2022
YEAR IN REVIEW
SUMMARY
DIVISION OF MEDICAL ONCOLOGY & HEMATOLOGY
2022
Message from
Dr. Amit Oza
We are pleased to share with you a Division of Medical
Oncology and Hematology (DMOH) 2022 Year in Review
summary. This summary includes staffing updates,
awards, educational achievements, grants and funding,
promotions, new babies and content from the American
Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting,
European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress
and American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual
Meeting and Exposition.
I personally want to express my gratitude and thanks to
our faculty, fellows, research staff, clinical administra-
tive staff, managers, physician assistants, clinical asso-
ciates, hospitalists and residents for collaborating and
improving clinical care, quality, education and research.
I also want to acknowledge and thank our DMOH leader-
ship teams for the work they have put into leading major
initiatives and programs. Congratulations to all for your
incredible accomplishments this year!
Warm regards,
Dr. Amit M. Oza
Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto
Head, Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology
Director, Cancer Clinical Research Unit
Director, Bras Drug Development Program
Table of
Contents
4 Staffing Updates
14 Staff Appointments &
Promotions
16 Clinical Awards &
Achievements
20 Research Awards
& Achievements
24 Education Awards
& Achievements
28 Division Highlights
Staffing Updates
New Hires
Physicians
Dr. Guillaume Richard- Dr. Geoffrey Watson joined
Carpentier joined DMOH DMOH as a Medical Oncol-
as a Clinician Investigator ogist for the Sarcoma and
within the Princess Margaret Breast Disease Sites at Sinai
Cancer Centre Malignant Health System in February
Hematology Program with 2022.
a focus on Leukemia in
January 2022.
Dr. Michelle Nadler was
Dr. Gita Bhat joined DMOH
appointed as a Medical
in Acute Oncology as a
Oncologist for the Breast
Clinician Teacher at the
Disease Site at the Princess
Princess Margaret Cancer
Margaret Cancer Centre in
Centre in April 2022.
March 2022.
Dr. Igor Novitzky-Basso Dr. Abi Vijenthira joined
joined DMOH as a Malig- DMOH as a Malignant
nant Hematologist with a Hematologist with a focus
focus on Allogenic Trans- on Lymphoma as a Clini-
plant as a Clinician Investi- cian Investigator at the
gator at the at the Princess Princess Margaret Cancer
Margaret Cancer Centre in Centre in July 2022.
May 2022.
Dr. Erica Tsang joined Dr. Julie Bennett joined
DMOH as a Medical Oncol- DMOH as a Medical Oncol-
ogist with a focus on the GI ogist and will primarily be
Disease Site at the Princess providing support in the
Margaret Cancer Centre in Neuro Oncology and AYA
October 2022. Program.
4 Division of Medical Oncology & Hematology
Credentialing In Progress
Dr. Lucy Ma will be Dr. Azeez Salawu will be
appointed as an Active appointed as an Active
Staff Medical Oncologist Staff Medical Oncologist
and Clinician Investigator and Clinician Investigator
in DMOH at the Princess in DMOH at Sinai Health
Margaret Cancer Centre. System. Credentialing is in
Credentialing is in progress. progress.
Dr. Robert Grant will be
appointed as an Active
Staff Medical Oncologist
and Clinician Investigator in
DMOH at Princess Margaret.
Credentialing is in progress.
Clinical Associates
Dr. Rowland Mbaoma
Dr. Janique Dyba joined joined DMOH as a Clinical
DMOH as a Clinical Asso- Associate in the Solid Tumor
ciate within the Malignant and Malignant Hematology
Hematology Program. Programs supporting inpa-
tient and acute oncology.
Dr. Guido Lancman joined
Dr. Shivani Dadwal joined
DMOH as a Clinical Asso-
DMOH within the Princess
ciate in the Malignant
Margaret Medical Oncology
Hematology Program at the
Program.
Princess Margaret working
in Multiple Myeloma.
Dr. Shelley Kuang joined
Dr. Warren Fingrut joined DMOH as a Clinical Asso-
DMOH within the Malignant ciate in Thoracic Oncology
Hematology Program. at the Princess Margaret
Cancer Centre.
2022 Year in Review Summary 5
Administrative Assistants
Christina Gulesserian joined
Paula Sliwo joined DMOH
DMOH as an Administrative
as an interim Administra-
Assistant to help support
tive Coordinator, providing
physician recruitment and
maternity leave coverage
communications within the
for Mandy McDonald.
division.
Rachelle Rivera joined the
Melissa Dalva supports
DMOH team as an Adminis-
Drs. Geoffrey Liu and Kristy
trative Assistant to Drs. Igor
Wasson in place of Theresa
Novitzky Basso and Jonas
who is on maternity leave.
Mattsson.
Hitesh Belwal joined DMOH
Maruja Braselino joined
as a BMT Medical Admin-
the DMOH as an Admin-
istrative Assistant in the
istrative Assistant to Drs.
Malignant Hematology and
Stephanie Lheureux and
Medical Oncology depart-
Amit Oza within DMOH.
ment.
Recalin Altubar joined the Niki Tsakonas joined DMOH
DMOH team as an Admin- as a receptionist working
istrative Assistant to Drs. closely with the medical
David Cescon and Vikaash administrative assistants
Kumar supporting the Solid and department managers
Tumor Medical Oncology James Austin and Schenell
department. Rosario.
