A newsletter of the Department of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Health Authority. 

We will celebrate our successes and learn from each other for the betterment of our students, our patients and our community. 

IN THIS ISSUE

  • A message from the provincial head
  • Faculty updates
  • Staff updates
  • Research update
  • Researcher profiles
  • Administrator profile
  • Celebrating our success
  • Upcoming events
  • Reminders
  • In the news

 

MESSAGE FROM THE PROVINCIAL HEAD

It’s been a great Saskatchewan summer, and I hope that everyone has made time to relax, rest and recharge as the start of our academic year quickly approaches.  

Please join me in welcoming the newest group of residents to our Core Internal Medicine (IM) and subspecialty programs, who began their training in July. We also welcome several new faculty members to the department – we are happy to have you join us in both Regina and Saskatoon.

In this edition of our newsletter, we celebrate several impressive accomplishments of our faculty members, including notable publications, awards and research funding. I commend the excellent service, teaching and research being conducted by our Department of Medicine faculty.

Sincerely,

Dr. Haissam Haddad, O.C, MD, FRCPC, FRCP Edin, CCPE

Professor and Head 

Department of Medicine

University of Saskatchewan 

Louis Horlick Chair in Medicine 

Provincial Head, Medicine

FACULTY UPDATES

Congratulations to the following faculty who were promoted to Associate Professor July 1, 2024:

  • Dr. Alexandra King (GIM, Saskatoon)
  • Dr. Ben Leis (GIM, Saskatoon)
  • Dr. Stephen Lee (Infectious Diseases, Regina)
  • Dr. Eric Sy (GIM/Critical Care, Regina)

Welcome to our new faculty members:

  • Dr. Andrew Frost (Cardiology) – Saskatoon
  • Dr. Gabrielle Levin (GIM) – Regina
  • Dr. Anton Moshynskyy (Rheumatology) – Saskatoon
  • Dr. Matthew Patterson (Nephrology) – Saskatoon
  • Dr. Kristina Watt (Respirology) – Saskatoon

Dr. Sohail Awan (Rheumatology) will relocate from Moose Jaw to Saskatoon this fall.  

The Department of Medicine sends condolences to the family and loved ones of Dr. Salman Anwar, a Richmond Hill, Ontario-based rheumatologist, who died in July in a vehicle accident. Dr. Anwar completed his internal medicine residency in the Department of Medicine in 2020.

STAFF UPDATES

Sarah Zdunich, program administrator for Core IM program, has moved to an administrator role in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 

Brendan McCann has also left his position with the Core IM program. 

Core IM program administrator Jenny Gates-Debogorski will not return from parental leave. Kaylene Unger has accepted this role and will now support the Core IM program. 

RESEARCH UPDATE

I hope everyone is having a great summer!

As we are preparing our research activities for the new academic year, we are focusing on enhancing your research and providing research networking opportunities. These will include our research lunch and learns (RLL), rounds, and workshops.

Our first RLL in early fall will review research supports at the university and provide an overview of what is coming throughout the academic year. RLLs are hybrid events (with a small lunch provided!) and the recordings are available at the DoM SharePoint site. If you have any suggestions for the RLLs in the 2024-25 academic year please contact Dr. Ozlem Sari, the DoM Research Facilitator.

Please remember that there are several research grant deadlines approaching in the next few months. We encourage you to start looking ahead to these and planning for future projects.  If you are looking into research opportunities or would like to speak with someone about moving into research or advancing your program, please contact Dr. Sari.

Finally, we would like to thank Dr. Rob Skomro for his hard work as Acting Director of Research from January to June this year. Great job and thank you!

Best of luck in all of your research activities!

Dr. Josh Lawson
Director of Research, Department of Medicine

GETTING TO KNOW...

 Researcher profile: Dr. John Gordon (Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine).

 Researcher profile: Dr. Kerri Schellenberg (Neurology)

 Administrator profile: Jeanette Neufeld, communications specialist.

CELEBRATING OUR SUCCESS

 

Publication of note

Dr. Erika Penz (Division Head, Respirology), is an author of a paper recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine detailing a world-first study that found that identifying adults with undiagnosed asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) through targeted case finding among at-risk persons with unexplained respiratory symptoms resulted in better health outcomes and fewer subsequent healthcare visits.


Asiniwasis named CSPA Dermatologist of the Year

Congratulations to Dr. Rachel Asiniwasis (Dermatology), named Dermatologist of the Year 2023 by the Canadian Skin Patient Alliance. The award recognizes a dermatologist who has compassionate concern for the welfare and happiness of patients, is committed to community service that parallels their involvement in quality patient care, has a positive effect on others, and has exhibited and performed outstanding patient care. This award is presented at the Canadian Dermatology Association’s annual conference in recognition of contributions made the previous calendar year.

Cardiology research project saving time and muscle

Dr. Jay Shavadia (Cardiology) is leading a Royal University Hospital-based research initiative that’s helping decrease “door to balloon” time for STEMI patients.

Levin awarded MS Canada research grant

Dr. Michael Levin (Neurology, Saskatchewan MS Clinical Research Chair) has been awarded a MS Canada Discovery Research Grant for his project titled, “Identifying and screening small molecules for the treatment of neurodegeneration in MS.”

Dr. Nassrein Hussein receives USask teaching award

Dr. Nassrein Hussein (Division Head, Endocrinology and Metabolism) received this year’s University of Saskatchewan (USask) Teaching Award for the College of Medicine. Award winners were honoured at a special campus event on June 18.

Wellness Wheel team earns USask award

Dr. Stuart Skinner (Infectious Diseases) and the Wellness Wheel Team received a USask Publicly Engaged Scholarship Award for their work in community. The award recognizes scholars who excel in research that engages with the community to address issues related to social, environmental and economic impacts. The Wellness Wheel Medica Clinic is a non-profit organization dedicated to working directly with Indigenous communities through a combination of Western medical practices and Indigenous traditional practices. 

SHRF Success

Congratulations to the following faculty members who recently received funding from Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF):

Dr. Sharyle Fowler (Gastroenterology and Hepatology), received a $150,000 2023-24 SHRF Solutions award in the Rural and Remote Healthcare category, for a project focused on innovating inflammatory bowel disease care through patient navigation for individuals living in rural Saskatchewan and Indigenous community members.

Dr. Shelley Kirychuk (Division Head, Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health) received a $10,000 2023-24 Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) Mobilize Grant, as part of a project titled “Building for the Future: Improving On-Reserve Housing for Better Health Outcomes in Saskatchewan (miyo waskahikan (Beautiful Homes) Compendiums).”

Dr. Julie Kosteniuk (Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health) received a $149,909 grant for a project titled “exploring opportunities to increase rural primary care readiness for dementia care.”

Dr. Sabira Valiani (GIM and SHA Adult Critical Care Medicine), received a $149,926 2024-25 Establishment Grant for early-career health researchers, for a project titled “Connect-ICU: Improving communication and patient and family-centered care in the ICU with the use of communication technology.”

SHRF invests in Lung Sask

In May, SHRF announced the continuation of its support for Lung Saskatchewan (Lung Sask) with a $1-million, five-year contribution. Several faculty members in the Department of Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine continue to benefit from this ongoing partnership through the Respiratory Research Centre

Regina long-service awards

Congratulations to the following Regina- based faculty members who received long-service awards this year:

  • 10 years
    • Dr. Rachel Asiniwasis (Dermatology)
  • 20 years
    • Dr. Mohammed Ijaz (Neurology)
    • Dr. Kumudhini Karunakaran (Infectious Diseases)
    • Dr. Anwar Muftah (GIM)
    • Dr. Abdalla Muftah (Respirology)
    • Dr. Wladyslaw Wojcik (Cardiology)
  • 30 years
    • Dr. Steven Lwanga (GIM)
    • Dr. Robert McDougall (Rheumatology)

 

 

 

That’s a big fish!

Dr. Jason Orvold (Division Head, Cardiology) caught this toddler-size northern pike at Nemeiben Lake in north-central Saskatchewan this summer.

The first reader to reply with their own best “Saskatchewan summer” moment will receive a small prize.

Congratulations to Dr. Angelica Lang (CCRAH), the winner of our last reader contest!

UPCOMING EVENTS

 

Department of Medicine Grand Rounds resume in September. Watch your inbox for details! 

