ISSUE NO. 25 | MAY 2023 THE DIVISION OF MEDICAL ONCOLOGY & HEMATOLOGY
NEWSLETTER
MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF
Greetings members of the Welcome to Our New Staff
Division of Medical Oncology and
Hematology. Dr. Humna Amjad joined DMOH as a Clinical Asso-
ciate to provide General Practitioner Oncology coverage
I would like to welcome you to for the high-risk breast-screening clinic at the Princess
our May 2023 issue! I am pleased Margaret Cancer Centre. Prior to this, she completed
to highlight our many milestones a fellowship in the Breast Oncology Enhanced Skills
and achievements in the past Program at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. She
month. In the next few pages, you also completed her Post Graduate Medical Education in
will read about: Family Medicine at the University of Toronto. Her inter-
• New staff ests include women’s health at large and medical educa-
tion.
• Words of Wisdom
• Outstanding awards &
accomplishments
Odette Young joined DMOH as an Administrative Assis-
• Research Achievements tant supporting Drs. Michelle Nadler and Eitan Amir and
thanks Mark Vinderine for telling her about this position.
• Staff spotlights
Odette has worked at the Princess Margaret Cancer
• Upcoming events Centre for many years. She had relocated to England
Please feel free to share this and worked there for 6 years at the London Clinic as
newsletter with colleagues. We a MDT Coordinator reporting to the Medical Director
also welcome your feedback, Mr. Satya Bhattacharya. She returned to Canada
content, and suggestions for approximately 23 months ago and has been working
future issues. at the Toronto General Hospital in the Centre for
Mental Health supporting 5 Physicians. She completed
Happy reading, a diploma in Health Information Management from McMaster University and a
certificate in Human Resources Management from Southers Business and Office
Amit Oza Skills in London UK.
Odette goes to the gym 3 days a week to help her stay focused on her self-care.
She also loves to watch mini series on Netflix and recommends The Marked
Heart. She loves to read and just finished Authentically, Uniquely You: Living Free
from Comparison and has just started The Covenant Of Water, a novel by Abraham
Verghese.
DMOH Newsletter PAGE 1
STAFF ACHIEVEMENTS
International Clinical Trials Day
May 20 marked International Clinical Trials Day, which celebrates the date that James Lind initiated the first clinical trial
on May 20, 1747. In recognition, we would like to highlight the incredible impact of clinical trials at UHN and thank our
clinical research professionals for the important contributions they make to advance medical knowledge and improve
the lives of our patients.
Please join us in celebrating the participants, researchers, clinical research professionals, clinical teams, and others
who make clinical trials possible every day. We would especially like to thank our study participants who volunteer
their time, place their trust in us, and provide the unparalleled gift of their lived experiences. Our world-class research
programs would not be possible without the dynamic teams that enable us to deliver high-quality research and
improve patient care through discovery and innovation every day.
In celebration of International Clinical Trials Day, the Princess Margaret’s Cancer Clinical Research Unit is hosting a
variety of educational sessions and activities from May 19 to 26 that are open to all staff at UHN. We hope you are able
to join us to commemorate this important day and recognize the significance of clinical trials in creating A Healthier
World.
Clinical research is a fundamental part of UHN’s culture, enabling us to deliver tomorrow’s treatments today. In align-
ment with our strategic research priority to “empower research teams and collaboration”, we launched a new model
to accelerate team-based research and discovery: UHN Collaborative Centres. With one Centre dedicated to clinical
research, this structure will accelerate clinical research and discovery to grow UHN’s global reputation as a power-
house in health research, and we look forward to taking our world-class clinical research enterprise to the next level.
