AWARDS/HONOURS/
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Barbara (Dee) Ballyk (Anat) has been chosen as the
2017 W.T. Aikins Award winner in the Excellence in
Individual Teaching Performance, Large Group. This
award is presented to a teacher who has significantly
contributed to high-quality undergraduate teaching by
establishing and integrating new and effective methods
of instruction into the curriculum.
Michael Wiley (Anat) received Dr. E. Mary Hollington
Teaching Award Excellence in Preclinical or Basic Science
Teaching. This award is given for demonstrated excellence
in pre-clinical or basic science teaching.
Gideon Cohen (CardSurg) received the Surgical Skills
Centre Distinguished Educator Award for his longtime
support in the area of education at the Surgical Skills
Centre. His continued support and development of the
cardiac residency boot and camp made him the prime
choice for this year’s award.
Maral Ouzounian (CardSurg) was awarded the 2017
Nina Braunwald Fellowship from the Thoracic Surgery
Foundation in recognition of an outstanding female
young surgical investigator.
Subodh Verma (CardSurg) and David Mazer have
been invited to evaluate the impact of evolocumab in
coronary artery bypass patients in a randomized trial.
This comes with a budget of CAD 7M. This trial adds
significant momentum to the CardioLink effort.
Subodh was also awarded a 5-year CIHR Project Grant
for the proposal entitled “BRCA1 therapy for heart failure”.
Subodh Verma has also been invited to sit on the
Diabetes Committee of the American Heart Association
Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health.
Najma Ahmed (GenSurg) is the recipient of the 2017
Award for Excellence in Postgraduate Medical Education
in the category of Teaching Performance, Mentorship
and Advocacy, which hounours an individual who has
demonstrated sustained commitment to postgraduate
medical education.
Nancy Baxter (GenSurg) made the top 5 of the 25
most cited articles over the past 25 years through ICES
(Link to ICES).
Natalie Coburn (GenSurg) received a CIHR Catalyst
Grant: Health Services and Economics Research in
Cancer Control for her project “Comparison of Adjuvant
Chemotherapy to Chemoradiation Following Curative-
Intent Resection for Pancreatic Cancer: A Population-Based
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis”.
Karen Devon (GenSurg) has been selected as a co-recipient
of the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine
David Fear Fellowship Award for an innovative program
in continuing professional development for health professionals.
Karen’s innovations include development of
Surgical Ethics Morbidity and Mortality rounds, which
is now a foundation at University of Toronto in the
Department of Surgery.
Jaime Escallon (GenSurg) has been granted The National
Merit Award of the Republic of Colombia. This recognizes
his work in Colombia, but it also takes into consideration
the support that the Department of Surgery of the
University of Toronto has given to education and advances
in surgical principles and practices, having been able
to guarantee the participation of Faculty from Toronto at
the Annual meeting of the Colombian Surgical Society
for the last 20 years. Over the years, Dr. Escallon has been
able to help many physicians at different levels of training
successfully enrolled in different programs. Some of them
stayed in Canada after completing their training and now
have a successful career. Many have return to Colombia
and are now a permanent link with U of T to continue
growing this partnership.
Jaime also received the Frank Mills Teaching Award
for Faculty in recognition of an outstanding contribution
to the education of medical students, residents and
faculty in the Division of General Surgery.
Anand Ghanekar (GenSurg) has received a 2-year
Operating Grant from the Canadian Liver Foundation
for his project entitled “Role and Regulation of Dual
Specificity Phosphatase 9 in Human Hepatocellular
Carcinoma”.
Anand is also co-investigator on a project entitled
“Non-Invasive Monitoring of Liver Cancer Recurrence
Following Surgery Using Circulating Tumour DNA
Sequencing” that was awarded a 5 year Project Grant
from CIHR (PI: Trevor Pugh, Medical Biophysics).
Rebecca Gladdy (GenSurg) was a co-winner of 2017-
19 Clinical Investigator Awards for her work “Metabolic
Reprogramming in Sarcoma-Repurposing Statins as
Anticancer Agents”.
Anand Govandirajan (GenSurg) was the recipient of
the Innovation Funds in Surgical Oncology (IF-SO)-
Young Investigator for his work “Pilot randomized controlled
trial of Prehabilitation to Improve Cancer Surgery
Outcomes (PICaSO”.
Teodor Grantcharov (GenSurg) was named Keenan Chair
in Surgery at St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of
Toronto. The five-year chair was developed to support a
world-class surgeon-scientist at St. Michael’s.
Teodor is also the recipient of the 2017 Award for
Excellence in Postgraduate Medical Education in the
category of Development and Innovation, which is given
to an individual who has demonstrated sustained commitment
to postgraduate medical education.
Paul Greig and Bryce Taylor Greig with 2002 Fellows and Faculty
Front: Chuck Vollmer, Ian McGilvary, Elijah Dixon, Mark Cattral,
Back: Bernie Langer, Bryce Taylor, Steve Gallinger, David Grant, Paul Greig
Paul Greig (GenSurg) is the inaugural recipient of
the Bryce R. Taylor Mentorship Award from The
Department of Surgery, University of Toronto which
celebrates faculty members who emulate the traits that
Dr. Taylor exhibited throughout his long and illustrious
career at the University of Toronto: naturally gifted clinical
surgeon and educator with a reputation for mentoring
students, residents, fellows and, in particular, faculty.
