Congratulations to two members of the team at UHN's Toronto Centre for Liver Disease for recently being recognized by the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver (CASL).
Colina Yim, a staff nurse practitioner at the Toronto Centre for Liver Disease and Francis Family Liver Clinic, won the Distinguished Service Award, which is given to a CASL member in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the association and to the field of liver disease in Canada.
Colina specializes in hepatitis B, hepatitis C and advanced liver disease management, while contributing to the Chinese Hepatitis B Education Peer Support Group.
Dr. Adam Gehring, Scientific Director of the Schwartz Reisman Liver Research Centre at UHN and Senior Scientist at UHN's Toronto Center for Liver Disease, won the CASL Research Excellence Award, which is given to a CASL member who demonstrates research excellence and was lead author of a high-impact research article published during the last calendar year.
Dr. Gehring, who is also an associate professor in the Department of Immunology at the University of Toronto, runs a translational, human HBV immunology research lab focused on liver pathogenesis and immunotherapy. His primary interest lies in defining the mechanisms driving liver inflammation during HBV-related hepatitis using functional and transcriptomic approaches in liver biopsies.
He also runs an immune monitoring lab for the Toronto Centre for Liver Disease to process and analyze immune responses in Phase 1 – 3 clinical studies for novel therapeutic agents targeting HBV.
The CASL is a multidisciplinary group of scientists and health care providers whose expertise focuses on the liver and provides national leadership in all aspects of research, education and patient care as they pertain to the liver.
Congratulations to TeamUHN members Ariane Rego and Julie Yip for being recognized by Ontario Health, Trillium Gift of Life Network, with the 2023 Provincial Donation Champion Award, which recognizes health care professionals and other partners who are exceptional advocates for organ and tissue donation.
Ariane, a critical care nurse at Toronto Western Hospital's Medical Surgical/Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (MSNICU), has supported many organ and tissue donation cases. She is passionate about donation because she sees the positive impact that can come from a tragic situation.
Whether working as a charge nurse or at bedside, Ariane is motivated to call in appropriate referrals to Ontario Health, Trillium Gift of Life Network, because she knows the vital role deceased donation can play in helping those on waitlists. She has also volunteered personal time to participate in the Abdominal Normothermic Regional Perfusion (a-NRP) working group, a study that will improve the quality of abdominal organ transplants from deceased donors.
Julie Yip, a patient care coordinator in the Operating Room (OR) at Toronto General Hospital, has supported many organ and tissue donation cases by consistently going above and beyond to ensure these cases secure valuable OR time. Notably, Julie has contributed to fostering a positive donation culture in the OR through her exemplary leadership and compassion and is always willing to lend a helping hand even when she is not working.
Julie was a tremendous help in facilitating UHN's non-perfused organ donation (NPOD) following a medical assistance in dying (MAID) at home case in 2021. Julie's actions ensure that patients' families are able to honour their loved ones through organ and tissue donation. UHN could not have built the donation program at TGH without her contributions.
UHN thanks both Ariane and Julie for exemplifying what a true donation champion is.
UHN Research associate Isabelle Caven, (L), pictured with Dr. Karen Okrainec, has received the Patient and Caregiver Engagement Award at the recent International Conference on Integrated Care in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The award is from the International Foundation of Integrated Care, a not-for-profit and membership-based organization, which brings together integrated care leaders from around the world.
Isabelle works with Dr. Okrainec on a UHN-led research study exploring how clinicians across Canada can recognize and support "young carers" in clinical encounters. Young carers are caregivers under the age of 25 who provide caregiving support to a family member or loved one.
Isabelle brings her own lived experience as a young carer to this project, and also engages with caregiving organizations across Canada and an advisory group of young carers.
This recognition is a testament to the importance of leadership roles for patient and caregiver partners in research for advancing new models of care and health-system improvements.
Collaboration with scientists across different sectors of health care, caregiving organizations and an advisory group of young carers made this award possible.
Congratulations Isabelle.
Congratulations to Dr. Christos Ganos on his appointment as holder of the Wolf Family Chair in Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry at UHN and University of Toronto (U of T), for a five-year term, effective March 1, 2024.
This appointment is the result of strong collaborative efforts among UHN and U of T, and the Centre for Mental Health, UHN's Krembil Brain Institute, the Department of Psychiatry and Division of Neurology.
The Wolf Family Chair in Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry was established in 2012 thanks to the generous support of the late Annette Wolf, the Wolf family, and the Annette & Paul Wolf Family Foundation.
Dr. Ganos is an active staff neurologist within UHN's Krembil Brain Institute at Toronto Western Hospital and an associate professor in the Division of Neurology at U of T.
Born in Thessaloniki, Greece, he completed his medical training at the University Medical Center in Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany, undertook a three-year fellowship at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, and from 2017 to 2023 was a consultant at the Movement Disorder Unit of the Charité Hospital, Berlin.
Dr. Ganos has expertise in hyperkinetic, neuropsychiatric and unusual or rare movement disorders, including tic disorders, Huntington's disease and the Ataxia programs. His research has focused on the characterization of clinical phenomena and the elucidation of their pathophysiological origin.
Within the field of tic disorders, Dr. Ganos is a world leader in the pathophysiology of tics and premonitory urges with the particular scope of developing novel treatment methods. He served as the founding chair of the International Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorder Society's Tic Disorders and Tourette Syndrome study group. He is also the chair of the Movement Disorder Society's Tic Disorders and Tourette Syndrome task force and a past secretary of the European Society for the Study of Tourette Syndrome.
Thank you to the Wolf family and the Annette & Paul Wolf Family Foundation, for their great friendship with, and remarkable philanthropic contributions to, UHN Foundation.
Congratulations to Dr. Keyvan Karkouti, who following an external review process, has been reappointed as Head of the Department of Anesthesia and Pain Management (DAPM), a joint department that serves UHN, Women's College Hospital and Sinai Health.
The team, including 130 physicians, 45 anesthesia assistants, 11 nurse practitioners, 60 clinical fellows, eight graduate students, and 78 research, administrative, and professional practice clinicians, provides a wide range of services at all UHN Programs. The department is also home to a highly-regarded research program and is a sought-after learning environment.
In his first five-year term, Dr. Karkouti led the department to success in several ways, including:
- Creation of the DAPM Governing Council as the primary decision-making body of the department, developing and promoting a shared departmental vision and purpose.
- Ensuring the Anesthesia Residency program regained fully accredited status, in partnership with the University of Toronto's Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine.
- Supporting the development of a robust Quality Improvement program.
- Initiating new clinical programs in cancer pain management and perioperative clinical care.
- Facilitated backlog surgical recovery.
- Creating the Anesthesia Clinical Trials Unit (ACTU)
- Prioritizing leadership development, mentoring and continuing medical education.
