AWARDS/HONOURS/
ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Paulo Koeberle (Anatomy) was awarded tenure at the rank of Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery, the University of Toronto, effective July 1, 2012.

Sawata Deb (CardSurg) won the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, which is offered to world-class doctoral students who demonstrate both leadership skills and a high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies in the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, engineering, and health. The scholarship provides three years of funding and during this time Sas will work with Steve Fremes on a PhD thesis entitled: ‘Patient and Operative Factors Affecting Short and Long-Term Graft Patency After CABG'.

Fuad Moussa (CardSurg) received his Masters Degree in Medical Education from the University of Dundee. Fuad pursued this degree while in clinical practice and submitting numerous funding proposals to investigate techniques in teaching cardiac surgery to residents and medical students.

Hugh Scully (CardSurg) is the first physician to be elected to Membership in the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2000 "for outstanding contributions to prehospital care and safety in motorsport". He was also selected as the Chairman of the Canadian Motorsport Foundation Hall of Fame. Hugh has also been appointed to the new Advisory Committee on Injury Prevention and Control at the Royal College.

Subodh Verma (CardSurg) is the recipient of the 2013 Royal College Medal Award in Surgery. This award is given annually to one surgeon in Canada across all surgical disciplines who has demonstrated excellence as an academic surgeon and whose work has made a significant impact and resulted in a paradigm shift. Specifically, Subodh has been recognized for spearheading his research team to their recent success at identifying a novel role for the breast cancer genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 in the realm of cardiology and metabolism.

Subodh has recently been invited by the University of Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation to be its 2013 Visiting lecturer for the Anand and Saroj Aggarwal South Asian Heart Health Endowed Lectureship. This invitation recognizes Subodh's continuous clinical and research efforts to decipher the basis of why the South Asian ethnicity is an independent cardiovascular risk factor and how to appropriately risk stratify South Asian patients.

Subodh is also co-chair of the annual St Michael's Heart Valve Symposium (established 2013), Toronto Acute Coronary Syndrome Summit (established 2012) and the State of the Heart Symposium (established in 2010).

Tulin Cil, Carol-Anne Moulton and Lucas Murnaghan (GenSurg) received an Operating Grant from Physicians' Services Inc. Foundation for their work on "Visual imagery and mental rehearsal in surgery."

Anna Gagliardi (GenSurg), O Bhattacharyya and M Brouwers received a one year Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant for their work on "Harmonizing and prioritizing implementability research with Canadian guideline developers, implementers and researchers".

Anna Gagliardi (GenSurg), M Umoquit, F Webster, MC Brouwers , N Baxter, A Finelli, and S. Gallinger received a one year grant from CCO-OICR Health Services Research Program – Knowledge Translation Research Network for the project entitled "How does context influence knowledge exchange?: an ethnographic study to identify strategies for improving researcherresearch user collaboration".

Anna Gagliardi (GenSurg), T Stuart-McEwan, J Gilbert, M Dobrow, J Hoch, FC Wright, MC Brouwers, E Meertens, M. Kaan, B Campbell, M McCready, T Waddell, S McKnight, J. Lacourciere, C McFadyen, M Berry, S Kaune, and G. Doiron received a 3 year grant from the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation – Ontario Chapter for their work entitled "Enhancing inter-professional collaborative care for cancer: Evaluation of diagnostic assessment programs".

Anand Ghanekar (GenSurg) and co-PI John Dick were awarded a 2-year grant from the Cancer Research Society for their project entitled "Identification and Characterization of Tumor-Initiating Cells in Primary Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma."

Wolfgang M. Kuebler (GenSurg) received a CIHR grant for his work on "Role of CFTR and sphingolipids in hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction."

Andrea McCart (GenSurg) received an Innovation Grant from the Canadian Cancer Society for her work "Designing a next generation oncolytic vaccinia virus using high throughput functional screening".

Robin McLeod (GenSurg) was elected to Fellowship in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS). Fellows of the Academy are elected on the basis of their demonstrated leadership, creativity, distinctive competencies and commitment to advance academic health sciences. Membership is considered one of the highest honours for members of the Canadian health sciences community.

Robin also received approval for her project "Implementing an enhanced recovery after surgery guideline to optimize outcome following colorectal surgery" from the Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario.

Robert Mustard (GenSurg) was the recipient of the Waddell Mentorship Award which recognizes surgeons with excellent character who serve as mentors for students, residents and Junior Faculty.

Avery Nathens (GenSurg) has been re-elected to the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) as a Governor-at-Large representing the ACS Fellows in Ontario, 2012-2015.

Allan Okrainec (GenSurg) received an Association for Surgical Education (ASE) Center for Excellence in Surgical Education (CESERT) grant for his project entitled "The Reliability of Remote Fundamentals of Laparascopic Surgery Certification Using Web-Based Technology".

