Horizon Health Network Cancer Survivorship Conference 2024

Dr. Margot Burnell is a medical oncologist at the Saint John Regional Hospital. She graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1980 with her MD and did her residency in internal medicine, medical oncology at the University of Toronto, followed by a fellowship at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London UK. She returned in 1986 to establish her practice in Saint John where she continues to practice in the Saint John Cancer Center. She is an associate professor at Dalhousie University. She is currently a co-chair of the CCTG Supportive Care Committee. She is a strong advocate for patients and their families and especially passionate for survivorship care for patients and their loved ones.

Dr. Doris Howell RN, PhD, FAAN, is an Emeritus Scientist in the Division of Supportive Care, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Research Institute, & Affiliate Scientist, ELLICSR Heath Wellness & Cancer Survivorship Centre, Princess Margaret Cancer Center. Toronto, ON. Former Chair, Oncology Nursing Research and the Ontario Symptom Management & Toxicity Research Unit. Dr. Howell is an invited member of the Quality-of-Life End-Point Committee and QOL representative to the Supportive Care and Symptom Control Committee, Clinical Trials Group of Canada. Currently, the President of the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology and Chair, Canada-PRO International Society of Quality of Life (ISOQOL).

Dr. Eden Brauer is an Assistant Professor at the UCLA School of Nursing and a member of the Cancer Control and Survivorship Program of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC). As a nurse-scientist, Dr. Brauer’s research focuses on cancer care delivery, with specific emphasis on integrating patient-reported outcomes, supportive / palliative care, and long-term survivorship care in various clinical models and contexts. She also serves on UCLA Health – JCCC Cancer Services Committee.

Dr. Linda Carlson has held the Enbridge Research Chair in Psychosocial Oncology since 2007, is Full Professor in Psychosocial Oncology in the Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology. She is the Director of the Alberta Complementary Therapy and Integrative Oncology (ACTION) Centre, and is Director of Research and continues to work as a Clinical Psychologist at the Department of Psychosocial Resources at Cancer Care Alberta, where she has provided clinical service since 1997

Dr. Harriet Richardson is an Epidemiologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences. Dr. Richardson, who bridges the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG) and the Division of Cancer Care and Epidemiology, is the senior investigator for the CCTG’s Supportive Care Committee and focusses her independent research on cancer aetiology and prevention trial methodology. She has a PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from McGill University and a MSc in Immuno-Virology from the University of Quebec (L’Institut Armand-Frappier).

Dr. James Downar is a Critical Care and Palliative Care physician in Ottawa. He graduated from McGill Medical School and completed residency training in Internal Medicine, Critical Care and Palliative Care at the University of Toronto. He has a master’s degree in Bioethics from the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto. He is Professor and Head of the Division of Palliative Care at the University of Ottawa, where he holds a Clinical Research Chair in Palliative and End of Life Care. He is an adjunct professor at the Australian Centre for Health Law Research at the Queensland University of Technology.

Dr. Amanda Caissie MD, PhD, FRCPC is Associate Professor and Head of Dalhousie University’s Department of Radiation Oncology (DRO). Dr. Caissie’s current academic interests focus on Patient Reported Outcomes and Big Data in the context of research and value-based healthcare. She is co-founder/co-lead of the recently formed Canadian Artificial intelligence and big Data in Radiotherapy Alliance (CADRA). Her other contributions to national and international radiotherapy QI initiatives include Chair of the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology (CARO) Quality and Standards Committee as well as committee member of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM)’s Big Data Subcommittee and Canadian Partnership for Quality Radiotherapy (CPQR).

Dr. Naomi Giberson (Psy.D., M.M., BSc.) is devoted to helping oncology patients find meaning and fulfillment at every stage of their cancer experience. As a Resident in Psychology, she provides psychological assessment and psychotherapy in both inpatient and outpatient settings at the Saint John Regional Hospital. Her evidence-based practice draws primarily from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Dr. Giberson’s research looks to understand the development of pseudoscientific beliefs in clinical settings.

Buhle Dlamini is a top global speaker helping organizations navigate the future of people and work. He brings expertise in Cultural Intelligence in the field of diversity and inclusion gained from years of experience working with companies around the globe. He helps teams and leaders to create the right inclusive culture to unleash their full potential for greatness. He met and worked with iconic leaders like Nelson Mandela and received an award from Desmond Tutu. He has been faculty for executive leadership programs by Cornel University and Duke Corporate Education, as well as the United Nations Global Executive Leadership Initiative (GELI). He holds a Fundamentals of Strategy Certificate from Harvard University in Massachusetts and is a fellow with the Cultural Intelligence Center in Michigan, USA.

Dr. Shelley Doucet is the Jarislowsky Chair in Interprofessional Patient-Centred Care, Professor in Nursing, and Director of the Centre for Research in Integrated Care at the University of New Brunswick. Her expertise is in health service delivery research, with a focus on integrated and patient-centred care in community-based settings. Her team uses a patient-oriented research approach to engage patients and their caregivers throughout the research process. 

Dr. Alison Luke is a Research Associate with the Department of Nursing and Health Sciences and Associate Director at the Centre for Research in Integrated Care at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John. She completed her PhD in Sociology at the University of Waterloo and was the Crawford/Jarislowsky Post Doctoral Fellow in Health Policy from 2015-2018. She has worked and taught in the areas of research methods, sociology of health, the social determinants of health, interpersonal relations, the history and structure of the Canadian health care system, and models of care to improve care integration.

Charlotte Schwarz is a Research Coordinator with the Centre for Research in Integrated Care (CRIC) at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John. She completed a master’s degree in political science from Queen’s University in 2019 and has been working with CRIC for almost four years. She works on a variety of research projects in primary care, with a particular focus on projects regarding case management and care transitions for individuals with complex care needs.

Lauren Ashfield is a fourth-year student at Mount Allison University completing a Bachelor of Science, majoring in biology with a minor in psychology. She is passionate about the health care field and has experience working as a Research Assistant at Centre for Research in Integrated Care and volunteering in a clinical setting. Lauren is also the Chair of her school’s Atlantic Student Research Journal chapter and works as a teaching assistant and tutor. She hopes to pursue a career in medicine.