Nipa Akter took on the role Hope Kikembo joined the
as an Administrative Assis- DMOH team as an Admin-
tant within DMOH and helps istrative Assistant and helps
with sorting e-faxes, doing with sorting e-faxes, doing
all the NOAs for the doctors all the NOAs for the doctors
and the fellows, scanning, and the fellows, scanning,
uploading documents from uploading documents from
the doctor’s administrative the doctor’s administrative
assistants and assist with assistants and assist with
BMT administrative work. BMT administrative work.
6 Division of Medical Oncology & Hematology
Roshanna Bradder joined
DMOH as Medical Admin-
Qi Zhong joined DMOH as
istrative Assistant in the
an Administrative Assistant
Malignant Hematology and
to Dr. Michael Crump.
Medical Oncology Depart-
ment.
Star OBrey joined DMOH
as a general Administra-
Setra Adem joined DMOH
tive Assistant supporting
as an Administrative Assis-
the EPIC launch and other
tant in the BMT-IEC Program.
on-site coverage, and
assists with BMT-IEC.
Hospitalists
Dr. Karolina Jaluba joined Dr. Ishan Acharya joined
DMOH as a Hospitalist in the DMOH as a Hospitalist at the
Medical Oncology Program Princess Margaret Cancer
at the Princess Margaret Centre.
Cancer Centre.
Dr. Rishi Patel will be joining
the DMOH team as a
Hospitalist at the Princess
Margaret Cancer Centre.
Credentialing is in progress.
2022 Year in Review Summary 7
Physician Assistants
Ekaterina Kosyachkova
Claire Suarez joined DMOH joined DMOH as a Physician
as a Physician Assistant. Assistant in the GI Medical
Oncology Department.
Jessica Danquah took on
Krista Slavinski joined the
the position of Physician
DMOH team as a Physician
Assistant Co-Lead at UHN
Assistant.
effective December 1, 2022.
Patient Referral Coordinators
Joseph Abernethy joined Ann McGerrigle joined the
DMOH as a Patient Referral DMOH team as a Patient
Coordinator in the New Flow Coordinator in the in
Patient Referral & Registra- the New Patient Referral
tion Team. and Registration office.
Clinical Nurse Specialist
Nazlin Jivraj has joined the Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology and the
Drug Development Program at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, working as a
Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) in our Bras DDP and Gynecological Medical Oncology
Programs
8 Division of Medical Oncology & Hematology
Support Staff
Thuvaragah Somaskantha
Dr. Sanaz Ghazi joined the joined the DMOH team as a
DMOH team as a Process BMT-IEC Data Coordinator in
Improvement Specialist at the Malignant Hematology
the Princess Margaret. and Medical Oncology
Department.
Retirements
Dr. David Hogg has retired from his position of Medical Oncologist and Clinician
Investigator within the Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology at the Princess
Margaret Cancer Centre. David’s last day of clinical service was June 30, 2022.
Throughout his career, David has focused on the basic science and clinical manage-
ment of melanoma and other cutaneous malignancies. For over 20 years, David has
dedicated his career to serving patients and their families whilst always striving to
provide exemplary patient care.
Although David will be missed from clinical service, we are still incredibly fortunate
to have David supporting the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in his role as Chair
for the UHN Oncology Research Ethics Board. DMOH would like to thank David for
his devotion, service and continuous support. Best Wishes, Happy Retirement and a
special thank you to Dr. Hogg!
Departures
2022 has continued to teach us that in the face of a global pandemic, shifting priorities and family
responsibilities are of the utmost importance. Please join us in thanking the following physicians for their
invaluable contribution to DMOH and our patient population. We would like to send best wishes to each,
in all their future endeavours. The following staff have left DMOH: Dr. Rebecca Prince, Dr. Ram Vasud-
eran Nampoothin, Dr. Rhida Bautista, Rodger Tiedemann, and Dr. Jamie Sheiner.
2022 Year in Review Summary 9
2022
Meet Our New Fellows
Dr. Maria Perusini joined
Dr. Ian Hirsch joined DMOH
the DMOH team as a Clin-
as a fellow working in Mela-
ical Hematology Fellow in
noma and Sarcoma.
the Leukemia site.
Dr. Nely Díaz joined DMOH
as a fellow in the PM GU
Dr. Salman Alharbi joined
Team with Dr. Srikala
DMOH as a Clinical Fellow
Sridhar and breast tumours
in the Leukemia Program.
at Mount Sinai Hospital with
Dr. Christine Brezden.
Dr. Tommy Alfaromoya
Dr. Bander AlHarbi joined
joined DMOH as a fellow
the DMOH team as a Malig-
working in the Allogenic
nant Hematology Fellow in
Bone Marrow Transplant
the LMT Program.
Team.
Dr. Khadijah AlShankati
joined DMOH as a Clinical Dr. Noha AlHerz joined the
Fellow in Medical Oncology DMOH team as a Fellow in
with the Phase 1 Program the LMT Program.
Team.
Dr. Anup Joseph Devasia
Dr. Aisha AlShibany joined
joined the DMOH team as
DMOH as a Clinical Fellow
a Clinical Research Fellow
in Medical Oncology with
in Myeloma and related
the Phase 1 program Team.
disorders.
