Good morning, TeamUHN!
It is a pleasure to connect with you across care, research, and education through this weekly CEO update – all in service of A Healthier World.
Key reminders and updates
-
Don't forget to submit your entry form for a chance to meet Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Edinburgh, GCVO, in November. The royal patron of Toronto General Hospital (TGH) and Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) is visiting UHN as a guest of the UHN Foundation. The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, will join Her Royal Highness and 120 employees for the informal gathering at TWH on Nov. 7 from 1:30-3 p.m. to learn more about their work. Tickets for this special event will be issued by random draw. Submit an
entry form
by 6 p.m. today. No substitutions will be made so please ensure you meet eligibility criteria. Winners will be notified on Oct. 31. Good luck!
-
A new UHN-led study highlights the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine-learning tools in increasing lung transplants and forecasting patient outcomes. The study from Drs. Andrew Sage, Bo Wang, and Shaf Keshavjee of Toronto General Hospital Research Institute (TGHRI) used a machine-learning model to analyze data from 725 cases of Ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP), a medical technique, invented at UHN, in which a donated lung is preserved outside the body so that it can be assessed and treated before transplant. The group found the AI model “learned from this EVLP data and was able to predict which lungs were unsuitable for transplant and which transplants would have good outcomes for patients," Dr. Sage told UHN News. This is a fine example of how UHN can harness the power of AI to improve patient outcomes.
Read more at UHN News and access the full study
online.
-
Researchers from UHN, SickKids, and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research have shown that by analyzing patients' blood samples, they can detect cancer earlier in individuals with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome (LFS), an inherited condition with an almost 100 per cent lifetime risk of developing cancer. The team analyzed 170 blood samples collected from 82 individuals with LFS over several years. "We were able to detect multiple different types of DNA changes in blood that were a telltale sign that cancer was developing somewhere in the body months before cancer would show up in imaging," Dr. Trevor Pugh, Senior Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Director of the OICR Genomics Program, told UHN News. He was a co-author of the study, along with Dr. Raymond Kim, Medical Director of Cancer Early Detection and the PM's Bhalwani Familial Cancer Clinic.
Read the full story to learn more about this study.
-
Canada's Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO), Dr. Theresa Tam, has released an annual report examining the inequitable impacts of emergencies on the health of people in Canada and a new interactive dashboard. The report, entitled "Creating the Conditions for Resilient Communities: A Public Health Approach to Emergencies," calls for
several actions to apply health promotion to emergency management, including targeting the “environmental, economic, and social factors that influence health and leave some populations more vulnerable to emergencies and with few resources to respond." At UHN, we are proud of the Social Medicine Program's focus on integrating social determinants of health, including housing and food, into care delivery and its leadership partnering with community leaders to improve care for marginalized populations.
Read the full report online. The CPHO has also launched
an online data dashboard to explore the health of people in Canada, using more than 50 interactive indicators.
Closing Notes
Be sure to check out this
UHN News interview with UHN's Dr. Tulin Cil, one of Canada's leading breast cancer surgeons, to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Dr. Cil opened up about how she became a surgeon, who is considered high risk for this disease, and a new app that "follows patients on their cancer journey from diagnosis to treatment and through to survivorship."
Read the full interview at UHN News.
And now… our video of the week. This
clip highlights UHN's amazing Support Services team.
Feedback?
Your feedback is welcome and valued. Please reply directly to me or
leave anonymous feedback here.
Have a good week,
Kevin
