Surgeon Scientist Training Program Profiles 2023-2024

An alphabetical list of all students enrolled in the Surgeon Scientist Training Program. 

Kennedy Ayoo

Kennedy Ayoo

Degree working towards: MSc (IMS)

Division: Vascular Surgery
Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network

Supervisors: Drs. Thomas Lindsay, Jonathan Irish, Antoine Eskander

Research Focus:  Investigating the risk of carotid atherosclerotic disease following radiation therapy for head and neck malignancy.

Behdinan

Asha Behdinan

Degree working towards: PhD (IHPME)

Division: Vascular Surgery

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Supervisors: Drs. Prabhat Jha and Ahmed Kayssi

Research Focus:  Evaluation of surgically-avertable vascular mortality in low- and middle- income countries.

Bondzi-Simpson

Adom Bondzi-Simpson

Degree working towards: MSc (IHPME)

Division: General Surgery
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Supervisor: Dr. Julie Hallet

Research Focus:  Examining social disparities in surgical outcomes for gastrointestinal malignancies.

Karanbir Brar

Karanbir Brar

Degree working towards: MSc (IMS)

Division: General Surgery
Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network

Supervisor: Dr. Jonathan Yeung

Research Focus: Using computational analysis of RNA sequencing data to delineate intra-tumor heterogeneity in esophageal adenocarcinoma, with the goal of identifying targets for new therapeutic intervention.

Caroline Cristofaro

Caroline Cristofaro

Degree working towards: MSc (IHPME)

Division: Orthopaedics
Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network

Supervisors: Drs. Michael Zywiel and Raja Rampersaud

Research Focus: Ongoing postoperative neuropathic pain may have significant impact on patient reported and clinical outcomes after undergoing total knee arthroplasty. By utilizing the LEAP-OA Database, we aim to determine whether a patient's PainDETECT score preoperatively can predict likelihood of positive response to surgery.

daza

Julian Daza

Degree working towards: MSc (IHPME)

Division: General Surgery
Unity Health, SMH

Supervisors: Drs. Duminda Wijeysundera and Nancy Baxter

Research Focus: Preoperative assessment and risk prediction in older patients undergoing major surgery.

Adriana Dekirmendjian

Adriana Dekirmendjian

Degree working towards: MSc (IMS)

Division: General Surgery
The Hospital for Sick Children

Supervisor: Dr. Zani Augusto

Research Focus: Pediatric Surgery, specifically Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia.

Mimi Deng

Mimi Deng

Degree working towards: PhD (IMS)

Division: Cardiac Surgery
The Hospital for Sick Children

Supervisor: Dr. Osami Honjo

Research Focus: Ex-vivo heart perfusion in porcine models for optimization of pediatric cardiac transplant. Specifically, exploring methods to improve preservation of donor hearts.

Elbatarny, M

Malak Elbatarny

Degree working towards: PhD (Physiol)

Division: Cardiac Surgery
Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network

Supervisors: Drs. Anthony Gramolini and Maral Ouzounian

Research Focus: Multiomic and biomechanic characterization of thoracic aortic aneurysm: Towards personalized prognostication and surgical thresholds.

Yosef Ellenbogen

Yosef Ellenbogen

Degree working towards: PhD (IMS)

Division: Neurosurgery
Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network

Supervisor: Dr.  Gelareh Zadeh

Research Focus: Investigating the molecular heterogeneity of glioma.

Chloe Gui

Chloe Gui

Division: Neurosurgery
Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network

Supervisor: Dr.  Gelareh Zadeh

Research Focus: We plan to perform CRISPR-Cas9-based high-throughput genetic screens to understand mechanisms of existing therapies, mechanisms of resistance to treatment, and identify novel exploitable target genes in GBM. This method may potentially enable the development of patient-specific therapies.

Research Focus: Ex-vivo heart perfusion in porcine models for optimization of pediatric cardiac transplant. Specifically, exploring methods to improve preservation of donor hearts.

Hachem 2020

Laureen Hachem

Degree working towards: PhD (IMS)

Division: Neurosurgery
Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network

Supervisors: Drs. Michael G. Fehlings and Charles H. Tator 

Research Interests: Spinal cord injury, glutamate signaling, neural stem cells, regeneration 

Kwong, J

Jethro Kwong

Degree working towards: MSc (IHPME)

Division: Urology
PMH - UHN

Supervisors: Drs. Girish Kulkarni and Alistair Johnson

Research Focus: Machine learning operations in urologic oncology

Alexander Landry

Alexander Landry

Degree working towards: PhD (IMS)

Division: Neurosurgery
Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network

Supervisor: Dr.  Gelareh Zadeh

Research Focus: Computational tools use to better understand the molecular landscape of brain tumours, with a particular focus on meningioma.

Lee, A

Angela Young Ju Lee

Degree working towards: PhD(IMS)

Division: Vascular Surgery
TGH-UHN

Supervisors: Dr. Thomas Lindsay & Dr. Maral Ouzounian

Research Focus: Spinal cord ischemia

Ben Li

Ben Li

Degree working towards: PhD (IMS)

Division: Vascular Surgery
SMH, Unity Health

Supervisors: Drs. Mohammed Al-Omran and Charles de Mestral

Research Focus: Using machine learning to predict outcomes following major vascular surgery

Darby Little

Darby Little

Degree working towards: MSc (IHPME)

Division: Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Supervisors: Drs. Stephanie Mason and Barbara Haas

Research Focus: Long-term outcomes in burn injury patients.