Paul Karanicolas (GenSurg) has been awarded the ACS
Traveling Fellowship to Germany.
Paul also received a CIHR Project CIHR Project Grant-
1 year Bridge Funding his project “The HeLiX Trial: A
Randomized Controlled Trial of Tranexamic Acid Versus Placebo to Reduce Perioperative Blood Transfusion in
Patients Undergoing Liver Resection”.
Robin McLeod (GenSurg) has been awarded the 2017
Royal College Duncan Graham Award, which celebrates
extensive and outstanding contributions to medical
education. Dr. McLeod is recognized for initiating and
developing the “Evidence-Based Reviews in Surgery”
(EBRS).
Stephanie Mason and
ACS
RCOT Chair
Leonard J. Weireter
|
Stephanie Mason (GenSurg)
won the 1st Place, Clinical
Research in the ACS Trauma
resident paper competition for “Self-harm emergencies after
major burn injury: A populationbased
analysis”.
Khaled Ramadan received the
Paddy Lewis Award for Junior
Resident TGH in recognition of an outstanding contribution
to education in the Division of General Surgery.
Jonah Shiroky (GenSurg) received the Paddy Lewis
Award for Senior Resident TGH in recognition of an
outstanding contribution to the education of medical
students, residents in the Division of General Surgery.
Katalin Szaszi (GenSurg) is the recipient of a 2017
NSERC Discovery Grant for her work “Regulation of
expression and trafficking of junction proteins”.
Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto hounoured
Bryce Taylor (GenSurg) at the 2017 Gallie Day
by establishing the Bryce Taylor Mentorship Award. This
award recognizes those faculty members who emulate
the traits that Dr. Taylor exhibited throughout his long
and illustrious career at the University of Toronto. Dr.
Bryce Taylor, former Surgeon in Chief at the University
Health Network and Associate Chair in the Department
of Surgery, has been described as being a naturally gifted
clinical surgeon and educator with a reputation for mentoring
students, residents, fellows and, in particular,
faculty. Dr. Taylor was known for providing sage advice
and counsel to countless medical professionals. He was
considered, by all accounts, to be the quintessential role
model for professionalism in surgery and trained generations
of surgeons.
Stephanie Tung (GenSurg) received the Paddy Lewis
Award for Junior Resident TWHin recognition of an
outstanding contribution to education in the Division
of General Surgery.
L-R Jaime Escallon, Jonah Shiroky, Khaled Ramadan, Stephanie Tung, Sha
Ullah, Nathan Zilbert and Division Head, Allan Okrainec
Sha Ullah (GenSurg) received the Paddy Lewis Award
for Senior Resident TWH in recognition of an outstanding
contribution to the education of medical students,
residents in the Division of General Surgery.
David Urbach (GenSurg) was elected to Fellowship in
the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS).
Fellows are nominated for exceptional achievements
through a body of publications, intellectual endeavours
or creative activities exhibiting original contributions in
the arts, humanities or sciences, as well as in public life.
He is joining an elite group of experts who are considered
the best in their respective fields.
Nathan Zilbert (GenSurg) received the Paddy Lewis
Award for Clinical Fellow in recognition of an outstanding
contribution to the education of medical students,
residents in the Division of General Surgery.
Lorraine Tremblay (GenSurg) has been appointed as
President, Trauma Association of Canada for 2018-20. Her
appointment as president is a recognition of her contributions
to trauma care in Canada over the course of her career.
Jetan Badhiwala (NeurSurg, PGY3) received second
prize of the 2016 William J. Horsey Neurosurgical
Resident Prize Competition for his work “Endovascular
Thrombectomy for Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Meta-analysis”.
Vivek Bodani (PGY4, NeurSurg) (supervisor: James
Drake) won the AANS Neurosurgery Technology
Development Grant for his project entitled “Development
And Validation Of A High-Fidelity Surgical Simulator For
Endoscopic Colloid Cyst Resection.”
Michael Cusimano (NeurSurg) was one of 6 Canadian
scientists selected to be this year’s recipient of the Partners
in Research Biomedical Science Ambassador Award. This
award recognizes a Canadian researcher whose outstanding
body of work over a period of time has contributed to the
fields of biomedical science and/or clinical medicine, and
the promotion of this research to the Canadian public.
Michael’s work has contributed significantly to our understanding
of traumatic brain injury and its prevention and
he has been pivotal in disseminating this important information
to the public, predominantly through his work with
children and young adults. Michael is the first surgeon to
receive this award. http://www.pirweb.org/pir/en/pir-event/
Michael Cusimano was also elected to Fellowship
in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS).
Fellows are nominated for exceptional achievements
through a body of publications, intellectual endeavours
or creative activities exhibiting original contributions in
the arts, humanities or sciences, as well as in public life.
He is joining an elite group of experts who are considered
the best in their respective fields.
Michael also received a 2017 Physicians’ Services
Inc. Foundation - Operating Grants for his project
“Tranexamic Acid in the Treatment of Residual Chronic
Subdural Hematoma: A Single-Centre, Observer-Blinded,
Randomized, Controlled Trial”.
Karen Davis (NeurSurg) received the Outstanding Pain
Mentorship Award from The Canadian Pain Society.
This award celebrates a researcher and/or clinician who
consistently exemplifies outstanding mentorship in the
training of future pain researchers and/or clinicians.
