Oct 30, 2024
Oral cancer is a serious health problem that can be difficult to detect early. One challenge is accurately assessing the risk of precancerous oral lesions turning into cancer. Currently, doctors rely on a subjective grading system that can vary between different clinicians. A new study has...
Paul G. Walfish was Professor Emeritus of the Departments of Medicine, Paediatrics, Otolaryngology, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at the University of Toronto as well as a Senior Endocrine Consultant to the Head & Neck Oncology Programme and Director of the Alex & Simona Shnaider Research Laboratory in Molecular Oncology within the Mount Sinai Hospital Joseph & Wolf Lebovic Health Complex.
As an internationally recognized Canadian Clinician-Scientist,Dr. Walfish’s research in many aspects of thyroid physiology and pathology resulted in innovative
contributions to the improved management of many thyroid diseases in Canada and worldwide. These include the early detection and treatment of congenital hypothyroidism in newborn infants and the prevention of its mental retardation sequelae, the application of ultrasound and fine needle aspiration biopsy for the early detection of thyroid nodules with cancer as well as the the post-operative measurement of serum thyroglobulin as a valuable biomarker to select those low risk thyroid cancer patients who do not require radioactive iodine therapy. His clinical and basic science research has focused on the application of potential serum and tissue biomarkers in the management of thyroid and many other epithelial cancers.
During his distinguished career, Dr. Walfish received many honors and awards. These included an Award of Merit from the City of Toronto in 1983 for his contributions in establishing newborn screening for congenital hypothyroidism in Metropolitan Toronto and the province of Ontario. Dr. Walfish was elected to Fellowship in The Royal Society of Medicine of England, Endocrinology Section in 1986, appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 1990, and awarded the 125th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation Commemorative Medal in 1992 In 1998, he was selected as the first recipient of the Council Award from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Toronto honouring his contributions in thyroidology which had a significant impact on healthcare delivery in Ontario and world-wide. He also received a 2001 Jonas Salk Prize co-sponsored by the Ontario March of Dimes and Aventis-Pasteur for the elimination of newborn cretinism in Ontario and throughout the world. In 2002, he received a 50th Anniversary Jubilee Medal commemorating the Reign of Queen Elizabeth II. For his outstanding contributions in clinical thyroidology, he presented the 2004 Paul Starr Award Lecture to the American Thyroid Association. In 2007, he was awarded the Canadian Medical Association Medal of Service and presented the American Thyroid Association Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Lecture. In 2008, he was appointed to the Order of Ontario. In 2009, Dr. Walfish received the prestigious American Thyroid Association John B.Stanbury Medal in Thyroid Pathophysiology and was also elected to Fellowship in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences for his outstanding career contributions to the advancement of health care in Canada and abroad.
Dr Ranju Ralhan is the co-inventor of Proteocyte’s biomarker technology. She was formerly Professor in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Co-Director, Alex and Simona Shnaider Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Senior Scientist, Joseph and Mildred Sonshine Family Centre for Head & Neck Diseases, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada. She is a recipient of CIHR Research Chair to advance the development of cancer biomarkers.
She is an internationally recognized pioneer in cancer biology, proteomics, genomics, epigenomics, molecular diagnostics, molecular targeted therapy, cancer stem cells. Dr. Ralhan’s translational research laboratory has made numerous contributions to the understanding of basic mechanisms of head and neck, esophageal and breast carcinogenesis, which have led to discovery of novel predictive, diagnostic and prognostic cancer markers and identified new targets for molecular therapy.
She has received numerous international awards for her work on cancer biomarkers and drug targets.
