Danielle Cameron

Patient Scholar

Danielle Cameron is the Founder and President of the IBC Network Foundation Canada, the country's only charity dedicated exclusively to inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). Diagnosed with IBC in 2019, and living with stage IV disease as a mother of three, she brings a dual lens of lived experience and organizational leadership to her advocacy.

Danielle's work focuses on closing gaps in IBC awareness, diagnosis, and access to evidence-based care. She provides education for healthcare teams across Canada and works with clinical experts to develop provider and patient facing resources, and to support research and quality improvement efforts related to IBC.

She is a patient partner and advisor on several projects, including qualitative research on cancer care experiences at Humber River Health and McGill's ICSP Patient Mentorship Program, where she mentors trainees on integrating patient voice into research. She has presented at national and international conferences.

Danielle is particularly interested in how patient–researcher partnerships, immunotherapy, and translational science can improve outcomes for people with rare and aggressive breast cancers, and ensure that patient reported experiences meaningfully inform research priorities and health system change in Canada.

Romita Choudhury

Patient Scholar

Romita Choudhury is a breast cancer survivor, who is a strong advocate of patient engagement in cancer research. Romita has participated in and led qualitative research projects aimed at understanding patient experience. She believes that patient narratives offer important insights that, when heard and acted upon, can lead to remarkable improvements in the delivery of targeted and coordinated care. Her main areas of interest in health research are patient education, health literacy, gender, culture, and communication. She has led patient engagement research projects in breast cancer education, younger women’s experience with chest pain, adolescents recovering from mTBI, and partnered in a study on navigational challenges of MSK patients. She has presented at several conferences, such as the Qualitative Health Research Conference, SPOR Summer Institute, Canadian Anthropological Society Annual Conference, and the Health Quality and Safety Summit. She has published original research papers in peer-reviewed healthcare journals. Romita is also an instructor at Athabasca University, where she teaches courses in literature and cultural studies. Her research in oral testimony, witness narratives, race, class, and multiculturalism has been a significant contributor to her work in health research and working with other patients. Romita volunteers with the Imagine Citizens Network, an Alberta-based collaboration to bring citizen voices to the healthcare system and is also a participating member of the Health Equity Hub at the University of Calgary.

Marlo Edwards

Patient Scholar

I am a professor in the Department of Communications at Okanagan College in Kelowna, BC, where I teach media studies, cultural theory, and professional communications. I feel so lucky to have spent the past twenty years engaging with students on these fascinating topics!

Five years ago, at 49 years of age, I was diagnosed with locally advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Since then I've had a range of treatments in BC and the US—including systemic chemotherapy, HAIP treatment (at OHSU in Portland OR), two liver resections, and immunotherapy. Thanks to these interventions and my amazing healthcare team, I am currently NED.

As a communications specialist, I both experienced and analyzed this cancer journey. I now serve as a Patient Partner with BC Cancer's Patient & Family Experience program and with Health Quality BC's Patient Voices Network. For the 2026-2027 academic year, I will undertake a collaborative research project with BC Cancer, using digital storytelling to co-create culturally safe, accessible resources with diverse cancer patients. My work will focus on critical communication gaps in three areas: diagnosis delivery, patient advocacy support, and treatment/symptom information. Key goals of the project are to help translate complex health information for diverse audiences and create pathways for patient knowledge to inform institutional practice. I look forward to learning and building community at the BioCanRx Institute!

Summer Konechny

Patient Scholar

Summer is a 26-year-old writer, AYA cancer advocate, and stage four osteosarcoma cancer survivor living in Vancouver, Canada.

She was diagnosed initially in early 2022, and underwent ten rounds of inpatient chemotherapy and a complicated limb salvaging surgery on her left leg. In late 2024, she was diagnosed again with a recurrence to both lungs, and faced two thoracic surgeries, only to be met with another recurrence in late 2025.

When she's not busy keeping her cancer at bay, Summer spends her time collaborating with the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network as a member of their precision medicine patient working group. She can also be found working with the Terry Fox Foundation, with the BC Cancer Patient & Family Partnerships program, or on various other research projects. She has special interests in AYA cancer, survivorship, sarcoma and precision medicine, and prides herself on being unapologetically loud about her cancer experience, often using humour and creativity to cope. Outside of the cancer world, Summer enjoys baking, painting, gardening, and spending time with her partner and their two cats.