Dr. Carly Barron joined
Dr. May Chiu joined DMOH the DMOH team as a GI
as a Leukemia Fellow. Oncology Fellow.
Dr. Jamie Feng joined the Dr. Andrew Rabinovitch
DMOH team as a Thoracic joined the DMOH team as a
Oncology Fellow. Thoracic Oncology Fellow.
Dr. Selynne Guo joined the Dr. Juan Rangel joined the
DMOH as a PGY6 Geriatric DMOH team as a Fellow in
Oncology Fellow. the LMT Program.
Dr. Taylor Moffat joined Dr. Danielle Cuthbert
DMOH as a fellow in Medical joined the DMOH team as
Oncology in the Gastroin- a Clinical Fellow in Breast
testinal disease site. Oncology.
Dr. Gopila Gupta joined Dr. Rintu Sharma joined
the DMOH team as a Clin- the DMOH team as a fellow
ical Research Fellow in in Lymphoma, Myeloma
Leukemia and MPN. and Autologous Stem Cell
Transplantation.
Dr. Hannah Cherniawsky
Dr. Yacob Saleh joined the
joined the DMOH team as
DMOH team as a Medical
a Clinical Research Fellow
Oncology Fellow in GI
in Lymphoma, Myeloma
malignancies under the
and Autologous Stem Cell
supervision of Dr. Eric Chen.
Transplantation.
Dr. Pamella Paul joined the
DMOH team as a Malignant Dr. Abdul Rehman Farooq
Hematology Fellow in the joined DMOH as a Clinical
Princess Margaret Cellular Fellow in the Gastrointes-
Therapy and Regenerative tinal Oncology program
Medicine Program.
Dr. Elizabeth Faour joined Dr. John Aneke rejoined
DMOH as a Thoracic and DMOH as an Adult Hemo-
Lung Oncology Fellow. globinopathies Fellow.
Dr. Abdulrahman AlGh-
Dr. Khaled Abdulalem
abban joined the DMOH
joined the DMOH team as a
team as a Thoracic and
Melanoma and Skin Fellow.
Lung Oncology Fellow.
Dr. Yomna Eissa joined the
Dr. Vikas Garg joined the
DMOH team as an Alloge-
DMOH team as a Gyneco-
neic Bone Marrow Trans-
logical oncology Fellow.
plantation Fellow.
Dr. Niranjan Khaire joined
Dr. Diego Malon Gimenez
DMOH as an Allogeneic
joined DMOH as a Breast
Bone Marrow Transplanta-
Oncology Fellow.
tion Fellow.
Dr. Mariana Pinto Pereira
Dr. Richard O’Dwyer joined
joined DMOH as an Alloge-
DMOH as a Gastrointestinal
neic Bone Marrow Trans-
and Genitourinary fellow.
plantation fellow.
Dr. Pamela Soberanis Dr. Amer Zahralliyali
-Pina joined the DMOH joined the DMOH team as
team as a Gynecological a Breast and Genitourinary
oncology Fellow. Fellow.
Dr. Yazan Talab joined the Dr. Thais Megid joined the
DMOH team as a Cancer DMOH team as a Gastroin-
Genetics Fellow. testinal Oncology Fellow.
Dr. Gustavo Matos joined Dr. Fernando Binder joined
the DMOH team as a the DMOH team as an
Neuro-Oncology Fellow. Acute Oncology Fellow.
Dr. Jehad Al-Atoom joined Dr. Roa AlSajjan joined
the DMOH team as an the DMOH team as a
Acute Oncology Fellow. Neuro-Oncology Fellow.
Dr. Sheeraz Ali joined the
DMOH team as an Acute
Oncology Fellow.
Staff Appointments &
Promotions
Dr. Raymond Kim was named the new Provincial Head of the Provincial Genetics
Program at Cancer Care Ontario-Ontario Health in 2022.
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
Dr. Neesha Dhani was Angela Rodriguez was
named as the Medical promoted to Supervisor
Director of the DMOH in the Drug Development
Acute Oncology Program. Program.
Steven Siman was
Horace Wong was
appointed as an Assis-
promoted to the role of
tant Manager Supervisor
Assistant Manager in the
in the Drug Development
DDP2 Program.
Program (Phase II).
University of Toronto
Dr. Eitan Amir was Dr. Christine Elser was
promoted to the rank of promoted to the rank of
Professor. Associate Professor.
Dr. Stephanie Lheureux Dr. John Kuruvilla was
was promoted to the rank promoted to the rank of
of Associate Professor. Professor.
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
Dr. Anca Prica was Dr. Kevin Kuo was
promoted to the rank of promoted to the rank of
Associate Professor. Associate Professor.
Dr. Andrew Binding was cross-appointed as a Clinical Associate Hematolo-
gist at William Osler Health System and Unity Health, and an Assistant Professor
appointment at the University of Toronto in Quality and Innovation.