Dr. Ralhan received her PhD in Medical Biochemistry from University of Delhi, India and was awarded the Fogarty Post-Doctoral Fellowship of National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, US. She has formerly been a Professor at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
K.W. Michael SIU is currently Professor Emeritus, University of Windsor; as well as Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus, York University; among other academic appointments. Professor Siu is recognized globally as a leader in the fundamentals as well as applications in the field of mass spectrometry (MS). He has been elected a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada (1996) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (2009). Professor Siu has received funding and grants from multiple agencies and organizations totalling > CAD 22 million. His main scientific contributions include: 1) Fundamentals of mass spectrometry that includes electrospray ionization mechanisms, gas-phase ion chemistry, collision-induced dissociation, ion mobility, and peptide radical ions; 2) MS instrumentation in collaboration with SCIEX, a major international MS manufacturer, as a part of Siu’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) /SCIEX Industrial Research Chair (1998- 2012) at York University, and 3) Clinical proteomics and bioanalytical chemistry in collaborations with pathologists, surgeons and clinicians at teaching hospitals of the University of Toronto, as well as other institutions. Professor Siu has coauthored more than 290 refereed articles. These publications have led to a distinguished citation record of an h-index of 71, ≥ 14,939 total citations with 9 papers cited ≥ 200 times and 43 papers cited ≥ 100 times. He and his group have given in excess of 510 presentations of which 50% were in the invited, keynote or plenary category. Professor Siu has been active in serving the academic community and holds / has held a number of executive or board positions, including President of the Canadian Society for Mass Spectrometry, Chair/Director of Canadian National Proteomics Network (Canadian HUPO), Director of the international Human Proteome Organization (HUPO), and Academic Consultant, Proteomics Committee of the Chinese Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Chinese Human Proteome Organization (CNHUPO). He is an Associate Editor of Clinical Proteomics; Environment and Health, a journal of the American Chemical Society; as well as Metabolism and Translational Medicine. He has also served on the editorial boards of a number of scientific journals. Professor Siu has supervised the completion of graduate studies for more than 30 doctoral and master students, as well as guided nearly 60 postdoctoral fellows, visiting scholars, and exchange students in scientific research.
As a Senior Executive in the Laboratory Developed Test (LDT) space for several years, Lawrence brings both a depth and breadth of knowledge and experience in the LDT market. Most recently he lead Tempus Health’s global initiatives with his expertise.
A passionate and courageous Sales and Marketing leader with 25+ years of experience in the Canadian medical device industry. Todd has a proven record of achievement in sales, strategic planning and execution and years of success building and leading high-performance teams and developing talent. Todd extensive hands-on experience in an operating room setting with advanced and minimally invasive surgical procedures as well as in GI/endoscopy with companies that include United States Surgical/Auto Suture, Tyco Healthcare, Covidien, Medtronic, AI VALI, Liaison Medical and MDT Surgical. His current focus and passion are supporting companies looking to bring innovative solutions to major markets that support improved diagnosis, treatment and workflow efficiencies.
Dr. Geraci has a very strong academic and research background which includes a Master of Science in Mathematics from the University of Toronto, a Doctor of Philosophy (Mathematical Physics/Applied Mathematics) from the University of Toronto and the University of Southern California as well as several research initiatives, clinical publications, and three post-doctoral awards. He is a leader of innovation with over a decade of experience and success leading artificial intelligence and machine learning development projects. This includes his current role as the Chief Scientific Officer for Nurosene Health as well as technical and creative development of machine intelligence platforms and products for the NetraMark Pharma division.
Paras is a board certified oral and maxillofacial pathologist, who obtained his dental degree from Howard University College of Dentistry and went on to complete his residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology from (Baylor) College of Dentistry. Upon completion of his residency, Dr. Patel took a position at the college of dentistry as a full-time faculty member. After 5 years in academia, he transitioned to private practice and established the Center for Oral Pathology, where he clinically manages patients with a wide variety of oral diseases. He also had the opportunity to continue his practice of surgical pathology in conjunction with ProPath, where he was instrumental in establishing the division of oral and maxillofacial pathology, where he currently serves as director. Dr. Patel also stays active in clinical research involving oral potentially malignant disorders/precancerous lesions and oral cancer.
Mr. Rood brings over 15 years of experience in the U.S. surgical device industry including the dental surgery market with companies like Henry Schein, NuVasive, and most recently, Axogen Inc., successfully contributing to high growth and adoption of their allograft nerve in the U.S. market. He has a proven track record of success in market development, executing commercialization plans as well as facilitating clinical education programs for surgeons across the U.S.
Mark possesses more than 25 years’ experience in the field of healthcare in Canada. His background includes extensive work with innovative medicines, medical devices and genomics. He most recently held the position of Country Manager, Canada for Myriad Genetics Inc. and has spent must of the last 10 years commercializing startups for the Canadian healthcare market.