 

DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE IN THE NEWS

Research insights informing policy and care (Dr. Angelica Lang, CCRAH). Globe & Mail: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/adv/article-research-insights-informing-policy-and-care/

Nerve cell damage control (Dr. Michael Levin, Saskatchewan MS Clinical Research Chair, Neurology). Globe & Mail: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/adv/article-nerve-cell-damage-control/

Cystic Fibrosis research at USask making headway (Dr. Julian Tam, Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine), CJWW Radio: https://www.cjwwradio.com/2024/05/23/195188/

The Evan Bray Show (Dr. Julian Tam, Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine): https://iono.fm/e/1446035

Should you start slugging? Inside the hottest trend in skincare (Dr. Kyle Cullingham, Dermatology), National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/slugging-skin-care

IN THIS ISSUE

  • A message from the provincial head
  • Annual banquet
  • Faculty updates
  • Staff updates
  • Program update
  • Research update
  • Researcher profiles
  • Administrator profile
  • Celebrating our success
  • Upcoming events
  • Reminders
  • In the news

 

MESSAGE FROM THE PROVINCIAL HEAD

As we approach the end of our academic year, we reflect on and celebrate the achievements of our department members. Congratulations to our Core Internal Medicine PGY-3 residents, who will soon finish their program and move on to subspecialty training, and to the fellows in our subspecialty programs who are completing their training. We wish you well in the next chapter of your career. We also welcome a new group of residents in July and look forward to the energy and enthusiasm they bring to the department.

I’m also pleased to announce the launch of our new dermatology subspecialty training program, based in Regina, which will welcome its first resident this year.  

We recently gathered in Saskatoon at our annual banquet, and it was great to see our members connect in person to celebrate our collective achievements.

Each year, I select a handful of faculty members for Provincial Head Awards, which recognize outsize efforts towards clinical, administrative, teaching or research pursuits. While many of our faculty members deserve accolades for their service, this year’s winners have gone above and beyond in their work. Please join me in congratulating them on this special recognition.

Sincerely,

Dr. Haissam Haddad, O.C, MD, FRCPC, FRCP Edin, CCPE

Professor and Head 

Department of Medicine

University of Saskatchewan 

Louis Horlick Chair in Medicine 

Provincial Head, Medicine

 

ANNUAL BANQUET

The Department of Medicine’s annual banquet took place on Friday, May 10. Thank you to guest speaker Dr. Darcy Marciniuk, Associate Vice-President Research of the University of Saskatchewan (USask) and Professor of Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine.

Congratulations to the recipients of the Provincial Head Awards:

  • Researcher of the Year: Dr. Benjamin Leis (GIM)
  • Researcher of the Year: Dr. Michael Levin (Neurology, Saskatchewan MS Clinical Research Chair) 
  • Clinician of the Year: Dr. Kirsten Walker (Division Head, Dermatology)
  • Teacher of the Year: Dr. Jason Orvold (Division Head, Cardiology)
  • Administrator of the Year: Dr. Josh Lawson (CCRAH, Director of Research)

Find a full list of all award winners and photos from the event here.

FACULTY UPDATES

Welcome to our new faculty members:

  • Dr. Yasaman Torabi (Nephrology, Saskatoon)
  • Dr. Olabode Aleshinloye (Internal Medicine, Swift Current)
  • Dr. Cheyene Lawton (GIM, Saskatoon)

Congratulations to our recent retirees:

  • Dr. Joanne Kappel (Nephrology) has retired from clinical practice. Dr. Kappel remains a USask faculty member, continuing teaching for more than 35 years in the College of Medicine.
  • Dr. Nawal Sharma (GIM) is retiring from both clinical practice and teaching. Dr. Sharma has practiced as a general internist in Saskatoon since 1984.
  • Dr. Lawrence Worobetz (Gastroenterology and Hepatology) is retiring from clinical practice but continues to serve as a faculty member in the department. Dr. Worobetz joined USask as a faculty member in 1984.

The Department of Medicine extends condolences to the family of Dr. Thomas Hurst, who died Dec. 25, 2023. Dr. Hurst was a Professor in the Department of Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine until his retirement in 2007.

STAFF UPDATES

Kathy Lanceleve is now a Commissioner of Oath. If you require notarized documents, Kathy can do this at the main department office in Saskatoon. Sherrise Mareschal is also able to notarize documents for residents. Please take advantage of their services!

Farewell to Lise LeBlanc, who had worked as a program administrator for our Core IM program since November 2023. Lise has moved into a new role in the Department of Family Medicine. Brendan McCann will take her place May 21.

Congratulations to Nicole Craft, our interim Finance and Administration Coordinator, who has accepted a new position as Finance and Administrative Research Officer in the School of Rehabilitation Sciences. Sheena Kaiser returns from leave on June 3.

 

PROGRAM UPDATES

Dr. Brittany Waller (Dermatology) will serve as program director for the Department of Medicine’s newly accredited five-year dermatology residency program. The program will welcome its first resident in July 2024. Program activities will be primarily located at the College of Medicine’s Regina campus. Read more.

RESEARCH UPDATE

As we move towards summer, we would like to take the opportunity to update you on some of the research activities of the department.

We were excited to hold our Department of Medicine Research Day on Friday, May 3. This was a hybrid (in-person and virtual) event. At our research day, we had six divisions and multiple regions of the province represented. The topics were varied, from biomedical to clinical to population-based research, showing the diversity of research in our department. All the presentations and projects were amazing, and it was great to see excellent research underway in our department.

We want to highlight three presentations that have received research awards. These were:

  • First place: Dr. Kerri Schellenberg, Division of Neurology, Title: “ALS Health Care Provider Wellness.”
  • Second place: Dr. Michael Prystajecky, Division of General Internal Medicine, Title: “Virtual multidisciplinary preoperative assessment: a pilot study.”
  • Third place: Dr. Erika Penz, Division of Respirology, Title: “Premature loss of life in a cohort of patients with COPD and Lung Cancer in Saskatchewan: A Retrospective study.”

We are grateful to the judges at the Research Day for their time and careful considerations.

Once again, we were fortunate to offer an internal DOM research grant funding competition this year. Thanks to all of you who applied as well as to all the reviewers involved in adjudication. Congratulations to the grant recipients:

  • Co-PIs Drs. Jay Shavadia, Gudrun Caspar-Bell, and George Katselis (Dr. Viktor A. Pollak and Mirka B. Pollak Cardiology Research Fund)
  • PI Dr. Jeff Marciniuk (DoM General Research Fund)
  • PI Dr. Sabira Valiani (DoM General Research Fund)
  • PI Dr. Rob Skomro (DoM General Research Fund)

We are already planning our research activities for the next academic year. This includes our research lunch and learns (RLL). In the fall 2023-24, we hosted two RLLs. At the first, we went over some of the research supports in the department and beyond; and at the second, we focused on tips related to grant writing and review. In the winter, the first RLL focused on "Telling Your Research Story," with Leslie-Anne Schlosser, Director of Research, Profile and Impact with the USask Office of the Vice-President Research. In the second Kevin Read, Associate Librarian, USask Research Support Services presented "Tri-agency Data Management Policy." Tri-Agency funders (SSHRC, CIHR, and NSERC) and scholarly publishers are increasingly requiring that researchers manage and share their research data (for more information see Tri-Agency RDM Policy). In the 2024-25 academic year, we plan to have more research activities to inform the DoM faculty and residents about Research Data Management and related upcoming requirements.

RLLs are hybrid events (with a small lunch provided) and the recordings are available at the DoM SharePoint site. If you have any suggestions for the RLLs in the 2024-25 academic year please contact Dr. Ozlem Sari, the DoM Research Facilitator.

Our researchers continue to be active with faculty obtaining recent funding as well as department members presenting at upcoming conferences. Of note, we would like to congratulate Dr. Angelica Lang on her successful Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) project grant titled: “Shoulder dysfunction and breast cancer treatment: biomechanical analysis of the impact of reconstruction and mastectomy.”

Recently, the University of Saskatchewan launched a new initiative to support researchers applying for CIHR funding. It is called the Amplified Internal Review Program which includes a longitudinal approach as well as access to a support team to aid in the development of a CIHR grant. Information about the program can be found here. We encourage you to look into this opportunity, especially if you are new to applying to CIHR.

Please remember that there are several research grant deadlines approaching in the next few months. We encourage you to start looking ahead to these and planning for future projects.  If you are looking into research opportunities or would like to speak with someone about moving into research or advancing your program, please contact Dr. Ozlem Sari, the DOM Research Facilitator.

Finally, Dr. Josh Lawson will return from his sabbatical on July 1, 2024.

Best of luck in your research activities!

Dr. Rob Skomro 
Acting Director of Research, Department of Medicine

GETTING TO KNOW...

 Researcher profile: Dr. Alex Rajput (Neurology).

 Researcher profile: Dr. Donna Goodridge (Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine).

 Administrator profile: Sherrise Mareschal, program administrator.

CELEBRATING OUR SUCCESS

 

USask Distinguished Professor

Dr. John Gordon (Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) has been appointed a University of Saskatchewan distinguished professor, in recognition of exceptional achievements in research, scholarly and artistic work. Read more.

RDoC award winner

Congratulations to Janna Ethier, program administrator for the Core Internal Medicine program, who recently received the national Resident Doctors of Canada (RDoC) Award for Service to Resident Doctors, in recognition of her efforts to improve resident wellness and implement systems change. Read more.

CIHR funding

Congratulations to Dr. Angelica Lang (Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health), who has received a four-year, $348,076 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) grant for her project titled “Shoulder dysfunction and breast cancer treatment: biomechanical analysis of the impact of reconstruction and mastectomy.” Read more.