Peter Dirks and Michael Taylor (NeurSurg) were
awarded $4.8 million for brain cancer research. SickKids
is one of five major studies that will receive a portion of
$24 million in Translational Research Initiatives (TRIs)
funding over two years from the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR). This is a brain cancer research
project led by The Hospital for Sick Children (Link to SickKids news)
James H. Eubanks (NeurSurg) received a 3 year CIHR
Project Grant for the work entitled “Altered Microtubule
Regulation: A Novel Mechanism Underlying Rett Syndrome
Pathogenesis?”.
Michael Fehlings (NeurSurg) was appointed to the
Editorial Board of StemCellsTM.
Michael and his team received a two-year Wings for
Life grant with possible extension for another 3 years
for the project “Next Generation Stem Cell Therapy for
Cervical Spinal Cord Injury: Cervical Identity iPSCDerived
Neural Precursor Cells Optimized to Modulate the
Injury Microenvironment”.
Michael Fehlings received the David Lostchuck
Memorial Award at the CSC & OSCIRN meeting for
his commitment and accomplishment to SC research.
Michael also received the Germán Ochoa Traveling
Fellowship at the Global Spine Congress 2017.
Michael Fehlings receiving David Lostchuck Memorial Award
Mario Ganau (NeurSurg), Spine Fellow, received 1st
Poster Prize from at the Combined Canadian Spinal
Cord & Ontario Spinal Cord Injury Research Network
Meeting for the work entitled “Bioengineering and
Nanotechnology Contributions to the Management of
Spinal Cord Injuries. Where Are We Now, and Where Are
We Heading?”
Fred Gentili and Andres Lozano (NeurSurg) were
made honorary members of the Spanish Society of
Neurosurgery.
Deep Guha (NeurSurg, PGY4) received a Charles
Kuntz Scholar Award from the Congress of Neurological
Surgeons (CNS) Joint Section on Disorders of the
Spine and Peripheral Nerves for his work entitled
“Optical Topographic Imaging for Intra-Operative Three-
Dimensional Navigation in the Cervical Spine: Accuracy
Validation and Initial Clinical Feasibility”.
Deep Guha (supervisor: Victor Yang) received a 2017
Optics and Photonics Education Scholarship from the SPIE - International Society of Optics and Photonics.
Deep (MSc supervisors: Victor Yang and Albert
Yee) was also selected to receive the Sanford J. Larson,
MD, PhD Award from the American Association of
Neurological Surgeons for his work titled “Optical
Topographic Imaging for Intra-Operative Three-
Dimensional Navigation in the Cervical Spine: Accuracy
Validation and Initial Clinical Feasibility”.
Deep Guha won the 2017 K.G. McKenzie Memorial
Prize for Basic Neuroscience Research, the most prestigious
resident award in neurosurgery in Canada.
Deep also won the 2015 McKenzie Prize for Clinical
Neuroscience Research. He joins Michael Fehlings
(1987, 1991) and Shah Siddiqi (1994, 1995) as Toronto
neurosurgery residents who have won the McKenzie
Prize more than once.
Mojgan Hodaie
|
Mojgan Hodaie (NeurSurg) was presented
with the Grand Cross of
the Legion of Honor of
Monisaraphon by the
Kingdom of Cambodia for
her efforts in the development
and strengthening of
neurosurgery in Cambodia.
This is one the highest civilian
honors bestowed by the
country for services in the fields of literature and the fine arts, education, justice,
administration, and science. We congratulate Mojgan on
her tremendous efforts in international neurosurgery.
Mojgan Hodaie was elected as an officer of the Board
of Directors of the World Society of Stereotactic and
Functional Neurosurgery for 2017-2019 and will hold
the position of Treasurer.
Mojgan is also the winner of the 2017 Institute
of Medical Science Course Director Award in recognition
of her highly regarded course MSC1006H:
Neuroanatomy - Introduction to Anatomical Organization
of the Brain. This award is presented to a faculty member
with a sustained contribution of more than three years.
William Hutchison, Suneil Kalia, Mojgan Hodaie,
and Andres Lozano (NeurSurg) received a two-year
grant from the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation,
Chicago, for the work entitled “Tremor, Oscillations,
Synaptic Plasticity and DBS for Dystonia”.
Two papers of Abhaya Kulkarni and James Drake
(NeurSurg) were featured in the Journal of Neurosurgery’s
supplement “Best of 2016”, which includes the 10 best
papers of the year.
Nir Lipsman (NeurSurg) is mentioned in the Ontario
Hospital Association Newsletter, June 1, 2017. Nir,
together with scientists at Sunnybrook have made
history as they used focused ultrasound to safely and
non-invasively breach the blood-brain barrier (BBB)
temporarily in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in
a clinical trial.
Toronto Dominion Bank 2016 Most Influential Hispanic Canadians
Andres Lozano awarded Order of Canada
Andres Lozano (NeurSurg) was inducted as an Officer
of the Order of Canada at a ceremony at Rideau Hall in
Ottawa on February 15, 2017. He has been honoured
primarily for his research into Deep Brain Stimulation, a
process whereby electricity is used to regulate the activity
of malfunctioning brain circuits and control the symptoms
of many disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease
Andres was named to the 2016 Thomson Reuters
Highly Cited Researchers and Most Influential Scientific
Minds for the period 2003-2014. The Highly Cited
Researchers list includes researchers that publish the top
1% most cited works in their subject and the given year
of publication.
