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Dr. Kieran Murphy is Medical Director of UHN’s International Strategy and an interventional neuroradiologist at Toronto Western Hospital. A leader in the field of medical innovation, Dr. Murphy has filed 72 patents over the course of his career, developing and improving pioneering devices for spinal pain interventions. Each year, his devices are used in more than 60,000 vertebroplasty procedures around the globe. Dr. Murphy’s current research focuses on radiofrequency ablation of bone metastases in spine, ozone disk herniation, antioxidant use for reducing radiation injury, hydrocephalus detection and medical education.
Dr. Raj Rampersaud is the Director of the Osteoarthritis Research Program at Schroeder Arthritis Institute, an orthopedic spine surgeon in the Sprott Department of Surgery and the J. Bernard Gosevitz Chair in Arthritis Research at UHN. Dr. Rampersaud’s research focuses on improvements in the delivery, prognostication and outcomes of patient centered spine and musculoskeletal care. He is an advocate for interprofessional models of care and has developed the Inter-professional Spine Assessment and Education Clinic program which has been provincially implemented as the Rapid Access Clinics – Low Back Pain Pathway. He is past president of the Canadian Spine Society and a founding member and current Chair for the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network. From a translation perspective, he is investigating the use of epigenetic biomarkers to predict response to osteoarthritis surgery. In his latest research, he is evaluating the use of a recently discovered microRNA for treatment of osteoarthritis.
Dr. Phyllis Billia is Director of Research for the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at UHN. Dr. Billia aspires to understand heart failure at a molecular level. Recently, her work has provided the first direct evidence that manipulation of tumour suppressor genes and metabolic factors can trigger cardiac regeneration. In Dr. Billia’s laboratory, her team is exploring how to coax the heart back into the cell cycle to make more heart cells for the purpose of cardiac regeneration. Her promising new research may lead to the development of improved treatment options to prevent the development of heart failure after a heart attack.
Dr. Edward Cole is former Physician-in-Chief of UHN and previously served on the Board of Directors of UHN Foundation. He is founder and past Chair of The Canadian Transplantation Society Kidney Working Group and Chair of the Steering Committee for National Kidney Registries. In 2012, he received the Canadian Transplantation Society Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Cole’s major research interests are in immunosuppressive drugs and clinical trials in renal transplantation.
Dr. Tirone David is a world-renowned cardiovascular surgeon at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre and Sprott Department of Surgery and the Melanie Munk Chair of Cardiovascular Surgery at UHN. Dr. Davidhas published more than 400 scientific papers, 38 chapters in medical textbooks as well as five surgical textbooks. He has developed numerous operative procedures to treat patients with heart diseases and one of these procedures is known as “David operation.” Dr. David is member of numerous surgical and medical societies and is honorary member of 15 international medical societies. He has received numerous national and international awards, notably the Order of Ontario in 1993 and the Order of Canada in 1996.
Dr. Michael Farkouh is the Peter Munk Chair in Multinational Clinical Trials at UHN. Dr. Farkouh is internationally known for his work on the management of acute coronary syndromes in the emergency room. He has a special interest and expertise in the field of cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients. Dr. Farkouh chairs the numerous committees on diabetes and heart disease and is the founder of the Worldwide Network for Innovation in Clinical Research, an international trials consortium of 10 large academic institutions.
Dr. Thomas Forbes is the Surgeon-in-Chief of the Sprott Department of Surgery and the James Wallace McCutcheon Chair in Surgery at UHN. Dr. Forbes is a vascular surgeon and has published more than 300 peer-reviewed papers, editorials and book chapters, and has given more than 100 guest lectures and professorships. His commitment to surgical excellence and support for the whole of the perioperative team, the recognition of the essential role of all members of TeamUHN as key attributes Dr. Forbes brings to this important leadership role at UHN.
