Speakers

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Dr. Scott Berry, Regional Vice President, MHCW Regional Cancer Program, & Chief and Medical Director for Oncology, Trillium Health Partners

Scott is the Regional Vice President, Mississauga Halton Central West Regional Cancer Program, Ontario Health - Cancer Care Ontario and Chief and Medical Director, Carlo Fidani Peel Regional Cancer Centre and the Cancer Program, Trillium Health Partners.  He is an Adjunct Professor of Oncology at Queen’s University

Scott’s clinical specialty is gastrointestinal cancer and he serves as the Co-Chair of the Gastrointestinal Disease Site Group of the Ontario Health - Cancer Care Ontario Program in Evidence- Based Care.

Prior to coming to Trillium Health partners and the Mississauga Halton Central West Regional Cancer Program, he was Professor and Head of the Queen's University Department of Oncology and the Medical Director at the Cancer Centre of Southeastern Ontario at the Kingston Health Sciences Centre from 2019-2023. Scott is also passionate about medical education and is a past Chair of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Specialty Committee for Medical Oncology. While at the University of Toronto, he served as the Program Director for the Medical Oncology Training Program from 2005 to 2017. Additionally, Scott is one of the co-founders of OncologyEducation.com, a comprehensive resource of oncology information that connects a global inter-professional community of healthcare professionals and medical learners.  

Robert Bick, Health Policy Consultant, CanCertainty

Robert is a Health Policy Consultant with extensive public affairs, government relations, payer relations and patient advocacy expertise.  He specializes in advising and assisting clients on strengthening their relationships with government and designing and implementing strategies to see favourable patient access to newly available treatment options and medical devices.

Robert has worked extensively with health industry clients, patient advocacy groups, clinicians, researchers and professional healthcare associations.  Prior to founding his own consulting practice, Robert was a Senior Consultant with ICON/Oxford Outcomes, an international health outcomes research agency.  

Robert is a charter board member of Kidney Cancer Canada, and the co-Lead and co-founder of the CanCertainty Coalition which consists of a coalition of 35 national cancer patient groups and oncology professionals seeking to improve access to cancer treatments in Canada.  

Dr. Leta Forbes, Head, Systemic Therapy, Cancer Care Ontario - Ontario Health

Dr. Sebastien Hotte, Medical Oncologist, Juravinski Cancer Centre; Professor and Head, Division of Medical Oncology, Regional Systemic Therapy Lead, HNHB Cancer Program, Department of Oncology, McMaster University, Co-Chair, GU DSG CCO-PEBC 

Sebastien is currently a Professor in the Department of Oncology of McMaster University and is a staff oncologist and the Clinical and Academic Head of the Division of Medical Oncology at the Juravinski Cancer Centre. He is also a Regional Lead for Systemic Therapy, Ontario Health - Cancer Care Ontario.  

Sebastien's main research interests are in Developmental Therapeutics, especially pertaining to genitourinary (GU) cancers and especially prostate cancer, with clinical interests in GU malignancies. He is the Chair of the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG) GU disease site group and the co-Chair of the Program for Evidence-Based Care GU group.
 

Neil Johnson 

Neil trained and worked as a hospital and community pharmacist prior to completing an MBA degree.  He has served as a health executive in a variety of executive roles spanning clinical, corporate and support portfolios in several academic hospitals.  

Neil also served as a Regional Vice President in Cancer Care Ontario for over a dozen years, first in London and then in Hamilton. He has served in a variety of governance roles in the not-for-profit sector and now serves as a consultant, advisor and coach. He is a Fellow and Past President of the Canadian Society of Healthcare-Systems Pharmacy. 

Neil thrives in roles where he can support teams to enable patients to have a voice in the health system; foster curiosity and creativity; and to c reate an environment where continuous improvement thrives. 

Jennifer Smyth, Director, Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Regional Cancer Program

Jennifer is the Director of the HNHB Regional Cancer Programs and Complex Malignant Hematology at Hamilton Health Sciences, where she provides senior leadership across specialized cancer and hematology services.

She is responsible for advancing strategic priorities, operational excellence, and regional collaboration across multiple clinical programs and sites. 

Jennifer is known for her strong focus on quality improvement, and health system sustainability planning, and for leading complex change in highly specialized healthcare environments through close partnerships across the sector.

Tracey Taylor, Strategic Healthcare Partner, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicines

Tracey brings extensive experience across the Canadian healthcare landscape, having begun her career at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre before transitioning into the pharmaceutical industry, where she has built a distinguished career spanning commercial, medical, and market access functions.

With seventeen years at Johnson & Johnson, Tracey currently partners with institutions and cancer programs across Ontario. In this role, she collaborates with healthcare stakeholders to identify and address system gaps related to the onboarding of novel and complex oncology therapies. Her work focuses on fostering solution-oriented discussions and developing practical opportunities to support healthcare teams in overcoming program constraints and implementation challenges, ultimately enabling timely and effective access to innovative treatments

Moderator: Judith Glennie, President, J.L. Glennie Consulting