Clinical Awards &
Achievements
Congratulations to Dr. Christine Cserti for receiving the national Canadian Society
for Transfusion Medicine (CSTM) Ortho Award. Dr. Cserti was part of fiercely dedi-
cated teams on the complex digitization of transfusion (from paper to EPIC) – a true
labour of love with many special players. With transfusion being the most commonly
performed procedure in healthcare, and also one of the most complex interventions
from a logistics and immunodiagnostics perspective, this was a big leap with the
benefits of extreme traceability and downstream analytics. Click here for details.
Suzanne Rowland, Nurse Practitioner for receiving the Gerald Kirsh Humanitarian
Award. Suzanne demonstrates safety, compassion, teamwork, integrity, and stew-
ardship. The Kirsh family collaborated with Princess Margaret 22 years ago to launch
these awards as a tribute to the exceptional care their husband and father, Gerald
Kirsh, received at The Princess Margaret.
Dr. Steven Chan was Dr. Adrian Sacher received
awarded the inaugural the Rising Star Award from
Early Career Award from the Canadian Associa-
the Canadian Hematology tion of Medical Oncologists
Society. (CAMO).
Dr. Amit Oza received the Dr. Frances Shepherd was
Director’s Service Award awarded The prestigious
from the National Cancer Order of Saint George. Read
institute. the full story here.
Dr. Lawson Eng received
the Steven M Grunberg
Memorial Award at the
MASCC/ ISOO 2022 Annual
Meeting.
16 Division of Medical Oncology & Hematology
Talking Cancer
Prevention
Dr. Srikala Sridhar was featured on CTV
News in February for Cancer Prevention
Month. She discussed common risk factors,
signs and symptoms, and preventative
measures for bladder cancer. See the full
interview on the CTV News website.
Celebrating Oncology Nurses at PM
Congratulations also to the Gyne Nursing Team for winning the Best Team Nursing Uniform Award, the
Malignant Hematology Team for the Best Decorated Unit Door/Area Award, and the Breast Team for
receiving an honourable mention in the 2022 Oncology Nursing Day Challenge.
2022 Year in Review Summary 17
UHN Local Impact
Award Winners 2022
Congratulations to the Cancer Program Transfer of Accountability Interprofessional Working
Group (Cancer Program TOA WG) for being recognized with a UHN Local Impact Award for Quality
and Safety – Team. Recognizing their important QI work to improve the consistency, quality and
sustainability of best TOA practices for cancer patients, this multi-year work has led to significant
improvements in quality outcomes. To highlight, there has been a reduction in TOA serious safety
events as illustrated in our SSER rate, which decreased from 1.25 to 0.14 (June 2016 vs June 2022).
There has also been a significant decrease in real-time reporting of TOA concerns at the Cancer
Program site huddle; reduced from 10 to 3 TOA concerns/month (September 2021 – September
2022). Inpatient physician handover rounds are occurring with 100% attendance, with an efficient
review of over 40-50 inpatients in 25 minutes on weekdays, focused on the sickest patients. In addi-
tion, fidelity audits showed 86% compliance with the I-PASS tool in handovers, in Medical Oncology
units. Verbal TOA has been hardwired into care within inpatient units and is a leading practice for
clinicians with proven patient safety outcomes.
In a very effective manner, the Cancer Program TOA WG has been able to lead important initiatives
improving quality of inpatient care that can be an example for all. They have been a highly effec-
tive group, and we would like to extend our sincerest congratulations for their achievements and
continuous efforts.
This Working Group is chaired by Dr. Neesha Dhani and includes the following DMOH members:
Victoria Glinsky, Ishan Acharya, Katharyn Go, Vikas Gupta, Anet Julius, Alyssa Macedo, Lesley
Moody, Enrique Sanz Garcia, Santhosh Thyagu, Auro Viswabandya, and Chloe Yang.
18 Division of Medical Oncology & Hematology
Shaping the Future of Genetic Testing
With the support of a gift from the The Bhalwani Family
Charitable Foundation, Dr. Raymond Kim, medical
geneticist and Director of Cancer Early Detection at
the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, is leading a
universal genetic testing program with 1,300 breast
cancer patients. (Photo: The Princess Margaret Cancer
Foundation). Read the full article on the UHN News
website.
Celebrating
International Dr. Srikala Sridhar received a
Société Internationale d’Urologie
Women’s Day (SIU) Academy Award Certificate
for the Outstanding Case Study:
Applications of Immunotherapy
in Bladder Cancer.
Congratulations to Dr. Monika Krzyzanowska and
Alyssa Macedo for being 2 of 4 woman selected
as part of celebrating International Women's Day
(March 8) at the Princess Margaret for playing an
extraordinary role at the forefront of PM’s response
to the COVID-19 pandemic. See the full story on the
PMCF website.
2022 Year in Review Summary 19
Research Awards &
Achievements
Congratulations to Dr. Warren Mason for receiving the Canadian Cancer Trials Group
(CCTG) Dr. Joseph Pater Founder’s Award for his excellence in clinical trials research,
leadership, and his body of work that has contributed to significant advances in the
understanding, diagnosis, treatment, cure, and prevention of cancer. Read the full
story on the CCTG website.
Congratulations to Dr. Frances Shepherd for being awarded the Grand Prix Interna-
tional Scientifique (International Scientific Grand Prize) Award at the recent Interna-
tional and French Oncology Days (IFODS) Cancer Congress in Paris, France in June
2022.
