Keynotes and Plenary Speakers

KEYNOTES

Re-wiring Academic Medicine for Integrated Computation and Prediction

David Jaffray, MD Anderson Cancer Center

March 22, 2022 at 10:15 EST

Talk summary: TBA

Biography: David Jaffray, Ph.D., is a senior vice president and chief technology and digital officer at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He also is professor of Radiation Physics with a dual appointment as professor of Imaging Physics.

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Recruited to MD Anderson in May 2019, David is the institution’s inaugural chief technology and digital officer, bringing more than two decades of scientific expertise and proven skill as an innovator. In this role, he directs the strategic design, acquisition, management and implementation of an enterprise-wide technology infrastructure at MD Anderson to safeguard the integrity and availability of the institution’s systems and intellectual property assets. While overseeing the Information Services division and Information Security department, David also leads efforts to advance data integration, data governance and data security across MD Anderson’s Houston campuses and its national network, as well as to coordinate technology-enabled innovation. Additionally, he collaborates with the Strategic Industry Ventures team and the chief scientific officer in advancing meaningful partnerships with industry.

Before joining MD Anderson, David served as executive vice president for Technology and Innovation at the University Health Network (UHN)/Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, Ontario. He led UHN’s information technology transformation, designing the road map for digital transformation. He also served in several other leadership roles at UHN, including vice chair of Research for the University of Toronto's Department of Radiation Oncology, founding director of the STTARR Innovation Centre and founding director of the Techna Institute for the Advancement of Technology for Health. David held an academic appointment as a full professor in the Departments of Radiation Oncology, Medical Biophysics and IBBME at the University of Toronto. He was active in strategic planning, teaching and graduate student supervision during his 17 years in Toronto.

David holds 26 patents and has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications in topics related to cancer, including the development of new radiation treatment machines, the exploration of the fundamental limits of imaging system performance, the development of novel nanoparticle formulations for improved detection of cancer, and challenges in global health.

Over the course of his career, he has received many honors, including the Sylvia Sorkin Greenfield Award, the Farrington Daniels Award and the Sylvia Fedoruk Prize. In 2018, he received the Gold Medal from the American Society for Radiation Oncology. David has an interest in commercialization and has led the development of a variety of commercial products, including software and hardware for safe, high-quality cancer care and the development of numerous radiation therapy technologies, including the development of cone-beam CT guided radiation therapy.

David earned his bachelor’s in physics from the University of Alberta and his doctorate in medical biophysics from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. He is also board certified in the discipline of Medical Physics by the American Board of Medical Physics.

Ultrasound Video Analysis

Alison Noble, University of Oxford

March 23, 2022 at 10:05 EST

Talk summary: Clinical experts are adept at exploiting the spatio-temporal nature of ultrasound in freehand ultrasound image acquisition and interpretation. However, automating this human capability is proving surprisingly difficult. Alison will describe two quite different approaches they are investigating to address this. The first is to take a multi-modal approach, and use sonographer gaze, probe movements and audio together with video to build computational models of ultrasound-based tasks. The second approach builds computational models of ultrasound tasks from simple-to-learn bespoke ultrasound scan sweep protocols making then suitable for triage in global health settings. Deep learning underpins these solutions, but success requires thinking beyond the algorithm.

Biography: Professor Alison Noble OBE FRS FREng is the Technikos Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBME), University of Oxford.

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Alison’s academic research interests are in ultrasound imaging, and computational (machine-learning based) analysis of images and motivated by clinical unmet needs in western and low-and-middle-income countries healthcare settings. She received the Royal Society Gabor Medal for her inter-disciplinary research contributions in 2019, and the same year received the Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Interventions (MICCAI) Society Enduring Impact award. Alison co-founded Intelligent Ultrasound Ltd to commercial research from her laboratory which was acquired by MedaPhor Group Plc in 2017 (now called Intelligent Ultrasound Group).
Alison is a former president of the MICCAI Society, and her recent UK national roles include Chair of the EPSRC Healthcare Technologies Strategic Advisory Team, and a member of the UK REF 2021 Subpanel 12 (Engineering). She is an active Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and of the Royal Society, an ELLIS Fellow, a Fellow of the MICCAI Society, a former Trustee of the Institute of Engineering Technology (IET) and received an OBE for services to science and engineering in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in June 2013.