Publication of note

Congratulation to a team of researchers led by Dr. Julian Tam (Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) and Dr. Juan Ianowski, a faculty member in the CoM’s Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, who recently published a paper in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine detailing the function of pulmonary ionocyte cells in cystic fibrosis (CF). This work could open the door for new and innovative treatments for CF. Read more about their work.

Sharing research with TedX talk

Dr. Michael Levin (Neurology, Saskatchewan MS Clinical Research Chair), was part of USask’s TedX event in January. You can watch Dr. Levin’s presentation online now, titled “Stopping MS and ALS in their tracks.”

Dr. Levin’s work was recently published in Nature Communications, in a publication titled “hnRNP A1 dysfunction alters RNA splicing and drives neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis (MS).”

Research Expo winners

The 31st annual USask Life and Health Sciences Research Expo was held on May 2. Two students supervised by Dr. Michael Levin (Neurology, Saskatchewan MS Clinical Research Chair) were finalists. Miranda Messmer received second place in the Basic Science 2 category. Kaitland Fior received first place in the Undergraduate Research 1 category.

Researchers Under the Scope

Department of Medicine faculty were recently featured on the CoM’s Researchers Under the Scope podcast:

Dr. Sabira Valiani (GIM) discussed how her experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic motivated her research focused on improving patient and family experiences in the intensive care unit.

Dr. Haissam Haddad (Provincial Head, Department of Medicine) discussed his career as a cardiologist, as well as the importance of research, including his work establishing the University of Saskatchewan’s Cardiovascular Research Group.

Physician reflects on reconciliation

Dr. Jarol Boan (GIM) recently released a book titled The Medicine Chest: A Physician’s Journey Towards Reconciliation. Dr. Boan reflects on medical racism and examines the barriers facing Indigenous people within the healthcare system from her own perspective as a settler physician. The book is available through University of Regina Press and other booksellers.

LungSask recognition

Dr. Donna Goodridge (Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) was recently recognized as one of four Lung Ambassadors by LungSask at its 2024 LungSask Cabaret event.

UPCOMING EVENTS

 

Cardio-oncology lecture

The Department of Medicine and Royal University Hospital Foundation present the second in a series of cardio-oncology lectures, featuring Dr. Susan Dent, a breast cancer medical oncologist, Co-Director of Cardio-Oncology and Associate Director of Breast Cancer Clinical Research at Duke University.

Wednesday, June 19, 8 – 9 a.m., Vivian K. Asher Theatre (Room G763, RUH).

Dr. Erika Penz: Sanctum Survivor

Dr. Erika Penz (Division Head, Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is participating in the 2024 Sanctum 36 Hour Challenge. You can donate to Dr. Penz’ fundraising campaign until June 15, 2024.

 2024 Highlights in Medicine Conference and Reunion

The 2024 Highlights in Medicine Conference and Reunion features educational lectures combined with USask Medicine alumni class reunions. This year's event takes place from June 20 to 22 in Saskatoon. More information.

Upcoming research funding deadlines

CoMRAD Awards:

 Applications are open for the 2024 College of Medicine Research Awards (CoMRAD). Expressions of interest are due by June 19.

Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) Deadlines:

DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE IN THE NEWS

USask College of Medicine launches dermatology program (Dr. Brittany Waller, Dermatology). Global News: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvyLOtGm0fk

Former SaskEnergy worker who claimed he developed leukemia due to his work dies, Canadian Occupational Safety (Dr. Niels Koehncke, Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health): https://www.thesafetymag.com/ca/topics/safety-and-ppe/former-saskenergy-worker-who-claimed-he-developed-leukemia-due-to-his-work-dies/483545

A former SaskEnergy employee who claimed his cancer was linked to gas exposure has died, CTV News Saskatoon (Dr. Niels Koehncke, Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health): https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/a-former-saskenergy-employee-who-claimed-his-cancer-was-linked-to-gas-exposure-has-died-1.6828513

The Evan Bray Show Segments, 980 CJME Regina (Dr. Jarol Boan, GIM): https://www.cjme.com/2024/04/02/the-evan-bray-show-segments-tuesday-april-2nd/

Urgent care: Regina physician chronicles the medical system’s built-in racism towards Indigenous people, Winnipeg Free Press (Dr. Jarol Boan, GIM): https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/books/2024/03/29/urgent-care

‘I Am on a Path of Discovering My Own Racism’ The Tyee (Dr. Jarol Boan, GIM): https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2024/03/20/Path-Discovering-Own-Racism/

Saskatchewan research aims to improve the quality of life for breast cancer survivors, CJWW Radio (Dr. Angelica Lang, Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health): https://www.cjwwradio.com/2024/03/20/190188/

Provincial organization looking to educate about syphilis as rates climb, MBC Radio (Dr. Cara Spence, Infectious Diseases): https://www.mbcradio.com/2024/03/provincial-organization-looking-to-educate-about-syphilis-as-rates-climb

Rare cell type in lungs found to regulate airway liquid pH, Cystic Fibrosis News Today (Dr. Julian Tam, Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine): https://cysticfibrosisnewstoday.com/news/rare-cell-type-lungs-regulates-airway-liquid-ph-cf-study-finds/

IN THIS ISSUE

  • A message from the provincial head
  • Faculty updates
  • Research update
  • Researcher profiles
  • Administrator profile
  • Celebrating our success
  • Upcoming events
  • Reminders
  • In the news

Dr. Haissam Haddad.

MESSAGE FROM THE PROVINCIAL HEAD

Happy New Year to all of our department members. I hope that the recent holiday season offered you a chance to rest and spend time with loved ones.

Early this year we welcomed some new Saskatoon and Regina-based faculty members to the department. To our new faculty: we are happy you have brought your expertise to the College of Medicine, and I hope you will fully engage with us as we support our learners in their growth.

Late last fall our department underwent accreditation site visits for our postgraduate programs. Our program directors, admin staff, faculty, residents, and fellows put considerable efforts into the process, and I am grateful for their work. The full results of this process will be announced by the College of Medicine in the coming months. Thank you also to our staff, program directors, residency program committee and faculty and resident volunteers for their work facilitating the recent Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) interview process for our core internal medicine and neurology programs.

I’d also like to express my gratitude and appreciation for our department members, particularly within our Division of General Internal Medicine, who have been working extremely hard to meet the demands for clinical service. The continued overcapacity and challenges to system flow are causing significant stress for our faculty, residents and trainees. I recognize that you are doing your best and are accomplishing so much. We see your hard work, and appreciate what you are doing for the people of this province during this difficult time.

Despite the difficulties we are facing, our members have had so many positive accomplishments over the past year. I hope you will join your colleagues in fellowship and in celebration of these successes during our annual banquet on Friday, May 10. Please mark this in your calendars now, with more details to come.

Sincerely,

Dr. Haissam Haddad, O.C.

Provincial Head

FACULTY UPDATES

Welcome to our new Saskatoon faculty members:

  • Dr. Idris Bare (Cardiology)
  • Dr. Rochelle Savard (Neurology)
  • Dr. Prateek Kundapur (Gastroenterology)
  • Dr. Elizabeth Rhynold (Geriatric Medicine)

We also welcome Dr. Ingi El Sayed to the Division of Nephrology in Regina.

Dr. Erika Penz is now Division Head of Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine in Saskatoon. Thank you to Dr. Robert Skomro for serving as interim division head and to Dr. Mark Fenton, who served in the role previously.

Dr. Josh Lawson, our Department’s Director of Research, will be on sabbatical until July 1, 2024. Dr. Robert Skomro will serve as Interim Director.

RESEARCH UPDATE

Dr. Josh Lawson.

Moving into the new year, we look forward to continuing our research activities. This includes our research lunch and learns (RLL). In the fall, we hosted two RLLs. At the first, we went over some of the research supports in the department and beyond and at the second, we focused on tips related to grant writing and review. In the new year, we will hold two more RLLs so look for emails. We are once again holding these RLLs in person with a small lunch provided!

We have booked our faculty research day for Friday May 3, 2024. Please put this date into your calendars. This is an excellent opportunity to come out and see some of the research being conducted in the department as well as meet the researchers. More details will follow.

Once again, we were fortunate to offer an internal DOM research grant funding competition. Thank you to all of you who submitted an application as well as to all the reviewers involved. Results will be released soon!

The College of Medicine recently invited nominations for various research awards. The Department of Medicine had three members (teams) who were recipients of these awards. We would like to congratulate Dr. Ali Rajput for the Career Achievement Award, Dr. Alexandra King for the Annual Achievement Award, and Dr. Stuart Skinner and the Wellness Wheel Team for the Mingling Minds Award. Congratulations everyone!!

Recently, the University of Saskatchewan (USask) launched a new initiative to support researchers applying for Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) funding. It is called the Amplified Internal Review Program. The program will include a longitudinal approach as well as access to a support team to aid in the development of a CIHR grant. Information about the program can be found here. We encourage you to look into this opportunity, especially if you are new to applying to CIHR.