Congratulations to Dr. Jean Wang for receiving the UHN Local Impact Award for
Commercialization & Discovery. This award recognizes their discoveries of cancer cell
interactions that led to the development of an immune therapy currently in clinical
trials for hematologic malignancies and solid tumours as well as a US $2.22 billion
pharmaceutical industry deal between Pfizer Inc. and Trillium Therapeutics. Read the
full story at UHN Newsroom.
Congratulations to Dr. Kevin Kuo, who was among a select
group of reviewers that were identified through CIHR’s Review
Quality Assurance (RQA) Process as an Outstanding Reviewer
in recognition of his exemplary contribution to peer review
for the Fall 2021 CIHR Project Grant competition. Among the
1,094 reviewers that participated in the competition, only 22.9%
obtained this recognition.
20 Division of Medical Oncology & Hematology
A research team headed by Dr. Kevin Kuo has reported the findings of an interna-
tional clinical trial on a new drug for non-transfusion dependent thalassemia (NTDT),
one form of thalassemia.
“Our results show that mitapivat brings hemoglobin levels back up to a point where
it may reduce risks for harmful complications,” says Dr. Kuo. “Importantly, our study
included participants with a diverse range of changes to their hemoglobin genes,
suggesting that the drug may universally benefit patients with all types of thalas-
semia.” For the full story, please click here.
Congratulations to nurse Shari Moura for launching her NUANcE trial for nutrition in
pancreas patients.
Grants
Dr. Robert Grant was one of the four inaugural recipients of the Marathon of Hope
Cancer Centres Network Clinician-Scientist Award. The award, which totals $450,000
over three years, will be used to develop new methods to personalize treatments for
patients with pancreatic cancer. To achieve his goal, Dr. Grant will use samples from
pancreatic cancer patients to create thousands of patient-derived organoids, and
use a screening platform to see how these organoids respond to approximately 3,000
different drugs. Read more here.
Dr. Monika Krzyzanowska received an Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR)
grant. She will explore remote interventions to help cancer patients manage side
effects of chemotherapy between visits to the hospital.
Dr. Lawson Eng received the International Lung Cancer Foundation (ILCF) Young
Investigator Grant in support of his project titled: Understanding the Impact of Age
and Frailty on Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor (ICI) Outcomes in Lung Cancer Patients.
Dr. Natasha Leighl was awarded the 2021 Invest in Research Grant for her project,
“Accelerating Lung Cancer Diagnosis Through Liquid Biopsy”.
2022 Year in Review Summary 21
Dr. Mark Minden was a collaborator for the project “Interrogating mitochondrial
protein S-glutathionylation in acute myeloid leukemia”, which received the Princess
Margaret Discovery to Impact Grant.
Dr. Steven Chan received a PM Research Stimulus Grant for his project, “Development
of PINK1 Inhibitors as Novel Agents Against AML Stem Cells”.
Cancer Digital Intelligence (CDI) announced that the Clinical Trial
Integrated Match System (CTIMS) was selected as the CDI Grand
Challenge winner. CTIMS is a comprehensive program to match
patients to the best clinical trials based on their “digital fingerprint”
which comprises of genomic, pathology and clinical data. CTIMS will
provide a patient view which highlights open trials that a patient
matches to at the criteria used for the matching. A trial view will
enable users to curate clinical trial eligibility criteria, track enrollment numbers and summarize which
patients match to that trial. Congratulations to Drs. Suzanne Trudel and Philippe Bedard who are part
of the CTIMS team.
$1M for Vascular Sarcoma
Cancer Research
The Sarcoma Cancer Foundation of Canada (SCFC) is pleased to announce
a $1 million dollar investment into an exciting new research initiative that will
evolve the collective baseline of Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma (EHE),
a rare vascular form of a sarcoma. The PRO CARE EHE Research Team, led by
Dr. Albiruni Abdul Razak, aims to better understand EHE demographics in
patients, treatment patterns, and to prospectively identify clinical prognostic
and predictive factors. In addition to these clinical research objectives, the
study has ambitious goals for the identification and validation of novel biomarkers to inform
patient management (prognosticators and predictors of response to medical agents), as
well as potential therapeutic targets. Read the full press release on the Sarcoma Cancer
Foundation of Canada website.
22 Division of Medical Oncology & Hematology
World-Leading Minds
Congratulations to Drs. Natasha Leighl and Frances Shepherd for being
named among the world’s most highly cited researchers. This list recog-
nizes those in the top 1% of citations for their field. You can read more
about this recognition here.
Congratulations also to Dr. Frances Shepherd for being ranked 7 in
Canada and 276 in the world among Top 1000 Female Scientists in the
World by Research.com, a leading academic platform for researchers.
The idea behind a ranking of only female scientists is to offer more visi-
bility into scientific achievements of women, whom we believe deserve
an equal chance to be represented and praised for their work.
You can read more about their key findings on representation of women
in science here. The full ranking for Canada is available here and the full
world ranking is available here.
Education Awards &
Achievements
PM Cancer Education
Award Winners 2022
Congratulations to the DMOH BMT-IEC Program for receiving the PM Innova-
tion in Education Award – Cell Therapy and Autologous Transplant Team, Dr.