Alison has recently been working with MICCAI colleagues to raise the profile of ultrasound in the medical image computing (MIC) and computer assisted interventions (CAI) fields through the establishment of the ASMUS workshop and newly formed Special Interest Group in Medical Ultrasound (SIG-MUS).

 

LUNCH AND LEARN

Introduction to Patient Partnerships

March 23, 2022 at 12:05 EST

Patients can play a variety of roles in research and its translation ranging from being involved in organizations that increase awareness about the importance of research and fund raising to being involved in its planning and execution. In the Patient Partnership session, Justin Noble will start the session with an introduction to patient partnerships.  Next Justin and Diana Lemaire will talk about the OICR Patient and Family Advisory Committee.  This will be followed by Raymond Kim and Melissa Cable-Cibula talking about how they are working together on the establishment of the Ontario Hereditary Cancer Research Network. The final presentation will be by Glykeria Martou and Sherri McCullough showcasing the collaboration and knowledge translation impact of the partnership the Rose of Hope has with breast reconstruction in Kingston.  The presentations will be followed by questions and open discussion with symposium participants.

Justin Noble

Justin Noble, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research 

Justin is Patient Partnerships Lead at OICR. He has experience managing projects in health promotion and digital health innovation. In his role at OICR he is responsible for patient partnership and implementing equity, diversity and inclusion in the organization and in the cancer research it supports. He holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Waterloo.

Diana Lemaire

Diana Lemaire, Member, OICR Patient and Family Advisory Committee

Diana is Past Co-chair of the PFAC for the London Regional Cancer Program, a member of the LRCP Cancer Executive Committee and is involved at Lawson Health Research Institute at London Health Sciences Centre. Following a career as a registered dietitian, Diana pursued an MSc in Epidemiology and Biostatistics and spent 25 years in Evaluation and Decision Support roles at London hospitals. She is now retired.

Raymond Kim

Raymond Kim, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

Dr. Raymond Kim is a Medical Geneticist with a large clinical practice comprising of hereditary cancer syndromes and chairs the CCMG Canada-wide Cancer Genetics and Genomics (C2G2) community of practice. Raymond's research interests involve the integration of novel genomic technologies in clinical care including whole genome sequencing and cell free DNA.

Melissa Cable-Cibula

Melissa Cable-Cibula, M. Corporate Communications

Melissa Cable-Cibula, an OHCRN patient partner, is a corporate communications consultant, and Principal/Owner of a freelance consulting firm. Previously she served as Vice-President of Corporate Communications at a leading Canadian PR firm.

Glykeria Martou

Glykeria Martou, Queen’s University 

Dr. Glykeria Martou is an Assistant Professor at Queen’s School of Medicine and joined the divisions of Plastic Surgery and Oncology at Kingston Health Sciences Center in 2016. She completed her Plastic Surgery training at the University of Toronto and her fellowship training in Craniofacial and Microsurgical Reconstruction at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. 

Glykeria’s clinical practice focuses on the reconstruction of oncologic ablative and traumatic defects with a primary interest in breast reconstruction. Her research interests focus on the evaluation of quality-of-life following breast reconstruction and promotion of public awareness and patient education about breast reconstruction. Further research interests include physician and resident wellness and development of teaching tools for medical education.

Sherri Mccullough

Sherri McCullough, Kingston General Hospital

Sherri’s experience in the health-care sector spans 29 years of volunteer service. She has been a supporter of the Cataraqui Golf & Country Club’s Rose of Hope tournament since its inception over 23 years ago. In 2017 she agreed to Chair this annual tournament which has now raised in excess of $2.4 million to breast cancer care and support and is regarded as one of the biggest fundraisers in our region. 

