The Canadian Gastric Cancer Association was established in 2018. We are a group of healthcare practitioners and stakeholders who are collectively interested in developing better treatments for gastric cancer through research and improved patient care. Please find descriptions for each of our subcommittees below.
CaGCA Committees
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee is responsible for hosting this website, sending out newsletters to our members, networking with stakeholders, reaching out to new members and hosting bi-annual internal meetings. Members:
Executive Director: Dr. Natalie Coburn (Ontario)
Dr. Savtaj Brar (Ontario)
Dr. Elena Elimova (Ontario)
Dr. Shaila Merchant (Ontario)
Dr. Winson Cheung (Alberta)
Dr. Mai-Kim Gervais (Quebec)
Dr. Trevor Hamilton (British Columbia)
Big Data Committee
The Big Data Committee is responsible for assessing opportunities for Canadian gastric cancer studies and providing relevant commentary on research happenings for our newsletter. Members:
Committee Lead: Dr. Winson Cheung
Dr. Alyson Mahar
Dr. Elena Elimova
Dr. Dan Schiller
Clinical Trials Committee
The Clinical Trials Committee is responsible for assessing opportunities for Canadian gastric cancer clinical trials and providing relevant commentary for our newsletter. Members:
Committee Lead: Dr. Mai-Kim Gervais
Dr. Sean Bennett
Dr. Milton Harry
Dr. Christine Brezden-Masley
Dr. Mark Doherty
Dr. Francis Zih
Dr. Elena Elimova
Dr. Stephanie Snow
Communication Committee
The Communication Committee is responsible for the CaGCA Twitter account, assembling articles for our newsletter, maintaining our website and holding internal meetings. Members:
Committee Lead: Dr. Savtaj Brar
Dr. Huynh Quoc
Victoria Delibasic
Gursharan Sohi
Genetics Committee
The Genetics Committee is responsible for assessing opportunities for Canadian gastric cancer research (specifically pertaining to genetics/hereditary information), and commenting on relevant research in our newsletter. Members:
Committee Lead: Dr. Elena Elimova
Dr. Patrick Roberts
Dr. Lucy Helyer
Patient Education Committee
The Patient Education Committee is responsible for creating and disseminating informational material for patients (i.e.: gastric cancer booklet), creating and updating Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols, as well as maintaining patient educational material on the website. Members:
Committee Lead: Dr. Shaila Merchant
Ekaterina Kosyachova
Teresa Tiano
Dr. Shiva Jayaraman
Dr. Steven MacLellan
Dr. Carmen Mueller
Elaine Avila
Victoria Delibasic
Gursharan Sohi
Anna Van Osch
Tracey Rapier
Provider Education Committee
The Provider Education Committee is responsible for assisting with the organization of the next D2 Gastrectomy course and coordinating the Canadian Surgery Forum annual meeting session. Members:
Committee Lead: Dr. Carolyn Nessim
Dr. Farhana Shariff
Dr. Adam Meneghetti
Dr. Shaqil Kassam
Video Library Committee
The Video Library Committee is responsible for selecting and commenting upon videos which are uploaded to the website, as well as creating/maintaining a library of teaching videos for residents, fellows and staff. Members:
Committee Lead: Dr. Trevor Hamilton
Dr. Andras Fecso
Dr. Cindy Boulanger-Gobeil
Dr. Laz Klein
Dr. Paul James
Dr. Usmaan Hameed