Announcing the Department of Medicine's Senior Faculty Promotions to Professor and Associate Professor

Anthony Burns

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Dr. Anthony Burns is an internationally respected expert in SCI rehabilitation and a pioneer in the use of intrathecal baclofen for the management of spinal cord spasticity in patients with SCI. He has played an important role in establishing guidelines for SCI in low-income countries and personally supervised the establishment of a SCI center in Haiti. As an invited member of the Advisory Committee for SCI Standards at Accreditation Canada, he contributed to the development of the first Canadian accreditation standards for SCI.

An-Wen Chan

Dermatology

Dr. Chan has two primary areas of scholarly focus: 1. Advancing the quality and transparency of clinical trials; and 2. Prevention and treatment of skin cancers.

His international reputation is based on his outstanding contributions to advancing the rigorous design, conduct, and reporting of clinical trials and to the diagnosis and management of skin cancer, especially in patients on immunosuppressive therapies post-organ transplantation. In recognition of his skin cancer research, he was appointed to the CIHR Advisory Board for the Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis, serves as a member of the CIHR Health Services Research grant review panel and a Section Editor for Nature’s Journal of Investigative Dermatology. 

David Cherney

Nephrology

Dr. Cherney is recognized internationally as a leader in the area of diabetes-related renal and cardiovascular complications, and particularly the clinical and physiologic effects of SGLT-2 inhibition. He has been recognized for his research contributions through the receipt of several prestigious awards including the Diabetes Canada/CIHR Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes Young Scientist Award, the American Society of Nephrology Distinguished Researcher Award, and the Department of Medicine’s William Goldie Prize and Travel Award for Research.

Catharine Craven

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Dr. Catharine Craven is a leader of international repute in the field of SCI, particularly as it relates to the detection, prevention, and management of sub-lesional osteoporosis. She is a strong teacher and mentor who has contributed significantly at local, university, provincial, and international levels. Dr. Craven’s research, mentorship, and teaching is recognized by her receipt of several notable awards, including the Canadian Association of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Award of Merit and the inaugural Mentor of the Year Award from the University of Toronto’s Department of Medicine, Division of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. 

Laura Hawryluck

Critical Care

Dr. Hawryluck’s work explores new territory in the ethics and medico-legal aspects of end of life care in the ICU. She has done pioneering work in establishing standards of care for triage, allocation of scarce resources and end of life decision making in challenging ICU settings in the developing world. Dr. Hawryluck is currently appointed as the Critical Care Response Team Leader and Chair of the Toronto Western Hospital Acute Resuscitation Committee.

Russell MacDonald

Emergency Medicine

Dr. Russell MacDonald has achieved an international reputation in the field of prehospital transport medicine and emergency medical services. He has advanced the practice of his medical specialty through hands-on teaching of residents and fellows and numerous initiatives related to continuous quality improvement and patient safety. 

Dr. MacDonald has been recognized for his research contributions through the receipt of several prestigious awards including the AAMS Barbara A. Hess Award for international impact in education and research, the AAMS Board Chairman’s Award for promotion research, education, and safety initiative internationally, and the Air Medical Physicians’ Association Distinguished Physician Award for his global leadership and impact, and lifetime achievement in the field of PTM.

Lianne Singer

Respiratory Medicine

Dr. Lianne Singer has demonstrated an impressive body of research in the area of Lung Transplantation, which has had tremendous impact. Her research has advanced safe and equitable practice in the provision of lung transplantation to individuals with advanced lung disease. Dr. Singer is currently a member of the Guidelines Committee of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the International and Inter-Society Coordinating Committee of the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation, and five local transplant program committees. 

Susanna Cheng

Medical Oncology

Dr. Susanna Cheng has made significant contributions to undergraduate and postgraduate educational curricula in Medical Oncology and has been recognized through the receipt of several prestigious teaching awards, including the Sunnybrook Department of Medicine Ambulatory Teaching Award, the Medical Oncology training program Outstanding Teacher Award, and the University Division of Medical Oncology Education Award.

Urban Emmenegger

Medical Oncology

Dr. Emmenegger’s scholarly focus is on improving the management of advanced cancers, particularly prostate cancer. His innovative research on the care and outcomes of patients with advanced prostate cancer has gained him national, if not international, reputation. He has also participated in the creation of consensus statements on the management of penile and small bladder carcinoma by the Genitourinary Medical Oncologists of Canada Group. 

Lorraine Kalia

Neurology

Dr. Lorraine Kalia is a neurologist and neuroscientist whose translational program of research in Parkinson’s disease seeks to understand how dysfunction of molecular pathways causes neurodegeneration in order to advance biomarker and drug discovery. In addition to her research, Dr. Kalia has been recognized by students for her outstanding teaching and mentorship, with special emphasis on the important role she has played in reaching career goals.

