Dr. Paris-Ann Ingledew
Executive Vice President & Chief Medical Officer, BC Cancer

Dr. Paris-Ann Ingledew is the executive vice-president and chief medical officer at BC Cancer. Dr. Ingledew is a clinical professor in the department of surgery at the University of British Columbia and an accomplished educator, researcher and mentor. A radiation oncologist since 2007, Dr. Ingledew has served in a multitude of leadership roles ranging from physician engagement and patient advocacy to clinical service delivery. She has worked at three of BC Cancer’s six regional centres and most recently was the department head, radiation oncology at BC Cancer – Vancouver.

She holds a Master of Health Professions Education and has received numerous awards, publications and grants related to digital patient education and medical learner training and recruitment. She chairs the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons specialty committee for radiation oncology and oversees radiation oncology residency training in Canada. She is the creator and chief editor of a widely used international oncology education website.

Throughout her career as an oncologist, Dr. Ingledew has been committed to promoting excellence in engagement, research, innovation and education. Her provincial, national and international leadership roles share a common theme: advancing high-quality, cutting-edge and compassionate cancer care to improve outcomes for patients and families at every stage of their journey.

Dr. François Bénard
Senior Executive Director, Research, and Distinguished Scientist, BC Cancer

Dr. Bénard is an international leader in molecular imaging and a vital member of the research community in British Columbia. His interests combine state-of-the art clinical care with a thriving translational research program in imaging and radionuclide therapy.

He led a highly successful molecular imaging program in Sherbrooke, Québec, before relocating to British Columbia in 2008. Here, he became head of the division of nuclear medicine at the University of British Columbia and scientific director of functional imaging at BC Cancer.

Under his leadership, his team designed and built a new cyclotron and imaging facility; implemented a comprehensive preclinical imaging platform; set up laboratories for radiochemistry and radiopharmacology research; and expanded the clinical program.

Dr. Bénard has been very successful in raising peer-reviewed funding to support the program. He recently received a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Foundation Scheme grant totalling $1.4 million to develop new radiopharmaceuticals for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

Dr. Bénard has earned numerous prestigious awards over the years. He was awarded the BC leadership chair in functional cancer imaging. Most recently, he won the 2015 Brockhouse Canada Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering.

Dr. Kasmintan Schrader
Co-medical Director of BC Cancer’s Hereditary Cancer Program, BC Cancer

Dr. Kasmintan Schrader is a clinical geneticist, clinician-scientist, and Co‑medical Director of BC Cancer’s Provincial Hereditary Cancer Program. She is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Schrader received her medical degree from the University of Melbourne and completed residency training in Medical Genetics at UBC. She subsequently completed the Royal College Clinician Investigator Program and earned a PhD in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, where her research focused on hereditary cancer susceptibility, including germline mutations in CDH1 and the application of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies.

Her research career includes advanced training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research award, where she used NGS to identify novel cancer susceptibility genes, including the co-discovery of PAX5 as a susceptibility gene for pre‑B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Dr. Schrader’s work also explores the interpretation, clinical utility, and ethical implications of incidental findings arising from genomic sequencing in both research and clinical settings.

Dr. Schrader has published frameworks for assessing the medical actionability of genes and has co-led studies evaluating the safety and impact of returning genomic results to patients. She is an active contributor to national policy and ethics initiatives related to personalized oncogenomics, and brings extensive experience in translating genomic discoveries into public healthcare practice.

Dr. Bernie Eigl
Deputy Head, Clinical Research and Director, Provincial Clinical Trials, BC Cancer

Dr. Eigl is a Staff Medical Oncologist at the BC Cancer Vancouver Centre and a Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Medical Oncology at the University of British Columbia. He is the Founding Director of the Provincial Clinical Trials Office and Deputy Head of the Department of Clinical Research at BC Cancer.

His roles focus on strengthening and further developing clinical trial capabilities across all six BC Cancer centres and improving access to clinical trials for people living with cancer throughout British Columbia. His research interests centre on genitourinary oncology clinical trials and biomarker research, with a particular focus on bladder cancer.

Sarah Roth
President & CEO, BC Cancer Foundation

Born and raised in New Jersey, Sarah holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history and French from Washington University in St. Louis and a Master’s of Business Administration from Northeastern University in Boston. She and her family moved to Vancouver in 2008 for lifestyle and professional reasons.

Sarah has an impressive career as a fundraising professional spanning nearly three decades. In her present role, Sarah has elevated the BC Cancer Foundation’s revenue to record heights in all lines of business during her ten-year term. To achieve such success, she has implemented a donor-centric strategy across the organization and championed a brand revitalization that saw the Foundation and its partner BC Cancer align toward a culture of one that embraces the opportunity for the community to give back and drive progress in cancer research and care across the province.

In 2019, Sarah spearheaded the launch of the Foundation’s groundbreaking $500 million Beyond Belief campaign, the largest and most ambitious health fundraising campaign in B.C.’s history. Under her guidance, the campaign not only reached but surpassed its initial goal, achieving remarkable success in just six years.

Sarah’s exceptional leadership within the Foundation and the broader community has been widely recognized. In 2023, she was honoured by Business in Vancouver with a C-Suite Award, earning the 2023 BC CEO Award in the not-for-profit category for her strategic vision and responsible stewardship. Most recently, Sarah was named to Vancouver Magazine’s 2026 Power 50 list, which highlights the city’s most influential leaders shaping B.C.’s future.

Throughout her career, Sarah has brought exceptional results in leading teams through large-scale fundraising campaigns in both the United States and Canada. She previously worked for Boston Children’s Hospital and New York-Presbyterian Hospital where she was a part of two multi-billion dollar campaigns. Before arriving at the BC Cancer Foundation, she spent eight years as the Assistant Dean of Development and Alumni Relations in the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Medicine, where she launched and completed a $437.6 million campaign, which included the Faculty’s largest ever donation, as part of UBC’s start an evolution campaign.

Sarah is proud to call Vancouver and Canada her permanent home, where she resides with her two children, Juliette and Jeffrey, husband Brian and their rescue dogs Snickers and Buddy. An avid cycling enthusiast, she is also actively involved in the local cycling community and serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the Women on Wheels Cycling Club in Vancouver.

Ali Ardakani
Managing Director, Novateur Ventures Inc. and Director, BC Cancer Foundation Board

Ali Ardakani is a visionary biotech executive, entrepreneur, and corporate strategist with over 20 years of leadership experience across the life sciences sector. His career spans innovation in oncology, ophthalmology, immunology and medical devices, guiding projects from early research through to FDA approvals and global commercialization.

Ali is the Founder & Managing Director of Novateur Ventures, where he partners with companies worldwide to accelerate life science breakthroughs. He is also the Co-Founder & CEO of Optigo Biotherapeutics, an ophthalmology R&D company advancing novel therapies. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President of Device and Business Development at Beyond Air (NASDAQ: XAIR), where he played a pivotal role from early-stage development to public offering and global expansion.

A passionate advocate for the life sciences community, Ali is the Past Chair of the Board of Directors of Life Sciences British Columbia and an Associate at Creative Destruction Lab. Throughout his career, Ali has contributed to the success of multiple mergers and acquisitions, licensing deals, and financing rounds, and remains committed to building collaborations that transform patient care. His upcoming role on the BC Cancer Foundation Board reflects his deep dedication to advancing innovation, impact, and hope for patients and families across British Columbia and beyond.