Dr. Brian Hodges is Executive Vice President of Education and Chief Medical Officer at UHN. He is a practicing psychiatrist and teacher. Dr. Hodges’ research focuses on assessment, competence, compassion and the future of the health profession. Recently, Dr. Hodges was selected as the next President-Elect of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
Dr Jonathan Irish is Head of the Division of Head and Neck Oncology and Reconstructive Surgery at UHN. Dr. Irish leads the Guided Therapeutics Program and is interested in nanoparticle therapeutics for cancer. He is also Vice-President at the Clinical of Ontario Health-Cancer Care Ontario where he is responsible for cancer services in the Province of Ontario.
Dr. Gordon Keller is Director of the McEwen Stem Cell Institute at UHN. A world-renowned stem cell scientist, Dr. Keller is the premier researcher, worldwide, in the application of developmental biology-guided principles to the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into therapeutically relevant cells, such as cardiomyocytes, hematopoietic cells and liver cells. In December 2016, Keller was named scientific co-founder of BlueRock Therapeutics, a next-generation regenerative medicine company.
Dr. Shaf Keshavjee is UHN’s Chief of Clinical Innovation and Director of the Toronto Lung Transplant Program at Ajmera Transplant Centre and the Latner Thoracic Surgery Research Laboratories at UHN. Dr. Keshavjee developed the world-leading Ex Vivo Organ Perfusion System to repair donor organs for transplant, which has significantly increased the number of organs available for transplantation and saving more lives. He recently led the world-first transport of donor lungs for transplantation via drone. This flight was the first step towards transforming organ transportation systems and potential use of autonomous aircrafts to ensure life-saving organs arrive faster, improving transplant outcomes for patients.
Dr. Michael Laflamme is a principal investigator and Robert R. McEwen Chair in Cardiac Regenerative Medicine at the McEwen Stell Cell Institue at UHN. Dr. Laflamme and his research team are developing cell transplants produced from stem cells that can regenerate damaged heart tissue. This will not only advance the efficacy of these transplants in preclinical models, but will shed light on their regeneration mechanisms, enabling future clinical trials.
Dr. Gary Lewis is the Drucker Family Chair in Diabetes Research and Sun Life Financial Chair in Diabetes at UHN. Dr. Lewis has made a number of important discoveries elucidating the mechanism of blood fat abnormalities in diabetes and prediabetic states. Dr. Lewis is a Principal Investigator of Diabetes Action Canada, one of the chronic disease networks funded through the Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) Initiative and undertakes translational research with active patient engagement.
Dr. Ian McGilvray is Head of Liver and Pancreas Surgery in the Division of General Surgery in the Sprott Department of Surgery and Research Director of the Ajmera Transplant Centre at UHN. Dr. McGilvray is internationally recognized as a pioneer in complex surgery of the liver and pancreas. His laboratory currently focuses on translational research in liver physiology, transplantation and liver cancer. Over the last few years the laboratory has developed strong collaborations in nanomedicine, and is actively developing nanoparticle-based therapies for “reprogramming” liver grafts for liver transplantation, as well as for treating primary and secondary liver cancer.
Dr. Rosemary Martino is the Director of the Swallowing Lab at Krembil Brain Institute at UHN. Dr. Martino’s research focuses on dysphagia in the adult patient, with a particular interest in early identification and treatment. Ultimately, Dr. Martino’s research strives to ensure faster and more complete recovery from dysphagia and to reduce the negative impact of dysphagia on health and quality of life. More recently, Dr. Martino and her team are conducting a large multi-site international trial that will identify the most effective dysphagia treatment for patients with head and neck cancer.
Dr. Kenneth Melvin is a cardiologist at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at UHN. Dr. Melvin is currently also the Cardiology Network Leader of the Peer Assessment Program for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. His research interests currently involve the UHN-Technion Israel Institute of Technology collaboration with the McEwen Stem Cell Institute and Peter Munk Cardiac Centre in an innovative project on cardiac stem cell research. This project promises to revolutionize cardiac care of heart failure and patients with severe heart attack damage. Additional areas of research in this project involve cardiac pacemaker stem cell transplants, which will hopefully someday replace the need for pacemaker implants. Dr. Melvin has been active at both Federal and Provincial levels in the fundraising and governmental participation activities.
