AWARDS/HONOURS/
ACHIEVEMENTS
Barbara (Dee) Ballyk (Anat) has received a 2015
W.T. Aikins Award for Excellence in Course/Program
Development and Coordination.
Barbara also received the Arbor Award which recognizes
volunteers for outstanding personal service to the university.
Barbara was acknowledged for being a volunteer mentor
at the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education. For
the past five years she has taken on student interns from
the KPE faculty, and placed them in important roles in
the Division of Anatomy. Last year, she extended her
commitment to 11 students and gave them a significant
advantage in the professional world after graduation.
Christopher Caldarone (CardSurg) has been appointed
as the Dr. Robert B. Salter Chair in Surgery at The
Hospital for Sick Children as Chief of Perioperative
Services.
George Christakis (CardSurg) received the John Provan
award for undergraduate medical education across
Canada. This award recognizes outstanding contributions
to undergraduate surgical education in Canada.
Ren-Ke Li (CardSurg) has received a 3 year grant
from the Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence
Program, for his submission “Pre-clinical Development of
a Novel Umbilical Cord Perivascular Cell-based Therapy to
Prevent Heart Failure”.
Ren-Ke Li received the CIHR Foundation Scheme:
2014 1st Live Pilot for the “Rejuvenation of aged cells
and recipients to enhance cardiac regeneration and prevent
progressive heart failure”.
Ren-Ke Li has also been elected as Fellow of the
International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences.
Subodh Verma (CardSurg) has been selected as a
member of the 2015 cohort of the College of New
Scholars, Artists and Scientists of the Royal Society of
Canada. Subodh is an internationally renowned cardiac
surgeon-scientist and the Canada research Chair in
Atherosclerosis.
Subodh is also Principal Investigator of a 5-year (2015-
2020) grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health
Research for In Vivo and Translational Role of Endothelial
Autophagy in the Regulation of Vascular Diseases.
Subodh, together with Muhammad Mamdani of the
Applied Heart Research Centre at St. Michael’s Hospital,
recently launched the CARDIOLINK platform of randomized
clinical trials across five pillars - aneurysm
surgery (ACE trial of antegrade cerebral protection
strategies), valvular surgery (CAMRA-1 trial of different
approaches to repair mitral valves); atrial fibrillation
(SEARCH-AF trial, evaluating novel ways to detect
postoperative atrial fibrillation); peripheral artery disease
(EXTINGUISH - evaluating colchicine in secondary
prevention in PAD) and innovative community based
interventions (ENABLE-NP Nurse practitioner based
approach to reduce hospitalizations following cardiovascular
surgery). The SEARCH AF trial is funded from
Industry.
Jonathan W Yau (CardSurg, Postdoctoral Fellow), mentored
by Subodh Verma, has been named a finalist for
the 2015 American Heart Association Vivien Thomas
Young Investigator Award for A Novel Role of Endothelial
Autophagy in the Regulation of Thrombosis in Vivo.
Sean Cleary along with Anand Ghanekar (GenSurg)
received a 2 year grant from the Canadian Liver
Foundation for their work “Comprehensive Evaluation of
Somatic Alterations in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)”.
Joao de Rezende Neto (GenSurg) received a CIHR -
Proof of Principle Phase I grant for his project “A Non-
Traumatic Binder for Temporary Abdominal Wall Closure”.
Anand Ghanekar (GenSurg) and co-investigators
Binita Kamath (Pediatrics) and Gordon Keller (Medical
Biophysics) published their study entitled “Directed differentiation
of cholangiocytes from human pluripotent stem
cells” in the August 2015 issue of Nature Biotechnology.
Anand Govindarajan, Nancy Baxter (GenSurg) and colleagues
have published “Outcomes of Daytime Procedures
Performed by Attending Surgeons after Night Work” in
the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM 2015
Aug 27; 373 (9): 845-53). They received both national and international media coverage for this study on the impact of sleep deprivation on surgeon performance.