Dr. Eitan Amir Appointed as the Head of the DMOH Solid
Tumour Oncology Program
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Eitan Amir has accepted the role of Head of the Solid
Tumour Oncology Program for the Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology, Princess
Margaret Cancer Centre effective May 1, 2023. Dr. Eitan Amir is a Medical Oncologist at Princess
Margaret Cancer Centre and a Professor in the Department of Medicine and at the Dalla Lana
School of Public Health in the University of Toronto. Dr. Amir has served as the Executive Director
of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Medical Oncology and Hematology Fellowship Program
since 2017 and the Site Lead for Breast Medical Oncology since 2019. He also serves as the
Cancer Care Ontario Systemic Therapy Lead for Toronto Central South and as the Vice-Chair of
the Cancer Research Ethics Board at University Health Network. Dr. Amir’s clinical interests are
the treatment of breast cancer and toxicities of anti-cancer drugs. His academic interests include
clinical trial methodology, meta-analysis and outcomes research. Dr. Amir completed his medical
degree, internal medicine and medical oncology training at the University of Manchester, UK. He then completed a PhD
in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Toronto. Dr. Amir has over 300 publications as well as numerous published
abstracts and book chapters. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Amir in his new role.
DMOH Newsletter | May 2023 PAGE 2
STAFF ACHIEVEMENTS
Words of Wisdom
from the Weekly DMOH
Admin Huddle
"When every-
thing seems to be
going against you,
remember that the
airplane takes off
against the wind,
Congratulations to Dr. Auro Viswabandya for completing
his Masters of Science in Healthcare Quality and Safety from
Harvard Medical School and for completing a certification as not with it."
a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) from
the Healthcare Quality Certification Commission
We would like to sincerely thank
Compliment A Dr. Jennifer Knox for her
instrumental leadership of the
Physician DMOH Medical Oncology port-
folio at the Princess Margaret
Cancer Centre since 2017. In
Have you had a great her leadership role, Dr. Knox
experience with an Ontario has supported many important
doctor? DMOH initiatives and commit-
tees including DMOH strategy,
Let the CPSO know about the excellent care Medical Model of Care, ambu-
you received by submitting a compliment. latory practice strategies, site-group leadership, staff
recruitment, mentorship, retention and transition plan-
In most cases, the CPSO will pass along ning and, being a key member of the DMOH Executive
your message to the physician or surgeon. Committee since inception. Dr. Knox will continue to
Information can be found here. maintain both her clinical practice and research portfolios
and will continue to be very actively engaged in various
DMOH projects, initiatives and oncology portfolios.
DMOH Newsletter | May 2023 PAGE 3
STAFF ACHIEVEMENTS
Congratulations to Walaa Kheir Congratulations to Dr. Monika
for being the recipient of a Krzyzanowska for being nomi-
Wightman-Berris Academy Anne nated as WINC-ALINC Mentor of
Marie Holmes Award for 2022- the Year by Women in Cancer.
2023. This is a prestigious honour
that celebrates the impact you
have had on our learners.
Congratulations Dr. Armand
Congratulations to Jessica Keating for his 40 Years of Service
Danquah for being appointed at the Princess Margaret Cancer
to faculty at the University of Centre.
Toronto Department of Family and
Community Medicine as a Lecturer
(status only) effective May 2023.
Congratulations for achieving a 10
year milestone working at Princess
Margaret Cancer Centre.
Congratulations to Dr. Auro Congratulations to Our
Viswabandya for being granted
a CPPS (Certified Professional in DMOH Residents
Patient Safety) certification by the
Certification Board for Profes-
sionals in Patient Safety (CBPPS). Congratulations to Mitchell
The CBPPS was established by the Elliott, a PGY4 Medical
National Patient Safety Foundation Oncology Resident in DMOH for
(NPSF) to advance, standardize, being selected as a 2023/2024
and promote patient safety knowl- Journal of Clinical Oncology
edge competencies for health care Editorial Fellow. For general
professionals. information on the program,
please click here.
Dr. Auro Viswabandya has also been appointed as the new
chair of the “Lymphohematopoietic cells” by Canadian Stan-
dards Association group, which is one of the largest stan-
dards development organizations in North America. In this
new role, he will be actively involved in preparing standards
in Stem Cell Transplantation.
Congratulations to Dr. Hassan
Sibai for being the recipient of the
Wightman-Berris Academy Indi-
vidual Teaching Excellence Award
in the Postgraduate category for
2022-2023. This is a prestigious
honour that celebrates the impact
you have had on our learners Congratulations to Kevin Wang a PGY5 Medical Oncology
Resident in DMOH, for giving a Lindau Lecture at the
International Congress on Academic Medicine (ICAM)
2023 conference. For details, please click here.