Christine Chen, Andrew Winter, Dr. Rhida Bautista, Dr. Sita Bhella, Lauren Finlay,
Joanne Siu, Emily Barca, Christina Zeglinski. This award is for the contribution to
an exceptional and innovative educational program or experience for learners
of any kind in the Princess Margaret Cancer Program.
Congratulations to DMOH staff on the Princess Margaret COVID Steering
Committee for receiving the Outstanding Contribution to Cancer Education
Award. This award is for the commitment to patient and family education
through resource development, exemplary patient education skills, compli-
ments or testimonials by patients and families and/or contribution to learner
fieldwork/placement, clinical lab or small group experiences, student research,
continuing professional development, best practice forums, or faculty devel-
opment. The PM COVID Steering Committee is comprised of: Dr. Monika
Krzyzanowska, Dr. Geoffrey Liu, Ashley Liu, Colleen Dickie, Dr. Richard Tsang,
Dr. John Waldron, Dr. Vishal Kukreti, Dr. Philippe Bedard, James Austin, Dr.
Ernie Mak, Dr. Meredith Giuliani, Anet Julius, Dr. Jennifer Bell, Lesley Moody, Celina
Dara, Dr. Ann Heesters, Dr. Lauren Linett, Dr. Kazuhiro Yasufuku, Dr. Miranda So,
Dr. Shahid Husain, Dr. Natasha Leighl, Dr. Neesha Dhani, Dr. Alejandro Berlin,
Dr. Janet Papadakos, Dr. Taymaa May, Dr. Rajat Kumar, Ada Seto, Dr. Olavo
Fernandes, Dr. Jonas Mattsson, Tina Papadakos, Alyssa Macedo, Dr. Mary
Elliott, Dr. Keith Stewart, Dr. Amit Oza, Dr. Fei-Fei Liu, Victoria Glinsky, Dr. Caro-
line Cheung, Mike Lovas, Dr. Ilan Weinreb, Dr. Ur Metser, Dr. Girish Kulkarni, Maria
Madden, Lisa Tinker, Sarah Coyle, Shawn Jeffords, Schenell Rosario, Iqra Ashfaq,
Marina Jimenez.
24 Division of Medical Oncology & Hematology
Congratulations to Dr. Zach Liederman for achieving a Teaching Award
of Excellence at the University of Toronto. This award recognizes those
that have attained Teaching Evaluation Scores in the top 10% in one or
more of the teaching activities to which they have contributed.
Congratulations to Dr. Helena Dhamko for receiving the Wight-
man-Berris Academy Individual Teaching Excellence Award in the
Undergraduate category for 2021-2022. This is a prestigious honour that
celebrates the impact Dr. Dhamko has had on learners.
The DMOH Education Executive would like to thank Dr. Penny Bradbury
for her role as the Associate Director of the Solid Tumour Fellowship
Program over the last 5 years.
Staff Professional Development
Congratulations to Dr. Robert Grant for passing his thesis defense at
the Institute for Medical Sciences, University of Toronto. His thesis title
is “Warning Systems for Undesirable Events During Cancer Treatment:
Applying Machine Learning to Administrative Data”.
Congratulations to Dr. Aniket Bankar for passing his defense and
receiving his MSc degree in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Services
Research from the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evalua-
tion at the University of Toronto.
Congratulations to Dr. Richard Ward for making it on the Dean’s list and
being a Bregman Scholar in Rotman’s Global Executive MBA for Health-
care and the Life Sciences at the University of Toronto.
Trainee Achievements
Residents
Kevin Wang, PGY5 Medical Oncology Resident for receiving:
The Medical Oncology Training Program Annual Research Day Award for his oral
presentation on the paper Utility of point-of-care genomic profiling in the diag-
nosis and treatment of cancer of unknown primary.
The Joseph M. West Family Memorial Fund for $8100 from the Faculty of Medicine
at the University of Toronto.
Mitchell Elliot, PGY4 Medical Oncology Resident for receiving the UHN Department
of Medicine Outstanding Housestaff Award from the University Health Network.
This award is selected by UHN staff as one of the top 5 residents in the Internal
Medicine program per year.
Fellows
Congratulations to Dr. Carly Barron for receiving the 2022 Canadian Asso-
ciation of Medical Oncologists (CAMO) Fellowship Award for the project “Cross
tumor-comparison of the tumor immune-microenvironment, peripheral immune
signatures and response to immunotherapy as a novel conceptual model in
aerodigestive tumors”. Dr. Barron’s supervisors were Drs. Elena Elimova and Adrian
Sacher. Dr. Barron also received the Robert V. Brady Award, which recognizes
healthcare workers in the PM Cancer Program that go above and beyond every
day in many ways by demonstrating excellence in education for patient care,
creating or supporting innovative treatments and programs and by displaying
exemplary compassion, advocacy and patient care.
Congratulations to Dr. Alberto Hernando Calvo for receiving the following grants:
(1) Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Research Foundation pilot grant 2022-2023 for the
project “Dynamic Evaluation of Liquid biopsies in patients with recurrent or meta-
static (R/M) Salivary gland tumor (SGT) Histologies (DELISH)”. His supervisor is Dr.
Aaron Hansen. (2) Hold’em for Life Oncology Fellowship 2022 grant for the project
“External validation of the VIGEX gene-expression signature as a novel predictive
biomarker for immuno-oncology (IO) treatments”. His supervisor is Dr. Philippe
Bedard.
