Series Host and Moderator
Carol C. Cheung MD, PhD, JD, FRCPC
Deputy Director, Canadian Biomarker Quality Assurance
Speakers
Gilbert Bigras MD, PhD, FRCPC
Edmonton, Alberta
Medical Lead Edmonton IHC Lab, Cross Cancer Institute
Associate Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology, University of Alberta
Dr. Gilbert Bigras is currently appointed as Associate Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry of the University of Alberta (Alberta, Canada). He is a breast pathologist working at the Cross Cancer Institute (Edmonton, Canada) and the medical IHC lead for the Edmonton Zone IHC Laboratory. He obtained a MD degree and Anatomical Pathology specialist certificate (FRCPC) at the Université de Montréal (Montréal, Canada). He obtained a PhD degree in Biomedical Engineering (Grenoble, France). His current research interest is the utilization of Artificial Intelligence applied to Biomarkers.
Carmela De Luca PhD, JD
Barrister and Solicitor
Patent Agent
Principal, Smart & Biggar LLP
Mary Kinloch MD, FRCPC
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Clinical Associate Professor, University of Saskatchewan
Dr. Kinloch is a practicing gynecologic pathologist and the Area Department Lead of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in Saskatoon on Treaty 6 territory.
Provincially she sits as co-chairs for Biomarker Development and Quality Assurance Committee and Cervical Cancer Screening task force in Saskatchewan.
Nationally she is on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Association of Pathologists, the pathologist representative for CCTG’s EN.10 clinical trial, and internationally is on the International Association of Pathology’s Education Committee.
Her research interests include the effects of precision molecular classification of ovarian and endometrial cancer in the variation of oncologic treatment and bringing complete genomic profiling of ovarian cancer.
Marcio Mendes Gomes MD, PhD, MHPE, FRCPC
Ottawa, Ontario
Clinician Educator, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Ottawa
Staff Pathologist and Thoracic Pathology Lead, The Ottawa Hospital
Dr. Marcio Mendes Gomes is a physician specialized in thoracic and gastrointestinal pathology, Distinguished Teacher, and clinician educator at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Medicine, where he holds the position of Full Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Dr. Gomes’s expertise is grounded in a robust academic and clinical foundation, with a PhD in Sciences from the University of São Paulo School of Medicine, a Master’s in Health Professions Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and an academic certificate in Quality Improvement from the University of Toronto.
As an educator, Dr. Gomes champions an interprofessional approach to medical training, embodying the principles of social learning, collaborative practice and team-based healthcare. He has designed and led numerous educational initiatives that enhance the competencies of healthcare teams, and he works as a social learning consultant through his company, Logic Path - Education Solutions Inc. Dr. Gomes' career is characterized by a dedication to improving health through advanced diagnostics, transformative education, and leadership that bridges disciplines to enhance patient care across diverse healthcare systems.
Ming Tsao FRCPC, MD
Toronto, Ontario
Senior Scientist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
Professor, Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, University of Toronto
Dr. Tsao is a Thoracic Pathologist and Senior Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, Canada, Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology and Professor of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto. He has published extensively in molecular pathology of lung cancer, and prognostic and predictive biomarkers for non-small cell lung cancer. He is a member of the Board of Directors and past Chair of the Pathology Committee of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC).
He is internationally known as a leader in molecular testing for lung cancer and has led several multi-center projects to standardize lung cancer biomarker assays in Canada. Dr. Tsao has received many awards including the Canadian Cancer Society O. Harold Warwick Award. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.
Paul Wheatley-Price MBChB, FRCP (UK), MD
Ottawa, Ontario
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, the University of Ottawa
Medical Oncologist, The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre
Dr. Paul Wheatley-Price is Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, and a medical oncologist at The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre, specializing in the treatment of thoracic malignancies and carcinoma of unknown primary. He is the medical oncology lead for the lung cancer disease site group in Ottawa, and is the current Program Director for the medical oncology residency training program
From 2016 - 2021 Dr. Wheatley-Price served as President of Lung Cancer Canada, and he remains active in lung cancer advocacy.
Emina Torlakovic MD, PhD, FCAP
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Founder and Director, Canadian Biomarker Quality Assurance
Head, Division of Hematopathology, Saskatchewan Health Authority
Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Saskatchewan
Dr. Emina Emilia Torlakovic obtained her M.D. at the University of Zagreb Medical School and her Ph.D. at the University of Oslo Medical School. She is board certified by The American Board of Pathology in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology with subspecialty boards in Hematopathology. She is a professor at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan. She is a Division Head of Hematopathology, Saskatchewan Health Authority. She was a founding member of the NordiQC, has co-founded CIQC, and most recently founded Canadian Biomarker Quality Assurance (CBQA) as well as CBQAReadout.ca (inter)national academic quality assurance programs, which she is currently directing. Dr. Torlakovic is the Chair of the National Standards Committee for High Complexity Testing of the Canadian Association of Pathologists. She is the President of the International Society for Immunohistochemistry and Molecular Morphology (ISIMM) and a Board Member of the International Quality Network for Pathology (IQN Path). She is also currently leading several projects related to national and global standardization of clinical IHC applications.
Faculty Disclosure
Speakers and/or planning committee members will disclose to the program audience any real or apparent conflict(s) of interest that may have a direct bearing on the subject matter of the continuing education program. This pertains to relationships within the last two (2) years with pharmaceutical companies, biomedical device manufacturers, or other corporations whose products or services are related to the subject matter of the presentation topic.
This intent is not to prevent a speaker with a potential conflict of interest from making a presentation. It is merely intended that any potential conflict should be identified openly so that the listeners may form their own judgments about the presentation with the full disclosure of facts.
It remains for the audience to determine whether the speaker’s outside interests may reflect a possible bias in either the exposition or the conclusions presented.