Please remember that there are several research grant deadlines approaching in the next few months. We encourage you to start looking ahead to these and planning for future projects.  If you are looking into research opportunities or would like to speak with someone about moving into research or advancing your program, please contact Dr. Ozlem Sari (ozlem.sari@usask.ca), the DOM Research Facilitator.

Finally, I am currently on sabbatical. Dr. Rob Skomro has kindly agreed to take on the role of Director of Research during this time. Please contact Rob if you have any questions related to research in the department.

Best of luck in all of your research activities!

Dr. Josh Lawson
Director of Research, Department of Medicine

Upcoming Research Lunch & Learns:

  • Friday, March 1: "Telling Your Research Story," with Leslie-Anne Schlosser,  Director of Research, Profile and Impact with the USask Office of the Vice-President Research. Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health - James Dosman Boardroom (1254) and online via Zoom. 
  • Friday, March 22: "Tri-agency Data Management Policy," with Kevin Read MLIS MAS, Associate Librarian, Research Support Services USask. Location TBD and online via Zoom. 

GETTING TO KNOW...

Dr. Julie Kosteniuk Researcher profile: Dr. Julie Kosteniuk (Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health)

Dr. Donald Cockcroft Researcher profile: Dr. Donald Cockcroft (Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine)

Lise LeBlanc Administrator profile: Lise LeBlanc, (Core Internal Medicine program)

CELEBRATING OUR SUCCESS

 Dr. Angelica Lang 

Emerging scholar earns cancer grant

Congratulations to Dr. Angelica Lang (Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health), who was awarded a 2023 Canadian Cancer Society Emerging Scholar Research Grant, totaling $492,000 over five years. Dr. Lang’s research project is titled “Improving post-treatment dysfunction for breast cancer survivors.” She is investigating how different types of breast cancer treatment and reconstruction procedures affect arm and shoulder movement, to inform decision-making for people living with and beyond breast cancer.

Shaping the future of shoulder health
Dr. Lang's work on shoulder pain was recently featured in the latest episode of Researchers Under the Scope.

College of Medicine Fall Awards

Dr. Nassrein Hussein. 

Excellence in Teaching Award: Dr. Nassrein Hussein (Division Head, Endocrinology & Metabolism): Dr. Hussein was recognized for her skill, dedication, compassion, and collaborative approach in teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, remaining student-centered and making learners feel valued. This award honours faculty for significant contributions to the teaching mission of the College of Medicine, and is an acknowledgement by their peers and students as being exceptional in practicing their art and craft.

Dr. Alex Wong.  

Continuing Medical Education (CME) Teaching Excellence Award: Dr. Alexander Wong (Infectious Diseases): Dr. Wong was recognized for exhibiting exceptional knowledge, superior communication skills, and for creating an engaging experience with CME learners.

The Continuing Medical Education Teaching Excellence Award recognizes a College of Medicine faculty member who colleagues, learners, and participants deem as excellent in their teaching at the CME level.

Dr. Alexandra King.  

Annual Excellence in Research Award: Dr. Alexandra King (GIM, Cameco Chair in Indigenous Health and Wellness): Dr. King was recognized for her leadership, commitment to capacity building, and dedication to the health and well-being of Indigenous People, land and culture-based healing, ethics in Indigenous Research, HIV, HCV, and co-infections, and health system and service transformation.

The Annual Excellence in Research Award recognizes faculty in the College of Medicine who have exhibited the highest level of excellence and had a significant impact on research over the past year.

Dr. Ali Rajput.  

Research Career Achievement Award: Dr. Ali Rajput (Neurology): Dr. Rajput was recognized for his leadership, innovation, and capacity building through his research in Parkinson’s disease, establishment of the Saskatchewan Movement Disorders Program, and impact on patient care. The Research Career Achievement Award recognizes recognizes faculty in the College of Medicine who have had significant research impact over the course of their career.

Wellness Wheel team.  

Mingling Minds Award: Wellness Wheel Team (includes Dr. Stuart Skinner, Division Head Infectious Diseases Regina): The Wellness Wheel team was recognized for their innovation, public engagement, and dedication in delivery of a culturally-responsive, community-driven model of care and research in the First Nations communities they serve.

The Mingling Minds in Research Award recognizes individuals or teams in the College of Medicine who have exhibited the highest commitment to conducting inter-disciplinary research and/or to approaching research areas with novel, outside of the box approaches.

Dr. Debra Morgan.  

RaDAR Memory Clinic spotlight

A recently released video chronicles the work of the Rural Dementia Action Research (RaDAR) Memory Clinics, overseen by Dr. Debra Morgan (Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health). The video demonstrates the success of one of the clinics in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan.

Accreditation Canada logo.

Stroke team recognition

The Saskatchewan Health Authority and Royal University Hospital recently received Accreditation Canada’s Stroke Distinction award, presented at the recent World Stroke Congress 2023. This award recognizes the work of the team in improving systems of stroke care, which includes our faculty members in the Division of Neurology and their work on the stroke prevention program. The stroke distinction program is a highly specialized quality improvement program developed in partnership with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. Congratulations to the neurology stroke team on this success.  

UPCOMING EVENTS

 SAVE THE DATE:

  • Department of Medicine faculty research day, Friday, May 4.
  • Department of Medicine annual banquet, Friday, May 10.
Research Lunch & Learns:
  • Friday, March 1: "Telling Your Research Story," with Leslie-Anne Schlosser,  Director of Research, Profile and Impact with the USask Office of the Vice-President Research. Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health - James Dosman Boardroom (1254) and online via Zoom. 
  • Friday, March 22: "Tri-agency Data Management Policy," with Kevin Read MLIS MAS, Associate Librarian, Research Support Services USask. Location TBD and online via Zoom. 

Black history month at USask

Black History Month is a time to reflect, learn and honour the legacy of Black Canadians. This year’s Black History Month theme at USask is Celebrating Black Experiences: Arts, Literature and More. Throughout the month of February, read stories of the lived experiences of Black Canadians, take part in events, and celebrate the unique contributions of the Black community in many different areas and disciplines across Saskatchewan and beyond. View a list of College of Medicine-specific events on the Division of Social Accountability’s (DSA) webpage.

 

Health & Science Research Expo

Registration opens Feb. 12 for the USask Life & Health Sciences Research Expo! This event is open to all USask graduate students, undergraduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and dentistry and medical residents. More than $5,000 in prizes are available!

The Royal University Hospital Cardiology Update 2024

Hosted in partnership with the Division of Cardiology and Continuing Medical Education, this event will be held in-person in Saskatoon on Saturday, May 4, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Find out more.

DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE IN THE NEWS

Saskatoon Dermatology Centre closes doors to non-urgent patients, Global News Canada (Dr. Kyle Cullingham, Dermatology): https://globalnews.ca/news/10038625/saskatoon-dermatology-centre-closes-doors-to-non-urgent-patients/

‘You just get forgotten. Pushed aside’: Sask. family grapples with difficulty in accessing specialist care, CTV News: https://regina.ctvnews.ca/you-just-get-forgotten-pushed-aside-sask-family-grapples-with-difficulty-in-accessing-specialist-care-1.6702878

University of Saskatchewan researcher studies shoulder pain in farm works, StarPhoenix (Dr. Angelica Lang, Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health): https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/university-of-saskatchewan-researcher-studies-shoulder-pain-in-farm-workers

Patient profile: Devin Gerun, RUH Foundation Milestones (Dr. Jason Orvold, Cardiology): https://ruhf.org/devin-gerun/

The College of Medicine’s Connective Issue online magazine features Dr. Haissam Haddad (Provincial Head) and Dr. Rachel Asiniwasis (Dermatology):  https://medicine.usask.ca/connective-issue/index.php

IN THIS ISSUE

  • A message from the provincial head
  • Faculty and staff updates
  • Annual report
  • Research Info
  • Researcher spotlight
  • Researcher profile
  • Administrator profile
  • Celebrating our success
  • Upcoming events
  • Reminders
  • In the news

Dr. Haissam Haddad.

MESSAGE FROM THE PROVINCIAL HEAD

In this newsletter I am pleased to present our annual report. This report details the work of our department members from Jan. 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. Thank you to all our division leaders who assisted in compiling this information.  

In this newsletter we also highlight several faculty achievements, including the good news of renewed funding for both of our department research chairs, Dr. Alexandra King, the Cameco Chair in Indigenous Health and Wellness and Dr. Michale Levin, the Saskatchewan MS Clinical Research Chair.

I’d also like to extend a warm welcome to our new faculty members joining the department in Regina, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw and North Battleford.

Please enjoy this newsletter and continue to reach out to share your successes.  

Dr. Haissam Haddad, O.C.

