Turn Patient Insights into Stronger Oncology Research Strategies

Angela Marlatt is the Vice President of Mission & Advocacy at Breast Cancer Canada, where she leads initiatives that advance research, elevate advocacy, and expand access to care for patients across the country. With more than 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector, Angela brings deep expertise in public relations and community engagement.

Passionate about addressing disparities and increasing access to innovation, Angela works to ensure that all patients – regardless of background or geography – can benefit from the latest breakthroughs in breast cancer research and treatment.

More information coming soon.

Harriet Patterson, MPH has spent the last 25 years working for patient advocacy organizations focused on engaging and supporting patients coping with cancer and other serious illnesses. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the Gastric Cancer Foundation where she works to accelerate research, engage donors and volunteers, and drive patient empowerment and education programs.

Before that, she served in leadership roles at the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and the National Brain Tumor Society where she had responsibility for building impactful fundraising programs, developing patient education and support programs, engaging patient and volunteer communities, driving collaborations, and managing day to day operations and staff teams across multiple offices. She has conducted patient-centered research and published and presented on issues related to family caregiving, navigating financial challenges of cancer treatment, and identifying emerging holistic needs of cancer patients through program evaluation and needs assessment research.

She began her career working in New York City at the Association to Benefit Children, a large social service provider supporting for children and families impacted by poverty and also spent time overseas focused on global health as a part of Operation Crossroads Africa.

Harriet holds a Master of Public Health with highest honors from the University of Auckland where she was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar and a volunteer for Radio Lollipop. She also holds a Certificate of Nonprofit Management from San Francisco State University and earned her undergraduate degree in history and women’s studies from Princeton University.

Outside of work, she enjoys writing and performing theater, spending time outdoors, improv, volunteering as a Girl Scout leader, and spending time with her husband and young daughter. She is originally from Texas and loves breakfast tacos and bluebonnets.

Dr. Rosalyn Juergens is a medical oncologist, clinical researcher and Professor in the Department of Oncology at McMaster University, specializing in lung cancer. She is recognized for her leadership in clinical research, patient advocacy and efforts to improve access to innovative cancer treatments.
 

Dr. Juergens received her medical degree from Georgetown University and completed her internal medicine residency and fellowship in medical oncology at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institute, with a focus on thoracic malignancies. She also earned a PhD in Clinical Investigation from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She served on the faculty at Johns Hopkins from 2007 to 2010 before joining McMaster University in 2011.
 

Her research focuses on developmental therapeutics, particularly Phase I and II clinical trials, with an emphasis on advancing innovative treatments and expanding patient access to clinical research. She is a member of the Early Therapy Advisory Committee and the Lung Disease Site Group Executive of the Canadian Cancer Trials Group.
 

Dr. Juergens chaired the Lung Cancer Disease Site Team at the Juravinski Cancer Centre from 2013 to 2024 and serves as Head of the Department of Clinical Trials. She is also a member of the Escarpment Cancer Research Institute and the Centre for Discovery and Cancer Research at McMaster University.
 

As President of Lung Cancer Canada, the country’s only national charity focused exclusively on lung cancer, Dr. Juergens provides clinical leadership and champions improvements in lung cancer care across Canada. Having previously chaired the organization’s Medical Advisory Committee, she brings extensive clinical and research expertise to its national advocacy efforts. Her priorities include advancing early detection, improving access to biomarker testing and innovative treatments, strengthening patient and caregiver support, expanding research opportunities, and addressing inequities in care.
 

A dedicated educator, mentor and patient advocate, Dr. Juergens received the 2024 Women in Cancer Mentor of the Year Award and the 2024 Canadian Association of Medical Oncologists Humanitarian Award, recognizing her contributions to mentorship, compassionate care and the lung cancer community.

Antoinette Wozniak, MD, FACP, FASCO serves as LCRF’s Chief Scientific Officer. She previously served as Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh, Leader of the Lung Cancer Disease Center, and the Associate Director for Clinical Research at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was Professor of Oncology and Leader of the Lung Cancer Team and Co-Director of Solid Tumor Oncology at the Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University, in Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Wozniak has more than thirty years’ experience in conducting clinical trials, including national trials from the Southwest Oncology Group, NCI-sponsored studies, and pharmaceutical trials. Her clinical research focus has been in lung cancer, mesothelioma, and thymus gland cancer, and has authored more than 200 publications and abstracts.

In addition to her clinical and research career, Dr. Wozniak has been active in the lung cancer community, serving as an advisor for many organizations such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Southwest Oncology Group, the American Lung Association and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. She and her husband currently split their time between Michigan and Florida.

Dhruba “Dhru” Deb, PhD, serves as the Senior Director of Research & Administration at LCRF. In this role, he leads strategic initiatives spanning research partnerships, mission growth, and research development, with a strong focus on patient impact. Dhru’s research has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals, including Nature Reviews Cancer, Nature Protocols, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Journal of Thoracic Oncology, and Cancer Research. Prior to LCRF, Dhru gained international recognition as a pioneer at the intersection of cancer research and artistic practice, with his work featured in platforms including PNAS (USA), Il Giornale and Le Scienze (Italy), Femme Actuelle (France), Med in Art (Greece), UNAM Global (Mexico), and the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (UK), among others. He has also served as a volunteer section editor for the Leonardo journal (MIT Press) and founded a global interdisciplinary community of researchers, clinicians, patients, artists, and musicians spanning over 17 countries. A proud New Yorker, Dhru practices visual art and lives in Queens with his partner and their dog.