The CANADIAN BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION 'ASK AN EXPERT SERIES' proudly presented by CIBC and CTV brings you five of B.C.'s brightest minds in breast cancer and breast health.
View who the EXPERTS are and submit your breast cancer/breast health related questions, then check back here March 5th – 9th, to view each speaker answering the questions on camera.
Each interview is moderated by CTV News at Noon & CTV News at Five anchor Keri Adams.
CBCF Ask an Expert Series will feature the following speakers and topics:
Monday, March 5th - Karen Gelmon - TREATMENT
[Click here to see Dr. Karen Gelmon's biography]
Tuesday, March 6th – Reid Johnson - HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE
[Click here to see Reid Johnson's biography]
Wednesday, March 7th – Carolyn Gotay - PREVENTION
[Click here to see Dr. Carolyn Gotay's biography]
Thursday, March 8th – Paula Gordon - EARLY DETECTION
[Click here to see Dr. Paula Gordon's biography]
Friday, March 9th – Sandra Dunn - RESEARCH
[Click here to see Dr. Sandra Dunn's biography]
See the experts live and in person!
On Monday, March 12, 2012, from 5-7pm, join us for a live event at the CTV studios at the corner of Robson & Burrard, hosted by CTV's Dr. Rhonda Low.
All five of the experts from the Ask an Expert series will be present to take questions from the audience, moderated by The Vancouver Sun Executive Editor Valerie Casselton. Light refreshments will be served.
CBCF website: cbcf.org
CBCF Ask an Expert Series Speaker Bios
DR. PAULA B. GORDON, M.D., F.R.C.P.C.
Dr. Gordon has been practicing advanced breast imaging and intervention in Vancouver for over 25 years.
She is currently Clinical Professor of Radiology at UBC, Medical Director of the Breast Program at BC's Women's Hospital, and Chair of the Academic Committee of the Screening Mammography Program of BC.
She has been the Director of the Mammography Teaching Program at the University of British Columbia and was awarded "Staff Person of the Year" by the residents in recognition of her teaching. She teaches radiology, family practice, and general surgery residents, and has trained five fellows in 6 - 12 month sessions. Two of her former fellows are working as directors in their current positions.
She has been a reviewer for the Mammography Accreditation Program of the Canadian Association of Radiologists. She was a member of the Expert Advisory Committee for the BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre Breast Assessment and Diagnostic Partnership Pilot Program, an advisor to the Lower Mainland Innovation and Integration Fund Breast Clinic Committee and is Chair of the Early Detection Working Group of 2020: The Future Without Breast Cancer, an initiative of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, BC/Yukon Region. This is one of five arms of the 2020 Task Force that was created following a Summit in 2007 at which experts in the field of breast cancer made a commitment to reducint the incidence and life-limiting impact of breast cancer in BC
During her career, she has published 15 articles in peer-reviewed journals, attended over 150 conferences, given over 200 lectures on various aspects of breast diagnosis, and participated as moderator and panel member at international meetings. She is a popular instructor at "Hands-on workshops" where radiologists and surgeons learn how to perform needle biopsies and other procedures with ultrasound guidance.
Dr. Gordon is a reviewer for several medical journals and lectures internationally on various aspects of breast diagnosis. She has a special interest in breast ultrasound and image-guided needle biopsy. In recognition of her achievements, she has been elected Fellow of the Society of Breast Imaging.
Her clinical practice is divided between the Breast Program at BC Women's, the Fairmont "X-ray 505" and the Screening Mammography Program of BC.
Carolyn Gotay, PhD is Professor and Canadian Cancer Society Chair in Cancer Primary Prevention at the University of British Columbia, and she also holds appointments at the BC Cancer Agency. A psychologist, Dr. Gotay has a long career in cancer prevention and control research and leadership experience in community liaison and outreach. She has published more than 100 manuscripts and is currently funded by the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute (CCSRI) and the CIHR. She presently chairs the CCSRI's National Advisory Committee on the Prevention of Cancer, is a member of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer's Primary Prevention Advisory Committee, and is a member of the Quality of Life Committee for the National Cancer Institute of Canada's Clinical Trials Group.
