ISSUE NO. 27 | JULY 2023 THE DIVISION OF MEDICAL ONCOLOGY & HEMATOLOGY
NEWSLETTER
MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF
Welcome to Our New Staff
Greetings members of the
Division of Medical Oncology and
Hematology. Dr. Enrique Sanz Garcia joined DMOH as a Medical
Oncologist Clinician Investigator supporting the Head
I would like to welcome you to and Neck and Gastrointestinal Disease Sites. He has
our July 2023 issue! I am pleased been until recently a Clinical Research Fellow in Phase I,
to highlight our many milestones Head and Neck and Gastrointestinal Cancers at the Prin-
and achievements in the past cess Margaret Cancer Centre. Prior to this, he was a Staff
month. In the next few pages, you Medical Oncologist with a special focus on gastrointes-
will read about:
tinal and head and neck and early phase trials in START-
• New staff Madrid (HM-CIOCC) in Madrid, Spain. He trained at the
Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology in Spain, where he
• Health and wellness also was a clinician investigator in the gastrointestinal
and drug development program for a year. He received his PhD in Medicine with
• Outstanding awards & focus on ctDNA from the Faculty of Medicine at Autonoma de Barcelona Univer-
accomplishments sity and his MD in the Complutense University of Madrid, both in Spain. In his free
time, he loves travelling around the world, hiking and going to music events (from
• Research Achievements Broadway musicals to large music festivals such as Eurovision Song Contest).
• Staff spotlights
• Upcoming events
Please feel free to share this Dr. Jamie Feng joined DMOH as a Clinical Associate
newsletter with colleagues. We in the Medical Oncology Program supporting the Lung
also welcome your feedback, Disease Site. Prior to this, he was a Helen Vari Thoracic
content, and suggestions for Medical Oncology Fellow at the Princess Margaret Cancer
future issues. Centre. He completed his Medical Oncology Residency
at the University of British Columbia, his Internal Medi-
Happy reading, cine Residency at the Memorial University of Newfound-
land, and his Doctor of Medicine from the University of
Amit Oza
Calgary Cumming School of Medicine. Jamie is currently
a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology Candidate
at Memorial University of Newfoundland. In his spare
time, Jamie can be found on his Peloton, watering his tropical plant collection and
exploring the food scene in Toronto.
DMOH Newsletter PAGE 1
STAFF ACHIEVEMENTS
Health & Wellness
Words of Wisdom
from the Weekly DMOH
Admin Huddle
Throughout the pandemic, the Ministry of Health and
Ontario Health have partnered with five hospitals to "Slow progress is
provide mental health services to frontline health care
workers. CAMH and their partner hospitals are currently
providing access to mental health and addiction supports better than no prog-
for these workers dealing with the stressors of COVID-19.
CAMH is now expanding these supports to help health
care workers maintain their mental health and wellness ress. Stay positive
while coping with a wide array of stressors, including the
pandemic OR other crises. These services include access and don't give up."
to resources, Cognitive Behavioural Therapies (CBT/
Psychotherapy) as well as Psychiatric Services.
Individuals who meet the following criteria are now eligible
to self-refer for psychotherapy and psychiatric services:
• You are a health care worker in Ontario; and
• You require mental health and/or addictions
support.
As noted above, in addition to CAMH, the following hospi-
tals continue to offer self-referral services for those
requiring mental health supports: Ontario Shores Centre New DMOH Chief Fellows
for Mental Health Sciences; St. Joseph’s Healthcare
Hamilton; The Royal Mental Health Centre, and Waypoint
Centre for Mental Health Care. This is to ensure that indi-
viduals can receive timely access to care.
If you are a health care worker in need of support, please
use this form to self-refer. Once we receive your referral,
CAMH will contact you to schedule your first appoint-
ment (likely conducted through telephone or telemedi-
cine). Your request may be directed to one of the partner
institutions. If you have concerns or questions about this,
please contact Access CAMH at 416-535-8501 ext. 2.