Andres Lozano (the fourth from left) with other
2016 Award Recipients at the CarIU, Toronto
Andres was also named one of the 10 Most Influential
Hispanic Canadians of 2016 by Toronto Dominion
(TD) Bank. The awards recognize leading individuals
from all disciplines across Canada for their outstanding
contributions to the community. The list is personally
recognized by the Prime Minister. The awards were presented
by His Excellency Luis Almagro Lemes, Secretary
General of the Organization States at a ceremony in
Toronto on December 15, 2016.
Andres Lozano (and Joyce Poon and Roman Genov,
U of T Electrical & Computer Engineering) received
a 3-year CIHR Collaborative Health Research Project
Grant for the project entitled “Wireless Neuroprobes for
Massively Parallel Optical and Electrical Interrogation of
Neurons”.
Andres Lozano received the 2017 Neurobionik
Award from the International Neurobionik Foundation.
Andres Lozano received the 30th Khwarizmi
International Award (KIA) from the Iranian Research
Organization for Science and Technology and the
President of Iran, His Excellency Hassan Rouhani.
Todd Mainprize (NeurSurg) has been promoted to
Deputy Surgeon-in-Chief at Sunnybrook Hospital. Dr.
Mainprize joined the Sunnybrook Health Science Centre
in 2008, where his research focuses on neuro-oncology,
and he was appointed Division Head of Neurosurgery at
Sunnybrook in March 2016.
Ann Mansur (NeurSurg) received this year’s Alan R.
Hudson Clinical Clerk Achievement Award, which is
awarded to a Clinical Clerk in recognition of excellence
in achievement during Clinical Clerkship training.
Allan Martin (NeurSurg, PGY4) received a Charles
Kuntz Scholar Award for his work entitled “Quantitative
Multi-Parametric Spinal Cord MRI Detects Subclinical
Tissue Injury in Asymptomatic Cervical Spinal Cord
Compression”.
Ying Meng (PGY4; NeurSurg) (Supervisor: Andres
Lozano) received an Alzheimer Society Research Program
(ASRP) research award. Ying’s work was ranked third of
223 applications.
Anick Nater (PGY4, NeurSurg) (Supervisor: Dr.
Michael Fehlings) won an award of excellence at the
CIHR Poster Presentation that was held at the Canadian
Student Health Research Forum.
Farshad Nassiri (PGY3 NeurSurg) won first prize of the
2016 William J. Horsey Neurosurgical Resident Prize
Competition for his project “A Propensity Score-Matched
Study of the Use of Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Agents
Following Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage”.
Farshad also received the Warren Ho Humanitarian
Award, which celebrates excellence in clinical care and
research, and demonstrated humanitarianism.
Ivan Radovanovic (NeurSurg) received a McLaughlin
Centre, University of Toronto - 2017 Accelerator
Grants for “Whole Exome Sequencing of Sporadic and
Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangectasia (HHT) Associated
Arteriovenous Malformations”.
James Rutka receiving the honorary Doctor of Science from Queen’s University
Left to right: R. Reznick, J. Rutka
James Rutka (NeurSurg) and Annie Huang (Principal
Investigator, Pediatrics) received a 5 year CCSRI Impact
Grant co-funded with Brain Canada with the financial
support of Health Canada for their work “Advancing
biology-based therapies for rhabdoid brain tumours”.
James Rutka also received the International Recognition
Award given by the Saudi Arabian Neurosurgical Society
and the Pediatric Arab Neurosurgical Society on an invitation
to their recent annual meeting in Riyadh.
James received a 5 year CIHR Project Grant for his project
“Molecular Therapeutic Targeting of Malignant Gliomas”.
James Rutka received an honorary degree, Doctor of
Science from Queen’s University on May 25, 2017 during
Spring Convocation.
James Rutka received Honorary Membership in the
Ukrainian Association of Neurosurgeons at their Annual
Meeting in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
James Rutka was the recipient of the Hudson Faculty
Teaching Award, which is awarded to a Neurosurgery
Faculty member in recognition of contributions to
undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.
Peter Shih-Ping Hung (graduate student, supervisor:
Mojgan Hodaie, NeurSurg) was awarded the best poster
award-second prize at the 2017 Canadian Pain Society
meeting for his poster entitled: “Untangling Trigeminal
Neuralgia from neurovascular compression: The role of multimodal
magnetic resonance imaging and microstructural
diffusivity analysis”.
Peter Shih Ping Hung and Sarasa Tohyama (supervisor:
Mojgan Hodaie, NeurSurg) received 2016-2017
scholarships from the University of Toronto Center for
the Study of Pain.
Sarasa Tohyama (graduate student, supervisor: Mojgan
Hodaie, NeurSurg) won the graduate student first prize
at the 2017 Krembil Research Day for her presentation
entitled: “Trigeminal Nerve Microstructure after Radiosurgery
predicts long-term treatment response for trigeminal neuralgia”
Sarasa was also awarded the University of Toronto
Faculty of Medicine Award of Merit for International
Students.
|
Charles Tator
|
Charles Tator (Neursurg)
has been promoted to Officer
of the Order of Canada. He
was originally appointed as
a Member of the Order of
Canada in 2000 for his leadership
in the prevention and
treatment of brain and spinal
cord injury. He has now
been made an Officer of the
Order in recognition of his
tremendous ongoing work in
concussion management and prevention.