Teodor Grantcharov (GenSurg) has been appointed
to the Board of Governors of the American College of
Surgeons.
Paul Karanicolas (GenSurg) Maeve is the recipient of a
five year CIHR New Investigator Award for his project
“HPB CONCEPT: An Integrated Program to Improve
Outcomes Following Liver and Pancreas Surgery”.
Maeve O’Neill Trudeau (GenSurg, PGY3) was awarded
the James H. Ware Award for Achievement in the
Practice of Public Health from the Harvard T. H. Chan
School of Public Health, which is given to a student
upon graduation who has demonstrated commitment
and achievement and has advanced the cause of public
health practice while enrolled as a student at the Harvard
T.H. Chan School of Public Health. This award is mainly
for her original research in the Democratic Republic
of Congo regarding post-operative cell phone follow-up
as a novel means of increasing surgical accountability
in low-resource settings, and electronic data collection
in low-resource and humanitarian settings. Maeve has
just received her Master’s of Public Health (MPH) from
Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health Harvard
Maeve also received the IPEG IRCAD Award for the
best presentation and abstract submitted by a junior faculty
during IPEG (International Pediatric Endosurgery
Group). The IRCAD Award winner receives travel and
registration for a course at the European Institute of
Telesurgery (IRCAD), located in Strasbourg, France.
More can be found at http://www.ipeg.org/abstract/ .
This award was given for her podium presentations at
IPEG on expertise in laparoscopic trainers, research
done with Georges Azzie’s group.
Peter K. Stotland (GenSurg) was awarded the The Robert
Mustard Mentorship Award at the Annual Assembly of
General Surgeons and Residents.This award recognizes a
physician mentor who is devoted to excellence in clinical
training, and who provides exemplary teaching, leadership,
mentorship and expertise to senior general surgery
residents from the University of Toronto.
Sunit Das (NeurSurg) received a 2015 CIHR
Transitional Open Operating Grant Program for his
project “Targeting Bevacizumb Resistance Via LIVEmediated
Vascular Mimicry in Glioblastoma”.
Karen Davis (NeurSurg) received a 2-year grant as
PI from the Mayday Fund for the project entitled
“Development of a Pain Treatment Prediction Tool”.
Karen also received the MS Society of Canada award
for “The Pain Connectome in Multiple Sclerosis”.
Peter Dirks (NeurSurg) and colleagues published a high
impact paper in Cancer Cell. Peter’s ongoing work on
cancer stem cells and epigenetic regulation is highlighted
in this paper (2015 Dec 14, Cancer Cell 28,1-15).
Peter also received a 2015 CIHR Transitional Open
Operating Grant Program for his project “Functional and
Genomic Clonal Analysis of Human Glioblastoma”
Peter Dirks received a Canadian Cancer Society:
Innovation & Innovation to Impact Grant for his project
“Pharmacologic and Optogenetic Dopamine-Directed
Therapy of Glioblastoma Stem Cells”.
back row: James Drake, Robert Merrifield (Imperial College
–Challenge organizer), Guang –Zhong Yang (Imperial
College –Hamlyn Centre Director)
front row: Karl Price, MSc student, Thomas Looi, Project
Director, Neurosurgery, Dale Podolsky, reseach resident,
plastic surgery.
James Drake (NeuroSurg) and a team from the
Centre of Image Guided Innovation and Therapeutic
Intervention, including PGY4 resident Vivek Bodani,
won the Overall Winner and Best Design prizes at the
Hamlyn Surgical Robot Challenge for their project “A
Concentric Tube Tool for the daVinci Research Kit”. The
team built a concentric tube robotic tool that is mounted
on a DaVinci test bed. The tool has many potential
applications, including intraventricular neurosurgical
uses and was noted for its small size. The Hamlyn
Robotics Symposium is one of the world’s largest meetings
dedicated to surgical robotics. A video of the tool
in use can be found at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ twi1lacyem8bt6s/Hamlyn%20final.mp4?dl=0C
Michael Fehlings elected to Royal Society of Canada
Michael Fehlings (NeurSurg) was named a Fellow
within the Life Science Division of the Royal Society
of Canada. One of 90 individuals elected for their outstanding
scholarly, scientific and artistic achievements,
Michael is celebrated for his contributions as a worldrenowned
neuroscientist and neurosurgeon. Election
to the Academies of the Royal Society of Canada is
the highest honour a scholar can achieve in the Arts,
Humanities and Sciences.
