Dr. John Kuruvilla is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and a hematologist in the Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto. He is a member of the Lymphoma, Autologous Transplant and Immune Effector Cell Therapy programs. Dr. Kuruvilla’s research interest is the development of novel therapeutics in lymphoid malignancies and incorporating translational research into clinical trials. He is the Lymphoma Co-Chair for the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG) as well as the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of Lymphoma Canada.

When Mary-Jon was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma in 2005, there was very little readily available information for patients, particularly from Canadian sources. This experience led her to become involved with Lymphoma Canada, where she found a community and developed a lasting connection with the organization. Wanting to help other patients navigate their own lymphoma journeys, Mary-Jon became committed to ensuring patients had access to reliable, meaningful information and support. Over the years, her involvement has grown into a lifelong friendship with Lymphoma Canada and a shared commitment to helping others in the lymphoma community.

Abi Vijenthira is a hematologist and clinician investigator at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She completed her medicine training in Ottawa, and internal medicine, hematology, and lymphoma subspecialty training in Toronto, followed by a research fellowship in chronic lymphocytic leukemia at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology at Harvard University. Dr. Vijenthira’s research focuses on outcomes research in patients with lymphoma with a particular interest in CLL.

Charlene is a Nurse Practitioner in the Division of Hematology at the Health Science Centre and the Dr. H Bliss Murphy Cancer Centre in St. John’s. She has been a Registered Nurse for 27 years and a Nurse Practitioner for 18 years. She is a true “Hem/Onc” nurse at heart - having started her nursing career as an inpatient Hematology/Oncology nurse and never left the area. Throughout her NP career she has worked in both inpatient and outpatient settings, with the NL Cell Therapy and Transplant Program and is currently the Outpatient Nurse Practitioner in Hematology Oncology. In her current practice, Charlene works with patients undergoing systemic chemotherapy with any Hematological malignancy.

Dr. John Kuruvilla is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and a hematologist in the Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto. He is a member of the Lymphoma, Autologous Transplant and Immune Effector Cell Therapy programs. Dr. Kuruvilla’s research interest is the development of novel therapeutics in lymphoid malignancies and incorporating translational research into clinical trials. He is the Lymphoma Co-Chair for the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG) as well as the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of Lymphoma Canada.

Dr. Nathalie Johnson is an associate professor in the departments of Medicine and Oncology and Director of the division of Hematology at McGill University. She holds the Louis Lowenstein Chair in Hematology & Oncology at McGill University. She is a hematologist at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal who performs translational and clinical research since 2010. Her research focuses on studying mechanisms of therapeutic resistance to conventional and novel therapies and identifying early relapsed lymphoma using plasma circulating tumor DNA. She is the primary investigator of several clinical trials that test novel treatments for patients with newly diagnosed or relapsed lymphoma. She is also the program director for Clinical Investigator Program at McGill University and past President of the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation (CSCI).

Dr. Pamela Skrabek’s research contributions have focused in Non-Hodgkin lymphomas with a combination of epidemiological and translational research projects. As lead of the Lymphoproliferative Disease Site Group (DSG), part of her role is to oversee clinical research activities and collaborate in clinical trials provincially and nationally.

Diego Villa is a medical oncologist at the BC Cancer – Vancouver Cancer Centre and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia. In addition to attending to patients with lymphomas and breast cancer, he also teaches trainees and conducts research in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas. His main research interests include mantle cell lymphoma, primary and secondary CNS lymphomas, and the role of PET/CT in lymphoid malignancies. He presently leads national prospective trials of novel therapies in aggressive lymphomas. Over the years he has collaborated with several international groups on NHL studies, with over 100 publications in the peer-reviewed literature. Dr. Villa is also lymphoma co-chair with the Canadian Cancer Trials Group.

Dr. Alina Gerrie is a hematologist and Assistant Professor in the Divisions of Hematology and Medical Oncology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and a Clinician Investigator at the Centre for Lymphoid Cancer at BC Cancer. She is a faculty member in the Interdisciplinary Oncology Program (IOP) and Department of Experimental Medicine at UBC. Dr. Gerrie completed her medical degree and internal medicine residency at the University of Toronto, followed by hematology residency at UBC. She undertook a fellowship through the Royal College Clinical Investigator Program and earned a Master’s of Public Health degree from Harvard University, where her research included investigating the impact of genetic abnormalities on population-level outcomes in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients.

Dr. Mona Shafey is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Hematological Malignancies at the University of Calgary and Medical Director of the Alberta Blood & Marrow Transplant Program. She completed medical school and residency training at the University of Ottawa in 2008 and completed fellowship training in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation at the University of Calgary in 2010. Her clinical and research interests are in malignant hematology with a focus on the management of patients with lymphoma and CLL, including the use of cellular therapies (stem cell transplantation and CAR T-cell therapies) in the treatment of these diseases.

Dr. Robert Gniadecki has published >350 peer-reviewed papers. Among his contributions are the development of the low-dose total skin irradiation protocol for cutaneous lymphomas, the discovery of lymphoma stem cells, and elucidation of the impact of anti-inflammatory biologic drugs on mortality in patients with inflammatory skin diseases. His current research focuses on genomics and experimental therapeutics of cutaneous lymphomas and autoimmune skin diseases, as well as the clinical aspects of biologic therapy in psoriasis. He is also deeply interested in the metabolic and environmental determinants of skin disease and in the integrative role of the skin as an active organ communicating with other physiological systems to maintain overall health.

Dr. Pamela Skrabek’s research contributions have focused in Non-Hodgkin lymphomas with a combination of epidemiological and translational research projects. As lead of the Lymphoproliferative Disease Site Group (DSG), part of her role is to oversee clinical research activities and collaborate in clinical trials provincially and nationally.

Dr. Nathalie Johnson is an associate professor in the departments of Medicine and Oncology and Director of the division of Hematology at McGill University. She holds the Louis Lowenstein Chair in Hematology & Oncology at McGill University. She is a hematologist at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal who performs translational and clinical research since 2010. Her research focuses on studying mechanisms of therapeutic resistance to conventional and novel therapies and identifying early relapsed lymphoma using plasma circulating tumor DNA. She is the primary investigator of several clinical trials that test novel treatments for patients with newly diagnosed or relapsed lymphoma. She is also the program director for Clinical Investigator Program at McGill University and past President of the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation (CSCI).

Diego Villa is a medical oncologist at the BC Cancer – Vancouver Cancer Centre and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia. In addition to attending to patients with lymphomas and breast cancer, he also teaches trainees and conducts research in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas. His main research interests include mantle cell lymphoma, primary and secondary CNS lymphomas, and the role of PET/CT in lymphoid malignancies. He presently leads national prospective trials of novel therapies in aggressive lymphomas. Over the years he has collaborated with several international groups on NHL studies, with over 100 publications in the peer-reviewed literature. Dr. Villa is also lymphoma co-chair with the Canadian Cancer Trials Group.

Dr. Robert Gniadecki has published >350 peer-reviewed papers. Among his contributions are the development of the low-dose total skin irradiation protocol for cutaneous lymphomas, the discovery of lymphoma stem cells, and elucidation of the impact of anti-inflammatory biologic drugs on mortality in patients with inflammatory skin diseases. His current research focuses on genomics and experimental therapeutics of cutaneous lymphomas and autoimmune skin diseases, as well as the clinical aspects of biologic therapy in psoriasis. He is also deeply interested in the metabolic and environmental determinants of skin disease and in the integrative role of the skin as an active organ communicating with other physiological systems to maintain overall health.