Biographies of
Guest Speakers

Biographies of our Keynote Speakers 
   

Clare O’Callaghan, PhD, RMT, Co-conference Chair	Dr. Clare O'Callaghan is a music therapist at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and Caritas Christi Hospice, St Vincent's Health. Since 1985, she has worked as a music therapist in neurology, oncology and palliative care. During 2008-9, Clare was an Australia National Health and Medical Research Council Post Doctoral Fellow in Palliative Care. During this time she led eight research teams studying music’s role in the lives of people affected by cancer across the lifespan, including those with the disease and their companions. Initially trained as a social worker, Clare completed her music therapy training at The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center with Dr Lucanne Magill in 1985. Clare has over 50 publications in music therapy, arts, and medical fields, including 28 refereed journal articles. Her practice-based research has resulted in honorary academic titles, including Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, and Fellow, Faculty of the VCA and Music, with The University of Melbourne, Australia. Clare has lectured widely, in Australia and internationally. Major contributions have included the development of music therapy song writing techniques in palliative care and practice-based research methods. She was Editor of the Australian Journal of Music Therapy in 2002-2005, and has served on various Journal editorial boards. Current professional committee memberships include the World Federation of Music Therapy Research and Ethics Committee, and the International Association for Music and Medicine. Recently Clare was awarded an International Research Promotion Council “Eminent Scientist of the Year” International Award in the field of Palliative Care and Music Therapy. Along with Prof Gao and Dr Lucanne Magill, Clare is currently researching Prof Gao’s and his students’ experiences of bringing music to earthquake survivors in Sichuan, China.
Joanne Loewy, DA, MT-BC, LCAT   Website: www.musicandmedicine.org Therapytimes.com Email:  JLoewy@chpnet.org	Joanne V. Loewy DA, LCAT, MT-BC initiated music therapy at Beth Israel Medical Center in NYC in 1994. She is currently the Director of the Louis Armstrong Center for Music & Medicine offering specialty treatments which assist musicians and performing artists. The Center has a medical director, who specializes in integrative medicine and psychiatry and the team conducts clinical trails in both in-patient & out-patient arenas in asthma, COPD, Cancer pain, SPINE pain and NICU multi-site investigations.  Recent hosted symposia include; “Music Therapy & Child Life”, “ Music & Medicine for Musicians”,  & “Music, the Breath and Integrative Medicine” which was sponsored by Johnson & Johnson’s Society for the Arts in Healthcare and an  international conference on “Music Therapy and Trauma.” Dr. Loewy is the co-Editor in Chief of ‘Music & Medicine’, the journal of IAMM, and she is a Founding Member of the International Association for Music & Medicine. She serves on the Cochran Palliative Care review and the Journal for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. She has written articles and chapters. Her edited books include: Music Therapy in Pediatric Pain, Music Therapy in the NICU, and she co-edited Music Therapy at End of Life and Caring for the Caregiver: Music Therapy in Grief and Trauma, and Music, the Breath and Integrative Medicine. She has consulted in building music therapy programs in hospitals internationally and is a visiting lecturer at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and at the Hahnemann Creative Arts in Therapy Masters Program at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
Dr. Kenneth M. Schneider MD, Chief, Department of Oncology, Windsor Regional Hospital	Dr. Schneider is a radiation oncologist in clinical practice, Physician Lead, Radiation Therapy Program- Windsor Regional Cancer Centre, Chief- Department of Oncology, Windsor Regional Hospital and Adjunct Professor – University of Western Ontario.  He has practiced in oncology for the past 19 years with special interest in Head and Neck, Breast, Gynecologic malignancies as well as tumours of the brain and lymphomas. His academic background evolved from Medical Laboratory Sciences/Technology at St Clair College in Windsor, the Biological Sciences at the University of Windsor, Medicine at McMaster University followed by his residency in Radiation Oncology at McMaster as well.  His passion is clinical care and ensuring patients have access to the best treatment available within their community or elsewhere as their needs require. Research within the Cancer Program is strongly supported and encouraged in order to ensure patients have access to evolving therapies as well contributing to advances in the field of oncology. Dr. Schneider sits on several committees related to cancer care locally and provincially and is a member of the Head and Neck Cancer disease site group with the Program in Evidence-based Care for Cancer Care Ontario. Aside from his dedication to medicine, and his family, his passion for music has roots back to his very early and formative years as a kid first hearing the Beatles on record ( its all their fault!) and being struck by that fascinating and intangible ‘gift’ in the language of music. From drums through to picking up his sister’s guitar at age 11 and learning from ear,  from playing in smoky bars to pay for school, to the present when he sneaks a few minutes daily to play one of his guitars strategically positioned throughout the house,  the power of music is a passion that is unshakable. If his passion for medicine didn’t consume most of his waking hours, music would certainly be next in line….not for fame or prosperity, but just because there could simply be no other choice.