DMOH Newsletter | May 2023 PAGE 4
STAFF ACHIEVEMENTS
Congratulations to Our DMOH Fellows
The Tannock Fellowship Award aims to encourage high quality research in hematology and medical oncology with the aim
of supporting fellows with a grant between $15,000-$25,000 to complete a one-year research project. Congratulations to the
following 2022-2023 Tannock Fellowship Award Winners below. Thank you to everyone you submitted an application for review
and to all reviewers for taking the time.
$25,000 Awards $15,000 Awards
Dr. Tomohiro Aoki for the project Dr. Aisha AlShibany for the
“The spatially resolved tumor- project “EpitheLioid Hemangio-
microenvironment of relapsed endothelioma's (EHE) PatiEnt-
Hodgkin Lymphoma”. His mentor derived XenoGraft (PDX) Model,
was Dr. Robert Kridel. with Preclinical Assessment and
DevelopmeNt of Thermo-mTORi
Drug Delivery System(ELEGANT)”.
Her mentor was Dr. Albiruni
Razak.
Dr. Niranjan Khaire for the
project “Assessment of pre allo- Dr. Ian Hirsch for the project
geneic transplant depth of remis- "Cancer-associated thrombosis
sion as measured by smMIP based Risk Estimation SysTem (CREST):
MRD response and post-trans- Applying Machine Learning to the
plant outcomes in acute myeloid Electronic Medical Record to Guide
leukemia patients treated with Prophylactic Anticoagulation for
Azacitidine + Venetoclax versus Cancer Patients”. His mentor was
Standard Intensive Chemotherapy: Dr. Robert Grant.
A Propensity Score Matched anal-
ysis”. His mentor was Dr. Dennis
(Dong Hwan) Kim.
Congratulations to Dr. Tommy Congratulations to Dr. Thiago
Alfaro Moya for completing the Pimentel Muniz for graduating
Global Health Education Initiative from the Master Teaching Program
Certificate Program at the Univer- from the Department of Medicine
sity of Toronto. He has started at the University of Toronto.
his Master of Public Health with a
Public Health Honors Scholarship
from Brown University’s School of
Public Health.
DMOH Newsletter | May 2023 PAGE 5
STAFF ACHIEVEMENTS
Notable Research Achievements
Congratulations to the following staff for being honoured
and celebrated at the CCTG Annual meeting:
Congratulations to Dr. Lillian Siu,
who is the recipient of the 2023
Maria Ricci Memorial Lectureship
from the Canadian Cancer Trials
Group. The Maria Ricci Memorial
Lectureship in Medical Oncology
was established in 2007 with
funding provided by GlaxoSmith-
Kline in memory of Maria Ricci
who was GSK Scientific Develop-
ment Manager in oncology when
Dr. David Cescon is making a splash in breast her life ended tragically in January 2007 while traveling on
cancer translational research. In the past four GSK-related business. This lectureship has been awarded
years, Dave has helped kick-start five clinical previously to internationally renowned Canadian medical
studies—one observational study and four phase oncologists with focus on clinical and translational research.
2 clinical trials—as either the Principal Investigator Dr. Siu delivered her lecture titled "Precision Cancer Medi-
or Chair. He also holds leadership roles in multiple cine Beyond Next Generation Sequencing Gene Panels" on
Phase 3 trials sponsored by academic partners April 29, 2023.
(i.e., the Canadian Cancer Trials Group) as well as
industry partners. For details, please click here. Congratulations to Dr. Penelope
Bradbury, on her work as the
lead of the Canadian Cancer Trials
Group (CCTG) New Investigator
Practicum was acknowledged at
the CCTG Annual Spring Meeting
Congratulations to Dr. Frances in April, 2023. The practicum,
Shepherd for having an ASCO which was developed by Penelope,
Conquer Cancer - Frances A. is a unique program and the first
Shepherd, MD, Endowed Merit of its kind in Canada. It enables the
Award in Lung Cancer given to best and brightest new Canadian
trainee Dr. Jacqueline Aredo. This oncology researchers to acquire training and experience
award recognizes a female trainee in cancer clinical trial conduct. The program has now been
or student who submitted a high running for 6 years, with over 35 oncology researchers from
scoring abstract in lung cancer across Canada participating in the practicum so far.
as determined by the Scientific
Program Committee.