Charles has also been inducted into the 2017 Canada
Sports Hall of Fame for the profound impact he has
had on spinal cord injury research, prevention, and
treatment, transforming the world’s understanding of
concussions. Dr. Tator’s advocacy efforts resulted in the
creation of new legislation and guidelines to prevent spinal
cord injury in hockey and, in 1992, he helped found
an organization called Parachute Canada, a national
injury prevention agency that educates young people,
medical personnel, teachers, coaches, and parents across
the country about sport safety.
Charles Tator received a two-year grant from Wings
for Life for the project entitled “Inhibition Of Repulsive
Guidance Molecule A To Promote Axonal Regeneration
after Cervical Spinal Cord Injury”.
Charles was awarded the first annual University
Health Network Surgeon Educator Award in honor of
surgical leaders at UHN that have made an impact in
Surgical Education.
Michael Taylor (NeurSurg) received the 2016 Lister
prize from the Department of Surgery. The Prize is given
in recognition of outstanding and continuing productivity
of international stature as evidenced by research
publications, grants held, students trained and other
evidence of stature of the work produced.
Michael Tymianski
|
Michael Tymianski (NeurSurg)
has been appointed Member of
the Order of Canada. Michael
is being honoured for his contributions
to neuroscience, particularly
through his leadership
in investigating new mechanisms
to protect the brain following
a stroke.
Michael Tymianski received
a Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada: Grant-In-Aid
for “Developing the ‘EpiPen’ of Acute Stroke and Stroke
Recovery”.
Taufik Valiante (NeurSurg) received a two-year
EMHSeed grant for the work entitled “A Clinical
Study of Seizure-Aborting Implantable Neuro-stimulation
Efficacy in Treating Drug-Resistant Epilepsy” (Co-PI:
Roman Genov).
Taufik received a 5-year CIHR grant for the work
entitled “Artificially Intelligent Neurostimulators for Drug-
Resistant Epilepsy”. Dr. Valiante’s successful proposal was
ranked third of more than 2,800 submissions.
Taufik was also this year’s Ross Fleming Teaching
Award recipient. This award hounours a neurosurgery
faculty member for contributions to undergraduate and
junior resident teaching.
Jefferson Wilson (NeurSurg) received a 2017-2018
Young Investigator Award from the Neurosurgery
Research and Education Foundation (NREF). Jeff ’s
research interests relate to the epidemiology and clinical
epidemiology of spinal trauma and spinal cord injury.
Jefferson Wilson was appointed to the Institute
of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the
University of Toronto.
Chris Witiw (NeurSurg, PGY5) received the Fielding
Resident/Fellow Research Award (Second Prize) at the Cervical Spine Research Society 44th Annual Meeting for
his work entitled “A Health Economic and Patient-Centered
Analysis On the Value of Surgery for Degenerative Cervical
Myelopathy: Strong Support for Surgical Intervention”.
Chris Witiw was also presented with the Hudson
Resident Teaching Award, which is awarded to a
Neurosurgery resident in recognition of contributions to
teaching medical students, fellow residents and nurses.
Christopher Witiw was awarded Best Abstract
(Clinical Science) at SpineFEST 2017.
Victor Yang (NeurSurg) received FDA and Health
Canada approval for his optical topographical imaging
technology for spinal navigation created with 7D
Surgical. The Machine-vision Image Guided Surgery
(MIGS™) system advances optical neuronavigational
technique and is the first of its kind. Congratulations to
Victor and his team for developing this technology that
will enhance spinal imaging for neurosurgeons across
North America.
Victor Yang received a three-year CHRP (CIHR/
NSERC partnered) grant for the work entitled
“Comprehensive Image-Guided Planning System for
Personalized Treatment.”
Victor is also the recipient of the 20 17 George
Armstrong Peters Prize from the Department of Surgery.
This prize is awarded to a young independent investigator
who has exhibited outstanding productivity
in research publications, grants awarded and students
trained. Since joining our Department in 2013, Dr.
Yang’s research has focused on high-resolution neurosurgical
navigation techniques and minimally invasive
therapeutics.
Victor Yang received FDA and Health Canada
approval for his optical topographical imaging technology
for spinal navigation created with 7D Surgical. The
Machine-vision Image Guided Surgery (MIGS™) system
advances optical neuronavigational technique and
is the first of its kind. Congratulations to Victor and his
team for developing this technology that will enhance
spinal imaging for neurosurgeons across North America.
Gelareh Zadeh (NeurSurg) and her team were awarded
a $1.5 million, two year grant from the Children’s
Tumor Foundation to investigate the genomic landscape
of schwannomatosis. This grant supported Gelareh’s initiative to organize the first meeting of the International
Consortium on Schwnanomatosis on May 1, 2017.
Invited speakers from 10 national and international sites
were in attendance.
Gelareh also received a CIHR Operating Grant
for the work entitled “Analyses of Existing Canadian
Cohorts and Databases Related to Reproductive, Child and
Maternal Health and Cancer Control.”
Gelareh Zadeh and colleagues are the recipients of a
collaborative grant from The Brain Tumor Charity –CR/
UK – for 1.5 M pounds (UK) working across multiple
institutions on understanding the molecular signature of
clinically aggressive meningiomas.
David Backstein (OrthoSurg) assumed the role of
Associate Editor for the Journal of Arthroplasty. This is
a prestigious position in the top arthroplasty journal and
signifies David’s significant contributions to the field.
James H. Eubanks (OrthoSurg) received a CIHR
Project Grant in the October 2016 Competition for
his project “Altered Microtubule Regulation: A Novel
Mechanism Underlying Rett Syndrome Pathogenesis?”.