Dr. Witterick is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at the University of Toronto. He is also the Otolaryngologist-in-Chief, Sinai Health and the Chief of the Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital.
He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Otolaryngology, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
He graduated from medical school at The University of Western Ontario cum laude. He completed the otolaryngology-head & neck surgery residency training program at the University of Toronto followed by two fellowships (head & neck oncology and rhinology). He also completed a Masters in Clinical Epidemiology. He is a graduate of the Program for Chiefs of Clinical Services, Harvard School of Public Health and of the Rotman Advanced Leadership Development Program.
His current research interests include head & neck oncology, rhinology, and skull base surgery. He has published widely in the fields of head & neck oncology, rhinology, and skull base surgery with 111 peer-reviewed publications and 30 book chapters.
He is an associate editor of American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy and sits on the editorial boards of four other journals. He is actively involved in research supervision of graduate students and holds an appointment with the School of Graduate Studies, Institute for Medical Sciences, University of Toronto.
He is a highly regarded teacher, receiving various teaching awards including the Postgraduate Medical Education Program Development and Innovation Award and the Charles Mickle Fellowship Award.
He has received the Educational Excellence Award from the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery and a presidential citation from the American Head & Neck Society.
Dr. Lin joined the Division of Anatomic Pathology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham as an assistant professor. Her research interests focus on cytopathology and head and neck pathology. This includes molecular characterization of thyroid tumors, specifically focusing on the sequencing of cytologic smears.
She earned her medical degree from Augusta University and completed her residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at Rush University Medical Center and a cytopathology fellowship at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Dr. Young is an Assistant Professor and Director of Research in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at UTHealth School of Dentistry. He received his dental degree at the University of Toronto, his doctoral degree in Bioengineering at Rice University, and his medical degree at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. He completed his residency at UTHealth.
His research efforts include the synthesis and characterization of implantable biomaterials designed to elicit in situ cell recruitment and programming. His work includes the use of materials able to simultaneously deliver multiple bioactive factors with distinct release profiles. These constructs have been used in a diverse set of applications such as the promotion of craniofacial bone regeneration and cancer immunotherapy. He has broad experience in the fields of polymer synthesis and characterization, growth factor delivery, in vivo models, characterization of bone and neovascularization, cancer immunotherapy, and implantable therapeutic cancer vaccines. In addition, he is a board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon with significant experience in the treatment and reconstruction of craniomaxillofacial trauma and pathology.
The focus of his current research is to develop novel material-based immunotherapies for the treatment of head and neck cancer and explore mechanisms of how this approach may synergize with other modalities of treatment, such as chemo/radiation therapy. The paradigm of in situ cell programming using biomaterials is also being utilized in separate research projects in collaboration with MIT and Rice University, exploring the use of layer-by-layer technology to deliver bioactive factors for the enhancement of craniofacial bone regeneration and Multidomain Peptides for nerve regeneration. He currently holds the Young OMS Research Professorship.
He is a Fellow of AAOMS, AACMFS, and ACS. In 2020, he received the AAOMS Faculty Educator Development Award, a prize given to only 4 emerging leaders in the specialty each year, for his groundbreaking academic contributions, most notably in biomaterials development for tissue engineering and cancer immunotherapy applications.
He regularly contributes to textbooks, is extensively published in the medical literature, and is invited to speak nationally and internationally on oral cancer-related topics.
Dr. Melville is an Associate Professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at UTHealth School of Dentistry and specializes in oral, head and neck oncology, and microvascular reconstructive surgery. He graduated from University of Michigan School of Dentistry in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2005, and completed a general practice residency at UCSF in 2006. He completed a residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery in 2012, followed by fellowships in oral, head and neck oncology, and microvascular reconstructive surgery at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital. He was appointed UT OMS Internship Director in 2017.
He was awarded the Faculty Educator Development Award (FEDA) in 2019 by AAOMS, an award given to promising young academic surgeons. He was awarded the AAOMS Advocacy Challenge Coin by the Association’s Board of Trustees and Committee on Government Affairs in 2020. AAOMS designed the Challenge Coin to recognize oral and maxillofacial surgeons who have made significant advocacy contributions on behalf of the Association. The AAOMS Challenge Coin is awarded to those elite few who transcend the efforts of their colleagues to further the specialty through advocacy.