Provincial Head

FACULTY UPDATES

Welcome to our new faculty members in the Department of Medicine:

Cardiology:

  • Dr. Min-Shien Chen (Regina)
  • Dr. Dominique Kushneriuk (Saskatoon)

Endocrinology:

  • Dr. Reza Behdani (Saskatoon)

Gastroenterology:

  • Dr. Jennifer Bailey (Saskatoon)
  • Dr. Landon Tam (Regina)
  • Dr. Erik Vantomme (Regina)

General Internal Medicine:

  • Dr. Sejlo Koshoedo (North Battleford)
  • Dr. Amanda Oro (Saskatoon)
  • Dr. Justin Simms (Regina)

Infectious Diseases:

  • Dr. Jack Janvier (Saskatoon)

Neurology:

  • Dr. Eric Noyes (Saskatoon)
  • Dr. Asif Sheriff (Regina)

Respirology:

  • Dr. Keren-Happuch Ho (Regina)

Rheumatology:

  • Dr. Sohail Awan (Moose Jaw)

Dr. Stuart Skinner has resumed the role of division head of Infectious Diseases in Regina, thank you to Dr. Kumudhini Karunakaran for serving as interim division head.

STAFF UPDATES

Melissa Pardy is now supporting the internal medicine undergraduate medical education (UGME) program.

Lise LeBlanc will join the Department on Nov. 13, filling the program administrator role for Core Internal Medicine.

ANNUAL REPORT

The Department of Medicine’s annual report is now available online. This report spans Jan, 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023.

RESEARCH UPDATE

Dr. Josh Lawson.

Welcome back to the new academic year!

Moving into the new academic year, we look forward to starting our research activities. This includes our Research Lunch and Learns. On October 13, we held our first event where we discussed some of the research supports in the department and beyond. In November, we held a lunch and learn that will focus on tips related to grant writing and include advice from faculty who have sat on various review panels. These presentations were recorded and are available on the department’s research Sharepoint site (accessed with NSID).

Our researchers continue to be active with faculty obtaining recent funding as well as department members presenting at upcoming conferences. Of note, we would like to congratulate Dr. Angelica Lang who was successful at receiving tri-council funding. Her successful NSERC application will allow her to look at methods to study scapular kinematics.

Recently, the University of Saskatchewan launched a new initiative to support researchers applying for CIHR funding. It is called the Amplified Internal Review Program. The program will include a longitudinal approach as well as access to a support team to aid in the development of a CIHR grant. Information about the program can be found here. We encourage you to look into this opportunity, especially if you are new to applying to CIHR.

Please remember that there are several research grant deadlines approaching in the next few months. We encourage you to start looking ahead to these and planning for future projects.  If you are looking into research opportunities or would like to speak with someone about moving into research or advancing your program, please contact Dr. Ozlem Sari, the department’s Research Facilitator.

Best of luck in all of your research activities!

Dr. Josh Lawson

Director of Research, Department of Medicine 

GETTING TO KNOW...

Dr. Michael Levin.

Researcher spotlight: Dr. Michael Levin, Saskatchewan MS Clinical Research Chair (Neurology, Saskatoon)

Dr. Sabira Valiani.

Researcher profile: Dr. Sabira Valiani (GIM, Saskatoon)

Sarah Zdunich. A white woman with long blonde hair.

Administrator profile: Sarah Zdunich

CELEBRATING OUR SUCCESS

Dr. Alexandra King. An Indigenous woman wearing an orange scarf.

Cameco Chair extended

Dr. Alexandra King (GIM) is the Cameco Chair in Indigenous Health and Wellness at the University of Saskatchewan’s (USask) College of Medicine, has received a $1.25 million commitment from Royal University Hospital Foundation to extend the work of the chair for an additional five years. Since joining USask as the inaugural chair in 2017, Dr. King has carried out extensive and innovative research to improve the health outcomes of Indigenous people in Canada.

Dr. Michael Levin is pictured in a research lab. A white man wearing a lab coat.

MS Chair extended

Dr. Michael Levin (Neurology) is the Saskatchewan Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Clinical Research Chair. The Saskatoon City Hospital Foundation recently announced new funding of $750,000 to the USask College of Medicine to support the work of the chair for the next three years. Dr. Levin, along with his team of researchers have been working to develop medications that can inhibit the nerve cell damage that occurs due to diseases such as MS.

Two women speak at a press conference.

New Seizure Investigation Unit at RUH

A newly renovated unit at Royal University Hospital will facilitate enhanced monitoring and diagnostic services for patients with seizure disorders or epilepsy. The new Seizure Investigation Unit (SIU) opened in September, with $1.2 million in funding for capital and equipment costs from Royal University Hospital Foundation and $1 million from the Government of Saskatchewan. Dr. Cassandra Fleury (pictured left) and Dr. Alexandra Carter (Neurology) are pictured speaking at the SIU grand opening.

Dr. Shelley Kirychuk. A white woman with short hair, stands outside the USask Health Sciences building.

$1.5 million gift creates rural opportunity

The Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health held a renaming event in late September. At the event, the Centre announced a “transformative” $1.5 million gift, which will allow the Centre to create a mobile unit to help serve rural communities across Saskatchewan.

Dr. Angelica Lang is pictured in her lab, a white woman with shoulder length brown hair.

NSERC achievement

Dr. Angelica Lang (Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health) recently received a grant from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Read more about how Dr. Lang is using stop motion camera systems to measure and analyze shoulder motion.

Dr. Angelica Lang is pictured left beside Dr. Sabira Valiani.

SHRF Success

Congratulations to two department members, who received 2023-24 Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) Align Grants:

  • Angelica Lang (Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health), “Exploring Musculoskeletal Health Needs After Gender-Affirming Surgery”
  • Sabira Valiani (GIM), “Identifying Bereavement Support Gaps for People Who Have Lost a Loved One in a Saskatoon Intensive Care Unit”

Dr. Haissam Haddad.

Career achievement award

Congratulations to Dr. Haissam Haddad, Provincial Head of the Department of Medicine, who has received the Canadian Heart Failure Society (CHFS) Annual Achievement Award.

This award is presented on a yearly basis to an individual with highly respected attributes, whose career has significantly contributed to the academic, research or clinical scopes of heart failure.

Dr. Haddad was selected by the CHFS Nominations and Awards Committee for this honour, and was presented with the award at the 2023 CHFS Annual General Meeting on Oct. 27, 2023.

Dr. Nawal Sharma.

SMA Physician of the Year

Dr. Nawal Sharma (GIM) was recently honoured as the 2023 Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) Physician of the Year during a ceremony held in conjunction with the SMA’s Fall Representative Assembly. Dr. Sharma has served as an internist in Saskatoon for nearly 40 years, including 18 years as Chief of Medicine at Saskatoon City Hospital and five years as acting Clinical Head of the Department of Medicine for the Saskatoon Health Region.

Dr. Guruswamy Sridhar.

Inaugural SMA Service Award

Dr. Guruswamy Sridhar (Respirology) received the first SMA Service Award during the fall assembly. Dr. Sridhar is a member of the Division of Respirology in Regina and established the Regina Sleep Disorders Program, which serves southern Saskatchewan. He is a former SMA president and is one of the 33 Very Involved Physicians of the Canadian Medical Association.

Dr. Gary Hunter.

Exemplary faculty

Congratulations to Dr. Gary Hunter (Neurology Division Head), who was selected to receive the Post-Graduate Medical Education (PGME) Award for Exemplary Role Model Faculty Member for the 2022-23 academic year.

The award recognizes faculty members who have excelled as a role model for resident learning in University of Saskatchewan residency training programs.

The selection committee commended Dr. Hunter on his demonstration of the values and principles of the College of Medicine, leading by example, demonstrating moral integrity and courage, and making significant contributions to a positive learning and organizational culture in USask residency training programs.

Dr. Hunter was recognized at the PGME Celebration Night and awards ceremony on Friday, Oct. 27.

Dr. Munawar Peer.

Professional accolades

Dr. Munawar Peer, a third-year Internal Medicine resident in Regina, was awarded the Excellence in the CanMEDS Professional Role award at the PGME event. Peer was recognized for his professional excellence as well as demonstrated role model behaviours.

Resident research days

Fall resident research days were held on Oct. 24 and 31. PGY3 residents in both Regina and Saskatoon presented on their quality improvement research from their PGY2. Congratulations to all the participants!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Dr. Margot Davis.

Cardiology lecture

The first presentation in a five-year cardiology visiting lecture series will be held Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 12 p.m. in the Vivian K. Asher Theatre, Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon. This lecture titled The Evolving Role of the Cardio-Oncologist in Cancer Care, will feature Dr. Margot K. Davis, a cardiologist at Vancouver General Hospital and St. Paul’s Hospital, a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia and Director of the UBC Cardiology-Oncology Program and the UBC Cardiac Amyloidosis Clinic. All faculty are welcome to attend. For a Zoom link, email Kaylene Unger.

STEPS STBBI Fall Virtual Classroom Series:

  • Nov. 15: Dr. Alexander Wong (Infectious Diseases), Treating Syphilis.
  • Nov. 23: Dr. Victoria Tian (GIM), Preventing Substance-Use Related Infections.
  • Dec. 6: Dr. Alexander Wong (Infectious Diseases), Chlamydia & Gonorrhea: An Overview for Health Care Providers.