Malhotra

Armaan Malhotra

Degree working towards: MSc (IHPME)

Division: Neurosurgery
SMH, Unity Health

Supervisors: Drs. Jefferson Wilson and Avery Nathens 

Research Focus: An integrated approach to improved neurotrauma prognostication using machine learning methods applied to clinical and radiographic data

Mansur, A

Ann Mansur

Degree working towards: PhD (IMS)

Division: Neurosurgery
Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network

Supervisor: Dr. Ivan Radovanovic 

Research Focus: Understanding the safety and efficacy of targeted MEK inhibitors on the angioarchitecture, molecular biology and clinical progression of arteriovenous malformations through clinical trials. This is within a larger focus of exploring molecular and genetic alterations in neurovascular conditions.

Karim Mithani

Karim Mithani

Degree working towards: PhD (IMS) 

Division: Neurosurgery
The Hospital for Sick Children and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Supervisors: Drs. George Ibrahim and Nir Lipsman

Research Focus: The identification and validation of neuroimaging and electrophysiologic biomarkers to predict response to, and elucidate mechanisms of, neurosurgery for psychiatric disorders and epilepsy.

Quong

Whitney Quong

Degree working towards: PhD (IMS)

Division: Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
The Hospital for Sick Children

Supervisor: Dr. Joel Fish 

Research Focus: Outcomes of multimodal therapy for keloids and hypertrophic scarring

Raju

Sneha Raju

Degree working towards: PhD (IMS)

Division: Vascular Surgery
Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network

Supervisors: Drs. Jason Fish and Kathryn Howe

Research Focus: Determining the role of endothelial activation on microRNA communication within atherosclerotic plaque: Towards the identification of a novel therapeutic target in carotid disease

Raleigh

Matthew Raleigh

Degree working towards: MSc (IMS)

Division: Orthopaedics
SMH, Unity Health

Supervisor(s): Dr. Aaron Nauth

Research Focus: The role of endothelial stem cells in bone healing

Ribeiro

Tiago Ribeiro

Degree working towards: MSc (IHPME)

Division: General Surgery
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Supervisor: Dr. Julie Hallet

Research Focus: Developing a predictive model for patient centred outcomes in GI cancers

Tayler Declan Ross

Tayler Declan Ross

Degree working towards: MSc (IMS)

Division: Orthopaedics
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Supervisor: Dr. Cari Whyne

Research Focus: Musculoskeletal health, specifically osteosarcopenia. Osteosarcopenia is the combination of decreased bone and muscle mass. This combination has significant impacts on patient outcomes and assessing frailty, but to date it is still poorly understood. I hope to evaluate how osteosarcopenia can be used to predict treatment response in the spine malignancy cohort.

Shakil

Husain Shakil

Degree working towards: MSc (IHPME)

Division: Neurosurgery
SMH, Unity Health

Supervisor: Dr. Jefferson Wilson

Research Focus: Impact of clinical frailty on outcomes in neurosurgery

Suresh, H

Hrishikesh Suresh

Degree working towards: PhD (BME)

Division & Institution: Neurosurgery 
The Hospital for Sick Children

Supervisors: Drs. George Ibrahim and James Drake

Research Focus: The application of focused ultrasound for the treatment of epilepsy

Taslimi, S

Shervin Taslimi

Degree working towards: Postdoctoral Fellow (IMS)

Division: Neurosurgery 
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Supervisor: Dr. Victor Yang

Research Focus: Development of navigation based human and robotic drilling for skull-base approaches

Telesnicki

Teagan Telesnicki

Degree working towards: MSc (IHPME)

Division: General Surgery
SMH, Unity Health

Supervisors: Drs. Charles de Mestral and David Gomez

Research Focus: Characterizing the elective surgical backlog in Ontario generated by the COVID pandemic and providing evidence-based recommendations to guide clearance of the backlog

Valiquette

Chantal Valiquette

Degree working towards: MSc (IHPME) 

Division: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Supervisors: Drs. Daniel Grace and Mitchell Brown

Research Focus: Improving equitable access for gender affirming surgical care

Justin Wang

Justin Wang

Degree working towards: PhD (IMS)

Division: Neurosurgery
TMDT, University Health Network

Supervisor: Dr. Gelareh Zadeh

Research Focus: Genomics of clinically aggressive meningiomas.  We will be using novel molecular biology techniques to predict the clinical behaviour of meningiomas and developing non-invasive methods of diagnosing brain tumours

Chloe Wong

Chloe Wong

Degree working towards: MSc (IHPME) 

Division: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network

Supervisors: Drs. Heather Baltzer and David Urbach

Research Focus: Establishing a predictive model for repeated hand trauma

Elliott Yee

Elliott Yee

Degree working towards: MSc (IHPME)

Division: General Surgery
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Supervisor: Dr. Barbara Haas

Research Focus:  The impact of marginalization and access to primary care on long-term health outcomes following severe traumatic injury.

Nicholas J.-S. Yee

Nicholas J.-S. Yee

Degree working towards: MASc (BME)

Division: Orthopaedics
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Supervisors: Drs. Cari Whyne and Mansur Halai

Research Focus:  Developing algorithms that can characterize clinically important long bone fracture patterns using software-augmented ultrasound imaging.

Alice Zhu

Alice Zhu

Degree working towards: MSc (IHPME)

Division: General Surgery
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Supervisor: Dr. Natalie Coburn

Research Focus:  Evaluating & improving patient-centered outcomes for gastrointestinal cancer care.