Jacques Lee

Emergency Medicine

Dr. Jacques Lee’s research in geriatric emergency medicine has garnered a national and growing international reputation. His work has been important in developing tools to improve the quality of care and outcomes for elderly people receiving care in the emergency room. Dr. Lee is currently a staff physician in Emergency Medicine and Director of Research and Scholarly Activities at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

Heather MacNeill

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Dr. Heather MacNeill has made major contributions to clinical and classroom-based teaching and interprofessional education. Dr. MacNeill’s excellence in teaching has been recognized through high teaching effectiveness scores and several prestigious awards including the MD Program Teaching Excellence Award, the Excellence in Community Based Teaching Award, and the Fred Fallis Award of Excellence in Distance Education Award.

James Maskalyk

Emergency Medicine

Dr. James Maskalyk has advanced the professional practice of Emergency Medicine through his leadership in the development and ongoing evolution of the TAAC-EM program. He has also garnered national and international recognition as an author and humanitarian. His work has had extraordinary impact in terms of a whole new generational of physicians in his specialty who are now practicing and leading EM across Ethiopia.

Andrew McDonald

Emergency Medicine

Dr. Andrew McDonald is a recognized role model for teaching in the emergency department, particularly in the area of trauma resuscitation. He has also developed innovative educational programs to teach residents about emergency department administration, which has fostered leadership development in Emergency Medicine trainees. Dr. McDonald is highly regarded by his peers and students for his excellent teaching accomplishments.

Andrea Page

Infectious Diseases

Dr. Andrea Page is a highly regarded teacher and educator and has been an inspirational mentor to many learners over the years. She has introduced and evaluated a number of educational innovations, some of which have been recognized with awards, in addition to working to change the local learning environment and culture. Dr. Page has received several prestigious teaching awards.

Albiruni Razak

Medical Oncology

Dr. Albiruni Razak’s scholarly endeavors are focused on the development of novel therapies for the treatment of sarcoma through advances in early phase trial methodology, developing platforms to better predict treatment efficacy, and the development of novel immune-therapies for sarcoma. He has established himself as a national and emerging international leader in sarcoma oncology and drug development. Dr. Razak is currently the Sarcoma Site Lead for Medical Oncology at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Shane Shapera

Respiratory Medicine

Dr. Shane Shapera is a devoted teacher who aims to create a supportive learning environment where teaching is incorporated into the daily workflow. Reflective of his passion for teaching, Dr. Shapera has received a remarkable 11 teaching awards since 2011. Dr. Shapera has also developed a number of teaching innovations in his area of clinical focus, interstitial lung disease (ILD), through his role as Director of the ILD Program at UHN.

Santhosh Thyagu

Hematology

Dr. Santhosh Thyagu is a passionate teacher and educator who has an exemplary level of knowledge and commitment to his field of malignant hematology. He has a well-articulated teaching philosophy that demonstrates attentiveness to the learning climate in facilitating high-quality clinical instruction. Dr. Thyagu’s excellence in teaching is recognized by his receipt of several teaching awards. 

Zahi Touma

Rheumatology

Dr. Zahi Touma has established a neuro-focused program of research in SLE designed to improve the assessment of cognitive function and other neuropsychiatric syndromes in SLE. The program has brought together a diverse multidisciplinary team of researchers that includes neurologists, psychiatrists, machine-learning analysts, advanced neuro-imagers, and stakeholders from Lupus Ontario, among others. 

Adam Weizman

Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Dr. Adam Weizman has made important contributions to quality of care improvement in gastroenterology with a particular emphasis on the care of patients with IBD. He has played an integral role in the development of clinical practice guidelines for physicians on the diagnosis and management of IBD. He is an excellent teacher and mentor both in his clinical discipline of gastroenterology and in the area of quality improvement. 

Thirumagal Yogaparan

Geriatric Medicine

Dr. Thirumagal Yogaparan has made substantial contributions to teaching at the undergraduate, postgraduate, and faculty levels in Geriatric Medicine. In 2013, she co-led the revamping of the Arts & Science of Clinical Medicine II geriatrics curriculum and was appointed the Undergraduate Geriatrics/Care of the Elderly theme lead in 2015. Since 2014, she has been the Site Director for Geriatric Medicine residents at Baycrest.

Alireza Zahirieh

Nephrology

Since his appointment in 2009, Dr. Alireza Zahirieh has participated in a high volume of teaching at multiple levels. His teaching effectiveness scores are well above average across the board, with superlative feedback from learners. He has also made important contributions through innovations and leadership in education. Dr. Zahirieh’s excellence in teaching and education is recognized through the receipt of numerous teaching awards.