To self-refer to this service, please click the link here. Congratulations to our new DMOH Chief Fellows for the
2023-2024 academic year:
• Dr. Rintu Sharma, Malignant Hematology
• Dr. Ian Hirsch, Medical Oncology
DMOH Newsletter | July 2023 PAGE 2
STAFF ACHIEVEMENTS
Congratulations to Our Staff
Congrats to Dr. Jonas Mattsson
for being elected as Director-at-
Large for Research for Cell Therapy DMOH Newsletter
and Transplant Canada (CTTC), a
national, member-led, multidisci- ISSUE NO. 27 | JULY 2023
plinary association focused on the produced by the Division of Medical
promotion of excellence in patient Oncology and Hematology at the
care, education and research in Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
hematopoietic stem cell trans-
plantation and cellular therapy.
Dr. Mattsson’s three-year term Please forward submissions and comments to
(2023-2026) will focus on the unification and strengthening [email protected]
of partnerships across Canadian centres, with leadership
enhancement in collaborative retrospective and prospec-
tive multicentre studies and clinical trials, amplifying Cana-
da’s research footprint in the areas of transplantation and DMOH Communications
cellular therapy. Team & Content Advisors
James Austin
Christina Gulesserian
Michelle Williams
Congratulations to Dr. Vishal
Kukreti for being appointed at
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Contributors
as the Director of EPIC Cancer Clin- Amit Oza
ical Informatics effective August 1, Andre Schuh
2023. In this role Dr. Kukreti will Anna Spreafico
liaise with colleagues across UHN David Cescon
and lead efforts within the Cancer Dennis Kim
Centre to continuously improve DMOH Admin Huddle
the usability, efficiency and novel Eduardo Gonzalez-Ochoa
application of the EPIC electronic Enrique Sanz Garcia
health record and other Oncology Information systems. Eshrak Al-Shaibani
Vishal was at the heart of the preparation, launch, and has Frank (Fotios) Michelis
been central to the ongoing development of our new EHR, Jamie Feng
as it relates to cancer care at UHN. A member of the Divi- Jennifer Ryan
sion of Medical Oncology and Hematology, his academic Jenny Peng
interests lie in health technology optimization, evaluation Keith Stewart
and strategy. He had led the Cancer Care Ontario Oncology Lianne Mulveney
Information Standards work and has worked as the Clinical Lynn Thibaudeau
Lead for Health Technology and Information Management Nadine Shehata
at Cancer Care Ontario for many years. Nan Shi
Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation
Robert Kridel
Robert McDougall
Congrats to Dr. Long Nguyen Suzanne Trudel
for receiving the Marathon of Warren Mason
Hope Cancer Centres Network Xin (Kevin) Wang
(MOHCCN) Clinician Scientist
Award for his project “Predicting
drug response of molecular clones
in triple-negative breast cancer”.
You can read more about this
award here.
DMOH Newsletter | July 2023 PAGE 3
STAFF ACHIEVEMENTS
University of Toronto
Division of Medical Oncology Research Day
This important university event provides an opportunity to celebrate our colleagues and trainees and support rewarding
careers in academic medical oncology.
Faculty Division Awards Medical Oncology Training
Program Outstanding
These awards recognize faculty division members who
have demonstrated excellence and made outstanding Teaching Awards
contributions to the Division of Medical Oncology.
This award recognizes exceptional and dedicated
Dr. Christine Brezden- educators who embody the aspects of exemplary
Masley teaching and educational leadership.
Quality Improvement
Dr. Michelle Nadler
Princess Margaret
Dr. Anna Spreafico
Young Investigator
Dr. Raymond Jang
Princess Margaret
Dr. Phil Bedard
Research
Chief Resident Appreciation
Dr. Donald Sutherland
Award Recipients Dr. Jenny Peng
• Dr. Jenny Peng
• Dr. Xin (Kevin) Wang
Dr. Xin (Kevin) Wang
DMOH Newsletter | July 2023 PAGE 4
STAFF ACHIEVEMENTS
University of Toronto
Division of Medical Oncology Research Day
Trainee Abstract Competition Academic Promotions
Best Poster Presentation Awards Congrats to DMOH staff on their academic promotions at
the University of Toronto effective July 1, 2023.
