National Executives

Vikas Gupta, MD, FRCP, FRCPath

Princess Margaret Cancer Center, Toronto
President, Canadian MPN Group

Dr. Gupta is currently a member of the leukemia program at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, and Associate Professor in Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

His clinical research activities are focused on developing novel transplant and non-transplant based treatment strategies for patients with myeloid malignancies, in particular Philadelphia-negative Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN). He is founding member and president of the Canadian MPN Pharmacy, and site group representative of the International Myeloproliferative Disorders Research Consortium (MPD-RC). He also serves as member of advisory board for MPD-RC, and is actively involved in the committee work of the Centre for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR). He has authored many publications in the field of myeloid malignancies and MPNs.


Lynda Foltz, MD, FRCPC

St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver
Secretary, Canadian MPN Pharmacy

Dr. Foltz completed medical school, internal medicine residency training and a hematology subspecialty fellowship at UBC. She is a Clinical Associate Professor in the UBC Division of Hematology and Head of the St. Paul’s Hospital Division of Hematology. Her area of special interest is myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). She is a principal investigator for MPN clinical trials and is a founding and executive member of the Canadian MPN Group.


Shireen Sirhan, MD, FRCPC

Jewish General Hospital, Montreal
Treasurer, Canadian MPN Pharmacy

Dr. Sirhan is a Hematologist and Medical Oncologist . Together with Dr. Jaroslav Prchal , she established the myeloproliferative neoplasms clinic at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal. She completed her medical school, internal medicine and hematology and oncology training at McGill University. She spent some time working in the area of myeloproliferative neoplasms with Dr. Tefferi at the Mayo clinic. She also holds a masters degree in Clinical trials from the University of London.


Brian Leber, MD, FRCPC

Juravinski Cancer Center, Hamilton
Executive Member, Canadian MPN Group

Dr. Brian Leber received his undergraduate, medical and internal medicine training at McGill University before coming to McMaster University for hematology residency. After a research fellowship in Molecular Biology at the University of London (Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine), he returned to McMaster where he is now Professor of Medicine. He is consultant Hematologist at the Juravinski Cancer Centre and Attending Physician at Hamilton Health Sciences, and is Co- director of the Heamtopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Programme. His clinical interests include myeloid malignancies and marrow failure syndromes, and his research interests are centred on the biochemical regulation of programmed cell death (apoptosis).


Andrew Robert (Bob) Turner, MD, FRCPC

Cross Cancer Institute, Edmonton
Executive Member, Canadian MPN Group

Dr. Turner is Professor Emeritus at the University of Alberta (Medicine/Clinical Hematology), Adjunct Professor at the University of Alberta (Oncology), and Senior Specialist at CancerControl Alberta. He obtained an MD from McGill University in 1972, and did a residency (Internal Medicine) at Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal. He subsequently did a fellowship (Hematology, Medical Oncology) at the University of Pittsburgh. He had several prestigious administrative appointments including division director of Clinical Hematology at the University of Alberta (1984-2003), and Medical Director at the Canadian Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (CBS) (1986 – 1994). His research interests are primarily focused on in the areas of transfusion medicine, hematopoietic growth factors, autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, myeloproliferative neoplasms and clinical trials in malignant hematology.