Geoff Fernie (OrthoSurg) received the Department of
Surgery Lister Prize, the highest honour a member of the
Department of Surgery can receive.
Jeremy Hall (OrthoSurg) received the Department of
Surgery Bruce Tovee Undergraduate Teaching Award at
this year’s Gallie Day dinner.
Andrew Howard
|
Andrew Howard (OrthoSurg)
was awarded the prestigious
Paediatric Orthopaedic
Society of North America’s
Huene Memorial Award. This
is the premier research award
in North American children’s
orthopaedics and recognizes
both past contribution plus
gives a small grant ($30k US)
for future work. In 26 years of
this award it has come to Sickkids 6 times, with no other
institution coming closes. Past winners here include Drs.
Cole, Salter, Alman, Wright, and Narayanan. This is a phenomenal accomplishment for Andrew and for the
Division at Sickkids, further cementing their reputation
as the leading peadiatric orthopaedic research institute
in North America.
Andrew Howard (OrthoSurg) and his team received
a 5 year CIHR grant for their project entitled “The Built
Environment and Active Transportation Safety in Children
and Youth”.
Mohit Kapoor (OrthoSurg) received a 4 year CIHR
Project Grant for his project “ULK1 (most upstream autophagy
inducer) as a potential therapeutic target in Osteoarthritis”.
Mohit is also the recipient of a 1/5 year(s) + 1-year
automatic extension NSERC Grant for his work on “Role
of MicroRNAs in Synovial Fibroblast Biology and Functions”.
Mitch Brown (PlasSurg) was celebrated for completing
10 years as Program Director in the Division
of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at this year's
Gala Graduation Dinner. In appreciation for the huge
amount of time and effort that he contributed over the
past decade, a small token of appreciation was awarded
to him – a metaphor for the combination of unpredictable
nature of the post was engraved on a stethoscope:
“With thanks and appreciation”
Mitchell H. Brown, MD, Med, FRCSC, Program
Director, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive
Surgery, University of Toronto, 2007-2017
“Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality”
- Dalai Lama XIV
THE LAST SUPPER
(back row, left to right) Michael Weinberg, Ron Levine, Steve McCabe, Shar
Shahrokhi, Jamil Ahmad, Paul Binhammer, Linda Dvali, Brett Beber, Joel Fish
with (sitting) Chris Forrest, Mitch Brown, Kathy Pavlovic and Dimitri Anastakis
Joseph Catapano with Allergan representatives Mary Jo McCarthy and Jocelyn Mang with Gregory Borschel
Joseph Catapano (PlasSurg, SSTP PhD) (Supervisor:
Gregory H. Borschel) took the 2nd prize in this year’s
Gallie-Bateman competition for his work: “Corneal
Neurotization: A Novel Surgical Procedure to Restore
Sensation and Preserve Vision in Patients with Neurotrophic
Keratopathy”.
Joseph Catapano received the Best Basic Science
Paper Presentation in the Clinical Category award at the
Annual Resident Research Day in the Division of Plastic
Surgery
Joseph has also won the Clinical Award at the 62nd
Annual Meeting of the Plastic Surgery Research Council
in Durham, North Carolina May 4-7, 2017.
Marc Jeschke (PlasSurg) received a Catalyst Grant by
the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for
his work entitled “Glucose control in burned patients: a
multi-centre phase III prospective RCT”.
Giancarlo McEvenue and Research Director Greg Borschel
Giancarlo McEvenue (PGY-5, PlasSurg) received the Best
Presentation in the Clinical Category award at the Annual
Resident Research Day in the Division of Plastic Surgery.
Congratulations to Joan Lipa (PlasSurg) for her recent
appointment as a Director of the Board for The American
Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc. for a 6-year term. Joan follows
in the footsteps of other notable Canadian graduates
such as Don Lalonde, Bruce Williams, Carolyn
Kerrigan, and WK Lindsay. This is a very prestigious and
important position and we are proud to have our UoT
faculty represented on this Board. The Mission of The
American Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc. is to promote safe, ethical, efficacious plastic surgery to the public by
maintaining high standards for the education, examination,
certification and maintenance of certification of
plastic surgeons as specialists and subspecialists.
Nancy McKee (PlasSurg) has been awarded the Canadian
Society Lifetime Achievement Award for 2017. This is
one of the highest honors that can be bestowed on a
member of our Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery community
and is highly deserved. Nancy was one of the
pioneer microsurgeons of the specialty and was involved
in establishing a regional microsurgical service at the
University of Toronto for purposes of replantation coverage.
As the first woman to receive this award, Nancy was
honored at the 71st Annual Meeting of the Canadian
Society meeting in Winnipeg in June.
Matt Murphy (PlasSurg) won this year’s Department of
Surgery D.R. Wilson award rated by undergraduate students
for being an outstanding teacher and who demonstrates
a positive attitude toward teaching and considered
to be a good role model.
Dale J. Podolsky (SSTP, PlasSurg) (Supervisors: James
M. Drake, Christopher R. Forrest) received the 3rd prize
in this year’s Gallie-Bateman competition for his work:
“Development and evaluation of a high-fidelity cleft palate
simulator for surgical training and for development of a
robotic approach to infant cleft palate surgery”.
Raieda Sadeq (Simulare) and Dale Podolsky
Dale Podolsky showcased his cleft palate and lip
simulators at the Student Showcase organized by the
Advancement Office in the Faculty of Medicine. This
event was designed to showcase the depth and breadth
of talent that exists in the Faculty.