Lucanne Magill, DA, LCAT, MT-BC Co-Conference Chair	Lucanne Magill, DA, LCAT, MT-BC, Co-Conference Chair, is Assistant Professor and Coordinator, Music Therapy Program, and is Coordinator, Music Therapy and Medicine, School of Music, University of Windsor, Canada, since the Fall of 2006. She has been working closely with cancer and palliative care patients and families since 1973, at which time she began the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center’s (MSKCC) first music therapy program under the auspices of the Psychiatry Service and the Supportive Care Program, Pain Service, Neurology Department. She was formerly Manager, Music Therapy Program, Integrative Medicine Service, MSKCC. At MSKCC she provided music therapy to patients, families and staff in a variety of settings, supervised music therapy interns, conducted research and coordinated hospital-wide music therapy programs. In New York City, she also served as Music Therapist for Cabrini Hospice and was Music Therapy Consultant, Cancer Care, Inc. She has served as Adjunct Faculty at Temple University and New York University and also as visiting lecturer at several universities. She is well published and is internationally known for her research and clinical work in the applications of music therapy in cancer and palliative medicine. In 2008, she received the 34th National Conference of AMTA Inc. Ruth Bright Award for Excellence in Presentation at the Annual Australian Music Therapy Conference, with Clare O’Callaghan. In 2007 she received the Professional Practice Award from the American Music Therapy Association and received the “Top Ten Young Women of America” Award in 1980. She serves as Chair, Commission for Global Crisis Intervention for the World Federation of Music Therapy, is on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Arts and Health, and is Editor-in-Chief, of Healing Within, Journal of Music Therapy across the Lifespan.
Margaret Fitch, RN, PhD	Margaret Fitch, RN, PhD, is Co-Director, Patient and Family Support Program; Head, Oncology Nursing; and Oncology Nurse Researcher at the Odette Regional Cancer Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Canada. In addition, she Chairs the National Cancer Journey Action Group for the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and is Professor, Associate Member, School of Graduate Studies and Associate Professor, Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto. She is currently serving as the Immediate Past President of the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care. Dr. Fitch has received numerous research grants to study subjects such as fatigue measurement and management, supportive care for and changing roles of cancer patients, reducing psychosocial distress in cancer patients, evaluating patient education outcomes, identifying needs of male partners and adolescents of patients with breast cancer, evaluating supportive care for cancer patients, and perspectives on ovarian and prostate cancer in Canada.
