Ob/Gyn News - University of Toronto Department of Obstetrics and ...

PAGE 2 OB/GYN NEWS – DECEMBER 20092009 Chair Awards2009 Awards for UndergraduateTeaching ExcellenceThe department hosted its annual half-day FacultyDevelopment and Department Awards Ceremony onSeptember 30, 2009. Congratulations to all the awardwinners. Some of the award recipients are pictured onthis page.Chair’s AwardsElyse Lackie: Chair's Award for UndergraduateTeachingElyse Levinsky: Chair's Award for PostgraduateTeachingAbheha Satkunaratnam: Chair's Award forPostgraduate Program Dev't/InnovationKnox Ritchie and Gareth Seaward: Chair's Award forExcellence in CME Course CoordinationOri Nevo: Chair's Award for Outstanding ResearchPotentialPhoto 12009Awards for UndergraduateTeaching ExcellenceMichele Farrugia, Mount Sinai HospitalGrace Liu, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre/Women'sCollege HospitalMary Melchior, St. Joseph's Health CentreDeborah Robertson, St. Michael's HospitalKirsten Smith, North York General HospitalMichael Sved, Mount Sinai HospitalMelissa Tai, North York General HospitalPhoto 1: Dr. Elyse Lackie, Dr. AlanBocking, and Dr. Jennifer BlakePhoto 2: Dr. Elyse Levinsky beingcongratulated by Dr. Alan Bocking,and Dr. Jennifer BlakePhoto 2Photo 3: Drs. Alan Bocking, MicheleFarrugia, and Filomena MeffePhoto 4: Dr. Ori NevoPhoto 4Photo 5: Dr. Abeha Satkunaratnam’Photo 5Photo 3

OB/GYN NEWS – DECEMBER 2008PAGE 3Awards, Honours & AchievementsCongratulations to all who have received departmental, national andinternational honours and awardsDr. S. Lee Adamson was the 2009 recipient of theAPOG Excellence in Research Award. This is a nationalaward recognizing outstanding scientific leadership,research mentoring, creative effort and majorresearch accomplishments of a Canadian researcher(or research group) active in APOG. The award waspresented to Dr. Adamson at the 38th Annual APOGmeeting held in Toronto on December 5, 2009.Dr. S. Lee Adamson received the “CombinedUndergraduate Large Class and Joint UndergraduateSmall Class/Graduate Award” presented by theDepartment of Physiology on December 16 th , 2009.Dr. Isabella Caniggia received the “Innovative CourseDesign Award” presented by the Department ofPhysiology on December 16 th , 2009.Dr. John Kingdom was recently elected President ofthe Perinatal Research Society (PRS) for the 2010-2011year. The PRS was established in 1969 to fosterscientific interchange among people whose researchinterests are in the area of perinatal medicine anddevelopmental biology. The society is unique becauseit actively supports graduate students, post-doc's, andclinical fellows to attend their annual meetingalongside more established investigators funded byNIH and CIHR.Dr. John Kingdom won the best oral presentation prizefor "heparin elevates maternal sflt-1 secretion andinduces placental syncytial necrosis" at the 2009European International Society for the Study ofHypertension in Pregnancy (ISSHP) Congress held atKeble College Oxford, England, 10-12 September2009. The work was done in his lab by Sascha Drewlo,Dora Baczyk and Mara Sobel.Dr. Gordon Lickrish received a Lifetime AchievementAward from the Ontario Society of Obstetricians andGynaecologists at its annual dinner in December forhis many years of contributions to the Health ofWomen in Ontario.Dr. Elin Raymond won the “John H. Fowler Excellencein Teaching Award” from Toronto East GeneralHospital.Dr. Wilf Steinberg is a recipient of the LifetimeAchievement Award from the Ontario MedicalAssociation this spring 2009. OMA Life Membership isawarded to those members who have made anoutstanding contribution to the work of theAssociation, the medical profession and medicalscience, or common good at the provincial level.Dr. Michael Sved was the 2009 recipient of the CarlNimrod Educator Award which recognizes excellence,commitment, innovation and leadership in teachingknowledge, attitudes, and skills to the next generationof practitioners. This award was presented to Dr. Svedat the 38th Annual APOG meeting held in Toronto onDecember 5, 2009.Dr. Jackie Thomas received the Wightman-BerrisAcademy Award for Individual Teaching inUndergraduate Education.Dr. Wendy Wolfman has won the prestigiousPractitioner of the Year Award from the NorthAmerican Menopause Society. This award recognizesDr. Wolfman’s outstanding contributions to the field ofmenopause. She received the award during the NAMS20th Annual Meeting in San Diego, California, onSeptember 30-October 3, 2009.Dr. Wendy Whittle received the Wightman-BerrisAcademy Award for Individual Teaching inPostgraduate Education.Dr. Mark Yudin from St. Michael’s Hospital, receivedboth the CREOG National Faculty Award from theObstetrics & Gynaecology’s Senior Residents and theFitzgerald Academy Undergraduate Teaching Awardin 2009.’