Michael also received the 2015 Scoliosis Research
Society Thomas Whitecloud Award at the International
Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques (IMAST) in
Kuala Lumpur. The award recognizes the best basic science
and clinical papers presented at the IMAST meeting.
It is the culmination of a large international multicentre
study which Dr. Fehlings led in complex spinal deformity
surgery. An article about the award and Dr. Fehling’s winning
abstract can be accessed at:
https://aospine.aofoundation.org/Structure/pages/newsdetail.aspx?
newslist=https%3a%2f%2faospine.aofoundation.org%2fnews%2f
Lists%2fNews+Common&newsid=1383
Michael was ranked #5 in the world for the period of
2010-2012 for number of papers published in all areas of
neuroscience by Elsevier and Thompson-Reuter in their
assessment of researchers in the Faculty of Medicine.
Michael edited a special focus issue of Neurosurgery on
The Aging Spine. The issue in its entirety is available at: http://journals.lww.com/neurosurgery/toc/2015/10001.
Michael Fehlings received a five-year Ontario Institute
of Regenerative Medicine (OIRM) grant for “iPSCBased
and Bioengineered Approaches to Enable Spinal Cord
Regeneration: A Team Grant for Clinical Translation”.
He received a 2015 Cervical Spine Research Society
21st Century Research and Education Grant for his work
“Therapeutic Approaches to Protect against Ischemia/reperfusion
Injury Following Surgical Decompression for Cervical
Spondylotic Myelopathy(CSM): A Potential Solution to
Attenuate Perioperative Neurological Complications following
Decompressive Surgery”.
Michael is the recipient of one of four new Disease
Team and New Ideas project that will be funded over
the next sixteen months by the Ontario Institute for
Regenerative Medicine.
Fred Gentili (NeurSurg) has been appointed to the
Crean Hotson Chair in Skull Base Surgery at UHN.
Mojgan Hodaie (NeurSurg) was invited to serve on the
Editorial Board of the Operative Neurosurgery Journal,
and as Academic Editor and Curator of Compendium
of the Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery Section.
Mojgan was named to the Grant Committee Panel of
the MS Society of Canada’s Biomedical Research Review
Committee, and was also appointed as a CIHR fellowships
reviewer.
Abhaya Kulkarni (NeurSurg) received an NIH R01
grant for his study “Neurocognitive Outcomes and Changes
in Brain and CSF Volume after Treatment of Post-infectious
Hydrocephalus in Ugandan Infants by Shunting or ETV/
CPC: a Randomized Prospective Trial”. This is in collaboration
with Harvard, Penn State, and Uganda.
Andres Lozano (NeurSurg) was one of 6 Canadians
and the only neurosurgeon in the world to be named
to a select list of highly cited researchers for 2015 in the
category of Neuroscience and Behavior (http://highlycited.
com/). The list, compiled by Thomson Reuters,
acknowledges researchers from around the world who
have published the top 1% of most cited papers in their
subject field.
Andres was also chosen as one of Thomson Reuters
2015 World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds. The list
is chosen based on highly cited researchers in the 11 year
period between 2003 and 2013.
Andres has been elected an honorary member of
the Western Neurosurgical Society and of the Spanish
Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery.