Dr. Stephanie Protze is a principal investigator and Chair in Cardiac Regenerative Medicine at the McEwen Stem Cell Institute at UHN. In her current research, Dr. Protze is applying the pluripotent stem cell model to identify the signals that govern atrioventricular node pacemaker lineage commitment with the ultimate goal to decipher a complete lineage tree of the cardiac conduction system.
Dr. Harry Rakowski is Director of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Clinic at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at UHN. A dedicated professor and practitioner, Dr. Rakowski has taught hundreds of cardiology residents. His research interests include hypertrophic cardiomyopathy a heart muscle condition that is the leading cause of sudden death in young adults. He currently heads a world-class clinical and research program, which attracts patients from around the world for investigation and innovative management of this condition. Dr. Rakowski has been a pioneer in the development and clinical use of echocardiography, the most important non-invasive cardiac imaging test.
Dr. Vivek Rao is the Surgical Director of Cardiac Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support Fellowship Director, Cardiovascular Surgery at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre and Sprott Department of Surgery. Dr. Rao is a recognized expert in heart failure surgery and has won numerous awards during his surgical training, including being recognized as one of Canada’s “Top 40 under 40” by Caldwell International and “Male Professional of the Year” by the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Dr. Barry Rubin is Program Medical Director and Chair of the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at UHN. Dr. Rubin is Co-Chair of the US National Academy of Medicine Clinician Wellbeing Implementation Working Group and member of the steering committee that published the US National Plan for Health Workforce Wellbeing. He was retained by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada to develop a Canadian National Plan for Health Workforce Wellbeing. He is the elected lead for 8,000 academic physicians in Ontario for the management of the Academic Physicians Alternative Funding Plan, which is designed to retain physicians at Academic Health Science Centres and support teaching, research and innovation. He co-led UHN’s Epic implementation, and was the first Chair of the Ontario New Technologies Planning Committee, which advises the Government of Ontario in regard to funding for new devices used in the management of patients living with complex cardiac and vascular diseases.
Dr. Sam Sabbah is Medical Director of Emergency Medicine at UHN. Dr. Sabbah’s main interests are in quality improvement and patient safety, leading the development and implementation of numerous evidence-based order sets to streamline care and ensure adherence to best practice. He has contributed to innovative models of care that have reduced hospital admission and improved patient experience. Recognized with the first UHN Local Impact Award, Dr. Sabbah has built strong collaborative partnerships across UHN and with other healthcare organizations. In December 2020, he helped launch UHN’s new virtual emergency department, making it possible for patients to get remotely assessed by emergency medical providers.
Dr. Allan Slomovic is the Research Director of the Cornea/External Disease Service and Director of the Ocular Stem Cell Transplantation Program at the Donald K. Johnson Eye Institute and the Owen & Marta Boris Chair in Stem Cell Vision Research at UHN. Dr. Slomovic is the past President of the Canadian Ophthalmologic Society and previous Chair of the Canadian Cornea Society. He has trained more than 50 fellows in cornea procedures from all over the world. In 2001, he was awarded the Mentor of the Year Award by the Royal College of Physicians of Canada. Dr. Slomovic has published numerous articles in cornea and stem cell transplantation and has lectured on these topics nationally and internationally. In 2014, he was nominated by Toronto Life as one of Toronto’s best doctors.
Dr. Kevin Smith, O.Ont., KSG, is President & CEO of University Health Network, Canada’s largest academic health sciences centre and consistently recognized as one of the world’s top 10 hospitals. Dr. Smith has spent his career at the interface of the University and Research Hospital and is passionately committed to the mission of education, research, and exemplary patient care. Dr. Smith is a pioneer in advancing integrated care models spanning the continuum of health and social services. Dr. Smith is a Professor, Institute for Medical Sciences, Department of Medicine, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.