Matthew Loscalzo, L.C.S.W Executive Director, Supportive Care Medicine	Matthew Loscalzo, L.C.S.W., the Liliane Elkins Professor in Supportive Care Programs, has more than 27 years experience in caring for cancer patients and their families. He is recognized internationally as a pioneer and expert in the clinical, educational, and research domains of psychosocial aspects of chronic life-threatening illness.   In addition to his 60 publications, he has given well over 500 professional lectures nationally and internationally as an invited speaker. He is also on the editorial board of many professional journals and served on the first Institute of Medicine Panel to report on dying in America. Loscalzo has held leadership positions in many health-related organizations and is the past Ppresident of the American Psychosocial Oncology Society, the largest organization of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses and others committed to fostering new knowledge through research and providing evidence-based care for people with cancer and their families. Loscalzo is also a past president of the Association of Oncology Social Workers
Dr. Michael Dufresne B.Sc, PhD	Dr. Michael Dufresne holds a B.Sc. in Biology from York University (1970) and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry (1974) from the University of Alberta. Following two years of post-doctoral studies at the University of Western Ontario as an MRC scholar, he accepted research and academic positions in Biological Sciences at the University of Windsor. In 1998 he was appointed Research Coordinator for Cancer Care Ontario, South and a research member of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute.     Dr. Dufresne's 30 year research career was funded by federal and international agencies and included studies on the cancer-causing effects of environmental pollutants, and the role of proteases in tumour progression. During this time, he served on numerous regional, provincial and national cancer care committees/task forces as well as serving on numerous local and regional health care boards and executive committees. In 2003 he was recognized by the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada …for important research achievements that have contributed to the sum total of human knowledge and the advancement of the economic and social well-being of Canadians over the 25 years of NSERC’s existence”.        In 2003, after 27 years of service to his profession and the community, Dr. Dufresne retired from the University of Windsor. He founded Michael Gerard Management Group through which he manages a select group of renowned Canadian concert artists. In addition, he serves as a professional consultant for various health care organizations and foundations and was recently appointed Research Grants Administrator for The Windsor and Essex County Cancer Centre Foundation’s Seeds4Hope research grants program which he developed for the Foundation. He remains active as an educator and motivational speaker through his “Practical Guide” workshops, seminars and presentations on cancer, cycle of life issues, health care and the environment. His passion for sharing information and for challenging artificial boundaries as well as his unique ability to integrate personal experiences with professional knowledge makes his message real and accessible to audiences of all backgrounds.
Nessa Coyle, APRN, PhD, FAAN	Nessa Coyle, APRN, PhD, FAAN, Pain and Palliative Care Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.  Nessa Coyle is a native of London, England where she trained as a nurse at St Bartholomew’s Hospital. After completing her midwifery training in Edinburgh Scotland, she spent a further year in the borough of Islington training as a Health Visitor through the University of London. Nessa moved to New York City in the late 1960’s and then began her work at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Her interest in neurological nursing exposed her to cancer patients in pain and the effects of poorly controlled pain on the patient, family and staff. With Dr Kathleen Foley (then chief of the Pain Service - renamed in 1999 as the Pain and Palliative Care Service) Nessa developed the Supportive Care Program. The goals of the program are to meet the needs of very symptomatic and complex advanced cancer patients followed by the Pain Service, and cared for at home, and to support their frequently exhausted families and the community practitioners. Nessa has led the Program since its inception in 1981. Nessa is well published in the area of pain management, palliative care and end of life care.  She co-edited the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Nursing with Dr. Betty Ferrell (in its 3rd edition) as well as The Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Nursing.  She is a member of several editorial boards, and is a board member of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York Hospice Program. Nessa has lectured extensively both in the United States and abroad on cancer pain and palliative care as well as ethical issues for nurses. A recipient of many awards, Nessa was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 1997 and in 2005 was awarded the Distinguished Career Achievement Award by the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association. She completed her PhD in nursing at New York University in 2002.
Dr. Ranjana Bird Vice President, University of Windsor	Dr. Ranjana Bird, a cancer and nutrition researcher, began her term as the University of Windsor’s Vice-President, Research on October 1, 2007. Dr. Bird received her Masters and PhD degrees in Nutrition/Toxicology from the University of Guelph and did her undergraduate biology studies at the University of Waterloo. Prior to her appointment as Dean of Graduate Studies at University of Waterloo in 2003, she spent 14 years at the University of Manitoba, where she received a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council career award and served as Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, and later as Dean of the Faculty of Human Ecology. In addition to her many administrative roles, her ground-breaking research continues to capture international attention as cited in Cancer Research and acclaim for her contribution to cancer prevention. She has also served as a research scientist in experimental carcinogenesis at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Toronto and is currently on the editorial board of the journal, Nutrition and Cancer.