Congratulations to Dr. Enrique Sanz Garcia for receiving the following grant and
award.
Hold’em for Life Oncology Fellowships Grant from the University of Toronto in June
2022 for the project “IO-KIN: ctDNA kinetics on patients treated with immuno-
therapy”.
Residents Novartis Oncology Young Canadian Investigator Award in 2022 for the project
“ctDNA as an early biomarker of response to immunotherapy in early phase clin-
ical trials”.
Congratulations to Dr. Gordon Taylor Moffat for receiving the Hold’EM for Life
Oncology Fellowship Grant and the Royal College of Physicians of Canada Profes-
sional Development Grant for the project “Optimizing the Quality of Surveillance
in Patients with Completely Resected Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine
Tumours”.
Congratulations to Dr. Jesus Fuentes Antras for receiving the Novartis Oncology
Young Canadian Investigator (NOYCIA) Award for the project “Molecular charac-
terization of long-term and short-term survivors of pancreatic ductal adenocar-
cinoma”.
Fellows Congrats to Dr. Sofia Genta for receiving the following awards: (1) Novartis
Oncology Young Canadian Investigator Award for the project “Autoimmune
Panels as Predictors of Toxicity in Patients Treated with Immunotherapy (ALERT)”.
(2) Hold’em for life Oncology Fellowship Award from the Faculty of Medicine,
University of Toronto for the project “Combination of Atezolizumab and Oral Micro-
bial Intervention in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors to Interrogate the Gut
Microbiota (CASSIN)”.
Congrats to Dr. Consolacion Molto Valiente for receiving the Spanish Society of
Medical Oncology Grant and the Hold’em for Life Oncology Fellowships Grant for
the project “Machine learning to estimate the real-world risk of 3-year disease
free survival in patients with residual, triple negative breast cancer after neoadju-
vant chemotherapy”.
Congratulations to Dr. Michael He, Postdoctoral Fellow, and supervisor Dr. Robert
Kridel for being awarded the PM George Knudson Memorial Fellowship Fund for
their project, “Targeting GNAS Sensitizes Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma to Histone
Deacetylase 2 Inhibition.”
Division Highlights
DMOH Staff Represent at ESMO
The European Society for Medical
Oncology (ESMO) congress took place
in Paris from September 9-13, 2022.
Congratulations to DMOH staff for their
poster sessions, presentations, discus-
sant, educational sessions and sympo-
siums. Please click here for a DMOH
summary.
Medical Oncology Annual
Research Day
The University of Toronto Medical Oncology Annual Research Day was held on June 17, 2022. This important
event provides an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of faculty and trainees in academic
medical oncology. Congratulations to all of the U of T Medical Oncology Research Day award recipients!
Drs. Raymond Kim and Eric Chen received the Division Awards for Quality and Research, respectively.
Drs. Elena Elimova, Maria (Di) Jiang, and Sam Saibil received the Medical Oncology Training Program
Teaching Awards.
Drs. Carly Barron and Maisam Makarem received the Dr. Donald Sutherland Award.
Drs. Danielle Cuthbert and Robert Vanner received the MOTP Chief Resident Appreciation Award.
Trainee Abstract Award recipients:
• Dr. Alberto Hernando Calvo (Oral Abstract Award Recipient – Supervisor Dr. Philippe Bedard)
• Dr. Pavlina Spiliopoulou (Poster Abstract Award Recipient – Supervisor Dr. Lillian Siu)
• Dr. Lucia Bogdan (Poster Abstract Award Recipient – Supervisor Dr. Philippe Bedard)
28 Division of Medical Oncology & Hematology
DMOH Staff Win ASCO Awards
The 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting Program offered presentations on the latest research in cancer care. The
program featured sessions complementing the meeting’s theme: Advancing Equitable Cancer Care Through
Innovation. Please click here for a DMOH summary.
• Congratulations to our DMOH trainees who received a 2022 Conquer Cancer Merit Award: Drs. Lucy
Ma, Abhenil Mittal, Jesus Fuentes Antras, Sofia Genta, Alberto Hernando, Azeez Salawu, Enrique
Sanz, Pavlina Spiliopoulou, Kirsty Taylor, and Ana Veneziani.
• Congratulations to Dr. Azeez Salaw for receiving the Young Investigator Award for his project titled,
“Circulating Tumour DNA (ctDNA) Detection as a Potential Biomarker of Molecular Residual Disease in
Localized Soft Tissue Sarcoma (DNA-TSAR)”. His mentors were Drs. Albi Razak and David Shultz.
• Congratulations to Dr. Sofia Genta for receiving the Young Investigator Award for her project titled,
“Immune Resistance Interrogation Study (IRIS): Prospective Analysis of T-cell Function and Diversity
at the Time of Primary and Acquired Resistance to Cancer Immunotherapy”. Her mentors were Drs.
Anna Spreafico and Trevor Pugh.
th
The 64 ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition took place in New Orleans, Louisiana December 10-13, 2022.
Congratulations to DMOH staff for receiving an award, and to staff and learners for showcasing poster
presentations and abstracts. Please click here for a DMOH summary.