Allan also received funding for his submission entitled "The Reliability of Remote FLS Certification Using Web-Based Technology" from the ASE Foundation

PGY1 Chris Ahuja (NeurSurg) has been elected to the General Council of the Professional Association of Interns and Residents of Ontario (PAIRO). In this role, he will work to effect changes that achieve optimal training for residents while providing the best patient care possible.

David Cadotte (NeurSurg), under the mentorship of Michael Fehlings received funding from CIHR for his work "Characterizing the spinal cord neurovascular response to sensory stimuli using functional optical coherence tomography."

David Cadotte also received the Synthesis Award for Resident Research on Spinal Cord and Spinal Column Injury, presented at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

St. Michael's Hospital fellow Antonio Di Ieva (NeurSurg) has been awarded First Prize for Research in Neuroscience at the 61st Congress of the Italian Society for Neurosurgery (SINch), in Rimini, Italy for his project entitled"Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the microvasculature in normal brain parenchyma and brain gliomas: Comparison of the histological results with the ultra-high field (7 Tesla) MR findings".

Michael Fehlings (NeurSurg) received an Operating Grant from Physicians' Services Inc. Foundation for his work on "Enhancing recovery following cervical spinal cord injury by modulating inflammation with IgG."

Michael Fehlings was also elected as Chairperson of AO Spine North America for a 3 year term commencing August 1, 2013.

Michael was appointed as a 2012 Active Fellow of the Scoliosis Research Society.

His paper entitled "Anterior versus posterior surgical approaches to treat cervical spondylotic myelopathy: Outcomes of the prospective multicenter AOSpine North America CSM study in 278 patients" was ranked Best Paper at the 2012 NASS meeting in Dallas, TX.

Mojgan Hodaie (NeurSurg) was invited to be part of the Scientific Committee of the Society for the Advancement of Science in Africa at the University of Limpopo, South Africa.

PGY4 George Ibrahim (NeurSurg) received the KJR Wightman Award for Scholarship in Ethics from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada for his work on ethical issues in surgical decision-making in pediatric epilepsy surgery.

George Ibrahim also received the Bisby Prize from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), for ranking first among all applicants in the CIHR Fall 2011 Health Professional Awards fellowship competition.

Abhaya Kulkarni (NeurSurg) has been elected to membership in the Society for Neurological Surgeons. He joins Drs. Mark Bernstein, Michael Fehlings, Andres Lozano, Loch Macdonald, James Rutka and Michael Schwartz as the Department's newest member of this prestigious society.

Andres Lozano (NeurSurg) was elected to Fellowship in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS). Fellows of the Academy are elected on the basis of their demonstrated leadership, creativity, distinctive competences and commitment to advance academic health sciences. Membership is considered one of the highest honours for members of the Canadian health sciences community.

Andres Lozano has been awarded a 5-year, $3.39M grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the project entitled "Deep Brain Stimulation for Alzheimer's Disease".

Andres also received the 2012 ICGP Senior Investigator Award from the International College of Geriatric Psychoneuropharmacology in recognition of important contributions to novel neurosurgical interventions for neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as mentorship and leadership in the field.

Andres is the recipient of the 2012 Olivecrona Medal from the Karolinska Institutet. The institute honors an international neurosurgeon annually for his contribution to brain and spinal cord surgery or research. Andres is recognized internationally for his work on Deep Brain Stimulation, with which his group has pioneered treatment for several disorders including depression, Huntington's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Arne Mehrkens (NeurSurg), a research fellow with Mark Erwin and Michael Fehlings, has received a North American Spine Society Young Investigator Award for the project entitled "Mechanistic Determination of Notochordal Cell-Induced Anti-Apoptotic Signaling in Human Nucleus Pulposus Cells".

Jim Rutka (NeurSurg) is the recipient of the 2012 Abhijit Guha Award and Lecture selected by the Society for Neuro- Oncology and the Section on Tumors of the AANS/CNS.

This new award seeks to recognize an investigator that emulates the qualities demonstrated by Ab Guha during his career, including being an outstanding clinician with an active research laboratory and having an excellent track record of training and mentoring. Jim delivered the 1st Annual Abhijit Guha Lecture at the 2012 SNO meeting in Washington, DC, with Dr. Guha's wife, son and daughter taking part as invited guests of the SNO to present the inaugural award to Dr. Rutka.

Jim Rutka also served as President of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery at its annual meeting October 17-21, Chatham MA. His Presidential Address was entitled: William S Keith and the Founder Effect.

