Joy Abbas is a registered nurse with a career spanning over three decades. Beginning her nursing journey in 1986, she has developed extensive patient care and management expertise. With a deep passion for endoscopy—its intricacies and impact—she remains committed to advancing patient support and care. When the opportunity arose to become a Patient GI Navigator, she eagerly accepted, recognizing the critical need for enhanced patient advocacy.
As part of a newly established program within Scarborough Health Network (SHN), covering all three sites, Joy has been instrumental in building, implementing, and improving the patient experience since its launch in late September. Previously, many patients left the endoscopy suites uncertain about their next steps. Now, as their dedicated advocate, she ensures they receive the guidance and support they need—a role she finds incredibly fulfilling.
Beyond her professional life, Joy is deeply devoted to her family. Married for 34 years, she is a proud mother of four. She finds personal joy in baking, gardening, and antique collecting. Her dedication to patient care is further driven by her family’s strong history of colon cancer, having recently lost her 34-year-old nephew to the disease. This personal connection fuels her unwavering commitment to supporting patients, their families, and their loved ones through challenging times.

Eisar completed her undergraduate medical degree at the University of Western Ontario, followed by a residency in General Surgery at the University of Toronto. During her residency, she earned a Master of Science from the U of T’s Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation. Subsequently, she completed a Complex General Surgical Oncology fellowship at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York. She returned to Toronto in 2016 and gained further experience in Hepatobiliary and Acute Care Surgery as a Clinical Associate at St. Joseph’s Health Centre. She expanded and further consolidated her Acute Care Surgery and Surgical Oncology expertise through a series of locum tenens positions in various healthcare settings ranging from northern community hospitals to quaternary care centres. Her academic interests include clinical epidemiology, focusing on quality improvement and knowledge translation. When away from the hospital, she enjoys traveling, hiking and cycling.

Dr. Arash Azin is a surgical oncologist at Trillium Health Partners and an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. He specializes in luminal gastrointestinal cancers, with a focus on minimally invasive surgical approaches.

Dr. Savtaj Brar is a surgical oncologist at Mount Sinai Hospital and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto. Sav is the Program Director of the General Surgery Training Program.

Sav is a graduate of the medical school at the University of Western Ontario and obtained his residency training in General Surgery at the University of Calgary. Following residency, he obtained his MSc in Health Economics, Policy and Management at the London School of Economics and Political Science in London, UK, and was a Research Fellow in Surgical Oncology at the University of Toronto. Sav then completed a two-year Fellowship in Surgical Oncology at the University of Toronto, which included training in gastric cancer surgery at the Cancer Institute Hospital in Tokyo, Japan. His clinical interests include gastric cancer and soft-tissue sarcoma.

Dr. Winson Y. Cheung, MD, MPH, is a senior medical oncologist and real-world data scientist with over 15 years of cancer research experience. He is currently a Full Professor in the Departments of Oncology, Medicine, and Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary, where he is also the Provincial Director and Chair of the Health Services Research and Real-World Evidence (RWE) Generation Program. Dr. Cheung’s main research interests are health outcomes research and RWE generation across all cancer types, including solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. He has cultivated strong and effective partnerships with the public and private sectors. He is the Principal Director of the Oncology Outcomes (O2) Program, which focuses on enriching data sources and leveraging new technologies to facilitate “fit-for-purpose” cancer RWE generation in North America. His track record consists of over 100 invited presentations and over 300 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts in the RWE space as well as more than $20M in competitive research grant funding. He acts as the chief sounding board for projects using cancer data and often serves as the preferred point of first contact for oncology RWE queries in Canada.

Clinician Investigator and Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the University of Toronto; and Affiliate Scientist in Physical Sciences at the Sunnybrook Research Institute.

Dr. Joseph C. Del Paggio is the Chief of the Department of Oncology at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. He completed his Medical Oncology training at the University of Toronto. He is an Associate Professor at NOSM University and serves as the undergraduate co-Chair for the Committee to Support Student Professionalism. His primary treatment focus is on patients with genitourinary, gastrointestinal, head and neck, and central nervous system malignancies.

Dr. Gangi is an Associate Professor of Surgery and the Director of the Gastrointestinal Tumor Program and Cancer Regional Therapies Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. Board-certified in General Surgery and Complex General Surgical Oncology, she also serves as the Program Director for the Complex General Surgical Oncology Fellowship Program.

Her clinical and research expertise focuses on the management of complex gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary malignancies, with a particular emphasis on gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) and metastatic colorectal cancer. Dr. Gangi is currently a co-investigator on two NIH-funded studies: one exploring the implementation of innovative methylated ctDNA technology and another examining the “determinants of liver metastasis” in colon, pancreatic, and prostate cancer. She has also secured Department of Defense (DoD) funding to investigate chemotherapy-induced liver injury in mouse models. Dr. Gangi has authored over 90 peer-reviewed publications and multiple book chapters related to her research. Additionally, she is actively studying the heterogeneity of primary and metastatic GEP-NETs to enhance prognostication and inform therapeutic decision-making.

Robert Grant is an MD/PhD Clinician Investigator at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre specializing in the treatment of biliary and pancreatic cancer, who is also affiliated with the Institute for Medical Science at the University of Toronto, ICES, and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. His research focuses on applying artificial intelligence to clinical and genomic data to improve outcomes for people with cancer. He is currently the Principal Investigator of AIM2REDUCE and Co-Leads the Legresley Biliary Registry and the PanCuRx Translational Research Initiative.