Dr. ALAN WILDEMAN   President and Vice-Chancellor	Dr. Alan Wildeman is the sixth President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Windsor.   Dr. Wildeman grew up in Lanigan, Saskatchewan, where his family farmed.  He attended the University of Saskatchewan, graduating in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree and again in 1977 with a Master of Science degree, both in biology.   He moved to Ontario and completed his PhD degree in genetics at the University of Guelph in 1982.  He was awarded a NATO fellowship for postdoctoral work in Strasbourg, France, where he was widely cited for his work on how genes are controlled.  In 1985 he returned to Canada to take up a faculty position in genetics at the University of Guelph, and in 1987 was awarded an Industrial Research Chair in Biotechnology.   In 1993 returning to Europe for a year, he worked at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich where his work focused on the mechanisms whereby tumour-causing viruses become activated.  Throughout his career he served as a member of many grant review panels for the Medical Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, and for three years served as chair of the scientific review committee on virology and cancer for the National Cancer Institute of Canada.   In 2001 he was appointed Vice-President (Research) at the University of Guelph, a role he held until joining the University of Windsor as President and Vice-Chancellor in July, 2008.  As Vice-President (Research) he served on the advisory boards of many provincial and national research organizations, and in 2007 as a Director on the Board of BIOTECanada.  In 2005 he served as chair of the Ontario Council on University Research.   Throughout his career, Dr. Wildeman has been very engaged in undergraduate and graduate teaching.  He has served on review bodies for the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies, and reviewed academic and research programs for a number of universities.   He has long recognized the importance of the relationship between universities and cities, and served for six years on the Guelph Economic Development Advisory Council.  In 2007 he organized a national roundtable on how cities and universities can better align their efforts to address environmental challenges.  He is been a strong advocate for how all disciplines, including the sciences, arts and humanities, have vitally important roles to play in enriching lives and addressing society’s challenges.   Dr. Wildeman is married to Debra Henderson, who has had a distinguished career in film training and education and is now working on her doctorate degree in English, with a focus on Canadian Cultural Policy.

Biographies of our Guest Speakers    

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Amy Clements-Cortés  PhD, MusM, BMT, MTA	Amy Clements-Cortés PhD, MusM, BMT, MTA is the senior music therapist for Baycrest Centre in Toronto, Canada where she works with clients in rehabilitation, behaviour neurology, complex continuing care and palliative care.  She is a sessional instructor in music therapy at the University of Windsor and private voice teacher.
Beth Dun MMus, RMT	Beth Dun MMus, RMT completed her Bachelor of Music (1988) and her Masters  Degree (1999) at the University of Melbourne. In 1991 Beth Dun was the first music therapist to be employed in a paediatric hospital in Australia and is now the Coordinator.
Carol Derbyshire Executive Director  of The Hospice of Windsor  and Essex County Inc.	Carol Derbyshire has been involved with The Hospice of Windsor and Essex County Inc., since its inception in 1979.  Carol officially began her career at Hospice as the Coordinator of Volunteers and Fund Raising from 1983 to 1988.  Her responsibilities as the coordinator involved interviewing, screening and training new volunteers, scheduling volunteers with patients and families, fund raising and coordination of fund raising events and public education. Carol is presently the Executive Director of The Hospice of Windsor and Essex County Inc.  As director she has been involved with policy formulation, program planning and implementation, staff supervision and evaluation, interaction with Board of Directors, other community/health care sectors, and federal and provincial government.
Debra Burns,  PhD, MT-BC	Debra Burns, PhD, MT-BC is Coordinator of the Music Therapy Program at the Department of Music and Arts Technology at the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology in Indianapolis. She has an active research program exploring music-based solutions to assist patients undergoing treatment for cancer, hematologic malignancies in particular.
