Medical Advisory Board

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Melyssa has been a genetic counsellor at the Zane Cohen Centre for Digestive Diseases since 1998, and the senior genetic counsellor since 2000. The Centre provides clinical counselling and testing for individuals suspected of having a hereditary gas… — Melyssa has been a genetic counsellor at the Zane Cohen Centre for Digestive Diseases since 1998, and the senior genetic counsellor since 2000. The Centre provides clinical counselling and testing for individuals suspected of having a hereditary gastrointestinal cancer syndrome and runs a research Registry, collecting medical and biospecimen information on thousands of patients since 1980 to better understand the causes, treatment and prevention of hereditary cancer.
Melyssa has served on numerous boards for the Ontario Ministry of Health and Cancer Care Ontario to establish criteria for hereditary GI cancer genetic testing and cancer screening for the public health care system in Ontario.
She has a special interest in hereditary stomach cancer and follows individuals and families with stomach cancer from different conditions, such as Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer Syndrome, Lynch syndrome, Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP), Juvenile polyposis and Peutz-Jeghers Syndromes. Her research interests focus on decisions around risk-reducing gastrectomy and adapting after stomach removal.
Melyssa is also an instructor and clinical supervisor for the Master’s level genetic counselling students at the University of Toronto and is a course director for the cancer genetic course for this program.

Melyssa
aronson

Dr. Savtaj Brar is a surgical oncologist at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto and Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto. His clinical focus is in the management of gastric cancer, complex gastrointestinal oncology… — Dr. Savtaj Brar is a surgical oncologist at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto and Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto. His clinical focus is in the management of gastric cancer, complex gastrointestinal oncology, and soft-tissue sarcoma. One of his primary goals is to improve care for patients with gastric cancer.

Dr. Brar has a medical degree from the University of Western Ontario and obtained his MSc in Health Economics, Policy and Management at the The London School of Economics and Political Science - LSE in London, UK. He also completed a two-year Fellowship in Surgical Oncology at the University of Toronto, which included training in gastric cancer surgery at the Cancer Institute Hospital in Tokyo, Japan.

Dr. Savtaj
Brar

Christine Brezden-Masley, MD PhD FRCPC is a practicing Medical Oncologist and the Director of the Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital as well as the Medical Director of Cancer Program for Sinai Health System in Toronto, Canada. Sh… — Christine Brezden-Masley, MD PhD FRCPC is a practicing Medical Oncologist and the Director of the Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital as well as the Medical Director of Cancer Program for Sinai Health System in Toronto, Canada. She obtained her PhD in Medical Biophysics at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto and her Medical Degree from the University of Toronto. She is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto and senior scientist for the same Clinical Research Group at the Lunefeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute for Sinai Health System in Toronto, Canada.
Dr Brezden-Masley is the founder of the COMET (Community Oncologists of Metropolitan Toronto) Clinical Trials Consortium, a web-based virtual network promoting cancer clinical trials throughout the Toronto region. She treats both breast and gastrointestinal (colorectal and gastric cancers) malignancies, which are her major areas of research interest. Her main area of clinical research is cardiotoxicity from cancer therapy and she has been the Co-Chair of the Annual Canadian Cardio-Oncology Network meeting, a collaborative national meeting improving cardiac heath in patients with cancer and is currently the President of the Canadian Cardio-Oncology Network. She is also on the Board of Directors of ReThink Breast Cancer, a national advocacy and support network for young women with breast cancer.

Dr. CHristine
Brezden-Masley, CHAIR

Dr. Natalie Coburn is a surgical oncologist at Sunnybrook’s Odette Cancer Center, and Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto, with a clinical practice completely devoted to Hepato-Pancreatico-Biliary and upper Gastrointestinal cancers. Sh… — Dr. Natalie Coburn is a surgical oncologist at Sunnybrook’s Odette Cancer Center, and Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto, with a clinical practice completely devoted to Hepato-Pancreatico-Biliary and upper Gastrointestinal cancers. She has been on staff at the Odette Cancer Centre since 2004, and has served in many leadership roles including head of the division of general surgery, chief examiner for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada’s surgical oncology fellowship examination, and the Clinical Lead in Patient-Reported Outcomes and Symptom Management at Cancer Care Ontario. She now holds the Sherif and Mary-Lou Hanna Chair in Surgical Oncology Research.
Dr. Coburn’s research is focused on evaluating and improving the outcomes for patients who have gastrointestinal tract cancers.

