MGR 2025 Janet Rossant Lecture
Massey Grand Rounds and Massey College invites you to the 2025 Janet Rossant Lecture on “Cancer Care at a Crossroads: Balancing Innovation, Cost, and Equity.” Join us Wednesday, October 8 from 1:00–4:00 pm for talks by Dr. Danielle Rodin (Janet Rossant Lecturer), Dr. Beverley Essue, and Dr. Keith Stewart at Massey College.
About the Janet Rossant Lectureship: The Janet Rossant Lectureship was established in 2018 at Massey College in recognition of Dr. Janet Rossant’s distinguished career as a scientist, scholar, builder and leader in medical research. This, coupled with her dedicated mentorship of young scientists and scholars, is reflected in the purpose of this honour. This honorific Lectureship will attract accomplished visiting scientists to engage graduate students and faculty members alike, as part of the Massey Grand Rounds (MGR) program at Massey College.
Dr. Danielle Rodin, MD, MPH, FRCPC, is a radiation oncologist and Clinician-Scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Associate Professor at the University of Toronto. She directs the Global Cancer Program, co-directs Equity, Diversity, and Professionalism at UTDRO, and focuses on making cancer care more affordable, equitable, and effective worldwide. She holds the Hold ’Em for Life Professorship and a Canadian Cancer Society Emerging Scholar Grant and was a 2017–2018 Harkness Fellow at Harvard.
Agenda:
1:00–1:30 pm – Registration
1:30–1:45 pm – Land Acknowledgement and Introductory Remarks (Dr. James Orbinski, Dr. Aubie Angel, Dr. Peter Lewis)
1:45–3:00 pm – Plenary Talk by Dr. Danielle Rodin
3:00–3:15 pm – Coffee and Cookies
3:15–3:50 pm – Complementary Presentations by Dr. Beverley Essue and Dr. Keith Stewart
3:55–4:00 pm – Closing Remarks
MASSEY MEMBERS: Please login using your registered Massey email to receive applicable discounts and offers.
Speakers
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Danielle RodinRadiation OncologistDanielle Rodin, MD, MPH, FRCPC, is a radiation oncologist and Clinician-Scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PM) and an Associate Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Toronto (UTDRO), with a clinical practice focused on breast cancer and hematologic malignancies. She is Director of the PM Global Cancer Program, co-Director of Equity, Diversity, and Professionalism at UTDRO, and recently completed three terms as an elected member of the Board of Directors for the Union for International Cancer Control in Geneva. Dr. Rodin’s research focuses on the affordability of cancer treatment, reducing disparities in access to cancer services, and improving the quality of life and outcomes of individuals with cancer, both locally and globally. She is supported by the Hold ‘Em for Life Professorship in Cancer Research, a named professorship at the University of Toronto, and the Canadian Cancer Society Emerging Scholar Research Grant for her work leading an international phase II clinical trial of breast cancer reirradiation for recurrent disease. Dr. Rodin received her B.A. (Hons.) from McGill University, her MD from the University of Toronto, and her Master of Public Health from Harvard University. She was the 2017-2018 Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, where she focused on value-based care across international health systems.
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Beverley EssueAssociate Professor of Global Health Systems
Dr. Beverley Essue, PhD, MPH: Beverley Essue is an Associate Professor of Global Health Systems at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Visiting Scientist at the University of Miami, and Honorary Senior Fellow at the George Institute for Global Health, India. A health economist and global health systems researcher, she focuses on financial risk protection, equitable priority setting, and advancing gender and health equity worldwide. Her work spans low-, middle-, and high-income countries and has informed major initiatives including the Disease Control Priorities series, the Lancet Taskforce on Non-Communicable Diseases, and several Lancet Commissions, where she holds leadership and advisory roles. In 2020, she was named to the Canadian Women in Global Health list for her scholarship and leadership.
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Keith Stewart
Dr. Keith Stewart, MD, MB ChB, MBA, FRCPC: Dr. Keith Stewart is Vice President, Cancer and Director of the Princess Margaret Cancer Program at UHN, and Regional Vice-President of the Toronto Central South Regional Cancer Program, Ontario Health. A world-renowned multiple myeloma clinician and researcher, Dr. Stewart returned to UHN from the Mayo Clinic, where he led the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine. At UHN, he previously practiced at Toronto General Hospital and the Princess Margaret, pioneering viral gene therapy clinical trials in Canada and launching the McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine. With more than 25 years of sustained research funding in genomics and multiple myeloma, and leadership of numerous clinical trials, Dr. Stewart now focuses on integrating cancer operations across UHN and advancing patient-centered, digitally enabled care through initiatives such as the Smart Cancer Care Program.
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Janet Rossant
Dr. Janet Rossant, CC, PhD, FRS, FRSC: Dr. Janet Rossant is a world-renowned developmental biologist, Chief of Research Emeritus and Senior Scientist Emeritus at The Hospital for Sick Children, and President and Director of the Gairdner Foundation. A Professor in the Departments of Molecular Genetics, Obstetrics/Gynaecology, and Paediatrics at the University of Toronto, she is internationally recognized for uncovering key genetic mechanisms in early embryo development, including the discovery of trophoblast stem cells. Her pioneering work with embryonic stem cells has advanced understanding of early pregnancy loss and placental development, earning her prestigious honours such as the Canada Gairdner Wightman Award and the CIHR Michael Smith Prize in Health Research.