Bheeshma Ravi (OrthoSurg) was selected the 2017 COA
North American Travelling Fellow. This is an incredibly
prestigious national honour that has previously been
bestowed on several of our most accomplished faculty
members. What is so impressive is that Bheeshma has been
selected for this award in his first year in practice!
Bheeshma also received a Catalyst Grant by the
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for his
work entitled “A Population-based Assessment of Opioid
Use Before and After Total Joint Arthroplasty”.
SSTP trainee Hélène Retrouvey (PlasSurg) has been
awarded Best Oral Presentation award for Issues in
Cancer Care at the 2017 Institute of Health Policy,
Management and Evaluation (IHPME) Research Day
for a project with Heather Baltzer “A Markov Model Of
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Management In Breast Cancer
Survivors At Risk For Lymphedema”.
Hélène also received the Frederick Banting and Charles
Best Canada Graduate Scholarships from the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for her MSc
thesis project with Dr. Toni Zhong “Understanding and
Reducing Barriers to Postmastectomy Breast Reconstruction
in Ontario: Closing the Gap”.
Hélène was also presented with the Surgical Alumni
Association Award from the Department of Surgery,
University of Toronto.
Michael Taylor (Left), Toni Zhong and Chair James Rutka (right)
Toni Zhong (PlasSurg) was the recipient of the George
Armstrong-Peters Prize for the past academic year. This
award is given to a young investigator who has shown outstanding productivity as an independent researcher.
Michael Taylor (NeurSurg) received the Lister Prize for the past academic year.
SSTP trainee Natalia Ziolkowski (PlasSurg) (Supervisor
Dr. Joel Fish) received the very competitive Plastic
Surgery Foundation 2017 Fellowship award for her
work “Validating SCAR-Q: a Patient-Reported Outcome
Instrument for Scars”.
Michael Dan (Surg) has been appointed Member of the
Order of Canada. He is recognized for “his contributions
as a philanthropist, notably for his partnerships with
Indigenous people”. Dan and Amira Dan have donated
$2 million to establish the U of T Brain Tumour Bank,
which helps researchers in U of T’s health sciences network
make more rapid progress towards treating people
with brain cancer. They have also donated $10 million
to create the Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous
Health at U of T’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
Surgical Skills Centre and Mount Sinai Hospital won
the 2017 ASPIRE Award of Excellence in Simulation.
Specific areas of excellence included: 1) outstanding
faculty; 2) complementary mission statements and
shared values and governance structures; 3) along history
of scholarship influencing contemporary practices;
4) conduct of evidence-based training and education; 5)
producers of high quality simulation-based research with
significant impact and an important research network;
6) strong patient safety and patient-centred orientations/
activities to meet their vision; and 7) organizational
culture that embraces dynamic healthcare systems and
education. It was the reviewers’ consensus opinion this
is an example of an excellent simulation program against
which others can be benchmarked.
Maurice Blitz (ThorSurg) was named the Program
Director for Surgical Foundations at the University of
Toronto, in recognition for all of his efforts in providing
support in the training for surgical residents across the
country and the important support that he has provided
to the Surgical Foundations Advisory Committee at the
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
Marcelo Cypel (ThorSurg) received an Innovation to
Impact Grant from the Canadian Cancer Society for
his work “In vivo lung perfusion (IVLP) as an adjuvant
treatment for patients undergoing surgical resection of pulmonary
metastases of bone and soft tissue sarcomas”.
Marcelo also received a 5 year CIHR Project Grant
for his project “Lung Transplantation using Hepatitis C
Positive Donors to Hepatitis C Negative Recipients: A Safety
Trial”.
Marcelo was also one of the recipients of the first
UHN Innovation Funds in Surgical Oncology (IF-SO),
(Collaborative Grant), Division of Thoracic Surgery,
UHN for his project “Localized Therapies for Pulmonary
Metastases Combining Immunotherapy with Interleukin-12
and Chemotherapy using in vivo Lung Perfusion”.
He was also the recipient of the Renewed Canada
Research Chair in Lung Transplantation for a 5 year
term.
Marc de Perrot (ThorSurg) developed the world’s first
pulmonary endarterectomy simulator in an effort to
decrease the length of time it takes new surgeons to learn
the technique.
Martin McKneally (ThorSurg) received the 2017 Arbor
Award in recognition of his outstanding volunteer commitment
to the University of Toronto for more than 21
years.
Michael Ko (ThorSurg) was the inaugural recipient of
the Ernie Spratt award, in recognition of his outstanding
teaching, as voted by the residents and fellows who
rotate throughout the Toronto East General or St.
Joseph’s Health Centre.
Walid Farhat (Urol) received the Ivan Silver Innovation
Award in recognition for his involvement in the
Paediatric Urology Laproscopy Course. The course has
demonstrated innovation in a CME-accredited course in
multiple ways. The content is innovative in its approach
to include skills currently utilized in paediatric urology
and robotics in surgery.
Antonio Finelli (Urol) is the recipient of a 1 year CIHR
Catalyst Grant Proposal for his work on “Benchmarking
the Quality of Urologic Cancer Care in Ontario: A
Population-Based Analysis”.
Christopher Wallis (PGY-4, Urol) received the “Claire
Bombardier PhD Platinum Award” from the University
of Toronto Institute of Health Policy, Management
& Evaluation, given to “the most promising student in
Clinical Epidemiology & Health Care Research”.
