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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.
Planning Committee:
Dr. Alina Gerrie, MD, MPH, FRCPC
Assistant Professor,
Vancouver General Hospital,
University of British Columbia
British Columbia, Canada
Dr. Alina Gerrie joined the Leukemia/BMT Program of BC as an attending physician in January 2013. She completed her medical training at the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto. She then undertook a joint fellowship through the Royal College Clinical Investigator Program with both the Leukemia/BMT Program of BC and the Lymphoma Tumour Group at the BC Cancer Agency from 2010-2012.
She earned a Master’s of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health where her research interests included analyzing the impact of genetic abnormalities on population-level clinical outcomes in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients. Other research interests include the investigation of novel therapeutics for CLL and lymphoma, as well as analyzing the role of stem cell transplantation for Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas.
Christopher Hillis, MD MSc FRCPC
Hematologist, Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre
Associate Professor, Department of Oncology, McMaster University
Vice President of Oncology, Hamilton Health Sciences
Hamilton, ON
Dr. Chris Hillis is a malignant hematologist at the Juravinski Cancer Centre and an Associate Professor in the Department of Oncology at McMaster University. He is currently the Vice President of Oncology at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS), where he leads one of Ontario’s largest integrated cancer programs. Prior to this interim appointment, Dr. Hillis served as Chief of Oncology for HHS.
Dr. Hillis brings a system-level perspective to cancer care, informed by his previous role as Associate Chief Medical Information Officer at HHS and his background in quality improvement, digital transformation, and clinical operations. He completed an MSc in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety and trained as a Quality Scholar with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, grounding his leadership approach in evidence-based improvement science.
Clinically, Dr. Hillis specializes in the care of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). He leads a CIHR-funded research program focused on improving how clinical trial outcomes reflect what truly matters to patients with hematologic malignancies.
Nationally, Dr. Hillis serves as President of the Canadian Hematology Society and has held leadership roles with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and Choosing Wisely Canada. He is widely engaged in advancing guideline development, quality initiatives, and system redesign efforts that strengthen cancer care across Canada.
Dr. Christopher Lemieux, MD, FRCPC
Hematologist, CHU de Québec–Université Laval
Director, CAR-T Program
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, Université Laval
Quebec City, Quebec
Dr. Christopher Lemieux is a hematologist at CHU de Québec–Université Laval, where he serves as Director of the CAR-T cell therapy program and the Hematology Fellowship Program at Université Laval. He completed advanced fellowship training in transplantation and cellular therapy at Stanford University.
In addition to his clinical and academic leadership roles, Dr. Lemieux is a key member of the Québec Immunocellular Therapy Network, contributing to province-wide initiatives aimed at expanding access to advanced immunotherapies. His research focuses on the clinical integration of novel immunotherapeutic strategies for B-cell malignancies, with a particular emphasis on CAR-T cell therapy and other emerging cell-based treatments.
As both a practicing clinician and active researcher, Dr. Lemieux is dedicated to bridging the gap between innovation and patient care—bringing the latest scientific advances in hematologic oncology to the bedside.
Abi Vijenthira
Clinician Investigator
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
Toronto, ON
Abi Vijenthira is a clinician-investigator at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, ON. Her clinical focus is lymphoma with a special interest in CLL. Her research focuses on knowledge synthesis, health outcomes and clinical trials of novel therapies.
Speakers
Dr. Rebecca Dielschneider, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Health Science
Chair, Natural and Social Science Department
Chair, Providence Research Ethics Board
Otterburne, MB
Rebecca Dielschneider (PhD, University of Manitoba and BSc, Dalhousie University) is a highly praised educator, award-winning scholar, and sought-after public speaker. She is an Associate Professor and Department Chair at Providence University College in Otterburne, Manitoba. There, Dr. Dielschneider built an undergraduate science program which includes a General Biology major, Health Science major, and Environmental Science major. She developed and regularly teaches courses in introductory biology, scientific writing and communication, microbiology, immunology, molecular methods, cancer biology, pharmacology, and more. Her research interests span the areas of pedagogy and cancer biology. She is currently involved in projects that investigate inclusive citation in the classroom and the immunobiology of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Alessandra Ferrajoli, M.D.
