Speakers

Dr Martin Hutchings is a haemato-oncologist and a senior consultant from the Department of Haematology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital and a professor of haematology at the University of Copenhagen. He is responsible for lymphoma treatment and clinical research and leads Denmark’s only dedicated Phase 1 unit for experimental treatment of haematological malignancies, which is a leading site for early development of lymphoma immunotherapy.

After obtaining his medical degree and master’s degree (2000), he trained in nuclear medicine until pursuing his current specialisation in clinical oncology. In 2006, he defended his PhD on PET/CT in Hodgkin lymphoma.

Dr Hutchings is an active member of various research groups, including the EORTC Lymphoma Group which he chaired from 2013 until 2017. He leads a number of clinical and translational studies in the field of lymphoma, with an emphasis on phase 1 haematology studies and on phase 2 and 3 Hodgkin lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma, while maintaining a special scientific interest in the role of molecular imaging of malignant lymphoma. He has written numerous journal articles and book chapters and acts as an active research supervisor.

Dr. Matthew Seftel is a Haematologist based at Canadian Blood Services (CBS), where he is a medical director for the Canadian Blood Services Unrelated Donor Stem Cell Registry and Cord Blood Bank. He is a clinical professor in the Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada and is also an Honorary Professor at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Dr Seftel qualified in Medicine from the University of Cape Town South Africa , with subsequent specialist Internal Medicine and Hematology training in the United Kingdom and Canada. He has further training in Leukemia/BMT fellowship from the BC Cancer Agency/University of British Columbia. Dr Seftel also completed a Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Seftel has had an academic career with focus on clinical outcomes in complex haematological malignancies and BMT. Prior to joining CBS he was in full time academic practice in adult leukemia/BMT for 20 years. He is an investigator with CIBMTR, Cellular Therapy and Transplant Canada (CTTC), and has been an clinical investigator with the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CTTC). Under the auspices of CTTC and ASTCT he co-led the 2018 “Choosing Wisely” BMT campaign. He has received several teaching awards for his skills in undergraduate and graduate level education.

Michael Wang, M.D. is Professor in the Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma at MD Anderson Cancer Center. He has published more than 270 peer-reviewed papers and has presented his work at meetings nationally and internationally. He is the Director of the Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL) Program of Excellence, Co-Director of Clinical Trials, and PI of the B-cell Lymphoma Moon Shot Program at MD Anderson. During the past 22 years, he has focused on both preclinical and clinical research. He established the first human primary MCL animal model for the study of the biology and treatment of MCL. He pioneered work to improve the treatment of patients with MCL, including the introduction of BTK inhibitors such as ibrutinib, acalabrutinib, and pirtobrutinib in the treatment algorithm, and has performed extensive work with CAR-T cells for the treatment of patients who relapsed on other therapies. His work has been published in the most prestigious medical journals, such as the New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet.

Obtained MB ChB at UP in 1982, MMed (Haem) in 1994 at UP and Certificate in Clinical Haematology form Wits in 2007. Have been working in private pathology practice for almost 30 years, presently at Ampath, located at Life Groenkloof Hospital in Pretoria. Affiliated to Hematology department at UP and Oncology Department Steve Biko hospital. Main interest in hematology: thrombotic disorders in adults.

Theo Gerdener was born on 25 November 1978 in Pretoria, South Africa and grew up in the city.

He completed his specialization in Haematopathology at the University of Cape Town and followed this with subspeciality training in Clinical Haematology at the same institution.

Theo decided to return to Pretoria in 2013 to join the fast-growing stem cell transplant unit at ACT, where he was appointed as processing facility medical director in addition to performing duties as a clinical haematologist and transplant physician, and managing the clinical diagnostic laboratory.

He is currently still performing duties as processing facility medical director in the JACIE-accredited facility, as well as serving as medical director of the DKMS stem cell registry in South Africa. The diagnostic laboratory he manages currently performs a range of tests designed to benefit transplant patients, including immunophenotyping, next generation sequencing, FISH and karyotyping, next generation sequencing and chimerism monitoring and measurable residual disease detection.

In his spare time he enjoys reading , darkroom photography and traveling.

Dr Wendy Osborne is a Consultant Haematologist at the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She graduated with First Class Honours from Newcastle University in 1998 and completed her General Medical Training at Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham. Dr Osborne worked in haematology departments in Glasgow before returning to Newcastle to undertake Higher Specialist Training.

Dr Osborne is past chair of the British Society of Haematology Lymphoma Special Interest Group and a member of the NCRI Clinical Studies Group, High Grade lymphoma sub-group, Hodgkin lymphoma subgroup. Dr Osborne is on the medical advisory panel for Lymphoma Action and is a principal investigator and co-investigator for numerous clinical trials. Dr Osborne is an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at Newcastle University and teaching lead for the haematology undergraduate programme.