Unity Health Toronto’s May 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 May!
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Unity Health Toronto has won two 2025 Gold Quill Awards from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). These awards recognized the implementation and launch of Unity’s network-wide electronic patient record (EPR) system, including the work involved to prepare patients, families, partners, staff, physicians and learners for this transition. The new EPR system enables staff, physicians and learners to more easily share information, working closely together to ensure that each patient receives the best possible care experiences across the spectrum of their healthcare journey.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 St. Joseph’s Our Shared Values Awards. Keri Smales, registered nurse on 4M, won the Human Dignity Award. The Patient Relations Team, including Sandy Pacheco, Kaitlen McKenny, Ana Tran, Sam Edgar and Nicole Yuen, won the Compassion Award. Carmela Aromin, operations leader for Medical Diagnostics, won the Community Award. Respiratory Therapists across Unity Health won the Excellence Award. The 6M Team in Medicine and Oncology won the Inclusivity Award. The Unity Health Food Services Team won the Spotlight on Sustainability.
The MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions has received several nominations for its collaborative publication with The Local Magazine titled, Divided City. This project that showcases a neighbourhood-level analysis of life expectancy in Toronto. The nominations include: Best Data Journalism Award from Digital Publishing Awards, Jackman Award for Excellence in Journalism from Canadian Journalism Foundation, and the Editorial Package Award from National Magazine Awards.
Congratulations to Dr. Stephen Hwang, Dr. Rosane Nisenbaum, Rick Wang, Gary Moloney, and Anne-Marie Tynan.
Dr. Erica Conte, Director of Funding Strategy and Stewardship at Unity Health, was part of a multi-institutional team that won the Innovation Award from the Canadian Association of Research Administrators (CARA). The team was recognized for its paper titled “Evaluation of the role and career path of Canadian research administrators in higher education,” which highlighted the evolving roles and responsibilities of research managers and administrators in Canada. The team was presented with its award at CARA’s national conference in May. Congratulations!
Dr. Andrew Advani, staff endocrinologist at St. Michael’s and Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto, has been appointed for a second term as the Keenan Chair in Medicine, a joint Hospital-University Endowed Chair at St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto.
Dr. Andrew Baker, medical director of the Surgery and Critical Care Program at St. Michael’s, received a formal letter of recognition from Ontario Health (Trillium Gift of Life Network) and the organ and tissue donation community. The letter thanks him for his contributions as a Hospital Donation Physician at St. Michael’s Hospital, along with his leadership, mentorship, and expertise to build the donation system into a culture of care and trust.
Dr. Laurent Brochard, clinician-scientist in the Division of Critical Care at St. Michael’s, has been awarded with the 2025 Eaton Scholar Researcher of the Year Award in Clinical Research. This award recognizes sustained excellence in clinical science and honours Brochard’s outstanding contributions as a scientist, mentor, and leader in the field.
Dr. Joan Cheng, chief of the emergency department at St. Joseph’s, has been promoted to the role of Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, effective as of July 1.
Dr. Alberto Goffi, staff physician at St. Michael’s and assistant professor at the University of Toronto, has been awarded the 2025 Mid-Career Teacher of the Year Award. This award recognizes faculty members between 11 and 20 years into their appointment who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to teaching and the advancement of medical education.
Dr. Nazik Hammad, oncologist and researcher at St. Michael’s, has been awarded with the International Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology. This award recognizes women leaders in the field of oncology who have demonstrated exceptional mentorship.
Dr. Jenny Yu Qing Huang, geriatrician at St. Michael’s and a PhD student at the University of Toronto, has been awarded with the Presidential Poster Award in the Epidemiology category from the American Geriatrics Society Research Committee. The poster was titled “Dementia rate and care needs in older adults with traumatic brain injury and intersections with social determinants of health.”
Dr. Shiva Jayaraman, surgeon at St. Joseph’s, has been co-awarded a grant from the Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (AHPBA) for his research and coaching to prevent bile duct injury and promote safe cholecystectomy.
Dr. Shane Journeay, physiatrist at Providence, has been awarded a fellowship from the American College Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), recognizing his formal training and leadership in Occupational Medicine.
Dr. Mohammad Karamouzian, scientist at St. Michael’s Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation, was the early-career recipient of the 2025 CIHR-IPPH Trailblazer Award. This award is given to Canadian researchers who have made exceptional contributions to public health and population health.
Dr. Charles Kassardjian, neurologist at St. Michael’s and assistant professor at the University of Toronto, was a co-recipient of the 2025 William Goldie Prize and Travel Award for Quality & Innovation. This award recognizes faculty within ten years of appointment who have made outstanding contributions to advancing health and health care through Quality and Innovation.
Dr. Rajeev Muni, staff vitreoretinal surgeon at St. Michael’s, has been awarded the Presidents’ Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) and the Foundation of the American Society of Retina Specialists (FASRS). This award recognizes the achievements and continued contributions of young retina scientists and clinical investigators in the field of retina. This is the first time a Canadian has won the award.
Dr. Michael Sgro, research investigator at St. Michael’s, has been appointed as the new Research Lead of the Department of Pediatrics at St. Michael’s Hospital. Sgro is also a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto and an internationally-recognized leader in hyperbilirubinemia research.
Catherine Stratton, PhD candidate, has joined the 2025-2026 cohort of the Connaught PhDs for Public Impact Fellowship Program at the University of Toronto. Stratton’s proposed public impact initiative is to co-create a comprehensive toolkit for the design and sustainability of patient-led rare disease patient registries.
Dr. Kyle Wanzel, division head of Plastic Surgery at St. Joseph’s, has been awarded the Bruce Tovee Award from the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto, recognizing his significant contributions to postgraduate teaching and education in the department.