Dr. Natalie
Coburn, Vice-chair

Howard Lim is a Medical Oncologist at B.C Cancer - Vancouver Centre and Clinical Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. He specializes in gastrointestinal malignancies and is the Residency Training Prog… — Howard Lim is a Medical Oncologist at B.C Cancer - Vancouver Centre and Clinical Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. He specializes in gastrointestinal malignancies and is the Residency Training Program Director. He is also actively involved in clinical trials, ethics and genomic based research.

dr. HOWARD LIM

DR. CHRISTIAN SCHULZ-QUACH

Lorenzo Ferri is the David S. Mulder Chair in Surgery and a Professor in the Departments of Surgery and Oncology at McGill University in Montreal Canada. He is director of the Division of Thoracic Surgery and heads the Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Program at McGill University, one of North America’s largest and most comprehensive. Dr Ferri couples this clinical activity with an active translational and fundamental research program investigating the inflammatory basis of cancer progression and is the recipient of numerous peer review grants, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canadian Cancer Society, and Cancer Research UK. Through this work he has identified the important role of bacterial antigens - pattern recognition proteins (TLRs and NODs) and host neutrophils/Neutrophil Extracellular Traps in propagating cancer dissemination, thus representing a new paradigm in the metastatic process. In addition, Dr Ferri is Work Package leader on a Cancer Research UK Grand Challenge, one of the world’s largest cancer grants (20 million Pounds Sterling), investigating the inflammatory basis of Barrett’s Esophageal Adenocarcinoma.

dr. LORENZO FERRI

Dr. Snow has been a staff Medical Oncologist at the QEII hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia since 2010 and is currently an Associate Professor at in the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie. After pursuing undergraduate training at McGill, she completed h… — Dr. Snow has been a staff Medical Oncologist at the QEII hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia since 2010 and is currently an Associate Professor at in the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie. After pursuing undergraduate training at McGill, she completed her MD, Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology training at Dalhousie. She treats head and neck, thoracic and GI malignancies.
Academically, she has a strong interest in Medical Education, overseeing the Dalhousie Undergraduate Medical Oncology program and contributing to national oncology education initiatives. She participates in clinical research in areas relevant to her treatment sites, and been published in many peer reviewed journals.
Finally, she is involved with patient advocacy serving as a member of the executive committee of the Canadian Gastric Cancer Association, as a medical advisor to My Gut Feeling – Stomach Cancer Foundation of Canada, and as the Vice President of Lung Cancer Canada.

Dr. Stephanie
Snow

Denise Gabrielson is a Registered Dietitian at St. Michael's Hospital. Denise has worked in oncology and hematology for over 10 years and provides nutrition care to inpatients and outpatients receiving treatment for a range of cancers including gast… — Denise Gabrielson is a Registered Dietitian at St. Michael's Hospital. Denise has worked in oncology and hematology for over 10 years and provides nutrition care to inpatients and outpatients receiving treatment for a range of cancers including gastric, colorectal, breast, and lung, as well as hematological cancers. Denise completed her Masters in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto and holds a Practice-based Researcher status appointment with the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital. Research interests include nutrition screening and assessment in oncology to improve identification of nutritional risk and access to nutrition care during cancer treatment. Denise has presented across Canada on the importance of nutrition in gastric cancer.

Denise
Gabrielson

Dr. Terence Lee is a specialist in internal medicine and currently practices in the Greater Toronto Area. He received his MD from McGill University and completed his residency of training in internal medicine at the University of Toronto. He is a cl… — Dr. Terence Lee is a specialist in internal medicine and currently practices in the Greater Toronto Area. He received his MD from McGill University and completed his residency of training in internal medicine at the University of Toronto. He is a clinical associate at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre as well as at the University Health Network. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer in June 2018. His interests include finding ways to improve early diagnosis, access to care, and ongoing nutritional support for patients diagnosed with stomach cancer.

Dr. Terence
Lee