PAGE 4 OB/GYN NEWS – DECEMBER 2009Research Corner27th Annual Department Research DayMay 7, 2010The 27 th Annual Department Research Day will be on FRIDAY, MAY 7,2010, 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Northrop Frye Hall, Ground Floor, VictoriaUniversity, 73 Queen's Park Crescent East.Lecturer: Jane Norman MDProfessor of Maternal and Fetal Health,University of Edinburgh, UKCo-Director, Edinburgh Tommy’s Centre for Maternal and Fetal HealthResearchAbstract deadline: Friday, March 5, 2010For more information, please contact Helen Robson athelen.robson@utoronto.ca or check our website athttp://www.obgyn.utoronto.ca/Research/ResearchDay.htm.All requirements and forms will be posted in the New Year.GrantsAdamson SL (Principal Investigator). The CMHD: anIntegrated and Regional Platform for Improving theModeling of Human Disease. Using models to developtreatments for human diseases. Ontario Ministry ofResearch and Innovation, Ontario Research Fund -Research Infrastructure program, $6,523,359, October2009Baczyk DA (Principal Investigator), Lye SJ (Supervisor).DREAM-mediated regulation of GCM1 in the humanand mouse placental trophoblast. CIHR, FrederickBanting and Charles Best Canada GraduateScholarship – Master’s Award, $17,500, September 1,2009 to August 31, 2010.Bainbridge, SA (Principal Investigator), Adamson SL,Kingdom JC (Supervisors). Effect of reduced placentalexpression of Glial Cell Missing-1 (Gcm1) on pregnancyoutcome. CIHR Fellowship, $28,333, September 1, 2009to August 31, 2011.Iqbal M. (Principal Investigator), Matthews SG(Supervisor). Regulation of Multidrug Resistance inEndothelial Cells of the Fetal Blood-Brain Barrier. CIHR,Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada GraduateScholarships - Master's Award, $17,500, September 1,2009 to August 31, 2010.Letarte MV (Principal Investigator), Murphy KJ (Co-Investigator) Fifth Canadian Conference on OvarianCancer Research (CCOCR 2010), Institute of CancerResearch (ICR), Meetings, Planning & DisseminationGrant, $12,500 September 1, 2009 to August 31, 2010.Loutfy MR (Principal Investigator), Margolese SL,Yudin MH (Co-Investigators). National HIV PregnancyPlanning Guidelines Development Team Meeting,CIHR, Meetings, Planning & Dissemination Grant:Institute of Infection and Immunity, $16,146,September 1, 2009 to August 31, 2010.Matthews SG (Principal Investigator), Szyf M (Co-Investigator). Transgenerational Effects of AntenatalGlucocorticoid Treatment: Mechanisms ofProgramming. CIHR, Operating Grant, $29,889,October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2012.McGeer AJ (Principal Investigator), Allen VM, BujoldE, Coleman BL, Drews SJ, Johnstone J, Lee BE, LevyM, Loeb MB, Louie M, Manos SH, Mcneil SA, MoneyDM, Murphy KE, Taylor G, Zahariadis G. (Co-Investigators). Outcomes of Pandemic Influenza inPregnancy (OPIP). CIHR, Catalyst Grant: PandemicOutbreak Research Response, $153,011, October 1,2009 to September 30, 2010.’