Educated in Canada, the U.S., and the United Kingdom, Dr. Smith began his career in medical education, followed by leadership roles in university administration, academic hospitals, and health systems. He is professionally certified in Corporate Governance by the Institute of Corporate Directors and the Harvard Program in Effective Governance and completed the Wharton School CEO Program for Health Care Leadership.
Dr. Smith was deeply honoured to be appointed to the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest civilian honour. For his contributions to health care, he was made a Knight of St. Gregory by His Holiness The Pope. He has been the grateful recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Silver and Golden Jubilee Medals. Dr. Smith has served previously in many roles including as former Chair, Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario; Chair, The Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario Hospital Association, and as a frequent advisor to governments and the private sector.
Dr. Bryce Taylor is the former Surgeon-in-Chief of UHN. Dr. Taylor has had a long and distinguished career in medicine. One of his major legacies was helping to develop a world-renowned program of hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery and transplantation with clinical, educational and research goals. He was one of the original surgical leaders consulted by the World Health Organization and the only Canadian site lead in a multi-centre clinical trial. He developed a checklist shown to reduce the rate of deaths and surgical complications by more than one-third across eight international hospital sites, including UHN. It is now the standard world-wide and a required organizational practice by Accreditation Canada. In 2010, he published a book on leadership entitled Effective Medical Leadership and in 2018, he was named a Member of the Order of Canada for his impact on the teaching and practice of surgery in Canada.
Dr. Kathryn Tinckam is Physician-in-Chief and the Dr. Charles H. Hollenberg Chair in Medicine at UHN. She has led internationally recognized clinical, research and quality improvement initiatives in multi-organ transplantation in her prior UHN roles as the Division Head of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, the Quality Director of the Ajmera Transplant Program, and the Program Medical Director of the Laboratory Medicine Program, as well as in her national roles as Medical Director of Transplantation and Chair of the National Kidney Advisory Committee for Canadian Blood Services. As Physician-in-Chief, Dr. Tinckam is committed to advancing equitable quality care, research and education, with a rigorous approach to quality assurance and improvement, and an emphasis on thoughtful process design and community responsiveness to drive system change.
Dr. Christian Veillette is Head of the Division of Orthopedic Surgery in the Sprott Department of Surgery and Schroeder Arthritis Institute and holds the Nicki & Bryce Douglas Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery at UHN. Dr. Veillette is an accomplished and internationally respected orthopaedic surgeon with extensive shoulder and elbow speciality experience. He is widely recognized for his leadership and innovation in applying artificial intelligence and data analytics to transform healthcare delivery.
Dr. Tom Waddell is a thoracic surgeon and scientist in the Sprott Department of Surgery and Ajmera Transplant Centre at UHN. His clinical interests include lung transplantation and lung volume reduction surgery, lung cancer and especially minimally invasive and robotic thoracic surgery. Dr. Waddell operates a laboratory which focuses on alternative approaches to the chronic shortage of donor lungs, especially stem cell and regenerative medicine approaches to lung disease.
Dr. Richard Wennberg is Director of both the Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory and Mitchell Goldhar Magnetoencephalography (MEG) Unit at Krembil Brain Institute at UHN. Some of his research has explored the use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) as a treatment for epilepsy, the neurophysiological mechanisms linking brain function and behavior, and the biophysical bases of clinical neurophysiology.
Dr. Brad Wouters is Executive Vice President of Science and Research at UHN. Dr. Wouters is an internationally recognized leader and cancer researcher, focused on creating an environment that incentivizes, facilitates, and rewards excellence in basic, translational, and clinical research across all elements of UHN.