Since coming to UBC in 2008, Dr. Gotay has worked toward building a cancer prevention program that includes research, education, and community outreach. The comprehensive CCS/UBC Cancer Prevention Centre (CPC) will provide an integrated approach to cancer prevention research and practice through the construction of a robust infrastructure and strong connections with academic institutions (in BC and across the country), health care providers, community-based organizations, and policy makers. These activities are significant because they stand to fill gaps where research is currently lacking, provide a model for academic-community partnerships, and, ultimately, reduce preventable cancer deaths in British Columbia. The CPC is currently in Phase II of its development with an expected "official launch" this fall. Several cancer prevention research projects are currently in progress and development. These include a major focus on cancers in the worksite (with projects on identification of worker knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours related to protection from carcinogen exposure, and worksite wellness interventions), risk reduction in women at high risk of breast cancer including shift workers, and community-based efforts to reduce liver cancer in the Chinese Canadian population in the Lower Mainland.
Dr. Gelmon is a Professor of Medicine at the UBC and a Medical Oncologist at the BCCA, combining clinical and translational research. She is Co Chair of the Breast Site Committee for the NCIC Clinical Trials Group and a member of the NCI Breast Steering Committee and of the BIG (Breast International Group) Advisory Group. She sits on the NCIC-CTG IND executive and is a past Chair of this committee. She is also a Komen scholar and member of the Scientific Advisory Council for Komen and Co Chair of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Ontario Institute of Cancer Research. She is Clinical leader of Advanced Therapeutics department at the BCCA. She sits on the International Advisory Board of The Lancet, The Oncologist and Clinical Breast Cancer. She is a reviewer for journals and grant review panels. She has been track chair for Breast at ASCO and is on the Education Committee currently. She is an active teacher interested in education of health care professionals and the public and has published extensively. She has been a member of the Board of the BC Cancer Foundation, on the Medical Advisory Board of the BC/Yukon Chapter of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and sits on the board of Rethink Breast Cancer. She was the recipient of a YWCA Woman of Distinction award in 2003. She is the mother of two daughters and is active on volunteer boards for the arts and community in Vancouver.
Reid Johnson has been President of the Health Sciences Association of BC since April 2007. The union represents more than 17,000 health science professionals in the public health care and community social services sectors in British Columbia.
Johnson earned his Masters of Social Work at UBC and holds a post-masters certificate in family therapy. He has worked in psychiatry, spinal cord and vocational rehabilitation, and in family therapy.
As the union's president, Johnson represents HSA at provincial bargaining. Johnson currently serves on the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation's 2020 Task Force, chairing the task force committee on human resources. He also serves on the boards of Working Enterprises, Shareholder Association for Research and Education, the Technology Education and Careers Council, and Camp Jubilee. He also chairs HSA's Long Term Disability trusts.
Johnson originally joined HSA in 1988 and has been a full-time member of the union since 1990. He joined the Board of Directors in 1997, and previously served as the union's secretary-treasurer, overseeing HSA finances and helping to develop HSA's annual budgets.
He is a vice-president of the BC Federation of Labour, and a member of the executive board of the National Union of Public and General Employees. He serves on the finance committees of both these labour organizations. Johnson lives in Vancouver with his wife Aloha and their four children.
Dr. Sandra Dunn, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, at the University of British Columbia and holds joint academic appoints in the Experimental Medicine and Medical Genetics Programs. Her research portfolio notably focuses on identifying novel cancer therapies for the treatment of cancers that affect women and children. She is a molecular and cellular biologist with 20 years of experience in breast cancer research during which time she has published ~53 peer-reviewed manuscripts. The majority of the publications are on the identification and validation of novel strategies for the treatment of breast cancer. Her laboratory is located on the campus of the BC Children's and BC Women's Hospitals where she also serves as the Director of High Content screening; a program she established to enable researchers to identify novel biomedical targets for therapy. Since joining the faculty at UBC in 2001, she has mentored over 70 students most of which were graduate students who are currently working in medicine, industry or academia. She has had five provisional patents relating to the development of new therapies aimed at reducing drug resistance in cancer.
Her commitment to breast cancer research has been exemplified in multiple grant review panels including the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance, The US Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program, and the Canadian Institute for Health Research to name a few examples. She has also been invited speaker for Breast Cancer Awareness Month on two separate occasions. Dr. Dunn is on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Clinical Oncology and has been called upon as an expert to review for many scientific journals over the years. The national and international community recognizes her expertise as she has been invited to speak on the topic of breast cancer research on multiple occasions. She has also been featured on Joy TV for her translational research in breast cancer. Over the past six years, she has held a constant commitment to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation where she first served as a grant reviewer and then became the Co-chair of the Research Advisory Committee, a member of the BC/Yukon board and a member of the National Grants Steering Committee.
