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Manitoba CLL Co-Chairs
Versha Banerji, MD, FRCPC
Associate Professor
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, MB
Dr. Versha Banerji MD FRCPC obtained her MD and residency training in Internal Medicine and Hematology at the University of Manitoba. She then completed a post-doctoral fellowship in translational research at the Harvard Cancer Centre/ Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Broad Institute of MIT. She is a Senior Scientist at the Paul Albrechtsen CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute, Associate Professor at the University of Manitoba, and a Clinician-Scientist at CancerCare Manitoba. She is the inaugural Director of The Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Clinical Care, Education and Translational Research Unit at the University of Manitoba and CCMB and leads clinical trials and population-based treatment studies locally. She manages a multi-disciplinary research team in clinical, fundamental and translational research. Her own laboratory is evaluating novel therapeutics and the impact on mitochondrial function and metabolism. She is also an inaugural awardee of the University of Manitoba Ignite Grant securing over 2.8 Million dollars in funding from University, philanthropic, government and industry partners over the next 3 years.
Carolyn Owen, MD, FRCPC
Associate Professor
Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre
Calgary, AB
Dr. Owen’s previous research has focused largely on the molecular basis of familial MDS and AML and she continues to investigate families with inherited hematological malignancies. Despite her research interest in myeloid neoplasms, her clinical work is focused on lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia and she has a research focus on clinical trials with significant national leadership in CLL clinical trials.