Dr. Mahoney is a translational scientist at Cumming School of Medicine in the University of Calgary with 20+ years of experience studying human health and disease.

Over the past 15 years, his research has made important contributions to the development of numerous cancer immunotherapies that have been commercialized and/or tested in human clinical trials. Currently his lab is focused on engineering “designer cells and viruses” to treat various forms of cancer in children, adolescents, and adults.

Dr. Mahoney is the founder and Scientific Director of a research initiative called ACTION (Alberta Cellular Therapy and Immune Oncology), which seeks to develop innovative next generation engineered immune cell therapies and deliver them to cancer patients in Alberta and beyond.

Outside the lab, Doug spends his time with his wife and three children, mostly enjoying the Alberta/BC wilderness.

Associate Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Infectious Disease
Associate Director of the Charbonneau Cancer Institute
Scientific Director of the Alberta Cellular Therapy and Immune Oncology Initiative

Using the Arts as a thread to sew people and thoughts together, Jessica Théroux is a painter, writer, sculptor, and textiles artist. She makes a living as a teacher and runs an artist collective in her home town of Calgary, Alberta with her husband, Rich Theroux.

Over the past 10 years she has co-hosted over 500 weekly live art events that bring hundreds of artists and art consumers together. She has co-written several books, co-created a feature length film (puppets), and is a singer, entertainer, and explorer. She is also a published poet. Her first solo publication will be later this year.

Too often, our most vocal and destructive critic is our inner self-bullying voice.

Kalyani Pardeshi is a multiple award-winning author who teaches anti-bullying techniques based on the science of how our brains work, focusing on the intangible cause of bullying instead of the tangible effects.

Despite having a successful career in finance and holding two professional designations, Kalyani felt something was amiss. She tried her hand at entrepreneurship and ran a successful online fitness business for two years, yet felt a continuing void that seemingly couldn’t be filled. The answer came when she volunteered at an anti-bullying workshop at her daughter’s school. She had an entire lifetime of experiences, learning and tools she had developed and made the choice to share her experience with others through her book Unbullied - 14 Techniques to Silence the Critics, Externally and Internally.

Her book has been recognized internationally through three awards: The Skipping Stones Honour Award, The Book Excellence Finalist Award and The Maincrest Media Winners Award. She has been interviewed by many media outlets including CTV Morning Live for Pink Shirt Day, Hollywood Times, Women’s Radio and Daughters of Change. 

Recently, we had another of our more than 150 speakers pass away. That reminds us that we, as humans, have a finite amount of time on this earth. But our ideas can continue living on, influencing others.