Dr. Ashamalla obtained his undergraduate Honours degree from the University of Guelph in Biomedical Sciences followed by a Master of Science degree at Queen's University. He then returned to Toronto and completed his medical degree at the University of Toronto. This was followed by a residency in General Surgery also at the University of Toronto. After completing his training in General Surgery, he went on to complete advanced training in Minimally Invasive Surgery. His clinical interest is devoted to Lower Gastrointestinal Surgical Oncology with a clinical focus on the Minimally Invasive approach. He is with the Surgical Oncology team at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in the Odette Cancer Centre with a practice completely devoted to Lower Gastrointestinal Surgical Oncology with focus on the advancement of the Minimally Invasive technique within the field of Surgical Oncology. Dr. Ashamalla also heads up a one-of-a-kind clinic at the Odette Cancer Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre – the Young Adult Colorectal Cancer Clinic - dedicated to serving the needs of the under 50 population, as they face the challenges and concerns related to a colorectal cancer diagnosis.

Dr. Mary Jane Esplen is Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto and therapist in in private practice. She previously held positions as a Clinician- Scientist at University Health Network and Mount Sinai hospital in Toronto. Dr. Esplen founded and led the de Souza Institute – a National Centre of education for oncology health professionals. She held Career Scientist awards from CIHR and NCIC for her psychosocial oncology research, completing studies of psychotherapeutic treatments to support adjustment to being diagnosed with cancer or receiving genetic risk information in breast, colorectal or pancreatic cancer. Other areas of research include studies addressing body image among cancer survivors or the management of grief and loss. Dr. Esplen gives numerous workshops and keynotes and has received several awards, including the lifetime achievement award from Canadian Association Psychosocial Oncology and the Bernard Fox Memorial Award from International Psycho-oncology Society.

Dr. Jason Karamchandani graduated from Harvard College followed by medical school at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he remained for his residency training in anatomic pathology, and then fellowship training in surgical pathology and neuropathology. Dr. Karamchandani went on to practice neuropathology at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, before moving to practice neuropathology full time at the Montreal Neurological Institute. He is currently the Scientific Director of the MNI's Open Science C-BIG Repository and patient registry. He has authored or co-authored over 80 journal articles in peer-reviewed publications as well as 5 book chapters. He is the current president of the Canadian Association of Pathologists.

Dr. Stuart Peacock is Professor and Leslie Diamond Chair in Cancer Survivorship in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University. He is Co-Director of the Canadian Centre for Applied Research in Cancer Control (ARCC), a Distinguished Scientist at BC Cancer, and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Stuart has 30 years of experience in health economics, quality of life research, public engagement, and priority setting in health policy. His interests include developing more effective cancer services, making health system funding decisions fairer and more transparent, and improving the quality of life of cancer patients and survivors.

Steve Slack is a married father of 2 boys aged 18 and 20 years old. Back in 2019, at the age of 46, he went to his family doctor for the first time to complain about symptoms he was experiencing. Unfortunately, he was not referred for a colonoscopy at that time and was misdiagnosed as having food sensitivities. Two years later, with the symptoms worsening, he went back to his family doctor and was referred for a colonoscopy, which uncovered a large tumour in the sigmoid section of his colon. A few days later, an MRI scan confirmed 23 metastatic lesions on his liver as well. He was told that the cancer in his liver was inoperable and incurable. He underwent emergency colon resection surgery, and after recovering from that he began systemic therapy with FOLFIRI and Panitumumab. Six months into that, he had surgery to implant a Hepatic Artery Infusion Pump and then did 6 rounds of HAIP chemo infusions in conjunction with continued systemic therapy. Luckily, the cancer had a great response to the treatments, as the cancer in his liver shrank from 23 metastases to just 1. This set him up to be eligible for a liver transplant, as a potentially curative treatment for his “incurable” cancer. He started the living donor liver transplant process in April 2023. On November 27, 2023, he received a full liver transplant, and in doing so, hopefully removed all cancer from his body for good. Regular scans post-transplant have continued to confirm that he remains in No Evidence of Disease status.

Robby Spring is an experienced professional in health innovation, commercialization, patient engagement, and public affairs, holding a B.Sc. in Medical Biophysics, an M.Sc. in Neuroscience, and an MHSc in Translational Research. Robby has over 15 years of experience across academia, hospital, government, industry and charitable organizations in the health and life sciences sector. Her recent experience as both a breast cancer patient and care partner has enriched her perspective on the healthcare system. Leveraging her professional background and personal insights, Robby is committed to making significant contributions as a consultant focused on patient engagement as well as improving and increasing the adoption of health technologies.