Congratulations to Dr. Anna
Congratulations to Dr. Frances Spreafico for receiving an Eliza-
Shepherd for her Journal of Clin- beth Eisenhauer Early Drug Devel-
ical Oncology article, “Prospec- opment Young Investigator Award.
tive randomized trial of docetaxel This award is presented annually
versus best supportive care in to any MD, fellow, or PhD, within
patients with non-small-cell lung 7 years of certification/first faculty
cancer previously treated with appointment, or current fellow
platinum-based chemotherapy,” who has either spent time at
being among the top 40 most- Central Office, worked on projects
cited JCO articles of the past 40 years. Dr. Ronald Burkes with the Investigational New Drug
was co-author. (ND) Program or who has contributed significantly to the
conduct of an IND trial at a centre. For details, please click
here.
DMOH Newsletter | May 2023 PAGE 6
STAFF ACHIEVEMENTS
Congrats to Dr. Jacob Pender-
grast for:
Leading the Quality Improvement
Project of Centralized Hematology
Referral Intake, supported by a
University Health Network Blood
Disorders Program Innovation
Grant for $20 000.
Being a Co-Investigator of Transfu- We would like to acknowledge the hard work of our fellows
sion Camp for staff clinicians: review of transfusion medi- and staff physicians of the Allogeneic Blood and Marrow
cine current practices in adult and pediatric patients and Transplant Program for representing the Princess Margaret
supportive development of hospital transfusion medicine Cancer Centre at this year’s European Society for Blood
guidelines at University Teaching Hospital of Kigali. ISBT and Marrow Transplantation Conference in Paris, France.
Applications Academy. Principal Investigators: Skelton T. Congratulations to our clinical fellows Dr. Rawan Alomari
Collaborators: Lin Y, Nizeyimana F. The funding received is and Dr. Vered Stavi and their supervisor Dr. Auro Viswa-
4825 Euros. bandya for their poster abstract presentation "LGL after
using dual T-cell depletion and its’ correlation with long term
outcomes". Congratulations to Dr. Ayman Sayyed and
supervisor Dr. Ivan Pasic for their poster abstract presen-
tation ‘In-vivo dual T-cell depletion, improves transplant
outcomes in acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients over
40 who undergo allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplanta-
tion’ and oral abstract presentation ‘Pre-transplant blina-
tumomab decreases transplant related mortality in B-cell
acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients who under alloge-
neic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Finally, congratu-
lations to our program director Dr. Jonas Mattsson for
Congratulations to Drs. Suzanne Trudel and Christine presenting the "Allo at Home" Program at the workshop on
Chen for being one of 5 researchers at PMH who received a "New ways of Improving Patient Outcomes after Hemato-
$2 Million in Research Funding from Helga and Antonio De poietic Stem Cell Transplant/Cellular Therapy"!
Gasperis for Multiple Myeloma. Dr. Suzanne Trudel, and PM
colleagues, will focus on expanding clinical trials infrastruc-
ture, biospecimen collection and databases for multiple
myeloma. Dr. Christine Chen will evaluate the frequency and
impact of acquired clonal hematopoesis (CHIP) in myeloma. Congratulations to Dr. Amit
Oza for being awarded the
2022 the Till and McCulloch
Paper of the Year Clinical
Award for the paper “Ruca-
parib versus standard-of-care
chemotherapy in patients
with relapsed ovarian cancer
and a deleterious BRCA1 or
BRCA2 mutation (ARIEL4):
an international, open-
label, randomised, phase 3
trial” published in The Lancet
Congratulations to Dr. Jacob Pendergrast, Principal inves- Oncology.
tigator and to collaborators Drs. Kevin Kuo, Richard Ward
and Andrew Binding for “A 2-Part, Phase 1, Multicenter,
Single-Dose, Open-Label Study to Evaluate the Safety,
Tolerability, and Pharmacokinetics of CSL889 [hemopexin
concentrate] in Adult Patients with Sickle Cell Disease”. The
budget is in development.
