UHN News highlights achievements and awards given to TeamUHN members across all professions.
In this edition of Honour Roll:
Honouring exceptional care at The Princess Margaret with the 2025 Gerald Kirsh Humanitarian Awards
Dr. Eitan Amir, Medical Oncologist, Breast Disease Site and Simone Kurup, Social Work Program Specialist, Adolescent and Young Adult Program, at UHN's Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PM) are recipients of this year's
Gerald Kirsh Humanitarian Awards.
The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation announced the winners on Oct. 20 at a special awards ceremony at PM. Established by the Kirsh family in honour of their patriarch, Gerald, the awards pay tribute to the compassionate care he received as a patient.
Since their inception over 20 years ago, these awards have been bestowed upon dozens of doctors, nurses and other health care specialists at PM who have been nominated by colleagues, patients and their loved ones for their embodiment of five core values: Compassion, integrity, safety, stewardship and teamwork.
Dr. Amir's nominator highlighted how he creates an environment where both patients and staff feel safe to ask questions and express their feelings: "His presence makes others braver. I can honestly say I am who I am today because of Dr. Amir."
When Dr. Amir finished medical school, he knew he wanted to pursue medicine, rather than surgery. Today, he specializes in delivering drug-based treatments for breast cancer, like hormone therapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
"Much of the treatment that you do to reduce the risk of recurrence is delivered over several years. It's one of these unique specialties where you get to develop long-term relationships with patients," says Dr. Amir.
"Being nominated for this award is very gratifying, especially knowing that it comes from my patients and colleagues because there are just so many good people at The Princess Margaret working hard to deliver quality cancer care."
Fellow award recipient Simone Kurup says patients make her work meaningful as a Social Work Program Specialist with the Adolescent and Young Adult program at PM.
"I recognize that when patients and their families are at The Princess Margaret, it's one of the most vulnerable times in their life," she says. "It's a privilege to be a part of someone's journey and help them navigate this extremely difficult time. Despite their diagnosis and their illness, I really try to help them feel like they're being seen as a person first."
Her person-first approach is evident through the ten nominations she received. One patient recalled, "As a young man during my diagnosis, I never felt as supported as when I spoke to Simone on a weekly basis. She helped me get through the hardest and darkest time in my life."
We are also proud to celebrate Dr. Amir's and Simone's fellow 2025 nominees, including two past recipients, Shelley Westergard and Harjot Singh Vohra, as well as Jesse Graham, Michelle Ganesh, Nicole Sommerville, Andrea Ipanaque, Dr. Philippe Bedard, Daniela Fierini, Geremy Capone, Bernice D'Souza and Dr. Marta Davidson.
Watch the
2025 Kirsh Awards ceremony
Learn more about the
Gerald Kirsh Humanitarian Awards. Submit a nomination for 2026 by visiting the
website or by sending an email to
KirshAwards@thepmcf.ca.
Canadian Society for Vascular Surgery names Dr. Thomas Lindsay as inaugural Hall of Fame inductee
During this year's Canadian Society for Vascular Surgery (CSVS) annual meeting, UHN surgeons were recognized for their contributions to advancing vascular health for all Canadians.
Dr. Thomas Lindsay, Professor of Surgery and Chief of Vascular Surgery at Toronto General Hospital, was named as the inaugural inductee into the CSVS Hall of Fame. This distinction represents the highest honour for a vascular surgeon in Canada and recognizes Dr. Lindsay's significant clinical and research contributions to vascular surgery.
Congratulations to the following vascular surgeons at UHN who were also awarded during the meeting:
- Resident Research Award: Dr. Daniyal Nasir Mahmood
- Travelling Fellowship Award: Dr. Graham Roche-Nagle
- John L. Provan Educational Award: Dr. Miranda Witheford
- Sigvaris Quality Improvement Award: Dr. Lisa Vi and Dr.Graham Roche-Nagle
Dr. David Wiljer Named Associate Dean, Continuing Professional Development at the University of Toronto
Dr. David Wiljer has been appointed Associate Dean, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, effective Nov. 1, 2025, for a five-year term.
As Associate Dean, Dr. Wiljer will provide strategic leadership on continuing professional development within the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. His responsibilities include overseeing innovative programming, continuous improvement and accreditation efforts. He will also foster people and partnership priorities, and promote research, scholarship and recognition in continuing education.
With over two decades of leadership in CPD, Dr. Wiljer brings extensive expertise in digital innovation, artificial intelligence and compassionate care. He has served as Academic Director, CPD Research and Scholarship in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine Continuing Professional Development Office, where he led initiatives to advance scholarship, support accreditation, and develop programs that respond to the evolving needs of patients and communities.
His work has shaped national training programs recognized for their emphasis on technology, innovation and equity. He is a past president of the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education and currently serves as Chair of Canada's Coalition for Physician Learning and Practice Improvement.
Dr. Wiljer completed his BA at McGill University and his MA and PhD at the University of Toronto. He has held progressive leadership roles across major academic health science centres, including Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and UHN, where he continues to lead transformative work in medical education.
During his part-time appointment as Associate Dean, Dr. Wiljer will continue in his roles as Executive Director of Education, Technology & Innovation at UHN, and Head of the Digital Compassion Research Lab.
Drs. Karen Okrainec and Quynh Pham selected as 2025 AMS Compassion and AI Grant recipients
Dr. Karen Okrainec, General Internist, Principal Investigator and Clinician Scientist, and Dr. Quynh Pham, Scientific Director and Scientist for the Centre for Digital Therapeutics at Toronto General Hospital, have been awarded 2025 AMS Compassion and Artificial Intelligence Grants.
Now in its sixth year, the grant program supports building a national network of scholars and practitioners working at the intersection of compassion and AI. With this grant, Drs. Okrainec and Pham will receive support for their projects that are reimagining how technology can serve health care's compassionate purpose.
Dr. Okrainec's project, "Harnessing AI for compassionate care: Identifying and supporting patients with social determinants and medical complexity", uses an advanced machine learning model to help identify and address patients' social needs post discharge — including financial or housing security, language preference or health literacy, and transportation needs. The model aims to enable health care systems to better prepare, support and improve outcomes for patients returning home, leading to better recovery and fewer return visits to the hospital.
Dr. Pham's project, "Supporting the breast cancer journey through co-creation of a compassionate nurse-led digital program", aims to support patients with managing the side effects of breast cancer treatment and therapy that is personalized and relevant. Together with people previously diagnosed with breast cancer, caregivers and health care providers, Dr. Pham is designing the digital program that fits real-life needs, strengthens relationships and ensures that people affected by breast cancer have access to the right support, at the right time, in the right way.
