes of paediatric cancer patients, and to understand how these mutations alter the somatic transcriptome. He has a strong interest in sarcoma biology, and is directly involved with the  introduction of cutting-edge genomics, such as whole genome sequencing, into clinical practice.

Dr. Jason Berman, Model Systems Node

Dr. Jason Berman is the CEO and Scientific Director of Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute (CHEO RI) and the VP Research of CHEO. Dr. Berman's lab uses the zebrafish model to study mast cell biology and model human cancers. His group has pioneered a human zebrafish cancer xenograft platform to study tumour-drug responses and interaction with the microenvironment. They also study genotype-phenotype correlations in rare genetic diseases.

Dr. Anita Villani, Molecular Tumour Board Committee

Dr. Anita Villani is an Associate Staff Oncologist in the Division of Haematology/Oncology at The Hospital for Sick Children, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto, and the Associate Director of the SickKids Precision Oncology Research Program (“KiCS”). Dr. Villani’s clinical and research interest is in cancer genetics and predisposition, including the creation and evaluation of surveillance strategies for cancer-prone children, using both traditional and novel approaches. She is interested in exploring the clinical utility of genomic findings, describing novel germline susceptibility genes and pathways, and exploring the ethics and the stakeholder experience of precision oncology research.

Dr. Michael Moran, Proteomics Node

Dr. Michael Moran is a Senior Scientist in Cell Biology at the SickKids Research Institute, a Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto, and an Affiliate Scientist at Princess Margaret Hospital, Ontario Cancer Institute, University Health Network. Dr. Moran’s research interests include integrating proteomics and functional genomics datasets in order to define and stratify cancers according to their distinctive molecular signatures. Underlying signal transduction and metabolic networks, and their regulation by post-translational modifications, are then molecularly characterized for their contributions to cancer phenotypes. In addition, his research has focused on the intracellular signaling networks that control growth, survival, and spreading of tumours, and how drugs may be designed to target key components in these molecular networks. His group uses proteomics technologies including mass spectrometry and bioinformatics to identify and characterize proteins activated in cancers, and to determine drug mechanisms of action.

Dr. Daniel Morgenstern, Therapeutics Node

Dr. Daniel Morgenstern is a Staff Physician in the Solid Tumour Section, Medical Director of the Oncology & BMT/CT Clinical Trials Support Unit, Director of the New Agent and Innovative Therapy Program (NAIT), and Director of the Therapeutic MIBG Program in the Division of Haematology/Oncology at the Hospital for Sick Children, an Associate Scientist in Translational Medicine at the SickKids Research Institute, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto. Dr. Morgenstern’s research interests include novel therapies and clinical trials for high-risk neuroblastoma patients, early phase clinical trials, and the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors and immunotherapy for hypermutant childhood cancers

Dr. Avram Denburg, Health Technology Assessment/Pharmaceutical Policy/Drug Access

Dr. Avram Denburg is a staff oncologist and clinician-scientist in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the Hospital for Sick Children. He has a Master of Science in Health Policy, Planning and Financing from the London School of Economics, and a PhD in Health Policy from McMaster University. Dr. Denburg’s research centres on the analysis and strengthening of childhood cancer care systems, with specific focus on issues related to pharmaceutical policy, health technology assessment, and drug access. Dr. Denburg is Immediate Past Chair of the Essential Medicines Committee for the International Society of Pediatric Oncology, Chair of the Drugs & Therapeutics Committee at The Hospital for Sick Children. He serves as an expert member of the pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review for the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health and the Ontario Steering Committee for Cancer Drugs. Dr. Denburg currently leads a Terry Fox Research Institute-funded program of research to develop a national policy framework for access to precision cancer therapies for children and youth in Canada.

Antonia Palmer, Patient, Parent and Family Node

Antonia Palmer is a childhood cancer research advocate and Executive Director of Kindred Foundation, a charity focused on funding childhood cancer research, youth mental and physical health, and community programs.  She is the co-founder of Advocacy for Canadian Childhood Oncology Research Network (Ac2orn), Chair of the CHEER Patient and Family Advisory Committee, research advocate for the St. Baldrick’s-Stand Up to Cancer Phase 2 Pediatric Cancer Dream Team, BioCanRx board member, and volunteers for other cancer focused organizations and projects in Canada and internationally.  Antonia holds a master’s degree in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo and lives in Ontario with her husband Aaron and three beautiful boys, Nate, Alex and Jonathan.

QUEBEC

Dr. Nada Jabado, Biomarkers Node

Dr. Jabado is a professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Montreal Children’s Hospital, McGill University. Her research focuses on genetic/genomic basis of pediatric high grade brain tumours for which she was recently awarded a large multi‐centre Genome Canada grant. She was awarded the 2012 CCS William E. Rawls Award.

Dr. Daniel Sinnett, Bioinformatics Node

Dr. Daniel Sinnett is a professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Biochemistry at the University of Montreal and holds the François-Karl Viau Research Chair in Pediatric Oncogenomics. Dr. Sinnett is currently spearheading two Canadian childhood leukemia initiatives aimed at using next-generation sequencing technologies to fully characterize the genomic determinants of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. His group has made significant contributions in the understanding of genetic determinants of childhood leukemia both at the gene and at the genomic levels.

Dr. Donna Senger, Model Systems Node

Dr. Donna Senger is an Associate Professor in the Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology at McGill University, a Senior Scientist at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Oncology at the University of Calgary. Dr. Senger has had a long-standing interest in the development of pediatric and adult central nervous system (CNS) tumours including defining the molecular characteristics of invasive glioma, investigating cancer stem cells as a therapeutic target, and understanding how the brain microenvironment impacts treatment. More recently, Dr. Senger’s research has focused on mechanisms important for the development of organ selective cancer metastasis, establishing in vivo cancer models for preclinical testing and identification and implementation of therapeutics for the treatment of sarcoma and metastatic melanoma. 

NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

Dr. Paul Moorehead, Biomarkers Node

Dr. Paul Moorehead is a Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist in the Section of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Janeway Children’s Health and Rehabilitation Centre and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Discipline of Pediatrics in the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University.  His research areas of interest are pediatric oncology, the care of newborns with bleeding disorders, and pediatric thromboembolic disease.