Dr Mark Clemons graduated from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K. (B.Med.Sci; MB BS). He completed his post-doctoral training in internal medicine and medical oncology at the Hammersmith Hospital, London; Christie Hospital, Manchester (MSc, Oncology; MD, Oncology) and at the Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto. He is a Clinical Investigator at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (Cancer Therapeutics Program), staff medical oncologist (Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre) and Professor of Medicine (University of Ottawa). He is the recipient of multiple peer-reveiwed research grants and is widely published in the field of breast cancer management. His publications also reflect eclectic topics such as; retirement planning, excessive oncologist travel, oncologist quality of life and issues such as preventing spam. His current research vision is to remove many of the barriers that lead the development of multiple standard of care therapies with very little data to actually show which treatment is best in the real world setting.

Dr. Andy J. Smith is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Ontario. In addition, he is a Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto. He completed medical school, including a Masters of Science, and General Surgery residency at the University of Toronto. He also completed a Surgical Oncology Fellowship at Memorial Sloan – Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Upon returning to Canada, he established himself as a leader in the management of colorectal cancer. He has served as Head of the Division of General Surgery at Sunnybrook, Chair of the Division of General Surgery at the University of Toronto and Chief of the Odette Cancer Program and Regional Vice President for Cancer Care Ontario. Most recently, Dr. Smith has served Sunnybrook as its Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Executive.

Dr. Lisa Goos is the Director of Clinical Research Services at The Hospital for Sick Children. Lisa received her Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from York University, and was a CIHR Postdoctoral Fellow in the Program in Neurosciences and Mental Health at The Hospital for Sick Children. Her area of research specialization was the influence of epigenetic regulatory mechanisms on cognitive development and behaviour. Dr. Goos has also worked and published extensively in the area of genetic communications, helping scientists and non-scientists engage in informed dialogue and decision-making on the basis of genetic information. In senior strategic and operational research administration positions for over 10 years, Lisa has developed both corporate and divisional strategic plans, led teams through the completion of large strategic projects, and implemented operational systems and procedures to support effective management of the research enterprise. An exceptional corporate change agent, Lisa has driven development in the strategic and functional capacity necessary to enable knowledge translation, and facilitated research integration with practice across healthcare, legal and academic settings.

Sheila Sprague is a clinical researcher with expertise in the design and conduct of large randomized controlled trials, observational studies, systematic reviews, and scoping reviews.  She obtained a Doctorate Degree in Medical Science from the University of Amsterdam and a Master of Science Degree in Health Research Methodology from McMaster University.  She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery and serves as an Associate Faculty Member in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact at McMaster University.  She also serves as the Associate Director at the Centre for Evidence-Based Orthopaedics at McMaster University.  Her research focusses on improving the care of fracture patients.

Brad leads projects to deliver real world evidence solutions, medical and market access strategy for the pharmaceutical industry and its stakeholders. Brad has almost 20 years of experience in the Life Sciences industry across government and private sectors in Canada and globally. His interests include developing innovative approaches to leveraging “big” healthcare datasets to answer core questions about value and outcomes in the healthcare system.

Prior to joining IQVIA, he led the investment attraction function for Life Sciences at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He also spent several years in the US at a leading biotech strategy consulting firm developing solutions in new product development & launch, marketing, sales, and business development. He is a Dean’s List graduate of the MBS program (integrated MSc Biotech + MBA ) at Keck Graduate Institute in Claremont, California, and holds a B.Sc. in Physiology from McGill University.

Brad speaks English and French, and is conversational in Mandarin Chinese

Ma’n H. Zawati (LL.B., LL.M., Ph.D. (DCL)) is the Executive Director of the Centre of Genomics and Policy in the Department of Human Genetics at
McGill University. He is also an Associate Member of McGill¹s Biomedical Ethics Unit. His research concentrates on the legal, ethical and policy dimensions of health research and clinical care, with a special focus on biobanking, data sharing, professional liability, and the use of novel technologies (e.g. mhealth apps, WGS, WES) in both the clinical and research settings. Dr. Zawati is funded by CIHR, Genome Canada, and Genome Quebec. His work is interdisciplinary, drawing together perspectives from law, ethics, bioinformatics, genomics, and policy. He¹s also a frequent
presenter on a variety of the most critical and topical issues in healthcare and the biosciences. He has appeared at 100+ international conferences, symposia, meetings, and has shared his expertise with universities, research ethics boards and law firms. Dr. Zawati has published 13 book chapters and 45+ peer reviewed articles in leading publications such as Nature Reviews Genetics, the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the Journal of Law and the Biosciences, the Journal of Medical Genetics, and the McGill Journal of Law and Health. In 2015, he
was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship (stay at Oxford University) and was named a Royal Society of Canada Delegate for the IAP Young Scientists of the Year international symposium. In 2014, the Young Bar Association of Montreal named him as one of its Lawyers of the Year.

President & CEO of the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders, Chair of the Consumer Advocare Network, President & CEO of the Institute for Optimizing Health Outcomes, Chair of Canadian Heart Patient Alliance and member of Genome Canada Steering Committee for the Rare Disease Precision Health Initiative.  Internationally, she serves as Chair of Rare Disease International, Board member of Asia Pacific Rare Disease International, member of the Editorial Board of The Patient- Patient Centred Outcomes Research, member of the Global Commission to End the Diagnosis Odyssey for Rare Diseases and member of Health Technology Assessment International Patient /Citizen Involvement Interest Group.  She is also a certified Health Coach.

Durhane has a PhD in psychology from McGill University and was professor at the University of Windsor, Canada.  She is a trainer and frequent lecturer and author of three books and many articles.

Patrick spent most of his professional career with the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario.  In the years since learning he was HIV+ in 1989, he has also applied his accounting and management experience as executive director of the AIDS Committee of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and Area, and on the boards of CATIE, Fife House Foundation, the Ontario AIDS Network and the Canadian Treatment Action Council.  His interests (and the volunteer positions through which he has pursued them) include community engagement and ethics in research (Ontario HIV Treatment Network Cohort Study Governance Committee, Canadian HIV Trials Network Community Advisory Committee), treatment side effects (Health Canada’s Expert Advisory Committee on the Vigilance of Health Products), and new prevention technologies (Canadian HIV Vaccines Plan Steering Committee).

Bettina has more than 15 years of international experience in the pharmaceutical industry as well as 10 years of experience as a tenured professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy at Université Laval. Prior to assuming her current role as President and CEO of Ontario Genomics, Bettina served as Vice-President of NSERC’s Research Partnerships Directorate. She has also held a variety of leadership positions at Pfizer Canada. She is known for pioneering novel public-private partnership models, and breaking down barriers between federal, provincial and private sector stakeholders. Bettina holds a B.Sc. in pharmacy and a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Kentucky, U.S. and an EMBA in Healthcare from the UBC

Mr. Adams is Board Chair of the Best Medicines Coalition, Co-founder, President & CEO of Canadian PKU and Allied Disorders non-profit and Co-Founder and Trustee of the Global Association for PKU. He is a former Chair of the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders.

Mr. Adams is a graduate of York University; worked as a reporter for The Globe and Mail; chief of staff to a Cabinet Minister in Ontario; elected three times to Toronto City Council, serving as Budget Chief and Acting Mayor; and served as a trustee of Canada’s largest hospital, the University Health Network