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As well as her work with Rose of Hope, Sherri McCullough also serves on the Board of Directors of the Kingston Health Sciences Centre. She was elected an inaugural member of the Board in 2017 and has also served as Chair of the Patient Care and Quality Committee. In 2018 she was elected Vice Chair of the KHSC Board and currently serves as a member of People, Finance and Audit and on the Patient Care and Quality Committees. Prior to assuming the position on the KHSC Board, Sherri served for thirteen years as a member of the Hotel Dieu Hospital Board including six as Chair of the Board.
She has an Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) diploma in Health Care Administration, has received her Trustees level one and two credentials and has also completed the Catholic Leadership program. In 2007, she was elected to the OHA Region 2 - Regional Council Executive and was later elected to the OHA Board in April 2009. She also served as a member of the Board of the Catholic Health Association of Ontario. 

In November 2010, Sherri McCullough was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship for her work with Kingston Hospitals. In 2014, she received the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation’s Ian Wilson Award.

 

MEDICAL IMAGING IN GLOBAL HEALTH

Medical Imaging in Global Health: Challenges and Opportunities for Collaboration

March 24, 2022 at 15:35 EST

Carlos Torres, a Neuroradiologist at The Ottawa Hospital and Professor at the University of Ottawa, and Udunna Anazodo, a PET/MRI Physicist and Professor at Western University, will talk about some of the pressing global health challenges and their work to address them. The talks will be followed by group discussion with symposium participants about opportunities for collaborations.

Udunna Anazodo

Redefining Access to High-Value MRI in Africa: Doing Much with Little

Udunna Anazodo, McGill University

Talk summary: Investments in MRI technology have transformed the way patient care is delivered, particularly for management of non-communicable diseases such as cancer, dementia, and heart diseases. Yet, Africa, a continent with the largest global burden of non-communicable diseases, has the worst access to MRI technology. The challenges to MRI access in Africa are enormous. There is a critical need to build necessary infrastructures, acquire adequate equipment, attract, train, and retain qualified personnel, and provide the political will to generate policies for effective and accessible care within budgetary constraints. This keynote will highlight efforts to establish sustainable high-value MRI access in Africa that will enable clinicians and researchers in Africa to use MRI to solve relevant healthcare needs in the region. 

Biograhpy: Dr Udunna Anazodo completed her doctoral training in Medical Biophysics at Western University and was a MITACS Accelerate Fellow at The Lawson Health Research Institute. She leads the Multimodal Imaging of Neurodegenerative Disease (MiND) Lab at The Montreal Neurological Institute where her group develops PET and MRI techniques for early detection of neurodegenerative disease. Udunna is very passionate about improving access to diagnostic imaging. She is the founder and Chair of the Consortium for Advancement of MRI Education and Research in Africa (CAMERA), a global network of MRI experts working to establish sustainable access to high-value MRI in Africa. She is also involved in several efforts to provide medical imaging training opportunities to researchers in Africa. 
 

Carlos Torres

Global Education Outreach in Medical Imaging

Carlos Torres, University of Ottawa

Talk summary: TBA

Biograhpy: Dr. Carlos Torres is a Professor of Radiology at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine and a staff neuroradiologist at The Ottawa Hospital, in Canada. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR) and the President-elect of the Ibero Latin American Society of Neuroradiology (SILAN).
Carlos has given more than 400 national and international invited lectures in 25 different countries and is regularly invited to speak at all the major Radiology and Neuroradiology Meetings, on a wide range of Neuroradiology topics. He is an International Visiting Professor for RSNA, ASNR and ARRS. He has been a National and International Visiting Professor to multiple academic centres in the US and Canada as well as in Asia, Central and South-America, including Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Chile, Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Mongolia.