Dr. Suzanne Trudel has been promoted
to Professor. She has been a staff
hematologist, Clinician Investigator in
Lymphoma, Myeloma, Autologous Blood
and Marrow/Stem Cell Transplant (LMT)
Dr. Mitchell Elliott Dr. David Cescon and clinician scientist Ontario Cancer
PGY4 Supervisor Institute.
Dr. Andre Schuh has been promoted
to Professor. He has been a staff hema-
tologist and Clinician Investigator in
Leukemia.
Dr. Gordon Taylor Dr. Jennifer Knox
Moffat Supervisor Dr. Anna Spreafico has been promoted
Fellow to Associate Professor. She has been a
staff Medical Oncologist and Clinician
Investigator in the Head and Neck, Mela-
noma disease site and Phase 1.
Dr. Frank (Fotios) Michelis has been
Dr. Pavlina Spilio- Dr. Anna Spreafico promoted to Associate Professor. He has
poulou Supervisor been a staff hematologist and Clinician
Fellow Investigator with the Hans Messner Allo-
geneic Transplant Program since 2016.
Thank You
Dr. David Cescon has been promoted to
The Research Day Planning Committee would like to Associate Professor. He has been a staff
thank our Master of Ceremonies extraordinaire, Dr. Medical Oncologist and Clinician Scien-
Kala Sridhar who did an amazing job facilitating the tist in the Breast Disease Site.
event! We would also like to thank Dr. Geoff Liu and
all the adjudicators for leading the trainee abstract
competition!
Dr. Robert Kridel has been promoted to
Associate Professor. He has been a staff
medical oncologist and Clinician Scientist
in Lymphoma, Myeloma, Autologous
Blood and Marrow/Stem Cell Transplant
(LMT).
DMOH Newsletter | July 2023 PAGE 5
STAFF ACHIEVEMENTS
Princess Margaret 2022
U of T Continuing Faculty Annual Report
Appointment Review
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre is pleased announced
the release of the 2022 Annual Report. We look forward
to sharing the progress we have made in the past year
Congratulations to the faculty members below for thanks to the hard work and incredible dedication of
completing University of Toronto Continuing Faculty our staff, clinicians, researchers, learners, supporters
Appointment Review (CFAR), with approval from the and patients. Our immense gratitude to everyone who
Dean! has played a part in making a significant difference to
patients, their families, and our colleagues. Together we
are “Always Moving Forward.” Read the full report.
Dr. Sita Bhella
Dr. Armin Gerbitz
Dr. Nazanin Fallah-Rad
Compliment A
Dr. Zachary Liederman
Physician
Have you had a great
experience with an Ontario
doctor?
Dr. Ivan Pasic
Let the CPSO know about the excellent care
you received by submitting a compliment.
In most cases, the CPSO will pass along
your message to the physician or surgeon.
Information can be found here.
DMOH Newsletter | July 2023 PAGE 6
STAFF ACHIEVEMENTS
Notable Research Achievements Congratulations to Dr. Nadine
Shehata for her paper “Cost-
Effectiveness of Thrombopoi-
etin Mimetics in Patients with
Thrombocytopenia: A Systematic
Review” published in Pharmaco-
Economics.
Congratulations to Drs. Marcus Butler and Samuel Saibil
for being collaborators for the Slaight Discovery to Impact
Grant for the project “Development of TCR-based cancer
immunotherapies targeting dimorphic HLA-E”. Other collab-
orators included Pam Ohashi and Linh Nguyen and the
grant was awarded to Dr. Naoto Hirano.
Congratulations to Dr. Igor Novitzky-Basso, Dr. Swe
Mar Linn, Jennifer White, Mohamed Elemary, Anargyros
Xenocostas, Uday Deotare, Kate Kelly, Nada Hamad, Sui
Tan, Samantha Culos, Dr. Arjun Law, Dr. Rajat Kumar,
Dr. Jonas Mattsson and Dr. Dennis Kim for their paper
“Propensity score matching analysis comparing the effi-
cacy of Ruxolitinib to historical controls in second-line or
beyond treatment for chronic GvHD after steroid failure”
published in Bone Marrow Transplantation.
