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Dr. Elena Elimova

Dr. Elena Elimova is an Associate Professor within the Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology at the University of Toronto. Dr. Elimova is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology. After completing her undergraduate studies and Masters of Science in Biochemistry at Queen’s University, she earned her medical degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. She completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Ottawa - School of Medicine and a clinical fellowship in medical oncology at the University of Toronto, Canada and subsequently a GI Medical Oncology Fellowship at the MD Anderson Cancer Center where she also worked as a staff physician. The focus of Elena’s research is to improve the outcomes of patients with gastroesophageal malignancies. She has concentrated on database research, translational research and the development of clinical trials. Nationally she is the co-chair of the Esophagogastric disease oriented group with the CCTG. Internationally she is a member of the National Cancer Institute Esophagogastric steering task force.

Dr. Peter van RossumÌý

Peter S.N. van Rossum, MD, PhD, is a Radiation Oncologist and Epidemiologist at Amsterdam UMC, The Netherlands, with aÌýprimary focus on esophageal cancer care and research. He completed his residency in Radiation Oncology at UMC Utrecht, while working as postdoctoral researcher on image-guided individualized treatment for esophageal and lung cancer. He developed further expertise in thoracic radiotherapy through Research fellowships at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston. In 2016, he obtained his PhD degree through his thesis on individualizing multimodality treatment for esophageal cancer at UMC Utrecht. He obtained his postgraduate Master’s degree (cum laude) in Epidemiology. He is board member of the Dutch Platform for Proton Therapy (LPPT), member of the Dutch Upper GI Cancer Group (DUCG) Scientific Council, member of the ESTRO Upper GI Focus group, and founder of the European OligoMetastatic Esophagogastric Cancer (OMEC) consortium.

Dr. Steven LinÌý

Dr. Steven Lin received his medical training in the MD/PhD program at The University of California Irvine Medical School and Residency Training in Radiation Oncology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He is currently a tenured Professor and Director of Research in the Department of Thoracic Radiation Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is a Physician Scientist with joint appointments in the Departments of Radiation Oncology and Experimental Radiation Oncology. Dr. Lin oversees several clinical trials including the use of proton beam therapy for esophageal cancer and in the combination of immunotherapy with radiotherapy in lung and esophageal cancers. Dr. Lin’s lab identifies novel approaches that could enhance radiotherapy and immunotherapy combinations in lung cancer that could be translated to innovative clinical trials. Dr. Lin also directs a translational research team that evaluates biomarkers for early cancer diagnosis and treatment response and disease outcomes after cancer therapy.

Dr. SamuelÌýKlempner

Dr. Klempner is a Associate Professor at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School and leads the gastric and esophageal program. His clinical and translational research is centered on cancer genomics, acquired resistance to targeted therapies and the intersection of genomics and immune mediated therapies to identify novel therapeutic approaches and biomarkers in gastroesophageal cancers.

He serves on the NRG non-colorectal committee, the NCI esophagogastric task force, and the NCCN guideline committees for gastric and esophageal cancers. His work is supported by Stand Up 2 Cancer, NCI/NIH, AACR, and he currently serves as the AGA Research Foundation’s Gastric Cancer Foundation Ben Feinstein Memorial Research Scholar Award in Gastric Cancer.

As a member of the gastrointestinal cancer group at MGH Dr. Klempner conducts clinical trials and translational research with new targeted agents and immune therapies and is active in gastroesophageal cancer advocacy and education.

Dr. Tim UNDERWOODÌý

Tim Underwood is Professor of Gastrointestinal Surgery and co-lead of the Innovation for Translation Research Group (ITRG), Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, UK. His team focus on understanding the clinical and molecular determinants of response to therapy in a range of solid tumours, and the development of new treatments that target the tumour microenvironment, including immunotherapy.ÌýÌýÌý

Tim works nationally on behalf AUGIS and the Royal College of Surgeons of England as Surgical Specialty Lead for oesophageal cancer for the UK and is Honorary Secretary of the Surgical Research Society.Ìý

Dr. Mark van Berge HenegouwenÌý

Dr. Mark van Berge Henegouwen, received his MD and PhD at the University of Amsterdam. He performed his fellowship in gastrointestinal, upper GIand minimally invasive surgery at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam where he started as senior consultant in 2006.Ìý

Mark van Berge Henegouwen’ s clinical practice is dedicated to patients with malignancies of the esophagus and stomach. The Amsterdam UMC is a tertiary referral center for these patients with around 250 esophago-gastric resections annually. Mark van Berge Henegouwen has introduced minimally invasive surgery for esophageal and gastric cancer at his center in 2009 and now around 90percentof patients is treated thoraco-laparoscopically or robotically.ÌýÌý

Mark van Berge Henegouwen is a Principal Investigator in upper GI cancer Surgery and main research activities are focused on improvement of outcomes in upper GI cancer surgery, outcomes and centralization in the Dutch Upper GI Cancer Audit, improvement of (minimally invasive and robotic)techniques, neoadjuvant treatment regimens in esophageal and gastric cancer, imaging techniques and quality of life in upper GI cancer surgery. He is author of more than 10 book chapters and over 425 peer reviewed publications in these subjects.Ìý