More information.

Save-the-date: The Department of Medicine’s annual holiday lunch will be held on Dec. 12 at the department office in Saskatoon. 

DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE IN THE NEWS

University of Saskatchewan welcomes $7 million in health research funding, StarPhoenix (Dr. Alexandra King, GIM): https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/university-of-saskatchewan-welcomes-7-million-in-health-research-funding

Self-determination and inclusion central to Indigenous health in Sask., say experts, StarPhoenix (Dr. Alexandra King, GIM): https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/self-determination-and-inclusion-central-to-indigenous-health-in-sask-say-experts

Saskatchewan’s first dedicated Seizure Investigation Unit opens, CJWW Radio: https://www.cjwwradio.com/2023/09/14/176422/

Seizure and epilepsy unit opens at Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital, CKOM (Dr. Alexandra Carter, Neurology): https://www.ckom.com/2023/09/14/seizure-and-epilepsy-unit-opens-at-saskatoons-royal-university-hospital/

New unit will help epilepsy patients in Sask. (Dr. Alexandra Carter, Neurology): https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/new-unit-will-help-epilepsy-patients-in-sask-1.6562352

Dedicated seizure, epilepsy unit opens at Royal University Hospital, StarPhoenix (Dr. Alexandra Carter and Dr. Cassandra Fleury, Neurology): https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/dedicated-seizure-epilepsy-unit-opens-at-royal-university-hospital

$1.5 million dollar donation for new mobile health unit for rural Saskatchewan, CJWW Radio (Dr. Shelley Kirychuk, CCRAH): https://www.cjwwradio.com/2023/09/29/177666/

Saskatoon City Hospital Foundation Proud to Support Vital MS Research in Saskatchewan, USask News: https://medicine.usask.ca/news/2023/saskatoon-city-hospital-foundation-proud-to-support-vital-ms-research-in-saskatchewan.php

Vital multiple sclerosis research at USask to continue with $750,000 donation from Saskatoon City Hospital Foundation, USask News (Dr. Michael Levin, Neurology): https://news.usask.ca/articles/research/2023/vital-multiple-sclerosis-research-at-usask-to-continue-with-750,000-donation-from-saskatoon-city-hospital-foundation.php

$750,000 gift boosts ground-breaking MS research at USask, SaskToday (Dr. Michale Levin, Neurology):  https://www.sasktoday.ca/highlights/750000-gift-boosts-ground-breaking-ms-research-at-usask-7661775

Sask. liver doctor who splits time with military trauma duties says more support needed, CBC News (Dr. Nabeel Samad, Gastroenterology and Hepatology): https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/liver-specialist-splits-time-patients-military-1.7006804

Province tells doctors it has no plans to fund supervised consumption sites in Sask., CBC News Saskatoon (Dr. Benjamin Leis, GIM): Province tells doctors it has no plans to fund supervised consumption sites in Sask. | CBC News

IN THIS ISSUE

  • A message from the provincial head
  • Faculty updates
  • Staff updates
  • CCHSA Renaming
  • Research Info
  • Researcher profile
  • Administrator profile
  • Celebrating our success
  • Upcoming events
  • Reminders
  • Other news

Dr. Haissam Haddad.

MESSAGE FROM THE PROVINCIAL HEAD

Welcome to the newest group of residents to our Core Internal Medicine (IM) program and our subspecialities, who joined us in July.

I’d like to congratulate several of our faculty who recently received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) as well as those who received funding from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF). I am proud of the excellent research work being conducted by our Department of Medicine faculty.

I hope that everyone has found some time to relax and recharge this summer, as we are now only a few weeks away from the start of the academic year. Please take time to care for yourselves while devoting energy and effort into your clinical, research and teaching activities in the coming months.  

Dr. Haissam Haddad, O.C.

Provincial Head

FACULTY UPDATES

  • Congratulations to Dr. Vernon Hoeppner (Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine), who retired on June 30, 2023 after 46 years at the University of Saskatchewan (USask). Dr. Hoeppner is now a professor emeritus.
  • Congratulations to the following faculty who received promotions on July 1, 2023: Dr. Niels Koehncke (Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health), professor; Dr. Veronica Marcoux (Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine), associate professor; Dr. Michael Prystajecky (GIM), associate professor; Dr. Rabia Shahid (GIM), associate professor; Dr. Jay Shavadia (Cardiology), associate professor.
  • Dr. Bryan Evans (GIM) took leave from the department in July to begin a two-year fellowship in infectious disease at the University of Alberta.
  • Welcome to Dr. Julie Kosteniuk, PhD (Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health), who became a faculty member in the department on July 1, 2023. Dr. Kosteniuk was previously a professional research associate with the centre. 
  • Farewell to Dr. Syed Amin (Nephrology), who left the department on July 1, 2023. Thank you to Dr. Amin for his leadership as Division Head of Nephrology in Regina. Dr. Bonnie Richardson is serving as interim division head.
  • Thank you to Dr. Alia Teja (GIM) for her leadership as program director of the General Internal Medicine residency program. Dr. Teja has relocated to Alberta. Dr. Jill Newstead-Angel (GIM) has taken over the role of program director.
  • Dr. Arwa Gargoum has moved from the Regina Division of General Internal Medicine (GIM) to Regina’s nephrology division.
  • Dr. Robert Skomro will serve as acting Division Head for Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine in Saskatoon from Aug. 21, 2023 to Nov. 30, 2023. Thank you to Dr. Mark Fenton for his contributions as outgoing Division Head.

STAFF UPDATES

Angela Loehndorf.

  • Congratulations to Angela Loehndorf (pictured above) who celebrated 25 years with the Department of Medicine in May. Loehndorf is the program administrator for the neurology and respirology residency programs.
  • Finance and admin coordinator Courtney Morrison has moved to a new position in the College of Medicine, managing the School of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
  • Melissa Pardy returned to the Core IM program administration team on July 24. Nicole Craft has accepted the position of finance and admin coordinator until Sheena Kaiser returns from parental leave.  
  • Tenille Shivak, program assistant for undergraduate medical education (UGME), has moved to a new role as a clerical assistant (human research ethics) with the USask Office of the Vice-President Research (OVPR). 

CCHSA RENAMING

CCRAH logo.

The Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture (CCHSA) changed its name to the Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health on June 1, 2023.

RESEARCH INFO

Dr. Josh Lawson.

RESEARCH UPDATE

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer! While it is a sign that our summer is moving forward too quickly, we are already preparing our research activities for the new academic year. 

On May 24, we held our first methods workshop. It focused on statistical analyses and sample size calculations. Moving into the new academic year, we will hold additional workshops as well as continue having our research lunch and learns. As part of this, we will hold a lunch and learn that will focus on tips related to grant writing and include advice from faculty who have sat on various review panels.

Our researchers continue to be active with several faculty obtaining recent funding as well as DOM members presenting at upcoming conferences. Of note, we would like to congratulate those researchers successful in receiving CIHR funding, including Dr. Alexandra King who was recently awarded a CIHR Project grant as the principal investigator, which was titled: “Kiskemisowin (the gathering of knowledge to remind you who you are): Co-creating Community- and Nation-led digital archives for Indigenous health and wellness knowledge promotion and preservation.” Dr. John Gordon is a co-PI on the CIHR Project grant “Priming MUC-16 positive ovarian and pancreatic cancer cells for immunotherapy using an alpha particle labeled radioimmunoconjugate” led by Drs. Fonge and Uppalapti, and Dr. Kerri Schellenberg is a PI for the NMD4C: neuromuscular network for Canada research project, alongside Dr. King, who is a co-investigator on this grant as well. Congratulations!

Please remember that there are several research grant deadlines approaching in the next few months. We encourage you to start looking ahead to these and planning for future projects. If you are looking into research opportunities or would like to speak with someone about moving into research or advancing your program, please contact Dr. Ozlem Sari, the DOM Research Facilitator.

Best of luck in all of your research activities!

Dr. Josh Lawson
Director of Research, Department of Medicine

GETTING TO KNOW...

Dr. Rachel Asiniwasis.

RESEARCHER PROFILE

Dr. Rachel Asiniwasis, Dermatology (Regina)

Kim Gilbert with her dogs.

ADMINISTRATOR PROFILE

Kim Gilbert, Regina Core Internal Medicine Residency Program

If you would like to be featured in our newsletter please contact Ozlem Sari or Jeanette Neufeld.

CELEBRATING OUR SUCCESS

Dr. Haissam Haddad.

Leader receives one of Canada’s highest honours

Provincial Head Dr. Haissam Haddad was appointed to the Order of Canada on June 30, 2023 for his contributions to the medical field, notably within the Ottawa Heart Institute and USask. Reflecting on the award, Dr. Haddad says it summarizes his 37 years living in Canada. Read more about his impactful career.

Dr. Regina Taylor-Gjevre.