Congratulations to Wei Xu for
being co-senior author and Dr.
Divya Sharma for being co-first
author of the paper “A deep
Congratulations to Dr. Dennis Kim and co-authors Drs. learning framework for person-
Igor Novitzky-Basso, Ivan Pasic, Arjun Law, Wilson Lam, alised dynamic diagnosis of graft
Frank Michelis, Armin Gerbitz, Auro Viswabandya, fibrosis after liver transplanta-
Jeffrey Lipton, Rajat Kumar, and Jonas Mattsson for tion: a retrospective, single Cana-
their paper “Clonal hematopoiesis in the donor does not dian centre, longitudinal study”
adversely affect long-term outcomes following allogeneic published in The Lancet Digital
hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: result from a Health. This paper shows that a
13-year follow-up” published in Haematologica. machine learning algorithm can outperform other standard
approaches to detect graft fibrosis after liver transplant.
DMOH Newsletter | July 2023 PAGE 7
STAFF ACHIEVEMENTS
Congratulations to Dr. Warren
Mason for his paper “Vorasidenib
in IDH1- or IDH2-Mutant Low-
Grade Glioma” published in The
New England Journal of Medicine.
Congratulations to Drs. Stephanie Lheureux, Neesha
Dhani, Amit Oza, and Eduardo Gonzalez Ochoa for their
paper “Identifying mechanisms of resistance by circu-
lating tumour DNA in EVOLVE, a Phase II Trial of Cediranib
Plus Olaparib for Ovarian Cancer at time of PARP Inhibitor
Progression” published in Clinical Cancer Research.
Congratulations to Drs. Eshrak Al-Shaibani, Igor
Novitzky-Basso, Jonas Mattsson, and Dennis Kim for
their paper “Post-transplant maintenance therapy in acute
myeloid leukemia after allogeneic hematopoietic stem
cell transplantation harmonizing multiple therapeutic
modalities including targeted therapy, immunotherapy
and cellular therapy” published in International Journal of
Hematology. Congratulations to Dr. Eduardo Gonzalez-Ochoa, Dr.
Amit Oza, Dr. Stephanie Lheureux, Dr. Michael Milo-
sevic, Dr. Jennifer Croke, Valerie Bowering and Janelle
Ramsahai for their paper “A phase I study of the Wee1
kinase inhibitor adavosertib (AZD1775) in combina-
tion with chemoradiation in cervical, upper vaginal, and
uterine cancers” published in the International Journal of
Gynecological Cancer.
Physician Health Program
The PHP welcomes self-referrals from medical students, residents, physicians and
veterinarians in Ontario who may have concerns about their health and well-being.
Their confidential services are here to assist those experiencing distress, substance
use or mental health issues that can have personal or professional impact.
Call the confidential PHP number toll free at 1-800-851-6606 from 8:45 am to
5:00 PM. Email: [email protected]
DMOH Newsletter | July 2023 PAGE 8
STAFF SPOTLIGHTS
Meet DMOH's Physician Assistants
Get to Know
Nan Shi
Nan Shi completed medical school in China, and worked in Neurology
for several years before immigrating to Canada. She then switched
gears for a while and worked in the dental field before finally came
back to medicine, and joined the UHN hematology consult team
in 2019 as a physician assistant. Although she liked working with
different body systems, she enjoys hematology the most.
What do you like most about your job?
I like the complexity of hematology, and by using “detective work”
to reach diagnosis and trending blood parameters
What’s a fun fact about you that others may not know?
I am really bad at navigating directions (east, north ….etc.), and have gotten lost many times in the maze of the
Toronto General Hospital basement trying to reach Mount Sinai.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
I got into skiing recently, and have been trying to learn! I also love to
garden and go on hikes with my family.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
The harder the rain, the sweeter the sun.