PAGE 6 OB/GYN NEWS – DECEMBER 2009Inter-Hospital News & EventsSHSC/WCHDr. Jennifer Blake has completed her second term asChief of the Department of Obstetrics andGynaecology at Women’s College Hospital as of July 1,2009. Dr. Blake, as Chief of the Department ofObstetrics and Gynaecology at Sunnybrook HealthSciences Centre, will continue to be responsible for allongoing clinical and academic programs within thedepartment at both sites.Dr. Jerry Shime has accepted the position of InterimChief, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology atWomen's College Hospital while a search committee isestablished to identify Dr. Blake’s successor. Dr. Shime iswell known at WCH. He is a professor in theDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at theUniversity of Toronto and a highly respected academicand clinician. He served a full term as Chief of theDepartment at WCH prior to Dr. Blake's recruitment.Obstetrical and gynaecological services that arecurrently provided at Women's College Hospital underthe auspices of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre willcontinue until the program moves to Bayview Avenuein 2010. Dr. Shime will focus on development of theWCH Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology,especially program planning, recruitment, and spaceplanning until the permanent Chief is in place.Please join us in welcoming Dr. Shime to his new roleand in thanking Dr. Blake for all that she has doneduring her term as Chief at WCH.Dr. Richard Pittini recently returned from Addis Ababa,Ethiopia where he had been working on a DelPHEproject funded by the British Research Council. Theproject Dr. Pittini is working on is assisting the Faculty ofMedicine at the Addis Ababa University in establishingtheir own simulation-based curriculum.On Nov 18, 2009, Dr. Herb Wong performed a livetelesurgery broadcast from Sunnybrook HealthSciences Centre at Women's College Hospital to theAAGL 38th Global Congress of Minimally InvasiveGynecology in Orlando, Florida. The one-hourbroadcast demonstrated the surgical procedure,“Laparoscopic Hysterectomy Using SuturingTechniques". The presentation was well received by thecongress attendees. Assisting at the surgery were Drs.Romy Nitsch and Janet Bodley.St. Michael’s HospitalCongratulations to Dr. Deborah Robertson on the birthof her baby boy. Baby William was born on August28th, 2009 at 5 lbs, 5 oz.Dr. Guylaine Lefebvre was a member of the scientificcommittee for the 2009 (FIGO) International Federationof Gynecology and Obstetrics World Congress meetingin Cape Town in October. Many people attended fromUofT. There were more than 9000 participants overall, agreat success providing attendees with a dramaticinsight into the ongoing changes and issues in women’shealth care world-wide.Toronto East General HospitalCongratulations to Dr. Elin Raymond and Dan Bermanon the birth of their second child, a baby boy, EliGrame on Nov 19th 2009. All are well.Dr. Brenda Woods completes her final term as Chief ofObstetrics and Gynecology at TEGH on Dec 31, 2009,and Dr. Murray Kroach will be Interim Chief as of Jan 1,2010.Ob/Gyn at TEGH welcomes Dr. Roberta MacKenzie asthe newest member of the department.IN MEMORIAMWe are saddened to announce the death of Mitchell (Alan) Goldbloom, husband of Dr. Dana Soroka. MitchellGoldbloom died on Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at Mount Sinai Hospital after a courageous battle with cancer. Ourdeepest sympathies go to Dr. Soroka and her children and family. Donations may be made to the Mitchell GoldbloomFund at Mount Sinai Hospital's Max and Beatrice Wolfe Children's Grief Centre 416-586-8203, Ext. 3936.’

OB/GYN NEWS – DECEMBER 2008PAGE 7Inter-Hospital News & EventsMount Sinai HospitalDuring Patient Safety Week (November 2 to 6),Mount Sinai staff voted for a wall mural designthat illustrates the hospital’s commitment tocreating a safe, supportive environment forour patients, with a connection to staff healthand wellbeing.Congratulations to the MSH mural painters, Dr.Rory Windrim, Olena Berezovska, AnastasiaAngelo, and Esther Denov who received 57per cent of the votes for the top designhonour in the Colours of Care Mural Contest.The team’s painting of a tree in four seasonsplaces focus on patient care, and illustratesthe role of health-care works in providingcompassionate care through all the seasonsof life. The concept incorporates photographsto illustrate staff wellbeing and each stage oflife.The Colours of Care Mural Contest is apartnership between the Office of PatientSafety and the Department of OrganizationalDevelopment.Mural Award Winners:Olena Berezovsk, Anastasia Angelo, Dr. Rory Windrim, and EstherDenovThe winningmural entry’