Curriculum kudos

Congratulations to Dr. Regina Taylor-Gjevre (Division Head of Rheumatology), who won the USask Provost’s Outstanding Teacher Award this spring. The Provost’s awards are designed to recognize the outstanding contributions of staff and faculty at USask, “individuals who exemplify USask’s commitment to be the university the world needs.” Dr. Taylor-Gjevre also serves as Assistant Dean for Curriculum for the Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME) program at the College of Medicine.

Dr. Alexandra King.

Indigenous education award

Dr. Alexandra King (GIM) was part of the Indigenous Community Research Partnerships Team that won the Queen’s University 2023 Principal’s Indigenous Education Award this spring.

The award was for the team’s work on an open access educational resource focused on doing research with Indigenous communities in a good way.

Dr. Kerri Schellenberg.

CIHR Success

Dr. Kerri Schellenberg (Neurology) is part of the NMD4C: neuromuscular network for Canada research project, which was awarded $1 million in funding from CIHR with an additional $1 million in matched funding from Muscular Dystrophy Canada in May 2023. Dr. Schellenberg is the equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) lead for the project, which builds on her work studying spinobulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), a disease which has the highest known global prevalence within the Indigenous population of Saskatchewan. The CIHR project will help build on this work, ensuring greater EDI training for fellows, education seminars for carriers of the SBMA mutation and inclusion of EDI topics at national neuromuscular webinars. She is also the co-lead of the project’s clinical trials network. Dr. Alexandra King (GIM) is also a co-investigator on this grant.

Dr. Alexandra King.

Dr. Alexandra King (GIM) has been awarded $1.65 million in funding from the CIHR Spring 2023 Project Grants for a project titled "Kiskemisowin" (the gathering of knowledge to remind you who you are): Co-creating Community-and Nation-led digital archives for Indigenous health and wellness knowledge promotion and preservation. This work will entail using collaborative Indigenous research methodologies and creating digital archives designed, owned and stewarded by nations and/or communities.

Dr. John Gordon.

Dr. John Gordon (Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is co-investigator of a project that received $979,200 in funding from CIHR. Gordon is working with College of Medicine faculty Dr. Humphrey Fonge (PhD) and Dr. Maruti Uppalapati (PhD) on the project titled “Priming MUC-16 positive ovarian and pancreatic cancer cells for immunotherapy using an alpha particle labeled radioimmunoconjugate.” The researchers are developing new diagnostics and therapeutics for pancreatic and ovarian cancer. 

SHRF logo.

SHRF Success

Congratulations to several Department of Medicine faculty members who recently received 2022-23 Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) grants.

SHRF Impact Grants, May 2023:

  • Dr. Shelley Kirychuk (Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health): “Enhancing Wellness in our Miyo Wāskahikan.”
  • Dr. Benjamin Leis (GIM): “Community as Cure: A Multi-Disciplinary Endocarditis Clinical (MENDO) Pathway."
  • Dr. Erika Penz (Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine), Dr. Alexandra King (GIM): “What is the Wholistic Value Produced Through Investing in Sanctum 1.5, the First HIV Prenatal Care Home in Canada?”

SHRF Align Grants, June 2023:

  • Dr. Rabia Shahid (GIM): “Patients with Diabetes and Cancer: Treatment Experience and Challenges.”

Dr. Joshua Lawson (Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health): “Childhood Asthma and Mental Health.”

Regina General Hospital.

Regina faculty long-service awards

The College of Medicine’s Regina campus hosted a faculty appreciation dinner and awards ceremony on May 17. Congratulations to the following Department of Medicine Regina faculty who were recognized with long-service awards:

  • Dr. Zenon Belak (Respirology), 10 years
  • Dr. Ghulam Moinuddin (GIM), 10 years
  • Dr. Stuart Skinner (Infectious Diseases), 10 years
  • Dr. Payam Dehghani (Cardiology), 15 years
  • Dr. Siva Karunakaran (Nephrology), 20 years
  • Dr. Prakash Patel (Respirology), 25 years
  • Dr. Guruswamy Sridhar (Respirology), 30 years
  • Dr. Ayman Aboguddah (Cardiology), 30 years
  • Dr. Hassan Gargoum (Cardiology), 30 years

Dr. Gary Hunter.

Publication of note

Congratulations to Dr. Gary Hunter (Neurology), one of the authors of an article published in Neurology Clinical Practice. The authors detail a study showing ambulatory EEG (using a device that records EEG for 24 hours) has a higher sensitivity for showing a tendency to seizures than routine outpatient EEG, which usually lasts for 20 minutes. In the single seizure clinic model, this can help identify patients that need to stay on anti-seizure medications or may be able to discontinue medications if the test is normal. For patients in whom the diagnosis is unclear after clinical assessment and routine EEG, aEEG may improve diagnostic accuracy and lead to better outcomes for patients.  This is the first study to use aEEG in the single seizure clinic setting.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Grand rounds resume September 13, 2023.

Department clothing sale

Watch your email for a link to the upcoming Department of Medicine merchandise sale. A variety of branded apparel, mugs and customizable white coats will be available to order online between Tuesday, Sept. 5 until Monday, Sept. 18.  Orders will arrive approximately four to six weeks after the sale closes.

USask orange shirt sale

To help raise awareness and acknowledge the truth behind the Canadian residential school system, orange shirts will once again be made available through Shop USask in advance of Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation taking place on Sept. 30. Orders for orange shirts designed by Woodland Cree and Norwegian artist Vanessa Hyggen will be available through Shop USask. To order shirts and learn more about the artwork, group discounts, order deadlines, and where proceeds will be directed, visit https://shop.usask.ca/orange-shirt-day.

REMINDERS

OTHER NEWS

 

IN THIS ISSUE

  • A message from the provincial head
  • Annual awards banquet
  • Leadership updates
  • Faculty updates
  • Staff updates
  • Research Info
  • Researcher profile
  • Administrator profile
  • Celebrating our success
  • Upcoming events
  • Reminders
  • Other news

 Dr. Haissam Haddad

MESSAGE FROM THE PROVINCIAL HEAD

Our department recently gathered in-person at our annual banquet. Together we celebrated the accomplishments of faculty and residents while building community. I was happy to personally present this year’s Provincial Head Awards. While there are many deserving department members in all four categories, these awardees displayed exemplary service this year.

You will find a full list of all the award winners below. Please take the time to congratulate your colleagues and our residents on their special recognition.

As the end of the academic year approaches, we will soon say goodbye to our departing PGY3 residents from the Core Internal Medicine program. We have enjoyed supporting you in your learning and wish you well as you move on to subspecialty training.

Sincerely,

Dr. Haissam Haddad
Provincial Head, Department of Medicine

ANNUAL BANQUET

Dr. Janet Tootoosis.

The Department of Medicine’s annual banquet was held on Friday, May 12. Thank you to guest speaker Dr. Janet Tootoosis, Interim Vice-Dean Indigenous Health at the College of Medicine.  

Congratulations to the following award recipients.

Provincial Head Awards:

  • Researcher of the Year: Dr. Bhanu Prasad (Nephrology, Regina)
  • Administrator of the Year: Dr. Bonnie Richardson (Nephrology, Regina Area Lead)
  • Teacher of the Year: Dr. Julian Tam (Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Saskatoon)
  • Clinician of the Year: Dr. Kempe Gowda (General Internal Medicine (GIM), Saskatoon)

Faculty Research Day award winners:

  • First place presentation: Dr. Niels Koehncke (Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture (CCHSA))
  • Second place presentation: Dr. Bhanu Prasad (Nephrology, Regina)
  • Third place presentation: Dr. Linden Kolbenson (GIM, Saskatoon)

Faculty awards (as voted by residents):

  • Bedside Teacher of the Year, Saskatoon: Dr. Ben Leis (GIM)
  • Bedside Teacher of the Year, Regina: Dr. Kathryn Whittemore (Critical Care Associates)
  • Teacher of the Year, Saskatoon: Dr. Megan Surkan (Geriatric Medicine)
  • Teacher of the Year, Regina: Dr. Ingrid Wirth (Respirology)
  • Distinguished Lecturer Award: Dr. Ingrid Wirth

Resident awards (as voted by faculty):

  • Dr. David Cotton Award: Drs. Zach Huschi and Paige Shelemey
  • Dr. Ian Holmes Award: Dr. Preston Njaa
  • Regina Resident of the Year: Dr. Lindsey Richels
  • T.W. Wilson Spirit Award, Saskatoon: Dr. Tanna Lauriente
  • T.W. Wilson Spirit Award, Regina: Dr. Katherine Markewich
  • The Alex Trebek Award, Saskatoon: Dr. Muzzamil Jelani
  • The Alex Trebek Award, Regina: Dr. Ahmed Radwan

Resident research awards:

  • PGY2 Fall Research Days First Prize: Drs. Stephanie Choquette and Dr. Preston Njaa
  • PGY2 Fall Research Days Second Prize: Drs. Olivia Friesen and Garrett Robson
  • PGY2 Fall Research Days Third Prize: Drs. Adrian Chan and Jake Towriss
  • PGY1 Case Presentations First Prize: Dr. Hailey Tyndall
  • PGY1 Case Presentations Second Prize: Dr. Belinda Yee
  • PGY1 Case Presentations Third Prize: Dr. Molly Rayner
  • The Kloppenburg Resident Research Prize in Medicine: Dr. Lindsay Richels

LEADERSHIP UPDATES

Dr. Linas Kumeliauskas is now division head of GIM in Regina. Dr. Kumudhini Karunakaran is now interim division head of Infectious Diseases in Regina. Thank you to Dr. Olumide Ogundare and Dr. Stuart Skinner for your contributions as division heads for the above divisions.