Prof. Mag. Dr. Gerhard Tucek	Gerhard Tucek  Mag. Dr. (Registered Music Therapist) is Programme-Director for Music-Therapy at the Department for Health Sciences at the IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria and Programme-Director for Oriental- & Ethno-Music-Therapy in Austria. He lectures at three Vienese Universities and is counselar for the Austrian Ministery for Health and coordinator for music therapy in the Lower Austria Health and Social Fund. Clinical working fields include: intensive care, neurological and cardiological rehabilitation and cancer.
Dr. Jane Edwards, PhD RMT	Professor Jane Edwards PhD RMT s the Director of the Music and Health Research Group at the University of Limerick. She has published over 50 papers in music therapy and serves on the editorial boards of the Arts in Psychotherapy (Elsevier) and Music & Medicine (SAGE). Professor Edwards published Music: Promoting health and creating community in healthcare contexts in 2007, and her forthcoming edited book Music therapy in parent-infant bonding will appear with Oxford University Press in 2010.
Louise Miles BMus (Hons) Post-grad Dip MT	Louise Miles BMus (Hons) Post-grad Dip MT is the President of the Australian Music Therapy Association. She is also the Redkite Music Therapist, working in Pediatric Oncology at Princess Margaret Hospital in Perth, Western Australia. Since completing music therapy training in 1996, Louise has worked as a music therapist in Perth in a variety of clinical settings.
Dr. Russell Hilliard  PhD LCSW, LCAT, MT-BC	Dr. Russell Hilliard PhD LCSW, LCAT, MT-BC is the VP of Operations for Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care, a nationally-based hospice company and is the Founding Director of the Center for Music Therapy in End of Life Care. His research has been published in a variety of scholarly journals including the Journal of Palliative Care, Journal of Music Therapy, Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Journal of the Society of Integrative Oncology, Music Therapy Perspectives, among others. He is the author of the text, Hospice & Palliative Care Music Therapy: A Guide to Program Development and Clinical Care.
Sandi Curtis  PhD MTA MT-BC	Dr. Sandi Curtis PhD MTA MT-BC is Professor of Music Therapy and Graduate Music Therapy Program Coordinator in the Creative Arts Therapies Department of Concordia University. Author of the first quantitative research study in Palliative Care Music Therapy in North America, Dr. Curtis has been active in the field as both a practicing clinician and as project coordinator/supervisor for undergraduate student music therapy clinical practice.
Dr. Sheri Robb  PhD, MT-BC	Dr. Sheri Robb , PhD, MT-BC is an Associate Research Scientist at the Indiana University School of Nursing, Indianapolis, Indiana. Her program of research focuses on the development and testing of music-based interventions to manage distress, improves positive health outcomes, and prevent secondary psychosocial morbidity in children/adolescents with cancer and their parents.
Susan Munro-Porchet  M.A. MTA, CMT, SFMT	Susan Munro-Porchet M.A. MTA, CMT, SFMT initiated the first music therapy program at the McGill Palliative Care Service, Montreal and the first music therapy program, in the Dept. of Oncology, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, Switzerland. Taught in various music therapy training courses: Canada, USA, Australia, New Zeeland, Germany, Switzerland, in various healthcare -, hospital - and university programs in Canada, USA, Europe. Various publications, recipient of the Swiss Cancer Medal and Swiss Palliative Care Award.
Prof. Tian Gao M.A. MT	Tian Gao Master Degree of Music Therapy (Temple University) is the Associate Professor and Director of the Music Therapy Research, Center of Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China.  He was trained and received his master degree of music therapy from Temple University, USA in 1994, then returned to China where he established the first music therapy educational program and his own clinic. He works primarily with people who are experiencing trauma and depression, and has developed a new technique which has shown an effective result in treating trauma and depression.
Trygve Aasgaard, RN, RMN, PhD	Trygve Aasgaard, RN, RMN (Scotland), Cand. Philol. in Music (University of Oslo, Norway), PhD in Music Therapy (Aalborg University, Denmark). Associate Professor, Oslo University College and  Norwegian Academy of Music. Research interests: Music/culture and health, psycho-social cancer/palliative care, salutogenesis/positive psychology and music therapy, musical elements in nursing, medicine, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy.

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