DMOH Newsletter | May 2023 PAGE 7
STAFF ACHIEVEMENTS
Congratulations to Drs. Anna Spreafico, Sam Saibil,
Lillian Siu, Bryan Coburn, Daniel Vilarim Araujo, Marc
Oliva Bernal, and T.J. Tan for their paper “First-in-class Congratulations to Drs. Anup Joseph Devasia, Rodger
Microbial Ecosystem Therapeutic 4 (MET4) in combina- Tiedemann, Suzanne Trudel, Danielle Croucher, Dor
tion with immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with Abelman, Ali Mahdipour-Shirayeh, Zhihua Li, Natalie
advanced solid tumors (MET4-IO trial)” published in Annals Erdmann and Trevor Pugh for their paper “Single-cell
of Oncology. profiling of multiple myeloma reveals molecular response
to FGFR3 inhibitor despite clinical progression” published
in Cold Spring Harbor Molecular Case Studies.
Congratulations to Drs. Abi Vijenthira, Anca Prica and
Danielle Rodin for their paper “Virtual Care During the
COVID-19 Pandemic for Patients With Hematologic Malig-
nancies: A Single-Institution Experience” published in JCO
Oncology Practice. Drs. Fotios (Frank) Michelis and Ivan Pasic of the Hans
Messner Allogeneic Transplant Program recently published
research investigating the use of multiplex proteomics to
identify serum protein biomarkers of acute graft-versus-
host disease. A special thanks goes to Dr. Eleftherios
Diamandis and the team at the Advanced Center for Detec-
tion of Cancer at Mount Sinai Hospital for their ongoing
support and expertise!
Reference: Pasic I, Ren AH, Nampoothiri RV, Prassas I,
Lipton JH, Mattsson J, Diamandis EP, Michelis FV. Multi-
plex proteomics using proximity extension assay for the
identification of protein biomarkers predictive of acute
graft-vs.-host disease in allogeneic hematopoietic cell
transplantation. Clin Chem Lab Med. 2023 Jan 20;61(6):1005-
1014.
Congratulations to Renee Hofstedter, Dr. Maria Di Jiang,
Dr. Shereen Ezzat, Dr. Raymond Kim, Dr. Ozgur Mete,
and Carolina Sanabria Salas for their paper “FLCN-Driven
Functional Adrenal Cortical Carcinoma with High Mitotic
Tumor Grade: Extending the Endocrine Manifestations
of Birt-Hogg-Dubé Syndrome” published in Endocrine
Pathology.
DMOH Newsletter | May 2023 PAGE 8
STAFF SPOTLIGHTS
Get to Know
Victoria Glinsky
Victoria Glinsky is originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia. She started
working at PMH in 2015 as a Lead consultant with PMH Administration
for her Masters internship placement. She enjoyed the pace and envi-
ronment so much, she joined DMOH as a Quality Coordinator in July
2018 immersing herself with many QI projects.
What do you like most about your job?
At the risk of sounding repetitive, I enjoy how collaborative and
supportive DMOH is. I am lucky to be part of a team that provides me
with the resources I need to be successful and supports my goals –
career and otherwise. I do not think you truly understand the impor-
tance of this until you have worked in an environment that is isolating.
As for my role specifically, I feel incredibly rewarded to see projects
I have contributed to, change practice within the organization or
directly impact patient care. To me, it is an immensely positive and
overwhelming feeling that I cannot put into words.
What’s a fun fact about you that others may not know?
1. I am a long-distance runner! I started running with Nike in April 2015. Yes, I even run outdoors in the
winter (my favourite season!)
2. Growing up in Nova Scotia, I swam (attending competitions) and raced sailboats
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
I love cleaning… Maybe I have chosen the wrong career.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Your first thought of the day should be “thank you”.
STAFF SPOTLIGHTS
Get to Know
Rodolfo (Tep) Bautista
Rodolfo Bautista III goes by the name Tep (it’s easier to say and
remember). He works with Dr. Jameel Abdulrehman and Dr. Helena
Dhamko at Toronto General Hospital, but holds a few positions else-
where with UHN.