Charles Tator wearing the actual University robe worn by Dr. Gallie in the 1940's

Charles Tator (NeurSurg) is the recipient of this year's Gallie Award Lecture by The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada at the Canadian Surgery Forum in Calgary. In the attached photo, Dr. Tator is seen wearing the actual University robe worn by Dr. Gallie in the 1940's!

Michael Tymianski (NeurSurg) received the Paul Morley Mentorship Award from the Canadian Stroke Network, which recognizes the efforts of others who, like Paul, have made significant contributions to the training of new stroke researchers in Canada.

PGY4 resident Shobhan Vachhrajani (NeurSurg) was appointed as the Vice-Chair of the Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee of the Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation commencing on July 1, 2012. In this new role, Shobhan will contribute to the review and endorsement of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the entire Canadian neurosciences community. This will be a valuable contribution to academic neurosciences and to the care of our patients.

Gelareh Zadeh (NeurSurg) was successful at getting one of the only three Terry Fox New Investigator awards given out this year across North America for her research work on human brain tumours entitled "Exploring Novel Mechanisms of Tumor Vascularization in Malignant Brain Tumors".

Gelareh was also appointed to the Research Committee of North American Skull Base Society.

Gelareh presented the Top Rated Abstract and was given an Award for Excellence in Translational Research at the Society of NeuroOncology Annual Meeting.

Ben Alman (OrthoSurg) received a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense Neurofibromatosis Research Program of the Office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) for his project entitled "Discovery of novel drugs to improve bone health in Neurofibromatosis Type-1: The Wnt/ β-catenin pathway in fracture repair and pseudarthrosis.

Tim Daniels (OrthoSurg) received the 2012 Roger A. Mann Award by the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) for his manuscript entitled "COFAS Multicenter Study Comparing Total Ankle Replacement and Ankle Fusion: Mid-Term Results". The Mann Award is given for the best clinical paper accepted for presentation at the AOFAS Annual Meeting.

Aaron Nauth (OrthoSurg) won the Founders' Medal from the Canadian Orthopaedic Research Society for Best Basic Science presentation titled "Fracture Healing with Endothelial Progenitor Cells in a Bone Defect Model: A MicroCT and Biomechanical Comparison with Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs)".

Aaron won the 2012 Orthopaedic Trauma Association Clinical Research Grant for his work: "Isolated locked compression plating versus cable plating and strut allografts with cerclage wiring for Vancouver B1 periprosthetic femoral fractures: A Randomized Controlled Trial".

Aaron also won the 2012 Orthopaedic Trauma Association Basic Science Research Grant for "A comparison of Endothelial Progenitor Cell –Based Gene Therapy versus Mesenchymal Stem Cell–Based Gene Therapy for the Healing of Bone Defects".

Aaron also won the 2012 AO Foundation Start-Up Clinical Research Grant for his study "Reamer Irrigator Aspirator versus Autogenous Iliac Crest Bone Graft for the Treatment of Non-Unions: A Randomized, Prospective, Multi-Centre Clinical Trial".

Ranil Sonnadara and the Surgical Skills lab team were the recipients of the 2013 Association for Surgical Education Award for Excellence in Innovation, for the Toronto Orthopaedic Boot Camp project. This award is given annually to a group of individuals who have demonstrated exemplary performance in surgical education with the intent to recognize novel ideas and/or methods for improving teaching and learning.

Shaf Keshavjee (ThorSurg) has been appointed as Vice Chair of Surgical Innovation in the Department of Surgery. In this new position, Shaf will serve on the Executive Committee, and promote surgical innovation across all our fully affiliated and community affiliated hospitals.

Ren-Ke Li (ThorSurg) received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Award. This medal is awarded to those who have made significant contributions to their community or to Canada during their careers.

Thomas Waddell (ThorSurg) is the recipient of 2012 Ross Fleming Surgical Educator Award. This award is presented by the Surgeon -in- Chief at UHN for excellence in Surgical Education.

Bharati Bapat (UrolSurg) recently received an award from the GAP Movember group for her project entitled "Global Urine Biomarker Project". This award will utilize the biobank specimens as part of a global network of prostate biomarker discovery.

Laurence Klotz, Neil Fleshner, and Michael Jewett (UrolSurg) received the Queen's Jubillee Medal, given by the Government of Canada in honour of the Queen's Jubilee to recognize meritorious public service.

Alex Zlotta (UrolSurg) received a European Association of Urology Platinum Award for dedication and innovation in urological research and practice.

Wayne Johnston

K. Wayne Johnston (VascSurg) has recently joined a distinguished group of physicians receiving the 2011- 2012 Pioneers in Performance Award - an annual recognition sponsored by W. L. Gore & Associates for physicians demonstrating an unrelenting dedication to advancing endovascular therapy and minimally invasive treatment options for patients worldwide.