Jocelyn Laidlaw

Patient Scholar

For more than three decades, Jocelyn Laidlaw has been a trusted voice in the Canadian news landscape, as a reporter, producer and anchor. In 2003, Jocelyn moved from BC to Calgary to anchor the CTV News at Noon and 5. She remained on the anchor desk for 21 years, guiding Southern Albertans through some of the biggest stories in the region's history.

In September 2022, Jocelyn was diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer. She underwent radiation and chemotherapy and continues her cancer journey through rigorous monitoring.

Named the National Ambassador for Colorectal Cancer Canada in 2024, she joined the Board of CCC in late 2025. She is an advocate for CRC awareness, screening and early detection, sharing her journey publically through social media and interviews across the country. She uses her experience to encourage Canadians to be strong advocates for their own health.

Timothy Lee

Academic Scholar

Hi there, my name is Tim, and I'm honoured to be one of the academic scholars for the 2026 Summit for Cancer Immunotherapy! I'm a PhD Candidate currently working with Dr. Carolina Ilkow and Dr. John Bell at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. With their help, I'm working on creating new cancer therapies combining cancer-killing viruses with mRNA technologies. Taking the best of both worlds, we can have the targeting of cancer killing viruses with the proven safety of mRNA. I've always believed that knowledge exists to be shared. From leading tours of the lab I work in, to teaching high school children immunology in week-long intensive courses, I've always relished the opportunity to share the work that I and other researchers and trainees perform! I also believe that every individual has something to share, whether that be advice, a lesson, or even just a story. The myriad perspectives offered from those in my community have always been a guiding hand in shaping my career in science, and I can't wait to learn alongside my patient buddy at the Summit4CI conference! It's going to be a unique chance to form connections and gain perspectives from important voices in a way that many researchers don't get the opportunity to do, and I'm looking forward to sharing both what I know, and what I learn from this conference!

Olivia Makinson

Academic Scholar

Olivia Makinson is a PhD candidate in Microbiology and Immunology at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, in the lab of Dr. Michele Ardolino. In her work, she studies Natural Killer (NK) cells, a type of immune cell that is critical to the anti-tumor response. NK cells can express the protein PD-L1, which is a protein often found on tumors. PD-L1 helps tumors survive, and immunotherapies used in the clinic successfully block it to shrink tumors. Olivia's work shows that on NK cells, PD-L1 is a good thing, and that it makes them better tumor-killers. Her work suggests that we can use immunotherapy for a double effect, to block PD-L1 on tumors and shrink them, and to activate PD-L1 on NK cells and help them kill tumors.

Olivia is from Montreal and did her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at McGill University. She is passionate about science communication and has helped coordinate the Let's Talk Cancer event at UOttawa for the past 4 years, which brings over one hundred high school students to the university for a symposium to learn about cancer biology and therapies. Outside of the lab, she loves to cook and bake, and has been playing rugby competitively for over 10 years!

Alexandria McRorie

Academic Scholar

Alexandria is a Métis graduate researcher and MSc candidate in Epidemiology at the University of Ottawa, supervised by Dr. Manoj Lalu and Dr. Dean Fergusson. Her research focuses on improving Indigenous representation and engagement in cancer clinical trials, with a particular focus on cell-based immunotherapies. By integrating Indigenous research methodologies alongside systematic reviews, her work seeks to inform best practices in patient-oriented clinical trials and promote more equitable, culturally safe cancer research. As part of her master's work, Alex established an advisory panel of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis patient partners and advisors with lived experience, cultural knowledge, and professional expertise in Indigenous health and clinical research. The panel collaborates on study design, data interpretation, and the co-creation of plain-language summaries and community presentations, helping to keep the research grounded in patient priorities and lived realities. She has also worked with Indigenous advisors through the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer to identify best practices for engaging FNIM stakeholders in patient and family advisory committees. Alex is passionate about knowledge translation and science communication, having shared her work at national cancer research conferences and through community presentations. She is dedicated to strengthening partnerships between patients, researchers, and communities and aims to build a career centered on culturally responsive, patient-oriented cancer research.

