Unity Health Toronto’s April Honour Roll
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 April!
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Congratulations to the following researchers and scientists at Unity Health Toronto, who were awarded CIHR funding for their impactful research projects: Dr. Jane Batt, Dr. Claudia dos Santos, Dr. Warren Lee, Dr. Joel Ray, Dr. Ron Wald and Dr. Jefferson Wilson. These investigators were awarded more than $3.8 million in funding to advance their impactful research projects. The projects investigate a wide range of health issues, from the role of Fibroadipogenic Progenitors (FAPs) in muscle degeneration following peripheral nerve injury to developing a test to predict if a critically ill patient will develop sepsis to exploring how downward social mobility for mothers between pregnancies impacts the health of the mother and newborn. Congratulations!
The Knowledge Translation (KT) Program at Unity Health Toronto has been named a laureate of the President’s Impact Academy at the University of Toronto. Laureates of the Academy meet to discuss matters relevant to research impact and offer advice to the Vice President, Research and Innovation and Strategic Initiatives. The KT Program at Unity Health is the world’s only research group to investigate all aspects of knowledge translation and involve, as research partners, the knowledge users their findings impact – including patients, caregivers, clinicians and policymakers. The KT Program and its partners have conducted more than 1,000 projects that improved patient care and strengthened health systems in Canada and globally. Well done!
Dr. Nicole Doria, post-doctoral research fellow with the Knowledge Translation Program, has been awarded a three-year post-doctoral research fellowship from CIHR. The title of her fellowship is “Co-creating a new model of long-term care home for older adults experiencing homelessness.”
Dr. Naheed Dosani, palliative care physician at St. Michael’s Hospital, has been awarded a King Charles III Coronation Medal. Dosani, who is the founder and lead of the Palliative Education and Care for the Homeless Program (PEACH), was recognized for being a trailblazer in palliative care, pioneering equity-oriented models of care, advancing impactful advocacy-based research, training the next generation of medical professionals, and raising awareness about the need for compassionate, accessible care for all.
Dr. Nav Persaud, family physician at St. Michael’s, has been promoted to the role of full professor at the University of Toronto’s Department of Family and Community Medicine. Persaud’s new rank is effective starting July 1.
Dr. Howard Leong-Poi, medical director of the Heart, Lung and Vascular Program, has been named the new division director of cardiology at the University of Toronto’s Department of Medicine. Leong-Poi is a clinician-scientist, cardiologist/echocardiographer at Unity Health.
Dr. Gustavo Saposnik, neurologist and scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital, has been promoted to full professor of neurology at the University of Toronto. Saposnik is also the director of the Stroke Outcomes Research Centre at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s.
Dr. Bobby Yanagawa, division head of Cardiac Surgery at St. Michael’s, has been awarded the Inclusion Champion Award from Ascend Canada, a non-profit organization that aims to enhance the presence, visibility and influence of Pan-Asian business leaders. Yanagawa was recognized for his commitment to excellence, leadership and community.
