Andréane Chénier
Dr. Andréane Chénier is a CUPE National Representative specializing in Health and Safety. She assists CUPE members in Ontario with a wide range of occupational health and safety issues. In this role, she presents the public sector worker perspective as a representative on advisory bodies and steering committees within the Provincial government and health and safety associations. Andréane has participated in the research, writing and publication of health and safety tools to help workers find answers to their workplace problems. She has been an invited conference speaker on topics ranging from workplace violence and harassment to working alone, shiftwork to joint health and safety committees and psychosocial hazards. Prior to her work as health and safety specialist, Andréane was a scientific researcher in the health sciences fields of HIV, immunology and cancer metabolism, is a published author and has presented her research at provincial, national and international conferences. She holds a Biochemistry degree and a Masters in Immunology from the University of Ottawa and a doctorate in Biomolecular Sciences from Laurentian University.
Bill Roy
Bill is currently the Director of the Strategy and Integration Branch of the Prevention Office at the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MLTSD). He joined the Ministry in 2004 as a Construction Health and Safety Inspector in Toronto holding several positions in Operations Division including Regional Program Coordinator, Provincial Specialist and Program Manager. Prior to joining the MLTSD, Bill worked in Heavy Civil Construction with Dufferin Construction Company. He held roles in the Quality Control Department and eventually became a Project Engineer.
Christine Williams
Dr. Christine Williams is the Chair of the OCRC Steering Committee. She is Deputy Director of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR), which both performs and enables collaborative cancer research to have global patient impact and bring economic benefit to Ontario. Dr. Williams works with OICR’s executive team and scientific leaders to determine strategic directions and priorities of the Institute’s research programs in adaptive oncology, therapeutic innovation and clinical translation. In her role she also acts as a liaison between the scientific activities of the Institute and its management, including measuring and communicating the impact of OICR research. Dr. Williams is also responsible for developing and maintaining productive relationships with a broad range of provincial, national and international stakeholders including academic, industry and government partners. Dr. Williams received an undergraduate degree in Life Sciences from Queen’s University and a PhD in Immunology from the University of Toronto. She received postdoctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard University where she studied the molecular pathways involved in the development of leukemia and lymphoma in children. Prior to her role at OICR, Dr. Williams had various leadership positions over a decade at the Canadian Cancer Society, most recently as its Chief Mission Officer & Scientific Director, responsible for program delivery, information, policy, advocacy and research activities nationwide. In addition to her role as Deputy Director, OICR, Dr. Williams is involved in many boards and advisory committees, including as past chair of the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance.
Eugene Wen
Dr. Eugene Wen is the Vice President for Group Advanced Analytics at Manulife Financial. He is responsible for supporting Group Functions with advanced analytics, establishing a data scientist team, building a Center of Expertise (CoE) in advanced analytics, providing thought leadership, creating governance and policy frameworks for analytics function and providing research and development (R&D) capabilities to businesses across the company. Prior to his current position at the Manulife Financial, Eugene served as the Vice President and Chief Statistician at the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB) and led the national Health Indicators portfolio at the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). He was trained in both clinical medicine and public health.
France Gagnon
Dr. France Gagnon is Professor and Associate Dean of Research at the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health. She is a scientist with expertise in the field of genetic and epigenetic epidemiology. Her research impacts patient care and population health through a better understanding of human biology in a population-wide context. Dr. Gagnon held a Canada Research Chair in Genetic Epidemiology from 2007-2017. Her highly collaborative research led to the discovery of thrombosis-related genetic and epigenetic biomarkers. Among the several contributions to research capacity building, Dr. Gagnon spearheaded and co-led the interdisciplinary CIHR STAGE (Strategic Training for Advanced Genetic Epidemiology) training program from 2009-2019, Canada’s first formal and comprehensive training program in Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics. Dr. Gagnon has held several leadership positions on national and international steering and advisory committees, including serving as President of the International Genetic Epidemiology Society and Chair of the CIHR Institute of Genetics Research and Priorities Planning committee on Population Genetics, Genetic Epidemiology, and Complex Diseases. Dr. Gagnon has been Reviews Editor for the journal Human Genetics since 2007. She has received awards and recognitions from several organizations, including the International Genetic Epidemiology Society, CIHR, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Gerry LeBlanc
Gerry LeBlanc has been involved with the labour movement in Canada for nearly four decades. All that time was spent as a local union activist or employee of the United Steelworkers (USW). After working in the mining industry in western Canada for twenty years he moved to Toronto to coordinate the Steelworkers Toronto Area Council’s injured Workers Program. This program assisted USW members dealing with workplace injury or illness in areas such as: all levels of appeals with the compensation system, return to work and labour market re-entry. In 2012 he moved to the USW national office to head up the Health, Safety and Environment Department. Gerry has also been involved in international solidarity work in health and safety as well as environmental justice. He has been attending the UN climate changes talks since 2007. He has been involved in health and safety projects with labour and community partners in South America and Southern Africa including serving as a consultant to an occupational health and safety training centre in Maputo, Mozambique from 1993-1995.