Dr. Camilla Zimmermann is Head of the Division of Palliative Care and the Rose Family Chair in Palliative Medicine and Complex Care at UHN. Dr. Zimmermann serves on numerous international committees including the boards of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer and the Lancet Oncology, she is a faculty member of the European Society for Medical Oncology and Associate Editor for the Journal of Clinical Oncology. In addition to founding and directing academic palliative care programs, Dr. Zimmermann has built a large internationally recognized research program focused on early integration of palliative care for patients with advanced cancer.
Dr. Gelareh Zadeh is Medical Director of Krembil Brain Institute, Head of the Division of Neurosurgery in the Sprott Department of Surgery, the Dan Family Chair in Neurosurgery, and Wilkins Family Chair in Neurosurgical Brain Tumour Research at UHN. As the Wilkins Family Chair in Brain Tumor Research, Dr. Zadeh focuses on building surgical clinical trials for brain tumor patients. Her clinical practice focuses on skull base neuro-oncology, with dedicated general brain tumour clinic and many multidisciplinary clinics that she has established at UHN such as skull base, pituitary, brain metastases, gamma knife and neurofibromatosis clinic.
Dr. Taufik Valiante is the Director of the Surgical Epilepsy Program at Krembil Brain Institute and the Sprott Department of Surgery, Co-Director of CRANIA, and the Gerry and Tootsie Halbert Chair in Neural Repair and Regeneration at UHN. His ambitious vision involves developing advanced implantable devices to treat neuropsychiatric conditions, supported by cutting-edge research spanning from single neuron biophysics to collective brain behavior. He established the Max Planck-University of Toronto Centre for Neural Science and Technology, the Centre for Advancing Neurotechnological Innovation to Application, and the CRANIA Neuromodulation Institute, driving interdisciplinary collaboration across medicine, engineering and neuroscience. Dr. Valiante emphasizes community engagement and patient partnership, contributing to the Provincial Epilepsy Strategy in Ontario, a unique hub-and-spoke model of care. His work bridges scientific fields, trains future leaders, and advances innovative interventions for complex brain diseases.
Dr. Susan Abbey is UHN’s Psychiatrist-in-Chief. Dr. Abbey’s research and clinical interests include the psychiatric care of patients in the medical and surgical setting including the role of depression and anxiety in medical outcomes. Her research focuses on the psychiatric and psychosocial aspects of solid organ transplantation, end-organ failure and life-threatening illness, psychiatric sequelae of intensive care unit treatment and physician mental health. Dr. Abbey has taught and researched mindfulness-based stress reduction interventions and has more recently trained in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy to prevent depressive relapse. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she led the development of programs for healthcare worker resilience and mental health. Currently, she is leading UHN efforts to bring psychedelics into mental health to address end-of-life distress and treatment-resistant depression.
Dr. Mohit Kapoor is the Co-Director of the Schroeder Arthritis Institute and Toni and Shari Fell Platinum Chair in Arthritis Research at UHN. Dr. Kapoor’s lab focuses on understanding the complex cellular and molecular mechanisms associated with joint destruction during osteoarthritis, identifying reliable biomarkers for early identification of patients with osteoarthritis to enable early intervention, and identifying novel therapeutic targets to stop or delay osteoarthritis and restore joint function. He has more than 100 research publications in high ranked scientific journals and sits on review panels and boards of various research and international funding organizations including member of the Board of Directors for the Osteoarthritis Research Society International and Canadian Connective Tissue Society.
Dr. Kumar Nanthakumar is the Director of Heart Rhythm Disorders at UHN’s Peter Munk Cardiac Centre. He is a dedicated teacher, passionate in training and mentoring future electrophysiologists both locally and internationally. He has published more than 200 original peer-reviewed journal articles. His clinical expertise focuses on devices in heart failure and performing catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia and supra ventricular tachycardias. For the last two decades, Dr. Nanthakumar’s research program has explored the mechanisms of human ventricular fibrillation and factors that modulate them. His lab is devising new therapies for cardiomyopathies especially chemotherapy induced cardiomyopathy and arrhythmia.