Andres Lozano and Joyce Poon (Electrical and
Computer Engineering) have been awarded as Co-I’s
an EMHSeed grant for their project entitled “Lighting
the Brain” through the University of Toronto Faculty of
Applied Science (FASE) and the Faculty of Medicine
(FoM). The one-year grant is renewable for up to two
additional years.
Pablo M. Munarriz (clinical fellow, NeurSurg) was the
recipient of the Sanitas Prize (second place), awarded to
the best medical resident trainee in Spain.
|
James Rutka (NeurSurg) was appointed an Officer of
the Order of Canada, 2015. He was one of 11 new
Officers appointed to the Order, one of Canada’s highest
civilian honours. Jim received the honour for his exceptional
international contributions to neurosurgery and
his ground-breaking work in advancing the treatment of
pediatric brain tumours.
Jim has been named the fifth winner of the annual
Margolese National Brain Disorders Prize. This award
recognizes Canadians who have made outstanding contributions
to the treatment, amelioration or cure of
brain disorders. His research and clinical efforts focus on
human brain tumours.
He has been elected as an active member to the James
IV Association of Surgeons.
James Rutka was re-appointed as the R.S. McLauglin
Chair of Surgery for a second five-year term.
Mohammed F. Shamji (NeurSurg) was named
Scientific Program Committee Chair for the Canadian
Neuromodulation Society Annual Meeting (2016). He
was appointed to the committee for Research and
Scientific Oversight and as the Advocacy and Society
Liaison for the International Neuromodulation Society.
Mohammed F. Shamji was awarded a 2015 Director’s
Kickstart Award by the Institute of Biomaterials and
Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto.
This award will provide funding for his research on the
epigenetics of failed back surgery syndrome.
Shervin Taslimi (NeurSurg, PGY2) won the Second
Prize of the William J. Horsey Prize competition for his
work entitled “Natural History: Systematic Review and
Meta-Analysis, Identifying Source of Heterogeneity”.
Charles Tator at Krembil Research
Institute Launch
|
Charles Tator (Neur
Surg) was honoured
during an event celebrating
the launch of
the Krembil Research
Institute, Toronto
Western Hospital’s newly
renamed research arm.
In his remarks, philanthropist
Robert Krembil
described Toronto
Western Hospital as “the
house that Charles built”,
and paid recognition to
Dr. Tator’s pivotal role and tremendous ongoing impact
in establishing the foundation for research at Toronto
Western that has enabled it to develop into a renowned
research hospital over the years. Dr. Tator was recognized
by applause from the over 200 attendees, which included
Her Royal Highness The Princess Edward, Countess of
Wessex and UHN President and CEO Dr. Peter Pisters.
Michael Taylor (NeurSurg) received a McLaughlin
Centre, University of Toronto - 2015 Accelerator Grant.
Michael Tymianski (NeurSurg) has been appointed as
the Harold & Esther Halpern Chair in Neurosurgical
Stroke Research at University Health Network for a five
year term.
Taufik Valiante (NeurSurg) received a 2 year MITACS
grant from the Elevate PDF Program for his work
entitled “Intraoperative Optical Characterization of Brain
Tumor Tissues”.
Taufik was promoted to Scientist at the Krembil
Research Institute, and received a 2015 IBBME Director’s
Kickstart Award for his project entitled “A Platform for
Contingent Brain Stimulation in Humans”. This award
will provide funding for his work on developing a platform
for contingent brain stimulation in humans.
Taufik received an NSERC Discovery Grant for his
work “Probabilistic Maps of Spiking and Connectivity in
Human and Mouse Cortex”
Chris Witiw (PGY4, NeurSurg) won the first prize of
the William J. Horsey Prize for clinical research competition
for his presentation entitled “Cost-Utility of
Surgery for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy: Data from
the AOSpine North American and International Studies”.
Gelareh Zadeh (NeuroSurg) has been appointed
Treasurer-Secretary for SNO (Society for Neuro-
Oncology).
Gelareh was also invited to serve on the Editorial
Advisory Board of the journal CANCER.
