This September is a bit special for me. It commemorates the 50th year of me “going to school”. As a scientist and academician, I am very excited about this accomplishment.
I hope we will invest in education more in NL and elsewhere, as when there is a strong public education, even the least privileged can excel.
I was also honoured with Inspired Innovation Award (adult category) by St. John’s YWCA “as an innovator and pioneer in the academic public engagement space..”.
I thank my parents for giving my siblings and I the best conditions they could offer to help us pursue education and all.
I do not do everything myself: I also gratefully acknowledge my students, assistants, collaborators, and public partners and advocates who I have worked with for their critical roles in everything I do.
We are very pleased to share that our study on pediatric cancers and social and stigma related experiences is now published: https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/33/8/494
I made two presentations as part of the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology (CAPO) annual conference – one about the Public Interest Group on Cancer Research and the other about the Atlantic Cancer Consortium Patient Advisory Committee.
We learnt and grew together – both of these presentations paint a picture of different experiences and learning – take a look
The second one was the Seniors of Distinction award by the Department of Seniors, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador – another amazing recognition 🙂 https://www.gov.nl.ca/releases/2026/exec/0611n03/
Folks, I am happy that our efforts are making an impact. Together, we can do so much more.
We are pleased to note that we – the Atlantic Cancer Consortium Patient Advisory Committee (ACC PAC) – have just published our 2nd scholarly paper!! 💓
In this paper, we describe our experience with organizing a Public Conference on Precision Medicine (March 15, 2025) for Atlantic Canadians, self-reflections, feedback received and lessons learnt for future public partnerships and conferences
Take a look!!
What an impressive track-record – The ACC PAC was formed in Jan 2024, and this is our second manuscript peer-reviewed and published freely available to global audience
For this study: • Patient means that you are someone affected by a health issue. A caregiver or a family member of a person with a health issue is also called a patient.
• Public means that you are a member of the general public. You may or may not be a patient.
• Partner means that you are a part of a team. This team may be conducting a research study. Or, it may be designing and delivering an initiative, such as a program, planning session, consultation session, townhall, or public engagement event.
Other terms can also be used to define partners. For example, they may be called an advisor, council member, project team member, interest group member, or committee member.
• As a patient and public partner in the team, you work together with other team members. You may have equal rights or responsibilities for the work done together.
I am pleased to share with you my pre-recorded speech delivered as part of the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance conference (CCRC) held in Calgary, Canada between Nov 2-4, 2025.
Sadly I could not make it there in-person, but I am glad I had a prerecorded speech that could be played during the session.
I am excited to note that I will be receiving the Exceptional Leadership in Patient Involvement in Cancer Research Award by the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance (CCRA) in Nov 2025.
Congratulations to all awardees – what a great cohort of folks who are dedicated to make a difference at the cancer front!
I am so happy to bring this Award to Newfoundland and Labrador, and Atlantic Canada.
This prestigious and national award goes to you folks: Community in #NewfoundlandAndLabrador and in #AtlanticCanada, my collaborator colleagues and assistants, and our funders who transformed me into a public communicator and engager.
Over the last 6 years, together we have been working very hard to make a difference in the lives of people, families, and communities affected by cancer.
The Public Interest Group on Cancer Research has been particularly strong voice in Newfoundland and Labrador. It was formed and sustained by funding provided by the Office of Public Engagement in St. John’s, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Sadly, this wonderful unit, its excellent staff, and its funding do not exist anymore. This is just one example of how the budget cuts impact the community in NL – no one wins here.
The Atlantic Cancer Consortium Patient Advisory Committee is another successful partnership albeit being a young one (formed less than 2 years ago). I thank our funders/MOHCCN for making our work and committee a possibility.
NLSUPPORT has always been there to give us a hand – I cannot thank its wonderful staff.
Among all the units I am associated with at Memorial University, it has been my clinical colleagues at the Discipline of Oncology, who have fully supported and understood what I have been trying to do in my engagement work. Special thanks go to them.
I thank Quality of Care NL for nominating me for this award, and public partners, leaders, and colleagues supporting my nomination.
I always question where my heart and mind are. Nowadays they are with my family. My mom, Nimet Altunbas, died of cancer four years ago. My sister, Mehtap Savas, is a long term survivor of cancer. I would die for them.
I work very hard to make a difference in the lives of people affected (or will be affected) by cancer – I have no regret for working hard, failing, getting up, getting burnt out, and succeeding along the way. My only regret is that my family has not benefited and will not benefit from my hard work. From my young age on, they supported my ideals and not even once complained about me being away from them (since age 11). I proudly note that my sister Mehtap is my biggest supporter, as she understands the gap we have been addressing together with public partners in the lives of people affected by cancer.
Last, I am Turkish and I am an immigrant to Canada. This award is a testament to immigrants’ abilities and contributions to the society and academia in Canada. If there are other immigrant folks out there who would like to start public and patient engagement, please just go ahead – future is brighter.
My commitment to make things better for the next person and family affected by cancer is continuous. Please join me in supporting them in any way you can.
With gratitude
Sevtap Savas, PhD. Oct 21, 2025 St. John’s
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In case you are wondering what we have been doing with public partners, here is a short summary
We have been spending a lot of time creating ideas, figuring out, conversing, and overcoming hurdles to do so
We have been reaching out to the public, engage with them, and share knowledge with them
We have been designing studies and public engagement activities to benefit the public
We have been advising researchers and other stakeholders
We have been organizing public events and conferences
We have been publishing all learnings at both the academic and public levels, so that anybody could benefit from our experiences
We have been learning how to best work together
We continuously progressed and evolved – we even started a public podcast on cancer with currently 28 episodes!
