ANNOUNCEMENTS
NAJMA AHMED APPOINTED VICE-CHAIR
OF EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF
SURGERY, U OF T
Najma Ahmed (General Surgery) has accepted the position
of Vice-Chair of Education in the Department of
Surgery, U of T effective January 1st, 2017. Najma is a
Trauma Surgeon at St. Michael’s Hospital and the former
Director of the Residency Program Committee in
General Surgery. She follows David Latter in this position,
who is currently the Director MD Admissions and
Student Finances in Undergraduate Medical Education
in the Faculty of Medicine. We welcome Najma in her
new role and thank David for his many years of service
to the Department of Surgery!
FRED BRENNEMAN APPOINTED GENERAL
SURGERY PROGRAM DIRECTOR,
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
Fred Brenneman
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Fred Brenneman (General
Surgery) has accepted the
position of General Surgery
Program Director for the
University of Toronto.
He will be succeeding Dr.
Ahmed who stepped down
from the role to become
Vice-Chair Education for
the Department of Surgery,
U of T. He has officially
taken over as of July 1, 2017. Congratulations Fred!
NEW PRESIDENT AND CEO OF
SUNNYBROOK HEALTH SCIENCES CENTRE
Andy Smith
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Andy Smith (General
Surgery) has been appointed
as the new President and
CEO of Sunnybrook Health
Sciences Centre, effective
July 1, 2017. He succeeds
Barry McLellan who has
held the position for the past
10 years. Congratulations
Andy!
PROGRAM DIRECTOR OF THE DIVISION OF
PLASTIC AND RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY
Kyle Wanzel
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Kyle Wanzel has been
appointed as Program
Director for the Division of
Plastic and Reconstructive
Surgery, U of T effective
July 1, 2017. He will succeed
Dr. Mitch Brown
who has held the position
for the past 10 years.
Congratulations Kyle!
2016-17 MICHAEL & AMIRA DAN FELLOWS
IN NEUROSURGERY DINNER
This year’s dinner in appreciation of Michael and Amira
Dan’s generosity to the Division of Neurosurgery was held
on May 4th, 2017. The Dan Fellows in Neurosurgery
program is now in its fifth year and our 2016-17 Dan
Fellows, Ibrahim Jalloh (SickKids) and Adetunji Adeniyi
(Sunnybrook), were in attendance to share the positive
impact the Fellowships have had on their careers and
training. (Dan Fellow Shoichi Haimoto, St. Michael’s
Hospital was absent due to a schedule conflict.) We are
extremely grateful for the Dan Family’s continued dedication
to neurosurgical education and the opportunities
their support provides to our Fellows.
Michael & Amira Dan Fellows in Neurosurgery Dinner
Back row: (L to R) Adetunji Adeniyi , Olukemi Oremakinde, Michael Dan,
Marie Slegr, Andres Lozano.
Front row: (L to R) Darina Landa, Amira Dan, Ibrahim Jalloh, Mari Rutka,
James Rutka.
On May 18, 2017, Dr. Michael Dan presented a
joint lecture between the Departments of Medicine and
Surgery entitled “Impact of Colonization on the Health
of Indigenous People in Canada” at the Banting Institute
in Toronto. Dr. Dan has been an exceptional leader in
philanthropy, most recently in the area of First Nations
health care, for which he was recognized by appointment
as a Member of the Order of Canada in 2016.
TRANSITIONS IN PLASTIC AND
RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY DIVISION!
Brett Beber
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I would like to thank Brett
Beber (Michael Garron
Hospital and Women’s
College Hospital) for all his
hard work in the role as
Resident Wellness Director
for the past 9 years. Brett
stepped out of this position
at the end of the past
academic year and I am
most grateful for all that he
has done to contribute to
the health and well-being of our residents. In addition,
Brett has attended countless meetings of the Residency
Program Committee and been a valuable member of the
CaRMS selection process each year.
Karen Cross
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I would like to welcome
Karen Cross (St. Michael’s
Hospital) who has kindly
agreed to take on the
important role of Resident
Wellness Director. Karen is
well known to us all having
graduated from the
Surgeon-Scientist Training
Program here at the
University of Toronto in
2013 before taking a staff
position at St. Michael’s Hospital. As many of you are
aware, Karen is passionate about pursuing dreams and
making things happen. She has done a remarkable job of
marrying innovation, tech and clinical practice in Plastic
and Reconstructive Surgery and is currently enrolled in
the Creative-Destructive Labs at the Rotman School of
Business. Thanks, Karen, for taking on this important
role and we look forward to your input at the RPC.
Christopher Forrest,
Chair of the Division of Plastic
and Reconstructive Surgery,
University of Toronto
NEWSWORTHY ITEMS
Paediatric Urology is now recognized as an Area of
Focused Competence (Diploma) discipline. This will
allow the program to be recognized by the American
Board of Urology and will allow US fellows to continue
to come to Sick Kids Hospital for their training.