Gelareh Zadeh and Julian Spears and the co-directors
of the University of Toronto Meningioma Consortium
(COMIT) presented at the inaugural consortium on
meningiomas meeting. They have assembled a twelve member
team with city-wide representation from neurosurgery,
radiation oncology, oncology, neuroradiology, neuropathology
and neuropsychology. The first COMIT sponsored
scientific meeting will be held jointly with the Society of
NeuroOncology on Jun. 17-19, 2016 in Toronto.
Gelareh Zadeh is the co-Director of the Elizabeth
Raab Neurofibromatosis Program. Together with Vera
Bril, they formally announced the opening of the clinic
on Nov. 25, 2015 at University Health Network. The
multidisciplinary team is dedicated to comprehensive
care for patients with NF1 and NF2. The clinic has over
fifteen affiliated physicians and allied health members.
The mission is dedicated to improving clinical care and
translational research for the NF population.
Gelareh Zadeh was awarded a MITACS grant for the
work entitled “Investigation of Biomarkers of Response to
Treatment with Marizomib in Gbm Patients”.
Tarik Attia (OrthoSurg) won the Sullivan Award (nonresident
category) at the 2015 Division of Orthopaedics
Annual Research Day.
Tim Daniels (OrthoSurg) and his team were awarded
the Roger A. Mann Award at the American Orthopedic
Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) meeting held in
Long Beach, California. Their manuscript entitled
“Prospective, Randomized, Multi-Centered Clinical Trial
Assessing Efficacy of a Synthetic Cartilage Implant to
First Metatarsophalangeal Arthrodesis in Advanced Hallux
Rigidus” won the highest honour bestowed by the
AOFAS in recognition of the best clinical paper accepted
for presentation at its Annual Meeting. This is the fourth
time that Tim has won this prestigious award.
Peter Ferguson (OrthoSurg) won the Royal College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Canada AMS Donald R.
Wilson Award for helping integrate CanMEDS roles
into a Royal College or other health-related training
program.
Simon Kelley (OrthoSurg) won the 2015 Founder’s
Medal from the Canadian Orthopaedic Research Society
for his research entitled “Fgfr3 Modulates the Balance of
Intramembranous and Endochondral Bone Formation in
Fracture Repair”.
Simon also won the Young Investigators Award from
the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research also
for this research.
Jasjit Lochab (OrthoSurg, PGY3) won the Sullivan
Award (resident category) at the 2015 Division of
Orthopaedics Annual Research Day.
George Oreopoulos (OrthoSurg) won the Ross Fleming
Education Award from UHN.
Emil Schemitsch (OrthoSurg) was appointed Chair of
Department of Surgery University of Western Ontario.
Emil Schemitsch received a 2015 CIHR Transitional
Open Operating Grant for his project “Operative versus
Non-operative Treatment of Acute Unstable Chest Wall
Injuries: A Multi-Centred Randomized Controlled Trial”.
Jay Wunder (OrthoSurg) received a McLaughlin Centre,
University of Toronto - 2015 Accelerator Grant.
Marc Jeschke (PlasSurg) received a 4 year NIH Grant
(over 1 million in funding) for his project entitled
“Hepatic ER Stress Contributes to Morbidity and Mortality
after Burn Injury.”
Oleh Antonyshyn
|
Oleh Antonyshyn (PlasSurg) received the Marvin Tile
Award given by the Department of Surgery at Sunnybrook
Health Sciences Centre for his outreach activities in the
Ukraine. Oleh, along with a team of 24 others volunteered
for a 10-day mission in November 2014, and again in May
2015 to work alongside Ukrainian doctors and nurses to
perform complex reconstructive surgeries on victims of
the Euromaidan movement and from the battle in Eastern
Ukraine. He has worked on developing the infrastructure,
provided teaching opportunities and restored the lives
of many patients affected
by the conflict. His work
has also been recognized
by Canada’s Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Rob
Nicholson and he has been
awarded a 1.2 million
dollar federal grant from
the “Global Peace and
Security Fund” to support
“Capacity Building within
Ukraine’s Ministry of
Defense Medical System”.