Liam Mitchell

Academic Scholar

I recently graduated from the University of Victoria with a degree in Biochemistry and a minor in Business. I now work at BC Cancer, where I support the pre-clinical development of CAR-T cell therapies targeting solid tumors such as pancreatic and ovarian cancers. My role allows me to contribute to early-stage research that I hope will one day make a meaningful difference for patients and their families.

My interest in joining the BioCanRx Cancer Community Partnership Learning Institute is shaped not only by my scientific work, but also by personal experience. Having a close family member navigate cancer care has strengthened my appreciation for patient voices and the importance of research that reflects their needs. Through this program, I hope to learn from the community and contribute to more compassionate, patient-informed approaches in cancer research.

Outside the lab, I love spending time outdoors, especially backcountry camping with friends. Staying active is a big part of my life, and I enjoy working out and playing a variety of sports. I’m excited to continue growing as a researcher and community partner within the cancer care landscape.

Bita Mojtahedzadeh

Academic Scholar

I am a graduate student in the Experimental Medicine program at the University of British Columbia, conducting my research in the Cox Laboratory at the Vancouver Prostate Centre. My work focuses on defining the cellular landscape of prostate cancer bone metastases by examining the distribution and density of immune, cancer, and bone cells within the bone–tumor microenvironment. I am also investigating whether distinct prostate cancer phenotypes give rise to different patterns of bone pathology. Building on these findings, my research explores the bidirectional interactions between prostate cancer cells and osteoblasts to better understand how tumor phenotype shapes bone remodeling—and how bone cells may, in turn, influence tumor behavior. Ultimately, my work aims to deepen our understanding of the heterogeneity of prostate cancer bone metastases and the surrounding tumor microenvironment, with the goal of informing more effective therapeutic strategies for patients with advanced metastatic disease. Beyond the lab, I am passionate about literature and art, and I enjoy bringing these interests into my academic life. I volunteer in literacy programs and tutoring, and I seek opportunities to blend creativity with science through figure design, illustration, and science communication.

Sadhana Rithi Narayanan Sudhakar

Academic Scholar

Sadhana Rithi Narayanan Sudhakar is a Research Technician in Dr. Yale Michaels' lab at the Paul Albrechtsen Research Institute, CancerCare Manitoba. She completed her Master's in Biochemistry and Medical Genetics at the University of Manitoba and holds a Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Sciences with honors in Human Genetics from Sri Ramachandra University, India. Sadhana's research focuses on developing tools to improve immune-based cancer treatments, such as T cell therapies, and make them effective for patients. She is particularly passionate about leukemia research and is interested in how new technologies can be used to better understand cancer and design more effective treatments. Driven by curiosity and a strong desire to bridge science and patient care, Sadhana strives to make research more meaningful and accessible to those it aims to help. Outside the lab, she enjoys cooking, dancing, and singing, finding creativity and joy both in and beyond science.

Anna Rychtera

Patient Scholar

I am a retired Health Sciences College Educator, former Clinician (Nurse Practitioner) and Holistic Health Practitioner. I have experience working in rural and remote areas (Nunavut) and in a variety of settings and diverse cultures in Europe and US. I am an immigrant and a proud mother of two beautiful (adult) children.

My lived experience as a cancer patient and survivor (acute, chemotherapy and immunotherapy Tx, after surgery), living now with a chronic form of NHL and chronic nerve pain (after a sports injury and delayed surgery), taught me the importance of being an informed patient and an equal partner in health care and decision making. I was a long-time volunteer facilitator and Health Coach for UVic's self-management programs and still am a “First Link” Peer Support for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

My engagement with the BC SUPPORT Unit and CIHR started more than 12 years ago as a co-facilitator for the CIHR pilot program for SPOR (Strategy for Patient Oriented Research) and later publication of “Co-building a patient-oriented research curriculum.” I have had opportunities to work closely with CIHR and many health researchers to participate not only as a study participant but also as a research partner in prestigious projects that impact the future of research in Canada and influence heath care praxis and policy, but first and foremost patient outcomes.

My interest is in advancing health research; improving health outcomes for people; and achieving equity, diversity, and inclusion for all. I am actively involved in a few different research projects as collaborator and a co-author on a few publications. Besides being the co-chair for the Patient Advisory Council for the RePORT , I was co-chair of SPENCoP (SPOR Patient Engagement National Community of Practice), a member of the BC SUPPORT Unit Advisory Committee, the Research Ethics BC Advisory Council and Legacy for Airway Health, Clinical Trials BC Covid 19 Clinical Trials Coordination Initiative (recipient of the Service and Support award 2022), and a former member of Health Services and Population Health Standing Committee Member, Ministry of Health.

