Dr. Robert Klaassen is a Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist and the Program Leader of the Hematology Program at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, as well as a Full Professor at the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Klaassen has always been a strong advocate for patients with hemoglobinopathies – he is a founding member of the Canadian Hemoglobinopathies Association (CanHaem). He has successfully co-chaired three conferences focusing on hemoglobinopathies including the first national Canadian sickle cell conference. In 2005 he actively lobbied the Ontario government to include hemoglobinopathies in the expansion of the newborn screening program. He is also the lead owner/inventor of the quality of life measurement tool for thalassemia called the TranQol, which has been used in numerous multicentre clinical drug trials for patients with thalassemia.
