SPEAKER BIOS
Patrick Michael Chiasson, MD, CM, MA, FRCSC, FACS
Patrick Chiasson, MD, MA, FACS is a Canadian trained Minimally Invasive Bariatric and Foregut Surgeon. He received his medical education at McGill University in Montreal, PQ, a Master’s degree from the Institute for the History of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, and his general surgical training at Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS. Upon completion of his residency, he practiced surgery in the Yukon Territory and Northern British Columbia awaiting an opportunity to continue his training. He then completed his sub-specialty training in advanced laparoscopic surgery at the University of Toronto’s Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery. Following this, he moved to a position at the University of Arizona. He has numerous publications that address such issues as MIS techniques and outcomes, Health Policy, Medical Ethics and Health Law. His present surgical practice consists of Therapeutic Endoscopy, Bariatric & Foregut Surgery at Northwest Medical Center in Tucson, AZ, where he serves as the Chief of Surgery and the Director of Bariatric Surgery.
Eric M. Pauli, MD FACS FASGE FEBSAWS (Hon.)
Eric M Pauli, MD FACS FASGE is the David L Nahrwold Professor of Surgery and the Chief of the Division of Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery at the Penn State Health Milton S Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a fellowship trained surgical endoscopist and abdominal wall reconstruction expert. He is the author of more than 150 peer reviewed publications and invited manuscripts, more than 30 book chapters and he has edited 3 textbooks of surgery with a 4th ongoing.
Alessandro Gronchi, MD
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Alessandro Gronchi MD received his MD degree from Milan University in 1992, completed his residency training in General Surgery in 1997 and a fellowship in Surgical Oncology in 1998. He holds the National Scientific qualification for full professor of General Surgery. He is chief of the Sarcoma Service since 2001 and chair of the department of Surgery since 2022 at the National Cancer Institute – Milan – Italy.
He is involved in all institutional research activities on sarcoma, which include prognostic models for soft tissue sarcomas (STS) and desmoid tumor (DT), neoadjuvant therapies in extremity and retroperitoneal sarcomas, new targets for specific STS types, genomic characterization of DF and its impact in tumor progression, mechanisms of resistance to therapy in GIST. He is the Principal Investigator of several Italian and International trials on STS, DF and GIST.
He serves as member of the board of directors of the Italian Sarcoma Group and of the Sarcoma Task Force of the European Society for Medical Oncology. He was member of the board of directors of the European Society of Surgical Oncology 2020-2024; international representative on the executive council of the SSO 2021-2024; chair of the EORTC Soft Tissue and Bone Sarcoma Group (2015-2017), president of the Connective Tissue Oncology Society (2016); president of the Italian Society of Surgical Oncology (2019-2021). He is member of the European Surgical Association, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and honorary member of the Polish Society of Surgical Oncology. He is one of the initiators of a global collaborative effort on retroperitoneal sarcoma (Trans-atlantic Australasian RetroPeritoneal Sarcoma Working Group, TARPSWG), which involves over 200 institutions worldwide. Dr. Gronchi has authored more than 540 scientific publications (Scopus HIndex 105), serves as Associate Editor of Annals of Surgical Oncology, Journal of Surgical Oncology, ESMO Reare Cancers, Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology, Therapeutics Advances in Medical Oncology; Updates in Surgery.
Giovanni Marchegiani, MD, PhD
Giovanni Marchegiani is an internationally renowned Italian pancreatic surgeon and prolific academic researcher. After earning his medical degree with highest honors from the University of Bologna in 2008, he completed surgical residency at the University of Verona in 2015.
Marchegiani then obtained his Research Fellowhip in Pancreas Neoplasms at Harvard University in 2014 and his PhD in Inflammation, Immunity and Cancer at Verona University in 2018.
In 2021, he achieved the distinction of becoming certified as eligible for Full Professor in Surgical Oncology by the Italian Minister of Education. His clinical positions include attending surgeon roles at Verona University Hospital (2016-2023) and currently as Attending Surgeon and Assistant Professor at the prestigious HPB and Liver Transplant Surgery unit at the University of Padova Hospital since 2023.
Marchegiani has an extensive academic portfolio, serving as Vice President, Course Mentor, and project manager for the renowned Pancreas 2000 educational program at European Pancreas Club since 2018. His is secretary of the International Study Group for Pancreas Surgery (ISGPS). His research focuses on pancreatology, with special interests in IPMNs, postoperative pancreatic fistulas, pancreatic cancer treatment, and developing novel surgical techniques.
He has authored over 350 peer-reviewed publications and has been an invited faculty speaker at well over 100 international conferences. Marchegiani's work has been recognized with prestigious honors such as the 2021 UEG Rising Star Award. He serves on the editorial boards of multiple leading surgical journals including the British Journal of Surgery and editor for HPB of the BJS Open.
An active member of top surgical societies worldwide, Marchegiani has participated in expert consensus meetings that have shaped pancreatic surgery guidelines. He has trained surgeons globally and is widely considered one of the foremost emerging authorities in the field of pancreatic surgery.
I have through design, hard work, and good fortune held significant health care leadership positions over a 40-year period in Universities, Cancer Systems, and Hospital Systems, in Ontario and Quebec, the Canadian Medical Liability System (CMPA), and most recently in Biotechnology start-up companies. I have forged strong relationships with governments in most provinces but most significantly in Quebec while CEO of the Jewish General Hospital and with Provincial Ministries of Health and Regulators to improve the safety and quality of care in most Canadian jurisdictions whilst CEO of the CMPA.
I have driven major improvements in quality and safety using (but not limited to): compelling articulation of vision and strategy; major refinements in data acquisition and analysis; and innovative partnerships. I stood up a new subsidiary for the CMPA (Saegis) which has allowed greater diversity of products and services to Canada’s 100,000 physicians. I contributed to improvements in the safety of Obstetrical care in Canada through an investment in Salus Global, partnering with HIROC and the Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Canada. More recently I helped Equinoxe Virtual Care of Montreal achieve a successful acquisition by Telus Health. Currently I serve on the Board of Surgical Safety Technologies, originally from Toronto, and now in New York in their pursuit of transforming the safety and efficiency of operating rooms.
I have also led major capital fundraising initiatives and capital development projects including a $150 million new Cancer centre in Ottawa, I led the development and implementation of a $400M hospital critical care tower in Montreal, completed on budget, predominantly funded by the Quebec Government. I managed $5B in assets and a $700M operating budget at the CMPA .
In addition to my long -term commitments to assisting the Jewish community of Ottawa and Cancer fundraising in Ottawa, I am excited to have recently joined the Board of the Canadian Paralympic Committee Foundation to assist with its important fundraising mission. In February 2021 I was appointed to the Board of Canadian Personalized Healthcare Innovation Network (CPHIN) which will clearly enhance access to novel and expensive therapeutics to Canadian Cancer patients. I am also honoured to have just joined in June 2021 the Board of the University of Ottawa.
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CURRENT EMPLOYMENT
The opportunity to work with Gerry Pulvermacher one of Canada’s elite consultants in Business Strategy and Implementation, Succession planning and Operational improvements was a timely event just as COVID disrupted the world. I have recently joined MfIQ as a Senior Advisor, and provide strategic advice to Family Offices in Ottawa and Montreal on Biotechnology investments.
Hartley S. Stern, MD, FRCS, FACS, ICD.D
