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Every month, staff, researchers, physicians, learners and teams across Unity Health Toronto celebrate important honours, achievements and awards. Congratulations to all who’ve been recognized in October!

Congratulations to the seven researchers and clinicians who were awarded a combined $500,000 in funding during the ninth annual Angels Den competition. Dr. Mohammad Qadura and Muzammil Syed won the Keenan Award for Medical Discovery, Drs. Fahad Razak and Amol Verma won the Odette Award For Health System Innovation, Drs. Rola Saleeb and Kelsie Thu were the People’s Choice Award winners and Dr. Sunit Das won the Sarah McComb Award for Cancer Research. Well done!

Dr. Ahmed Bayoumi, MAP scientist, has been elected as one of the 2023 Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Fellows. Election to the CAHS Fellowship is considered one of the highest honours for individuals in the Canadian health sciences community. Congratulations!

Dr. Ahmed Bayoumi

Dr. Gianluigi Bisleri, cardiac surgeon and research investigator at St. Michael’s, was awarded the 2023 President’s Award from the Canadian Italian Business and Professional Association. Bisleri was recognized for his innovations in minimally-invasive heart surgery.

Dr. Gianluigi Bisleri

Dr. Erica Conte, director of research funding strategy and stewardship, is part of a team that’s been awarded a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to develop a two-day forum on responsible research assessment. She has also recently published the article “The SCOPE framework – implementing the ideals of responsible research assessment” in F1000Reseach.  Conte is the Canadian representative on the INORMS Research Evaluation Group, which works to ensure that research evaluation is meaningful, responsible and effective.

Dr. Erica Conte

Dr. Yoo-Joung Ko, oncologist at St. Michael’s, has been appointed to Canada’s Drug and health Technology Agency’s new pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review Expert Review Committee. This committee plays a vital role in helping power evidence-informed drug and health technology decisions in Canada.

Dr. Yoo-Joung Ko

Congratulations to all of the St. Michael’s Hospital Our Shared Values Award Winners. This year, Slawomir Zulawnik won the Human Dignity Award, Sofia Silva won the Compassion Award, Allison Jacobs won the Excellence Award, Dean Roberts won the Community Award and Janet Rodriguez won the Inclusivity Award.

Top row: Sofia Silva, Allison Jacobs. Bottom row: Janet Rodriguez, Slawomir Zulawnik, Dean Roberts.

Congratulations to the stroke rehabilitation team at Providence Healthcare who received their plaque for Stroke Distinction for Inpatient Rehabilitation by Accreditation Canada! The distinction was designed to recognize organizations and networks who demonstrate clinical excellence and an outstanding commitment to leadership in stroke care. Thank you to all of the teams at Providence who contribute to outstanding stroke care!

Members of the stroke rehabilitation team at Providence

The Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto has recognized several physicians and staff members at St. Joseph’s Health Centre for various high-profile awards. Congrats to the following St. Joseph’s community members: Dr. Julian Hughes, Dr. Darek Cole, Dr. Yael Feinberg, Dr. Akshaan Kaul, Kim Bradbury, Tanya Perisic, Simona Sarmasan, Roxanne Gopie, Jonathan Fowler, Alejandra Priego, Linda Jackson, Jevon Manchester, Erin Tigchelaar, Dr. Alice Ordean, Dr. Jessica He, Dr. Linda Weber, Dr. Judy Thompson, Dr. Difat Jakubouvic, Dr. Priya Sood, Dr. Daphne Williams, Dr. Ashkan Jahangirnia, Dr. Jesse Marshall-Sheppard, Dr. Jackie Holotka, Vera Neto, Alejandra Priego, Dr. Dana Newman, Dr. Bojana Radan, Dr. Olivia Petersons, Vinay Phokeo, and Dr Natascha Crispino. Congrats!

St. Michael’s Hospital has been recognized by Using Blood Wisely (UBW) for its blood conservation efforts. UBW is a national program to decrease inappropriate red blood cell transfusion practices in Canada. St. Michael’s has maintained its UBW benchmarks for two years, after it officially became a UBW-designated hospital. Well done!