Mohammed Al-Omran (VascSurg) was the 2017
recipient of the prestigious Charles Tator Surgeon-
Scientist Mentoring Award by the University of Toronto
Department of Surgery. The announcement was made
at the recent Gallie Day Dinner. This is the first time
a member of the Division of Vascular Surgery has
been given this award since its introduction in 2002.
The award recognizes those supervising participants in
the Surgeon-Scientist Training Program (SSTP) who
emulate Dr. Tator’s qualities, namely excellence in
research, commitment to SSTP mentoring and dedication
to promotion of Surgeon-Scientists. Mohammed
was nominated for this award by colleagues and SSTP
residents, one of who said, “Dr. Al-Omran’s dedication
to the promotion of surgeon-scientists is illustrated by his
simple philosophy, ‘I am here to promote you’. He has
provided his trainees many unique opportunities to grow
as researchers above and beyond traditional opportunities
offered within academic curriculums.”
John Byrne (VascSurg) was one of the recipients of the
Blair Foundation Vascular Surgery Innovation Fund.
Charles de Mestral (VascSurg) received the Best
Presentation by Senior Resident/Fellow award at the
2017 U of T Vascular Surgery Research Day for his
project: “Evaluating Quality Metrics and Cost after
Discharge: A Population Based Study of Value in Health
Care Following Major Vascular Surgery in Ontario” (Supervisors: Mohammed Al-Omran, Graham Roche-
Nagle)
Charles also received the Most Outstanding Teacher
by a Resident or Fellow (as voted by the residents and
fellows) at the same event.
Charles de Mestral was also one of the recipients of
the Blair Foundation Vascular Surgery Innovation Fund.
Graham Roche Nagle
|
Graham Roche-Nagle
(VascSurg) is the recipient
of a 2017 W.T. Aikins
Award in the Excellence
in individual Teaching
Performance, small
group, the most prestigious
Faculty award for
commitment to and
excellence in undergraduate
medical education at
the University of Toronto. The criteria for the awards
are extremely rigorous, and each nomination requires
extensive support from peers and students. The award
honours Dr. Roche-Nagle’s contribution to the Faculty
of Medicine’s educational mission through his thoughtful
preparation of teaching sessions that were organized,
clear and interactive, and his mentorship of students in
both clinical and research arenas.
Konrad Salata (VascSurg) received the Alumni Award
for Best SSTP Presentation at the 2017 U of T Vascular
Surgery Research Day for his project: “The Impact Of
Statins On Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Growth, Rupture,
And Perioperative Outcomes: A Systematic Review And
Meta-Analysis” (Supervisor: Mohammed Al-Omran).
Krishna Singh
|
Krishna K. Singh
(VascSurg) received a
3-year CIHR Project
Grant for his project
“The Emerging Field of
Cardiovascular-Oncology:
Role of Tumor Suppressor
Breast Cancer Susceptibility
Gene 2 (BRCA2) in
Endothelial Dysfunction
and Atherosclerosis”.
Krishna also received a 3 year Heart and Stroke
Foundation Grant-in-Aid for his project “Novel
Mechanisms in Cardiac Fibrosis and Heart Failure”.
Mark Wheatcroft (VascSurg) received the Most
Outstanding Faculty Teacher award (as voted by the
residents and fellows) the Galla Dinner following the
2017 U of T Vascular Surgery Research Day.
Caleb Zavitz (PGY 2, VascSurg) received the Best
Presentation by Junior Resident award at the 2017 U of
T Vascular Surgery Research Day for his project: “C-myb
Is Pathogenic in Atherosclerosis through an Effect on B2 Cell
Responses” (Supervisors: Barry Rubin, Clinton Robbins ).
BLAIR EARLY CAREER PROFESSORS IN
VASCULAR SURGERY
Blair Early Career Professors in Vascular Surgery
We are pleased to announce the appointments
of the inaugural Blair Early Career Professors in
Vascular Surgery at Sunnybrook Health Sciences
Centre, St. Michael’s Hospital and University
Health Network. The Blair Foundation has made
a commitment of $2.25 million, over 10 years, to
establish three (3) Early Career Professorships, one
at each of our academic health sciences centres.
Each professorship provides $75,000 per year of
support for a vascular surgeon/researcher within
the first 5 years of their career for a five year term.
Please join us in congratulating the following
recipients:
Dr. Ahmed Kayssi –
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Dr. Mohammed Qadura –
St. Michael’s Hospital
Dr. John Byrne -
University Health Network
Thomas Forbes,
Chair of the Division of
Vascular Surgery
2017 DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY
FACULTY PROMOTIONS
ASSISTANT TO ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Anand GHANEKAR G/S,
University Health Network
Anand GOVINDARAJAN G/S,
Mount Sinai Hospital
Timothy JACKSON G/S,
University Health Network
Simon KELLEY O/S,
Hospital for Sick Children
Girish KULKARNI U/S,
University Health Network
Markku NOUSIAINEN O/S,
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Farhad PIROUZMAND N/S,
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
ASSOCIATE TO FULL PROFESSOR
Najma AHMED G/S
St. Michael’s Hospital
Rob CARTOTTO PR/S
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Anna GAGLIARDI G/S,
University Health Network
Raj RAMPERSAUD O/S,
University Health Network
Frances WRIGHT G/S,
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
|