Dr. Prasad IyerÌý

Dr. Prasad Iyer attended medical school at All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India. He completed his residency at the University of Wisconsin Medical School in Milwaukee, WI, and his GI Fellowship at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, where he also completed a Postdoctoral master’s degree in clinical research. Dr. Iyer is currently Professor and Chair of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Mayo Clinic Arizona. He also directs the Clinical Trialist Training Program and is the Medical Director of the Mayo Hub of the Trial Innovation Network in the Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences at Mayo Clinic. He is an expert in the recognition and endoscopic therapy of Barrett’s esophagus and early esophageal cancer. His research program is focused on the early detection of esophageal cancer and its precursors such as Barrett’s Esophagus and Squamous Dysplasia using novel non-endoscopic biomarker and molecular approaches, using clinical trials and artificial intelligence-powered approaches. His research program is funded by the National Cancer Institute, the Department of Defense and several Industry grants.Ìý

Dr. Sheraz MarkarÌýÌý

Sheraz is an Associate Professor and Director of Surgical Interventional Trials Unit, Nuffield Department of Surgery, University of Oxford and Consultant Oesophago-Gastric Surgeon.Ìý

He undertook his academic and surgical training in Cambridge, London, Seattle, Stockholm and Oxford, including NIHR Doctoral Research & Clinical Trials Fellowship and NIHR Academic Clinical Lectureship. He has completed two PhD degrees, at Imperial College London developing a breath test for oesophago-gastric cancer and at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, concerning complex statistical modelling of surgical outcomes from oesophagectomy. He has a strong academic and clinical interest in the management of benign and malignant upper gastrointestinal disease, with over 300 publications. He is a member and chair of several surgical committees including European Association of Endoscopic Surgery and European Society for Diseases of the Esophagus and has received several research awards including the Royal College of Surgeons Hunterian Professorship 2020 andÌýUnited European Gastroenterology Rising Star 2019.Ìý

Dr. Wayne HofstetterÌý

Wayne L. Hofstetter, M.D., is currently Professor and Deputy Chair in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and serves as Director of the Esophageal Surgery Program. A graduate of the University of Southern California Medical School, Dr. Hofstetter focused on thoracic surgical disease, completing fellowships in esophageal and foregut surgeries at the University of Southern California, and then thoracic oncology at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Broadly trained as a cardiothoracic surgeon and thoracic oncologist at the Texas Heart Institute, he now devotes a great deal of his work to esophageal cancer and lung cancer. At M.D. Anderson, he formed a strong network of clinicians with specific interests in esophageal diseases. A multidisciplinary group emerged under his leadership, and together, physicians from the other specialties like Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, and Gastroenterology collaborate closely to treat esophageal cancer patients.Ìý

Board certified both by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, Dr. Hofstetter is nationally and internationally involved in a host of clinical and scientific endeavors with membership in several organizations, the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, the General Thoracic Surgical Club, the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, including the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. His research, which forms a vital part of his academic role, has led to numerous peer-reviewed publications, notably in such journals as the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Annals of Thoracic Surgery, and Cancer.Ìý

Dr. Jonathan YeungÌý

Dr. Jonathan Yeung is Assistant Professor in the Division of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Toronto and Director of the Thoracic Foregut Surgery Program at the University Health Network in Toronto. Following residency in General and Thoracic Surgery in Toronto, he pursued fellowship training in Lung Transplantation in Toronto and Surgical Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. His clinical practice covers general thoracic surgery and lung transplantation with an additional focus on foregut surgery. He is an Affiliate Scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute and his lab focuses on improving the personalized care of esophageal cancer using patient-derived organoids, genomics, and liquid biopsy technologies.Ìý

Katy Kosyachkova

Katy is a 13 year stomach cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2011 when she was 21 years old. She underwent a total gastrectomy with both chemotherapy and radiation (Macdonald Protocol). At the time of her diagnosis there were no stomach cancer organizations in Canada. Frustrated by the lack of support, Katy reached out to others virtually. Her pursuits to help others led her to find Teresa. My Gut Feeling originated through their ongoing peer-to peer support.

Katy is a Physician Assistant in Toronto, she holds an Honours BSc in Health Sciences and Psychology. She has volunteered with multiple cancer organizations including the Canadian Cancer Society, Gilda's Club and Trillium Hospital Mississauga Cancer Centre. Her cancer experiences allow her to relate to her patients and provide patient-centered care.

Teresa TianoÌý

Teresa is an eleven-year stomach cancer survivor, and a 5-time cancer survivor. She also Has Lynch Syndrome which puts her at high risk for many types of cancer. When she was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2011, it was her second cancer diagnosis. Teresa had a laparoscopic subtotal gastrectomy followed by chemo and radiation. Teresa has over 20 years of experience in the non-for-profit world, and 14 years of governance and administrative experience in the cancer sector directly. She has volunteered at St. Michael's Hospital, Carmelina's Home, and Caritas.
Teresa sits on patient advocacy teams for various national and international research projects. Her volunteer work with My Gut Feeling allows her to support patients so that no-one has to go through the journey alone.
Teresa holds an Honours BA in History and Literature from the University of Toronto. She is married and lives with her husband in Toronto.