This project supports efforts to equip, supply and train
local health professionals in the Main Military Hospital in
Kyiv to treat craniofacial and upper extremity trauma and
post-trauma deformities. The project involves 2 additional
missions in the next year, equipping OR’s with craniofacial
and micro instruments and hardware, better access to
imaging, development of telemedicine and telesurgery support,
and Trauma Life Support training and observerships.
This is a remarkable example of global outreach for which
Oleh and his team are to be commended.
Stefan Hofer (PlasSurg) was named an honorary member
of BAPRAS (British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive
and Aesthetic Surgeons) for exceptional contributions to
the society for managing their journal for the last 7 years,
making it highly successful scientifically and financially.
Toni Zhong (PlasSurg) received the CIHR Foundation
Scheme: 2014 1st Live Pilot for the “Development of a
National Quality Improvement Program in Postmastectomy
Breast Reconstruction to Optimize Patient-Centred Experience”.
Toni also received a CIHR New Investigator Award for
her project “Improving Access to Optimized Postmastectomy
Breast Reconstruction through Health Services Research and
Clinical Trials for Breast Cancer Survivors”.
Andras Kapus (Res) received a Biomedical Research
Grant for “Profibrotic epithelial phenotype: the role of
MRTF and TAZ/YAP”.
Katalin Szaszi (Res) received a 2015 CIHR Transitional
Open Operating Grant for her project “Regulation and
Functions of Rho Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors in
Tubular Epithelial Cells”.
Gail Darling (ThorSurg) was appointed as the thoracic
clinical lead and the clinical lead for high risk lung cancer
screening by Cancer Care Ontario for their clinical
programs.
Martin McKneally (ThorSurg) received the Distinguished
Service to Joint Center for Bioethics (JCB) Award during the
20th anniversary celebration of the Joint Center for Bioethics.
Shaf Kesavjee (ThorSurg) was appointed for the second
time to the Council for the American Association for
Thoracic Surgery.
Shaf Keshavjee received a McLaughlin Centre,
University of Toronto - 2015 Accelerator Grant.
Kazuhiro Yasufuku (ThorSurg) is the 2014-2015
recipient of the Ivan Silver Innovation Award for
the Endobronchial Ultrasound (EBUS) program. This
award recognizes an innovative CEPD initiative developed
and delivered by a U T faculty member or team
that has demonstrated an effect on health professional
performance or health outcome.
Thomas Forbes (VascSurg) gave the Presidential Address
at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for
Vascular Surgery in Victoria, British Columbia. The talk
entitled “Four Seconds” looked at the final seconds leading
up to Sidney Crosby’s 2010 Olympic Golden Goal
and reflecting on issues specific to vascular surgery.
Graham Roche-Nagle (VascSurg) won the Provan
Award for Education at the Annual Meeting of the
Canadian Society for Vascular Surgery in Victoria,
British Columbia.
Mary Tao (VascSurg), Graham Roche-Nagle’s trainee,
won the Sigvaris Award for Best Venous Paper at the
Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for Vascular
Surgery in Victoria, British Columbia.
Trisha Roy (VascSurg, PGY3) won the Passareillo Award
for first prize in the rapid paced poster competition at
the recent International Society of MR Angiography
Meeting in Cincinnati, OH.
Leonard Tse (VascSurg) won the Cook Research Award
at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for
Vascular Surgery in Victoria, British Columbia.
Robert Hamilton (Urol) received a McLaughlin Centre,
University of Toronto - 2015 Accelerator Grant for his
project “Molecular Characterization and Behavior of
Tumours Arising in Patients Taking 5-Alpha Reductase
Inhibitors”.
Laurence Klotz (Urol) has been named a Fellow of the
Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, one of Canada’s
most esteemed academic academies.
|