What do you like most about your job?
What I like most about my job is that I have a hand in assisting multiple
areas at once and have the capability to be of service anywhere.
What’s a fun fact about you that others may not know?
Being the third (III) to hold the name Rodolfo Bautista, there are currently
8 in my family who share the name with me.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
Outside of work I also do photography and am a tattoo artist, I spend my
days in a helpful hospital setting and my evenings in an artistic one.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
My father always told me growing up to: “Always keep soaking in as much
information and knowledge as you can as it’s the one thing nobody can take
away from you”.
EVENTS & DEADLINES
Celebrating National Physicians’ Day
May 1, 2023 was National Physicians’ Day. DMOH thanks the dedicated doctors at UHN, including fellows, residents,
and medical students, who direct their expertise and talents in service of our patients and A Healthier World.
Celebrating National Nursing Week
May 8-14, 2023 marked National Nursing Week. DMOH thanks the dedicated and empathetic nurses for their tire-
less efforts to put patients first, particularly in the face of significant health human resource challenges across our
system.
DMOH Newsletter | May 2023 PAGE 11
EVENTS & DEADLINES
Don’t miss out on the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Director’s Reception in Chicago!
We would love to see you among us on Friday June 2, 2023 from 6:00-8:00 PM at the PM Director’s Reception at ASCO.
Arrive early and come meet up with new and old friends and colleagues at Row 24, a historically sophisticated and
classically new venue within a 10-minute walk from the convention centre.
A great atmosphere to enjoy a drink or two and a few appetizers on us!
We would be grateful if you would forward this to your colleagues for awareness.
Mark your calendar today!
RSVP to [email protected] by Friday June 2, 2023
DMOH Newsletter | May 2023 PAGE 12
EVENTS & DEADLINES
UHN is able to offer a time-limited free offering ($89
value) for up to 400 clinicians to enroll in VitalTalk
Mobile, an online CME-accredited course from one of
the most evidence-based communication programs
worldwide. This course teaches a practical approach
to giving a medical update, addressing goals of care,
and addresses how to avoid common communica-
tion pitfalls that clinicians experience daily in practice.
Sign up online and learn on your own time and at
your own pace, on your phone, tablet or computer.
Click here to learn more about the course and click
here to view the poster. Use promo code UHNMo-
bile23 for free access.
Please email [email protected] if you
have any questions.
Join us for the 10th anniversary event in June 18,
2023. Don’t miss this year’s family-friendly walk or
run. There will be plenty of friends, entertainment
and shared smiles along the way. 1K, 3K or 5K. Dogs
are welcome too!
Registration is $35 but you can use the Promo Code
“UHNSAVE” to save $5. This is a great event for all
ages, and kids under 12 can register for free.
Date: June 18, 2023
Registration Link
THE PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER
FOUNDATION RIDE TO CONQUER CANCER
Join Canada’s largest cycling fundraiser! This June,
people of all ages and skill levels come together to
Ride from Toronto to Niagara Falls to raise funds for
breakthrough cancer research. Are you ready?
Date: June 10-11, 2023
Registration Link
DMOH Newsletter | May 2023 PAGE 13
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
DMOH Newsletter DMOH Communications Contributors
ISSUE NO. 25 | MAY 2023 Team & Content Advisors Continued
James Austin Lillian Siu
produced by the Division of Medical Christina Gulesserian Mitchell Elliott
Oncology and Hematology at the Schenell Rosario Natasha Leighl
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Michelle Williams Penelope Bradbury
Rajat Kumar
Please forward submissions and comments to Renee Hofstedter
[email protected] Contributors Rodolfo (Tep) Bautista
Amit Oza Tomohiro Aoki
Anna Spreafico Niranjan Khaire
Avery German Victoria Glinsky
DMOH Admin Huddle Walaa Kheir
Fotios (Frank) Michelis Warren Lewin
Jacob Pendergrast Wilson Lam
Lianne Mulveney
DMOH Newsletter | May 2023 PAGE 14