9:30am - 10:00am
Registration

10:00am
Welcome - Caroline Kruse, President and CEO, Platelet Disorder Support Association

10:05am - 12:00pm
The Immune System and ITP - Alan Lazarus, PhD, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto
ITP in Adults - Michael Scott, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto
ITP in Children - Vicky Breakey, MD, Associate Professor, Pediatrics, McMaster University

12:00pm - 1:00pm
Lunch

1:00pm - 2:00pm
Advocacy Update

2:00pm - 2:45pm
Patient Panel - Inspiring ITP Stories

2:45pm - 3:00pm
Closing Remarks - Caroline Kruse

Vicky Breakey, MD

Associate Professor, Pediatrics, McMaster University

Dr. Vicky Breakey is a Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist at McMaster Children’s Hospital and an Associate Professor at McMaster University. Dr. Breakey provides clinical care to children with cancer and blood disorders. She is an active member of the ITP Consortium of North American (ICON) research group. Her current research interests include treatments for refractory pediatric ITP, and quality of life for children with ITP and transition of care for adolescents with chronic hematological conditions.

Alan Lazarus, PhD

Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto

Dr. Alan Lazarus is a medical scientist in Toronto, Canada, and a Professor at the University of Toronto. He studies how the immune system sometimes mistakes a person’s own blood cells as targets, with a focus on immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and autoimmune hemolytic anemia. His goal is to help develop safer and more effective treatments for these conditions. Over the years, Dr. Lazarus has helped uncover how antibodies and immune cells destroy platelets and red blood cells, and how therapies like intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) and newer antibody-based medicines can protect patients. He works closely with scientists around the world and is passionate about making research discoveries that can one day improve patient care.

Michael Scott, MD

Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto

Dr. Michael Scott completed medical school at McMaster University followed by residency training in Core Internal Medicine and Adult Hematology at the University of Toronto. He is a Clinical Hematologist at St. Michael’s Hospital and Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. His clinical interests span the breadth of general non-malignant hematology, with a particular focus on immune cytopenias, disorders of iron homeostasis, and porphyria. He is highly involved in teaching and education at all levels, and has completed his Master’s of Health Professions Education at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.