STAFF SPOTLIGHTS
Get to Know
Robert McDougall
Robert McDougall is a Physician Assistant (PA) working in the Allogeneic
Blood and Marrow Transplant Program in DMOH. He did his PA training
while serving in the Canadian Armed Forces, graduating in 2002. He joined
the military right out of high school and was able to take advantage of
many opportunities. He has served with the United Nations Peacekeeping
in the Golan Heights of Northern Israel, Northern Iran at the end of the 8
years war, and in Haiti. He also served in the first Gulf War in 1991 in the
1st Canadian Field Hospital where they provided care and treatment to
injured Iraqi soldiers. In 2005 he sailed on HMCS Winnipeg to the Persian
Gulf to patrol for terrorists and intercept illegal cargo and activities that
were funding the Taliban. He left the military after 25 years; his last
posting was teaching aeromedical evacuation. He then went to work in
Emergency medicine in Lindsay then Newmarket and then into industrial
medicine at an iron ore mine at the northern tip of Baffin Island, flew in to
the mine for 4 weeks, flew home for 4 weeks.
What do you like most about your job?
The team on 14 B and C are amazing, I have not been part of a team this cohesive since I left the Navy. The team
of providers with whom I have the pleasure of working alongside bring so much to the department, there are
varied backgrounds and we all complement one another. The learning that takes place here is second to none,
there are many opportunities to learn and everyone is ready to help out. I enjoy getting to know and spend time
with the patients. In emergency medicine, you barely spent 15 minutes with someone, while here, we get to
know them from reasonably healthy to very sick to healthy again.
What’s a fun fact about you that others may not know?
When I was in Grade 7 I was a page in the Ontario Legislature. This was when Bill Davis was premier, for those
of you as old as I am……
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not
working?
I enjoy watching the Leafs play, and the frustra-
tions that go with being a Leaf fan. I love spending
time with my beautiful wife and 2 amazing daugh-
ters. We do lots of outdoor activities such as
camping, hiking, kayaking, skating and traveling.
What is the best advice you have ever
received?
A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s
a heaven for? Or in my interpretation, Aim high,
any fool can hit the ground.
EVENTS & DEADLINES
Plan to attend and lend your voice to the solutions
needed to rebuild health care – including how to
address workforce challenges, create safe environ-
ments for patients and providers, and expand access.
The 2023 Health Summit is your opportunity to
engage with leading experts on doing health care
differently. You’ll be able to work together with
colleagues, learners, health leaders and people with
lived experience to help build a better future of
health. Your participation, insights and feedback will
allow the CMA to continue advocating for bold health
reform and turn those health care commitments into
tangible actions for the benefit of all Canadians.
Date: August 17-18, 2023
Registration Link
As innovations in cancer care technology accelerate
progress and improve patient outcomes, ASCO Break-
through brings together oncology thought leaders,
practicing clinicians, med-tech pioneers, novel drug
developers, and research trailblazers at this can’t-miss
oncology meeting in Asia for inspiration, collaboration,
and solutions. Join Muskoka’s premier cycling and fundraising event
and support the next big cancer breakthrough. Don’t
Date:: August 3-5, 2023 miss your chance to ride while taking in the breath-
Registration Link taking views along Lake Muskoka. There are three
unique routes to choose from and plenty of reasons
to take part.
Date: August 12, 2023
Registration Link
DMOH Newsletter | July 2023 PAGE 11
EVENTS & DEADLINES
The Walk to Conquer Cancer is
a fundraiser that brings thousands
of people together each year. All
proceeds directly benefit The Princess
Margaret Cancer Centre, one of the
top 5 cancer research centres in the
world.
Join us as we walk the length of a
half-marathon through Toronto’s
most beautiful neighbourhoods. While
every Walker has their own reason
for participating, we are all striding
towards the same goal: Conquering
Cancer In Our Lifetime.
Date: September 9, 2023
Registration Link
DMOH Newsletter | July 2023 PAGE 12