Zoha Shehzad

Academic Scholar

My name is Zoha Shehzad, and I am a 1st-year MSc student in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, affiliated with the Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute and the Riddell Centre for Cancer Immunotherapies at the University of Calgary. I completed a Bachelor of Health Sciences in Biomedical Sciences, which sparked my interest in cancer research and research translation. My current research focuses on understanding how pediatric high-grade gliomas, a deadly type of brain cancer in children, interact with immune cells and how these interactions help promote the maintenance of this cancer. Through my research, I aim to identify specific interaction molecules that can be targeted as a potential treatment for this cancer, thereby enhancing the ability of immune cells to effectively kill the cancer. As a researcher, I am excited to work alongside patient-partners to identify gaps in research translation and integrate patient perspectives into cancer research.

David Spence

Patient Scholar

Alberta Health Services since 2018, with the University of Calgary since 2024, and joined a patient engagement program with NAIT in Edmonton in 2025.

David is in his second year with the Co-Mentorship program at the University of Calgary’s Riddel Centre for Immunology. He joined the pilot program in 2024, teamed up with a PhD candidate researching immunotherapy for Colorectal Cancer. This year, David is mentoring a trainee researching immunotherapy for leukemia. In early 2025, David joined a team of researchers at the U of C’s Cumming School of Medicine, conducting a longterm study into nature-based interventions in cancer treatment.

In addition to providing the patient perspective to researchers at the University of Calgary. David speaks to students at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton, again providing the patient perspective to their studies.

Outside of academic activities, David volunteers his time as a patient and family advisor with Cancer Care Alberta and Primary Care Alberta. Among many roles, David is a patient advisor on the Alberta Colorectal Cancer Screening Program Advisory Committee, and on the Quality and Safety Committee for Cancer Care Alberta.

In 2021, David retired after nearly 40 years as a broadcast meteorologist with CTV Calgary, where he developed his skills for translating scientific information into lay language – skills he applies to his work in patient engagement

Marcus Spinelli

Patient Scholar

My name is Marcus Spinelli, I’m 27, and I’m a lab technician in a cancer research lab at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. However, when I was 24 my life completely changed as I was diagnosed with stage 4 unclassified lymphoma with characteristics of both Hodgkins lymphoma and diffuse b-cell lymphoma. Suddenly, I went from a cancer researcher to a cancer patient. After extensive rounds of chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant, and radiation, I’m thankful to say that I have now been in remission for two years. My experience with cancer has forever changed my life. As I navigate my days going forward, I've noticed I have a new outlook on life, and a new perspective on cancer research when I go into work. I’m excited to be a patient scholar at the learning institute at the upcoming BioCanRx Summit4CI to be able to share my unique experience with fellow patients and researchers alike. During my time here I’m hoping to be a bridge between these two groups, to help other patients understand cancer biology, and introduce other researchers to the real people that their work helps. There’s a lot we can learn from each other and I’m happy to be a part of it!

Cassie Wood

Academic Scholar

Cassie is a second-year PhD student in Immunology at the University of Calgary and a trainee of the Riddell Centre for Cancer Immunotherapy. She completed her honours undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences (BHSc) at the University of Calgary, where she first discovered her interest in immunology. Cassie now studies how certain immune cells can be trained to more effectively identify and target cancer. Her goal is to design improved cell-based therapies that enhance the immune system's response to solid tumours.

Alongside her research, Cassie is deeply committed to science communication, mentorship, and community engagement. She has worked closely with undergraduate and high school students through the University of Calgary's Women in Science and Engineering Club, Let's Talk Science, and Youreka Calgary, an eight-week research course that introduces young learners to scientific inquiry. She also takes part in public outreach events designed to make cancer biology and immunotherapy more accessible to non-scientists.

Cassie is passionate about bridging laboratory research with lived experience and hopes to build a career that combines scientific discovery, education, and patient-engaged research. Beyond the lab, she is an avid reader and writer with a love for science fiction and fantasy, and spends her free time training in trampoline gymnastics.