Professor of Leukemia
Deputy Chair, Department of Leukemia
Associate Medical Director, MD Anderson’s Leukemia Center
Hematologist and Oncologist
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX
Dr. Alessandra Ferrajoli is a professor of Leukemia at MD Anderson. She also serves as Deputy Chair of the Department of Leukemia and the associate medical director of MD Anderson’s Leukemia Center, one of the world’s most recognized treatment centers for leukemia and blood disorders. As an academic hematologist and oncologist, Dr. Ferrajoli’s main areas of interest include the treatment and biology of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and its variants, as well as the treatment of elderly patients with acute and chronic leukemia. She earned her medical degree at the University of Perugia, in Italy, and completed internal medicine residencies at both the University of Perugia and the University of Texas Medical School. She also completed a research clinical immunology and biological therapy fellowship as well as a clinical hematology/oncology fellowship at MD Anderson. Among her many accolades, she has received MD Anderson’s Faculty Achievement Award in Patient Care, and she is a four-time recipient of the institution’s Teacher of the Year Award for her mentorship in the Leukemia Fellowship Program.
Spencer Gibson, Ph.D
Dianne and Irving Kipnes Endowed Chair in Lymphatic Disorders
Professor, Department of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry
Cancer Research Institute of Northern Alberta
University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB
Dr. Gibson graduated from the University of Toronto, where he gained his Ph.D. in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology. During his Ph.D. studies, he travelled to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, as a pre-doctoral fellow where he completed his Ph.D. studies. Dr. Gibson was a post-doctoral fellow at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Gibson was also a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics and the Department of Immunology at the University of Manitoba. Furthermore, he was a Senior Scientist at the CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute (formerly the Manitoba Institute of Cell Biology, MICB) since 1999. At the Research Institute, Dr. Gibson was Director of the Institute, where he contributed to the expansion of the Manitoba Tumor Bank and initiated new translational research projects. At the national level, Dr. Gibson is Prairie Node leader for the Terry Fox Research Institute. Dr. Gibson was recruited to the University of Alberta to be the first Kipnes Endowed Chair in Lymphatic Disorders. The focus of this endowed chair research is to define the signal transduction pathways leading to cell death or survival in lymphedema and cancer. He will also establish a translational research program and lymphedema research network in Alberta to improve the lives of lymphedema patients.
Yale Michaels, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
The University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Yale Michaels is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba and a principal investigator at the Paul Albrechtsen Research Institute CancerCare Manitoba.
Yale obtained a bachelor’s degree in molecular and cellular biology from Harvard University and completed a PhD (DPhil) in Medical Science at Oxford in 2019. From 2019 to 2022, Yale was a Banting and Michael Smith Health Research BC postdoctoral fellow in Professor Peter Zandstra’s lab at the University of British Columbia’s School of Biomedical Engineering. While in the Zandstra lab, he developed a clinically translatable method for differentiating pluripotent stem cells into T cells.
The Michaels lab works to develop safe, effective and accessible cell and gene therapies for cancer and immune disease.
Robert Puckrin
Hematologist and Clinician Investigator,
Arthur Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre Alberta Blood
Marrow Transplant Program
Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Calgary
Calgary, AB
Dr. Robert Puckrin is a Hematologist and Clinician Investigator at the Arthur Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre and Alberta Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, and a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary in Calgary, Canada. Having obtained his medical degree from McGill University, he completed Internal Medicine training at the University of Toronto and subsequent training in Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy at the University of Calgary. His main clinical and research interests are in lymphoma, cellular therapy, clinical trials, and real-world data.