Speakers

Dr. Dan Veljovich was born and raised in Southern California and studied Biochemistry and Cell Biology at UC San Diego before pursuing his medical training on the East Coast where he earned his medical degree and completed a residency in OB/GYN at the University of Virginia and trained in gynecologic oncology as a fellow at the University of North Carolina.

He is a gynecologic oncologist at Swedish Cancer Institute and enjoys training residents and fellows as a gynecologic oncologist at Providence/Swedish Medical Center and is an associate clinical professor in the department of OB/GYN at the University of Washington.

In 2006, he co-initiated the first gynecologic oncology robotic surgery program in the Pacific Northwest and published the first peer-reviewed article in the medical literature evaluating robotic surgery in endometrial cancer. He has been an invited speaker on this topic for the European Society of Gynecologic Oncologists and the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists.

He has been actively involved in accruing patients to clinical trials evaluating novel agents and became interested in PARP inhibitors participating in an institutional Phase IB/II expansion trial of olaparib in 2010 and was involved in clinical trials of bevacizumab and PARP inhibitors prior to FDA approval of these drugs.

A fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Dr. Veljovich is a past President of the Seattle Gynecologic Society, has served on the program committees for SGO 2010 and 2020, and has been consistently selected as a “Top Doctor” in gynecologic oncology in Seattle Magazine and Seattle Metropolitan Magazine. In his free time, he enjoys running, snowboarding, hiking, and spending time with his family and dog.

Dr. Katharina Kieser is an Associate Professor and Division Head of Gynecologic Oncology, in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Dalhousie University. Her primary areas of interest include hereditary cancer syndromes, endometrial cancer, vulvar cancer and medical education.

Christa Slatnik is a Nurse Practitioner with over 20 years’ experience working with gyne-oncology patients. As the only Gyne-Oncology Nurse Practitioner in Manitoba, Christa has the ability to offer a standardized compassionate approach to all gyne-oncology patients throughout the province as they are transitioning in different parts of their cancer journey, including transitioning to maintenance therapy. Christa also plays a role on the national level as an active member within CANO, GOC, the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition, and volunteering for the past 18 years as Co-Chair for Ovarian Cancer Canada’s Walk of Hope.