Vaibhav Gupta (PGY3, GenSurg) launched the inaugural
Esophageal Cancer Survivors’ Night at TGH on
April 25, 2017 with funds received through the RBC
150 Program. The funding was to be used to “show the
impact young people can have on their communities.” It
was a great success and in addition to an online support
group which is already active. They are hoping to have
in-person support groups every 3 months. If this continues
to be successful, it will expand to other hospitals in
Toronto and the GTA.
James Rutka with Sean Cleary
Sean Cleary (General Surgery, UHN) accepted the position
of Associate Professor of Surgery at Mayo Clinic,
Rochester MN, effective April 1, 2017. Sean was a faculty
member in the Department of Surgery at UofT since 2007.
He was also a Research Associate at the Samuel Lunenfeld
Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital. He received
his MD from the University of Western Ontario and
did his General Surgery Residency training at U. of T.,
followed by a fellowship in Pancreatic and Heptobiliary
Surgical Oncology and Transplantation at the Toronto
General Hospital. He has a Master’s of Science in Cancer
Genetics and completed an MHSc in Public Health
and Epidemiology in the Department of Public Health
Sciences. Congratulations Sean! And we wish you all the
best at Mayo Clinic!
James Rutka
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IN MEMORIAM
DR. RONALD JAMES BAIRD - A PIONEER IN VASCULAR AND CARDIAC SURGERY
May 3, 1930 – March 26, 2017
Ronald Baird
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Born, raised and educated
in Toronto, Ron was Gold
Medalist in the Medical
Class of 1954 at the
University of Toronto.
Invited to join the Gallie
Course by Dr. Robert Janes,
he completed his Fellowship
in General Surgery in 1959,
and in Cardiovascular and
Thoracic Surgery in
1964. He won the Roscoe Graham Award in 1960,
the Lister Award in Surgery in 1964 and the Medal
in Surgery from the Royal College of Physicians and
Surgeons of Canada in 1969.
His mentors were Drs. Gordon Murray, Bill Mustard
and Bill Bigelow.
Ronald Baird with his mentor Bill Bigelow
In 1960 Ron was appointed to the cardiovascular surgical
staff at the Toronto General Hospital. In 1964, he
moved to the Toronto Western Hospital, where he was
Head of CVS from 1972 – 1977. When Dr. Bigelow
retired in 1977, Ron moved back to the Toronto General
Hospital as Head of CVS and Chairman of CVS at the
University of Toronto from 1977 – 1987 {when he was
succeeded by Dr. Tirone David}. He retired from independent
surgical practice in 1994, but continued as an
assistant and mentor to residents and fellows until 2002.
Academically, Ron progressed rapidly from Assistant
Professor in 1964 to Associate Professor in 1968 and full
Professor in 1973.
He was well-known as an innovative vascular surgeon,
and a pioneer in the early days of adult cardiac surgery
in the evolution of coronary artery, valve replacement,
pacemaker and heart transplant surgery.
He was an exceptional teacher of the craft of surgery,
and greatly admired and respected as a mentor to generations
of residents and international fellows from many
different countries.
Ron was an author of many peer-reviewed articles
both in vascular and cardiac surgery, numerous abstracts,
book chapters and editorials.
He was an invited speaker at many international CV
meetings, travelling widely and always enhancing the
reputation of the quality of cardiovascular surgery in the
Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto.
In his quiet way, Ron Baird was a remarkable leader.
He served on the Council of the Society of University
Surgeons {SUS}, the Board of Governors of the American
College of Surgeons {ACS}, the Council for CVS with
the American Heart Association {AHA}, President of the
North American Chapter of the International Society for
Vascular Surgery, President of the Canadian Society of
Thoracic & CVS, and was one of only four CV surgeons
to be elected President of the Canadian Cardiology
Society {CCS} in over 50 years… He was active in virtually
all of the top societies in cardiology, cardiothoracic
and vascular surgery.
Ron Baird was a renaissance man, keenly interested in
nature, science, history and international travel. He had
a wide circle of friends outside of medicine, and greatly
enjoyed bridge and bonvivant companionship at the
Toronto York Club.
He was devoted to his family. His wife, Fern, was his
greatest champion and supporter. They took great pride
in their children: Ron Jr. {unhappily deceased from
cancer recently}, Catherine and Fraser and respective
spouses and grandchildren. There were many happy
family times at their farm close to Toronto and their
Bahamian retreat in Hope Town.
Ron Baird lived life fully and well. He leaves a rich
legacy, and will be missed by all.
Hugh Scully, MD, MSc, FRCSC, FACS, FCCS,
Professor of Surgery and Health Policy,
University of
Toronto,
Consultant Cardiac Surgeon, UHN Toronto General
Hospital
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