Following her Radiology residency training at the University of Ottawa and Paediatric residency training at Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Dr. Hack completed a fellowship in Woman’s Imaging, Radiology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Body Oncology Imaging, Radiology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, NY. She has experience as an obstetrical rotation supervisor in the Obstetrical Imaging and co-director of the obstetrical ultrasound unit at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and most recently, as an Assistant Professor of radiology at the University of Toronto. Dr. Hack has been published in peer-reviewed journals, is a current Woman and Babies Research Ethics Committee member, and received the 2021 Sustained Contribution to Medical Imaging Undergraduate Education Award and the 2021 Outstanding Teacher Award in the Residency Program.

Zameera received her B.Sc from the University of Toronto in Human Biology and Sociology and her Bachelor of Nursing from Humber (University of New Brunswick). Since 2013, she has worked at Sunnybrook’s Odette Cancer Centre in the ambulatory Oncology clinics with multiple sites and the nurse-led injection clinic.

In 2017, she started working with the Lung and Colorectal Diagnostic Assessment Programs as a Nurse Navigator. She has been in her permanent role with the Colorectal DAP since 2023, with the recent addition of the Anal Squamous Cell Canal Cancer Navigation Program to the DAP roster. She is also currently the Chair for the Odette Nursing Practice Council.

Dr. Ramjeesingh holds an MD and PhD from the University of Toronto and completed residency training in internal medicine and medical oncology through Queen’s University. He then undertook a two-year clinical trial methodology and translational research fellowship with the NCIC Clinical Trials Group at Queen’s. His work focused on the appropriate timing of administration of adjuvant chemotherapy to patients with breast cancer.

Clinical and research interests

Dr. Ramjeesingh focuses his clinical practice on treatment of breast cancer, gastrointestinal cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma, pancreatic and cholangiocarcinomas, and melanoma. His primary research interests include translational and health services research, and oncology education of residents and medical students.

Dr. Shlomovitz attended medical school at the University of Western Ontario. He subsequently completed a hybrid residency in General Surgery and Radiology, including training in Interventional Radiology at the University of Toronto, followed by a fellowship in minimally invasive gastrointestinal surgery and surgical endoscopy at the Oregon Clinic in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Shlomovitz is appointed both as an Interventional Radiologist and a General Surgeon at the University Health Network in Toronto, where he focuses on percutaneous hepatobiliary and oncologic interventions, minimally invasive foregut surgery and surgical flexible endoscopy of the upper and lower GI tracts. He is cross-appointed as Assistant Professor in the Surgery and Medical Imaging Department. His research interests include developing, training and evaluating hybrid therapeutic techniques, including collaborations with the Institute of Image Guided Surgery in Strasbourg, France.

Dr. Cathy Streutker is a leading researcher in gastrointestinal pathology, with a focus on two key areas: the histology of animal models of disease and translational research aimed at improving diagnostic and treatment methods.
In the field of mucosal immunology and gastrointestinal histology, Dr. Streutker specializes in evaluating animal models—primarily mouse models—to advance understanding of disease mechanisms. Recognizing the challenges in this field, including the limited histology expertise among graduate students and the rarity of pathologists dedicated to comparative pathology, she plays a critical role in assessing how well these models replicate human disease. Her work extends beyond statistical data analysis, as she actively identifies areas for refinement to ensure models are as accurate and valuable as possible for biomedical research.
Dr. Streutker is also committed to translational research, focusing on gastrointestinal pathology to drive advancements in patient care. Her recent work has centered on gastric carcinoma, particularly the validation and implementation of HER2 testing in gastric cancer. Following European trial results demonstrating improved survival rates for HER2-amplified gastric cancers, she contributed to the validation of HER2 testing at St. Michael’s Hospital and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. This initiative has since expanded to province-wide testing, enhancing diagnostic accuracy and treatment options for patients.
In addition to her research, Dr. Streutker actively mentors and collaborates with Anatomic Pathology and Gastroenterology residents and fellows, fostering a dynamic learning environment that bridges fundamental research with clinical application.

Dr. Temple earned her undergraduate degree from Memorial University in Newfoundland before attending medical school at the University of Toronto, where she graduated in 2008. She completed her residency in General Surgery and a General Surgical Oncology Fellowship at the University of Toronto.
In 2017, Dr. Temple joined Southlake as a full-time Surgical Oncologist and General Surgeon. She was appointed Chief of Surgery in July 2021 and became Chair of the Physician’s Council in June 2023.
Her main clinical interests include the surgical treatment of melanoma, breast cancer, and gastrointestinal cancers.

Prof. Vogel is a clinician scientist at the rank of a full professor at the University of Toronto, Canada. He is appointed as the Longo Family Chair in Liver Cancer Research and is leading a multi-pronged research program in basic and clinical science at the Toronto General Hospital and the Princess Margarete Cancer Center. Before joining UNH, he worked as senior consultant at Hannover Medical School for more than 20 years and still holds a research position there.

Prof. Vogel’s scientific focus is the translational and clinical research in gastrointestinal cancer. Since 2004, he is leading a translational research group interested in the pathogenesis of hepatobiliary cancers and in precision medicine. Arndt Vogel is a clinical investigator in oncology since 2006 and has served as principal investigator on numerous clinical trials. He is author or co-author of more than 330 articles published in peer-reviewed journals including Lancet, Lancet Oncology, Cancer Cell, and Gastroenterology among others.

Prof. Vogel is member of societies including ESMO, ASCO, and EASL. He is member and chairman of Hepatobiliary Cancer Study Group of the AIO, a collaborative group in clinical oncology in Germany. Within ESMO, he is member of the ESMO Guidelines Steering Committee. He has responsibilities in the establishment of the national guideline and is the coordinator of the ESMO clinical practice guideline on the management of hepatocellular carcinoma and biliary tract cancer.