He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and a Fellow of AAOMS, the American Academy of Craniomaxillofacial Surgeons, and the American College of Surgeons.
He has written a Springer textbook on maxillofacial reconstruction and contributed to 18 chapters in textbooks concerning oral and maxillofacial surgery, oncology, maxillofacial reconstruction, microvascular reconstruction, and tissue engineering. In addition, he is the author of more than 25 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He is a reviewer for the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, OOOO, Journal of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, and Journal of Tissue Engineering.
Dr. Kademani’s dental, medical degrees and surgical residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery was at the University of Pennsylvania. This was followed by a fellowship in Head and Neck Surgery. He was subsequently Board Certified by the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and has a Certificate of Added Qualification in Head and Neck Oncologic and Reconstructive Surgery. In 2004, he was the recipient of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Faculty Education Development Award.
After the completion of his surgical training, he moved to Minnesota to join the Department of Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester where he was an Assistant Professor. In 2008, he joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota as an Associate Professor in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. He has served on numerous roles including Chairman of the Department of Surgery, Fellowship Director for the Oral/Head and Neck Surgery Program and Chief of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at North Memorial Medical Center. He is currently the Chief of Staff at North Memorial Medical Center.
In 2020, Dr. Kademani received the Committee Person of the Year Award for his participation on AAOMS committees.
Dr. Kademani is a member of numerous professional societies including the American Surgeons and the American Head and Neck Society. In addition to authoring or co-authoring over 100 textbooks, abstracts, chapters, monographs, and publications. He has delivered over 300 invited lectures nationally and internationally on a variety of topics, predominantly in head and neck pathology, oral cancer and reconstructive head and neck surgery.
He has served as President of the Minnesota Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. He has also served on the Examination Committee for the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and was recently elected as Director. He has a number of roles associated with the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, including being appointed as Chair of Committee of Continuing Education and Professional Development, Research Committee and the Committee on Oral/Head and Neck Oncologic and Reconstructive Surgery. With the American Dental Association, he serves on the Clinical and Scientific Affairs Committee. His practice is dedicated to the care of head and neck cancer, oral cancer, salivary gland tumors, thyroid, skull base surgery and reconstructive head and neck surgery, orthognathic, TMJ, sleep apnea and dentoalveolar surgery.
Dr. Fernandes is a Board Certified Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon. He holds dual appointments in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Surgical Oncology at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville. He currently serves as the Chief of Head and Neck Surgery, Director of the Head and Neck/Microvascular Reconstructive Surgery fellowship and Associate Chairman of the Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery.
He received his undergraduate degree in Biology and Doctorate in Dental Medicine from the Goldman School of Dental Medicine, at Boston University. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine and completed residency training in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at UAB. Upon completiong of his residency, he began a 2 year combined Head and Neck Oncology and Microvascular Surgery Fellowship at the University of Maryland College of Medicine.
Dr. Fernandes currently serves as chair of the education committee of the International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. He has lectured extensively both nationally and internationally, and has authored several manuscripts in the areas of head and neck oncology and reconstructive surgery as well as a single author textbook in reconstructive surgery of the head and neck.
Dr. Dierks is a founding partner at Head & Neck Surgical Associates. He earned his medical and dental degrees from the University of Louisville. One of just a handful of American surgeons to be Board Certified in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery as well as Otolaryngology (Head & Neck Surgery), he completed his residency in these specialties in Delaware and in Texas. His surgical practice consists of Head & Neck Cancer and Reconstructive Surgery, Craniomaxillofacial Trauma, Cleft Lip/Palate Surgery, and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery including complex dental implant surgery.
Dr. Dierks is an Affiliate Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at OHSU. He has published over 120 journal articles and book chapters on his various areas of interest and is frequently called upon to lecture both nationally and around the world. He has been invited to teach surgery in India, Europe, Australia and the Middle East and is actively involved in the training of fellows in head & neck surgery, as well as oral and maxillofacial surgery.
