Unlocking the Promise of Cell and Gene Therapies in Canada Through Translational Research: Making Evidence Where It Matters

Amélie Quesnel-Vallée is Inaugural Chair and Professor in the Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences) and a Professor in the Department of Sociology (Faculty of Arts) at McGill University. From 2015 to 2025 she held the Canada Research Chair in Policies and Health Inequalities. Quesnel-Vallée’s research examines the contribution of policies to social inequalities in health over the life course and has been recognized through awards from professional associations including the American Sociological Association, the Population Association of America, and the American Public Health Association.

She is a two-time Fulbright Foundation awardee, most recently of a Distinguished Chair (2020), and she held the Canada Research Chair in Policies and Health inequalities at McGill University (2015-2025). She is a Past-President of the Canadian Population Society and of the International Sociological Association’s Research Committee on the Sociology of Health, and Chair-Elect of the American Sociological Association Medical Sociology Section.

She has demonstrated experience in providing strategic advice to several complex organizations, notably the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, where she served as a board member for six years, and held leadership roles such as the inaugural Chair of the Standing Committee on Science (2022-2024) and as a Member of the Executive Committee (2021-2024).

Maydianne Andrade is former Canada Research Chair in Integrative Evolutionary Ecology who was a faculty member at the University of Toronto for 25 years and held the rank of University Professor. Now Dean of the Faculty of Science at York University, Professor Andrade is internationally recognized for her research on how ecology and evolution interact to shape behaviour, species diversity and invasiveness, using black widow spiders.

Dedicated to fostering more inclusive academic cultures, Professor Andrade is founder of the Toronto Initiative for Diversity and Excellence, and she is a co-founder and was inaugural President of the Canadian Black Scientists Network. She is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the Animal Behavior Society and of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society, and has been awarded the Burpee medal for Science Leadership, Exemplar awards for career-long contributions to research, and a Trailblazer award from the Canadian Science Policy Centre.

Carl E. James holds the Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community & Diaspora in the Faculty of Education; and also Distinguished Researcher Professor at York University, Toronto. For 16 years, he was Visiting Lecturer in education at Uppsala University, Sweden. His research interests include examination of the ways in which accessible and equitable opportunities in education – as informed by the regulations, policies, programs and practices of governments and institutions – structure the lived experiences, educational trajectories, health conditions, employment possibilities, and social outcomes of marginalized and racialized Canadians.

A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC) – Academy of Social Sciences, he has received Honorary Doctorates (Education) from McGill University, and Uppsala University, the 2022 Killam Prize for Social Sciences, and many other scholarly, teaching and community awards. Among the dozens of books, book chapters, and journal articles he has authored and coauthored are : “Colour Matters”: Essays on the Experiences, Education and Pursuits of Black Youth (UoT, 2021) and First-Generation Student Experiences in Higher Education: Counterstories. (Routledge, 2023).

Dr. Vissandjee has played a key role in developing community-based research infrastructures, notably contributing to the establishment of the SHERPA University Institute, which advances equity-oriented practices in multi-ethnic and multilingual contexts. Her research and leadership focus on health equity, migration, gender-based violence, and culturally responsive health systems.

Her work addresses the challenges of delivering high-quality care in diverse contexts, integrating intersectional and trauma-informed perspectives.  A central component of her research advances human rights-based and trauma-informed approaches to health and policy.

Through collaborations with community-based organizations and NGOs, she develops and implements programs tailored to the realities of newly arrived populations, addressing linguistic, cultural, and structural barriers to care in Quebec, Canada, and internationally. Her work underscores the importance of inclusive, culturally responsive approaches to advancing health equity.

Bilkis serves on the Advisory Committee on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion of the Canada Research Chairs Program and, since 2022, has been Chair of the Quebec Provincial Committee at the Ministry of Health and Social Services, where she provides leadership on improving equitable access to care for ethnocultural communities.

Bill Whelan is a Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) and in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the Atlantic Veterinary College. He was a Canada Research Chair in Biomedical Optics at UPEI and chair of the Department of Physics. His research has focused on the development of optical sensors, photoacoustic imaging and laser therapies for the detection and treatment of cancers.

Bill is co-chair of the PEI Education Minister’s Advisory Council on Lifelong Learning, and he is a former president of the Canadian Association of Physicists. He has served as president of the PEI Division of the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) and as a director on the national CCS board. He was co-chair of the PEI Education Governance Commission established to review and recommend improvements to the province’s education system.

Bill is also actively involved in science promotion, including as co-chair of the PEI Science Fair since 2008 and co-chair of the Canada-Wide Science Fair in 2012. He is a founding director of STEAM PEI, a non-profit organization delivering school-based and community programs for youth to explore STEM fields with the Arts.