PAGE 8 OB/GYN NEWS – DECEMBER 2009Inter-Hospital News & EventsThe China experience December 2009 UpdateDr. Nicholas Pairaudeau, North York General HospitalI am continuing my endeavours to network with variousmedical communities in China. Since my last contribution,in the summer, I have been to China twice. I was over fortwo weeks in September, and I returned again inNovember for a follow-up on my activities in March andSeptember.I have been received with much respect, and awillingness to share Canadian and Chinese activities inobstetrics and gyneacology. I continue to give talksmostly in English with a Chinese subscript. But I also havepin yin that allows me to ask questions to the audience.Not everyone speaks the national dialect Mandarin(putongua). In southern China, they much prefer to speakCantonese.My September visit was quite complicated. I had trips toBeijing, Chong Qing, and Shanghai mapped out. But withthe H1N1 flu, my hosts in Beijing were not happy for me tobe in Beijing, and certainly not in the hospital, before I hadbeen in China for a good 7 days without illness. So I wentto Hong Kong, then I flew up to Xing Xiang in HennanProvince. In Xing Xiang I was met by Dr. Ying Pang, whohad spent 6 months in Toronto, before going back hometo be the chief at the 3rd affiliate Hospital. I wasoverwhelmed by the reverence to Dr. William McClure,who was a medical missionary before the 1900’s. He hasleft a legacy in this area that was very much appreciatedby all who lived there. The Hospital he built over ahundred years ago is now a hospital museum. If you gothere, you must visit this place. Every Canadian of anyreligious persuasion should be proud of this important partof our Canadian Heritage, and the number of willingCanadians, who travelled all over the globe to helppeople in need. His son, Dr. Robert McClure, was also adoctor, and later became the Moderator of the UnitedChurch of Canada many years ago. Some of his family stilllive in Toronto.From there, I met up with my Operating NursingColleague, Ms Quiwen Long and Ms Lynn Zhou in’Shanghai. They had been very helpful in assisting me in myhysteroscopy course in September 2008, with ProfessorNicholas Leyland and Professor George Vilos. Shanghai isa very exciting city with over 18 million people. They havesome very fine hospitals, and I was able to visit them,courtesy of Ms. Lynn Zhou, who is from there.It was then on to Beijing for presentations and also to assistin English class. This was a most enjoyable experience, andone that I would like to continue with at the BeijingMedical Hospital.I returned in November for the COGI Conference. I wasable to present a paper for the Poster presentation on“How to give a presentation in China.” I presented theposter to Beijing Medical Hospital after I left there. I thenleft for Chong Qing, having received an introduction froma Dr. Li who had colleagues in Chong Qing. I was met byDr. Hong Yang, who is the Associate Professor inInternational Affairs at the Medical University. Chong QingMedical University is anxious to set up exchanges at manydifferent levels. I was able to bring many of these intereststo the attention of the faculty in Toronto. I understandthere have been communications from the University ofToronto to Chong Qing in the past. I believe there is anenormous opportunity to work together on numerousprojects.I then returned to Beijing to view different surgeries by thenationally well known Professor Zhang Yi, who came toToronto last October on the Hysteroscopy course. I alwaysleave with a respect for Professor Zhang’s operative skills.She is not only an excellent Surgeon, but is very innovative.I am anticipating going next year to continue my quest foropportunities for Canadian Medical doctors to work withChinese Medical doctors. I was most impressed by theUniversity of Western Ontario Medical Students, who havebeen going to China, self-financed, in the summer since2001.My activities will still continue to explore new avenues forstudy in China, and give us in Canada some betterunderstanding of our Chinese patients. I continue tomarvel at the amount of medical knowledge that couldcome out of China.And now for the future. What will it hold?I am thrilled that there has been a thaw in relations withChina and our Federal Government. I am hoping thatCanada will get it right from now. This bodes well for thefuture.Nicholas Pairaudeau

OB/GYN NEWS – DECEMBER 2008PAGE 9Upcoming EventsAbstract deadline for Research Day.................March 5, 201027 th Annual Department Research DayDept. of Obstetrics and Gynaecology ................ May 7, 20108:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.Northrop Frye Hall, Ground FloorVictoria University73 Queen’s Park Crescent EastUniversity of Toronto’