Congratulations to Dr. Dennis Kim for winning the ASH Achievement Award for the abstract Somatic Mutations
in Myeloid Transcription Factors and in Activated Signaling Pathway, but Not in Epigenetic Modifier Pathway,
Predict the Risk of Treatment Failure and Progression to Advanced Phase in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.
2022 Year in Review Summary 29
Launch of EPIC
After 19 months of incredibly hard work from TeamUHN, we went live on Epic
– a modern health information system that is supercharging our clinical
transformation! On Saturday, June 4, Kevin Smith was at the main command
centre at Atrium on Bay and pressed the “Go-Live Button” and celebrated
the crowning achievement of the Synapse project with other TeamUHN
members. The EPIC launch can be watched here.
In preparation for the EPIC go-live on June 4, DMOH held 3 EPIC Townhalls and
multiple EPIC Executive Committee meetings with high participation and
great staff engagement. Congratulations and thank you to DMOH staff for
their hard work and effort to get us to this successful launch of Epic! Thank
you to the EPIC Executive Team and support staff including Vishal Kukreti,
Eitan Amir, Lesley Moody, Rajat Kumar, Suzanna Sellmann, Lisa Tinker, Anet
Julius, Keith Stewart, DMOH Site Leads, Heather Cole, Marcie Flynn-Post, Val
Bowering, Casandra Mayor, Amita Woods, Monika Krzyzanowska, Chris-
tine Brezden, Lillian Siu, Richard Ward, super users, Jamie Austin, Schenell
Rosario, Michelle Williams, and Christina Gulesserian for their leadership
and work to help prepare for this implementation. This health information
system will power a transformation in Princess Margaret’s delivery of world-
class patient care, education, and research.
Long Service Recognition
Congratulations to the following DMOH and PM staff who reached their long service mile-
stones between December 31, 2021 and July 1, 2021. Thank you for your service and dedica-
tion to our program!
35 YEARS 20 YEARS 10 YEARS
Monica Spee Jennifer Ryan Karen Ka Wai Szeto
Dr. Anna Rydlewski Dr. Jennifer Knox Kathleen Hartwick
Dr. Natasha Leighl Alisha Rollinson
30 YEARS Dr. Donna Reece Soniya Varghese
Dr. Amit Oza Breda C Babington Kaniamparambil Robin
Cathy Bedlington Meredith Navarro Maricris Autea
Nancy Candido-Gregorio Sheryl Bawa Saadia Ramkissoon
Beverley Burnett Nhi Joanne Trac Luisa Del Rizzo
Sarah Louisa Nagel Nadia Pooran Aine Condon
Natalia Wasowicz
25 YEARS 15 YEARS Krystal Internicola
Helen Borowski Susan Clarke
Dr. Warren Mason Shaun Arana 5 YEARS
Deborah Chan Suzette Sto Domingo Diana Burgos
Valerie Bowering Sandra Natale
Saima Dean Dr. Dawn Maze
Bonnie Kwan Dr. Hassan Sibai
Jocelyn G. Escano Mathujan Ulaganathan
Isabella Petti
Enza Scandinavo
Celebrating National
Physician Assistants Day
November 27, 2022 was National Physician Assistant (PA) Day in Canada. DMOH wishes
to recognize Physician Assistants and celebrate the impact they have improving patient
access to quality health care. Please join us in thanking our DMOH Physician Assistants for
the incredible service and positive impact they are making across all of our programs.
2022 Year in Review Summary 31
On May 1, 2022, DMOH celebrated the contributions of physicians to their patients, communities, and
the profession. Thank you to the doctors including fellows, residents, and medical students at UHN
whose tireless work has had an outstanding impact on patients and communities!
Celebrating Nursing Day
April 5, 2022 marked the 19 anniversary for Oncology Nursing Day with the theme being “Together Again:
th
Connection, Reflection and Celebration”. DMOH celebrated the incredible role oncology nurses play in
our healthcare system through various activities throughout Nursing Week, recognizing the compassion,
optimism, kindness, and hard work of all of the clinical and trials nurses at the PM.
Happy Administrative
Professionals’ Day
DMOH celebrated Administrative Professionals’ Day on April 27, 2022. The division thanks Administrative
Assistants for all of the incredible work done throughout the year. Please know that the time and effort you
have invested to help us achieve exemplary patient care and academic excellence does not go unnoticed.
Everyone has a significant role in the success of our division, and we are thrilled to have such a terrific team.
Your professionalism, organization, dedication, and strong work ethic are helping us achieve excellence
every day!
Happy National Nurse Practitioner Week to our dedicated Nurse Practitioners (NPs). It is a privilege to cele-
brate the clinical care, leadership, research, and educational contributions of NPs at UHN. In both inpatient
and outpatient settings, NPs have an integral role in the clinical management, wellness, continuity of care,
and health outcomes of our patients.
Additions to Team DMOH
Congratulations to Dr. Zachary
Liederman on his new baby boy Ben.
Congratulations to Mandy McDonald
on her new baby boy Tucker.
Congratulations to Dr. Robert Grant
for his new baby boy Robert Devin
Grant.
DMOH Communications
Team & Content Advisors
Christina Gulesserian
Michelle Williams
Amit Oza
James Austin
Schenell Rosario