Tony currently serves as Chief of the Section of Oral Oncology within the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Medicine and is an academic head and neck surgeon. He directs the Head and Neck Oncology Fellowship Program at UAB and is an Associate Scientist in the Cancer Chemoprevention Program with the UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Morlandt’s clinical and academic focus is helping patients and doctors understand the individual risk of developing oral cancer from common oral precancerous lesions.
Carlo has been serving as Chief Financial Officer of Arista Homes Limited for 14 years and his responsibilities include overseeing the finance, accounting and IT areas, as well as due diligence and analysis of land purchases and various other investments. He has held a variety of Senior Positions in the Accounting and Finance Areas during his professional career. As the Controller and part of the Senior Management Team of a $1 Billion Regional Trust Company, he was part of the team to facilitate the successful sale of the Trust Company to Manulife Financial. He also had a Private Accounting Practice/Consulting firm providing services to Small Business Clients and IT Project Management. He spent 5 years as CFO of an Internet Start-up, which provided innovative finance solutions using the internet in the automotive retail sector. As a Founder and member of the Senior Management Team, he was a key player in taking the company public on the Alberta Ventures Exchange (Now TSX Ventures Exchange). He was responsible for the Finance, Accounting and Administration of the company during his tenure, including a member of the due diligence process for the analysis and purchase of other companies in Canada and the US.
Barrie is a broad-based oral surgeon with an interest in oral disease, cysts, and tumors. He has been in private practice in Newmarket and a Staff surgeon at Southlake Hospital for over 25 years. He is the only dentist in Canada with dual specialty training in both oral surgery and oral pathology. His training includes experience at Toronto General and Toronto Western Hospitals, The Wellesley Hospital, Sick Kids, Sunnybrook Hospital, Odette Cancer Clinic, Princess Margaret Hospital, and the Sunnybrook Interdisciplinary Mouth Clinic.
John has held several positions as CFO including two subsidiaries of US public companies, LandCanada and FNF Canada. In addition, he was the founding CFO of a Canadian financial services technology company that was acquired by Fidelity National Financial, Inc. He started his career in public accounting and has worked with many companies in a variety of industries. With more than 20 years’ experience working with entrepreneurs, he brings a wealth of “hands on” financial and operational experience. He understands what it takes to create and build successful technology businesses. He has a well-rounded business knowledge with specific strengths in start ups, growth and acquisitions strategies, business valuations, and financial management.
David is an internationally renowned expert in oral cancer and oral pathology. After graduating from the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto in 1968 (DDS), he completed a hospital dental internship, a residency in oral pathology/oral medicine and a doctorate in oral pathology in 1978 (PhD). In 1977, he obtained fellowship in oral pathology of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada by examination [FRCD(C)] and, more recently, he also received fellowship in oral medicine of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada. He is Professor Emeritus of Oral Pathology/Oral Medicine and Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto and was formerly Dean of Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Toronto.
Ken is the former Chief of Pathology, Mount Sinai Hospital and Professor emeritus, Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology University of Toronto. He is recognized internationally for leadership in laboratory medicine, biomedical research and practical experience bringing new diagnostic tests into practice. During his time as Head of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, the laboratory became recognized as one of the world’s pioneering groups in innovative laboratory services. Ken and his team were the first in Canada to implement K-Ras mutation testing as a companion diagnostic for colon cancer therapy. The implementation model of this complex testing has been emulated widely across the globe.
Jason is fluent in the field of cell differentiation/signaling and cancer metastasis, with over 10 years of research lab experience. He has overseen multiple research projects including the supervision of graduate/undergraduate students and other lab members, and is the co-inventor of Proteocyte’s first patent for the automated method for assessing oral cancer risk progression. Jason obtained his HBSc in Cell biology, and his MSc and PhD in Cell & Developmental Biology from The University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario.
Steve is currently the MedTech Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Centech. As a Canadian entrepreneur in the biomedical technology industry, he has directed and created several medical device companies, from inception to major financing and public stock offerings. He served as CEO of several medical device companies including CryoCath Technologies, CadrioInsight and Resonant Medical, in addition to advancing new medical devices from R&D to commercialization and global sales marketing.
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