Dr Robert James "RJ" Cusimano is a cardiac surgeon at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at the Toronto General Hospital and is a Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto. He is the inaugural holder of the Cynamon Professorship in Cardiovascular Innovation and Education at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre. In addition to his clinical duties, he has been deeply interested in education. He was the programme director of Cardiac surgery at the University of Toronto and at the Royal Collage of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, helped in the development and implementation of the competency, based curriculum now in existence in Canada. He has taught both within the University, Canada and internationally, having either taught or helped in programme development in China, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Europe, and the US. In 2016 he conceived and held the first Toronto Cardiac Tumour Conference, which brings the world's experts in the field of cardiac tumours on a yearly basis. Recently, he conceived, and has been working on the INTERACT project (International Registry to Assess Cardiac Tumours), a global initiative to capture all cardiac tumours in the world. This is a multi-national, multidisciplinary endeavour which will bring centres around the world together to try to improve care and outcome in these very rare tumours. Recently he was in Africa to help develop a plan to harmonize interaction on the continent. Eventually he would like to develop a subspecialty of cardiac surgery in the area of cardiac tumours.

Born and raised in Toronto. Completed undergraduate Honours studies at U of Toronto. Medical school at U of Western Ontario. Family Medicine residency training at McMaster U. Worked as a Family Physician in Hamilton since 1993 until present. Medical Director LTC facility for over 12 yrs and Team Physician in Hamilton for over 25 yrs. Currently attending physician at LTC facility and practicing faculty teaching family physicians in community family practice in Hamilton. Married and a proud father to seven children.

Dr. Abdulazeez Salawu is a Staff Medical Oncologist at Mount Sinai Hospital and Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. He specializes in treatment of sarcoma, gastrointestinal cancers, and peritoneal malignancies. Dr. Salawu’s research focuses on translational oncology and biomarker development, particularly in soft tissue sarcoma (STS). His work explores circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) for detecting molecular residual disease and investigates novel therapies in early-phase clinical trials. He also has a strong interest in representativeness in oncology research and leads the PANORAMA study, evaluating sociodemographic disparities in clinical research and precision oncology. Dr. Salawu completed his specialty training in Medical Oncology at Sheffield, UK, prior to a fellowship in the Toronto Sarcoma Program. He has received multiple awards, including the Novartis Oncology Young Canadian Investigator Award and the ASCO Merit and Young Investigator Awards.

Dr. Geoffrey Watson is a Staff Medical Oncologist and Clinician Teacher at Mount Sinai Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He completed his basic and specialized training in medical oncology in Dublin, Ireland. Dr. Watson joined the Bras Drug Development and Sarcoma Programs at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre as a clinical research fellow in 2019. During this time, he served as the Chief Fellow of the Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology and was awarded with a Hold’em for Life Oncology Clinician Scientist Award in 2019, an ASCO Merit Award in 2020 and 2021 as well as the Novartis Oncology Young Canadian Investigator Award in 2020 and 2021. Dr. Watson has a particular interest in patient education. He has won several awards and grants for his research in this field including an American Association for Cancer Education (AACE) Grant in Research, Education, Advocacy, and Direct Service (READS), the 2023 Rethink Breast Cancer and Pfizer Global Medical Quality Initiative Grant and the 2023 Mount Sinai Hospital Innovation in Education Award.

Dr Breffni Hannon leads the palliative care program at the Princess Margaret and is the Rose Chair in Palliative Medicine and Supportive Care at the University of Toronto. Her research interests include early integrated palliative care for patients with advanced cancer and interventions to assess and respond to caregiver distress.

After qualifying as a registered general nurse with the Mater Hospital Dublin, I worked in various medical, surgical and intensive care roles before completing my post graduate diploma in oncology. I spent 13 years as a surgical oncology co-ordinator, caring for patients with upper GI, pancreatic, hepatobiliary, melanoma and soft tissue sarcoma. I completed my masters in advanced nursing practice and began my current role as advanced nurse practitioner in sarcoma in August 2022 in Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin. I am committed to increasing sarcoma awareness among both health care professionals and the general public and ensuring Irish patients receive quality care that is in line with International best practice.

Dr. Jon Hunter is a Professor at the University of Toronto and holds the Pencer Family Chair in Applied General Psychiatry at the Sinai Health System where he also heads the Psychosocial Team at the Marvelle Koffler Breast Center and works on the Psychiatric Consultation-Liaison team. He has been the consulting psychiatrist to the Sarcoma program for 25 years. His interests include the psychological care of cancer patients, the role of early life experience in adaptation to disease, the role of therapeutic alliance in treatment outcomes, and supporting hospital staff in times of strain.

Dr. Chinenye Iwuji completed her medical training in the United Kingdom. Her first degree in Physiology was from the University of Dundee. She subsequently received her medical degree from the University of Southampton. She completed her MSC and PhD in Oncology courses from the University of Nottingham and the University of Leicester, respectively. Her residency program in Medical Oncology was at the University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL). She is currently a member of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP), a founding member of the British Nigerian Oncology Group (BNOG) and the current President. She is the Head of Medical Oncology at Lakeshore Cancer Center, Nigeria, where she manages all solid tumours and provides palliative/home care services. She has networks locally and globally to promote research opportunities and clinical trials.

Dr. Benjamín Walbaum is a medical oncologist specialized in breast cancer, with a focus on young women and translational research. He leads and collaborates on real-world and genomic studies integrating clinical and molecular data to improve cancer care and inform health policy in Chile and Latin America.