Linda Rabeneck
Dr. Linda Rabeneck, a physician, clinician scientist and health care executive, is Vice President, Prevention and Cancer Control at Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario). Dr. Rabeneck is Professor of Medicine and Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, as well as Senior Scientist at IC/ES (formerly the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences) in Toronto. Dr. Rabeneck, whose scholarly work focuses on the evaluation of health care and health system performance, is best-known for her research on colorectal cancer screening. Dr. Rabeneck is the author of over 250 peer-reviewed publications and has made critical research findings that shaped our understanding of the quality and effectiveness of cancer screening. She currently serves as Associate Editor of GASTROENTEROLOGY, from 2013-20 she served as Chair, Colorectal Cancer Screening Committee, World Endoscopy Organization and since 2014 she has served on the Scientific Planning Committee of the International Cancer Screening Network (ICSN). From 2017-19 Dr. Rabeneck served as President, Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.
D. Linn Holness
Dr. D. Linn Holness, MD, MHSc, FCBOM, FRCPC, FFOM(Hon) Dr. Holness graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto in 1977 and has a MHSc from the University of Toronto. She is certified in Occupational Medicine by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and is an Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians of London, UK. Dr. Holness is a Professor Emerita in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is the past Director of the Division of Occupational Medicine in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto and past Chief of the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health at St Michael’s Hospital. She is the Director of the Centre for Research Expertise in Occupational Disease which focuses on common non-malignant occupational diseases. Her research interests in occupational health are broad, covering a variety of topics including occupational disease and its prevention, recognition and reporting, occupational health services and occupational health and safety in the context of specific populations such as vulnerable workers. Her main research has focused on prevention, health care utilization, diagnosis, return to work and outcomes related to occupational skin disease.
Paul Demers
Paul is the Director of the OCRC, as well as a Senior Scientist with Ontario Health and a Professor with the Occupational and Environmental Health Division of the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health. He has a PhD in Epidemiology and an MSc in Industrial Hygiene, both from the University of Washington in Seattle. Paul is internationally recognized for his expertise on the health effects of workplace exposures and has sat on many expert panels, including the International Agency for Research on Cancer working groups that evaluated carcinogens such as dusts and fibres, firefighting and formaldehyde. He has extensive research experience and accomplishments, including his past leadership of "CAREX Canada," a national workplace and environmental exposure program. Over his academic career he has held numerous research grants, supervised many graduate students and has published extensively.
Peter Goodhand
Peter Goodhand is a respected leader in the global health sector as a senior executive and board member in both the philanthropic and health research advancement communities. Goodhand played a key role in the creation of a global alliance to accelerate progress in genomic research and medicine. In June 2013, he was appointed acting Executive Director of the alliance for its critical development phase. Prior to this role, he was the President and CEO of the Canadian Cancer Society - with a strong commitment to the Society’s Research Institute (formerly the National Cancer Institute of Canada) and the strategic development of cancer research in Canada. He was instrumental in the creation of the Occupational Cancer Research Centre (OCRC) and of the Canadian Centre for Applied Research in Cancer Control (ARCC). Before joining the Society, Goodhand had a 20 year career in the global medical technology industry, including strategic marketing roles with multinational healthcare companies such as American Cyanamid and Johnson and Johnson. He served as board Chair and President of Canada’s Medical Device Industry association (MEDEC), chaired the Government of Canada’s Expert Working Group on the future of medical isotope production, and was a member of the Canadian delegation to the UN summit on non-communicable diseases. He is currently Chair of the Board, Health Technology Exchange (Ontario, Canada), Senior Advisor for Research and Policy, Health Charities Coalition of Canada, Board Member, MaRS EXCITE (Excellence in Clinical Innovation and Technology Evaluation), and a National Steering Committee member for CIHR’s SPOR initiative. Goodhand had a 12-year experience as a patient advocate, caregiver and navigator throughout his family’s battle with a rare cancer.
H. Roland Hosein
Dr. Roland Hosein is a native of Trinidad who took his B.Sc and M.Sc degrees at the University of London and completed his Ph.D in Epidemiology at the University of Western Ontario. He did research on the epidemiology of lung diseases at Yale University, and later led a team in Occupational Health for the Government of Alberta. Dr. Hosein started the graduate program in Occupational and Environmental Health with the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto and today maintains a part-time appointment as Adjunct Professor. Dr. Hosein has been either editor or co-editor of several major studies identified with occupational/environmental health hazards. He is holder of the Canadian Standards Association’s (CSA) John Jenkins Award and the Occupational Hygiene Association’s Hugh Nelson Award. Dr. Hosein is the former Vice President of GE Canada, with corporate responsibility for health and environment for Canada. He was Chair of the Canadian Advisory Committee on Environment Management Systems and head of delegation to ISO. He now Chairs the Standards Council of Canada Committee on Nanotechnology and is Head of Delegation to ISO TC 229. He was Chair of the Board of the Institute for Work and Health and member of the Research Advisory Council of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. Dr. Hosein was elected to the CSA Board of Directors in June, 2007 and has been nominated to be Chair of the CSA in 2011.
Tiffany Turnbull
Tiffany Turnbull is currently an Assistant Director in the Operational Policy Branch at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. Current responsibilities include providing policy advice and overseeing policy development in relation to benefits, revenue, and occupational disease. Prior to joining the WSIB, Ms. Turnbull held a number of policy roles across the Ontario Public Service in areas such as municipal finance, housing, consumer protection, and democratic renewal. Most recently Ms. Turnbull supported the Deputy Minister of Policy in Cabinet Office as their executive assistant. Ms. Turnbull received a Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School and an Honours Bachelor degree in Criminology/Psychology from the University of Ottawa. In addition to volunteering with Occupation Cancer Research Centre’s steering committee, Ms. Turnbull is currently the Chair of the Ontario Bar Association’s Workers' Compensation Section Executive.