STAFF UPDATES

Congratulations to Lesley Reynolds, who retired on April 30, 2023, after more than 20 years with the Department of Medicine.

RESEARCH INFO

Dr. Josh Lawson

RESEARCH UPDATE

As we move towards summer, we would like to take the opportunity to update you on some of the research activities of the department.

We were very excited to hold our Department of Medicine research day on Friday, May 5. This was a hybrid (in-person and virtual) event. At our research day, we had six divisions and multiple regions of the province represented. The topics were varied, from biomedical to clinical to population-based research, showing the diversity of research in our department. All the presentations and projects were amazing, and it was great to see the work being done in our department.

We wanted to highlight three presentations through research awards. These were:

First place: Dr. Niels Koehncke (CCHSA, Saskatoon). Title: “Blood and hand surface lead in veterinary workers using lead shielding during diagnostic radiography.”

Second place: Dr. Bhanu Prasad (Nephrology, Regina). Title: “Incidence of primary renal disease in the adult Saskatchewan population from 2002-2018.”

Third place: Dr. Linden Kolbenson (GIM, Saskatoon). Title: “Improving the quality of POCUS use by IM residents – Focus on image archiving.”

On May 24, we will hold our first methods workshop. The workshop will focus on statistical analyses and sample size calculations. It will also be run as a hybrid event. On May 26, we will have our next research lunch and learn with a focus on clinical trials. Please contact Dr. Ozlem Sari for more information about these events.

Our researchers continue to be active with several faculty obtaining recent funding as well as department members presenting at upcoming conferences.

Please remember that there are several research grant deadlines approaching in the next few months. We encourage you to start looking ahead to these and planning for future projects. In addition, if you are looking into research opportunities or would like to speak with someone about moving into research or advancing your program, please contact Dr. Ozlem Sari, Department of Medicine research facilitator.

Best of luck in all of your research activities!

Dr. Josh Lawson
Director of Research, Department of Medicine

GETTING TO KNOW...

Dr. Alex Wong.

RESEARCHER PROFILE

Dr. Alex Wong, Infectious Diseases (Regina)

Dr. Veronica Marcoux.

RESEARCHER PROFILE

Dr. Veronica Marcoux, Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine (Saskatoon)

Nicole Craft.

ADMINISTRATOR PROFILE

Nicole Craft, Core Internal Medicine Residency Program Administrator

If you would like to be featured in our newsletter please contact Ozlem Sari or Jeanette Neufeld.

CELEBRATING OUR SUCCESS

 Surgeons perform mitral clip procedure.

Mitral clip program comes to Saskatchewan

A new initiative in the Division of Cardiology led by Dr. Janine Eckstein, an interventional cardiologist, is expanding treatment options for a group of patients who can’t undergo traditional open-heart surgery.

Saskatchewan patients with mitral valve disease can now receive a MitraClip procedure, an innovative non-surgical intervention to stop leaking in the mitral valve. Read more.

Dr. Sharyle Fowler.

Publication props

Congratulations to Dr. Sharyle Fowler (Gastroenterology and Hepatology), an author of a paper selected as the winner of the 2022 Journal of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology (JCAG) Thomson-Williams Certificate of Merit.

The publication “Inequities in rural and urban health care utilization among individuals diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease: a retrospective population-based cohort study from Saskatchewan, Canada,” was selected as runner-up to the best paper accepted for publication in JCAG in 2022. Lead author Dr. Juan Nicolás Peña-Sánchez is a faculty member in the College of Medicine’s Department of Community Health and Epidemiology.

Dr. Josh Lawson and Dr. Stuart Skinner.

SHRF success

Congratulations to two Department of Medicine faculty who received 2022-23 Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) Align Grants:

Dr. Joshua Lawson (CCHSA): “Geographic variation in the Under- and Over-Diagnosis of Asthma.”

Dr. Stuart Skinner (Infectious Diseases): “Prenatal Indigenous Women’s Health in Four Saskatchewan First Nations Communities."

Dr. Brett Graham.

RDoS recognition

Congratulations to Dr. Brett Graham (Neurology), selected to receive a 2023 Excellence in Teaching Award from Resident Doctors of Saskatchewan (RDoS). Residents nominated individuals who demonstrated exceptional skill in delivering resident education.

Research expo.

Research Expo winners

Three Department of Medicine faculty members supervise students who won awards in the 30th Annual University of Saskatchewan Life and Health Sciences Research Expo.

Two students supervised by Dr. Michael Levin (Neurology) placed highly in the expo: Todd Stang won second place in the Basic Science category; and Kaitland Fior won second place in the Undergraduate Research 1 category.

PhD candidate Sara Ness, who is supervised by Drs. John Gordon and Don Cockcroft (Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine), won first place in the Translational, Clinical or Applied Science 2 category.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Calendar icon.

  • Research Lunch & Learn: this session on May 26 from noon- 1p.m. will be focused on clinical trials and led by the CoM's Associate Vice-President Research Dr. Darcy Marciniuk (Respirology, Sleep and Critical Care) and Dr. Whitney Duff, Clinical Research Lead at the Office of Vice-Dean Research (OVDR). In-person at Vivian Asher Theatre, RM G763 and via Zoom, email Ozlem Sari for the link.
  • Grand Rounds: Grand Rounds take place each Wednesday until June 21, then will resume on Sept. 13. Watch your inbox for weekly details. Sessions are being held both in-person and online. Archived presentations can be found on our department website.
  • Department of Medicine Social Hour: All are welcome to share coffee and snacks at these monthly gatherings, held the first Thursday of every month from 12 – 1 p.m. in the Provincial Head Office, Room 3544. The next event will be held on Thursday, June 1.
  • 2023 Highlights in Medicine Conference and Reunion: This event will be held June 15-17. Join College of Medicine alumni and health care colleagues for a combination of educational lectures, class reunions and social activities on the USask campus and at venues around Saskatoon. This year’s conference theme is "Healing Ourselves, Healing Our Communities". More information.
  • 25th Annual USask Appreciation Picnic: join your campus community on Tuesday, June 20 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. in the Bowl. Lunch is provided.

REMINDERS

Reminder icon.

  • Sanctum survivor challenge: Dr. Ben Leis (GIM) is part of the Sanctum Survivor 2023: 36-Hour Challenge on May 25 and 26. During this time community leaders will live as if homeless on the streets of Saskatoon. This event is a fundraiser for Sanctum, Saskatchewan’s first HIV Hospice and Transitional Care Home and Sanctum 1.5, Canada’s first HIV and high-risk prenatal home. Visit Dr. Leis’ fundraising page to donate directly.
  • 2023 College of Medicine Research Awards: Submit expressions of interest (EOI) for the 2023 CoM Research Award (CoMRAD) applications by June 21. CoMRAD provides up to $30,000 for novel pilot and/or feasibility studies that will facilitate future applications to provincial, national, and global funding opportunities. Forms and guidelines are available on the OVDR website.PGME award nominations open: Consider nominating deserving current residents, program director or administrators and faculty members for the annual Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) awards. Nominations are due June 2, with more information and forms available on the PGME website.
  • All department faculty must provide a profile photo for our website. Please send a photo by email or contact our communications specialist to arrange for photography or to update your profile.

OTHER NEWS

IN THIS ISSUE

  • A message from the provincial head
  • Strategic plan
  • Leadership updates
  • Welcome to new faculty and staff
  • Research Info
  • Researcher profiles
  • Administrator profile
  • Celebrating our success
  • Events
  • Reminders
  • Other news

Dr. Hassam Haddad, Department Head

MESSAGE FROM THE PROVINCIAL HEAD

I am pleased to present our new Department of Medicine Strategic Plan: 2023-28 as part of this newsletter.

Thank you to those who helped develop this plan, including the dedication of our strategic planning working group whose work laid the foundation for an engaging strategic planning retreat held this fall.

Retreat participants worked to affirm our updated mission, vision statement and six strategic priorities to carry the department forward over the next five years. In addition to the renewed priorities from our previous strategic plan, we have added two new priorities: Social Accountability and Indigenous Health.

Our next steps will be to identify specific goals and metrics for each priority and determine how to move forward while engaging our entire department in progressing these key areas.

Sincerely,

Dr. Haissam Haddad

Provincial Head – Dept. of Medicine

canola field

STRATEGIC PLAN

Our new strategic plan is now available both online and as a PDF. This plan includes our renewed vision and mission statement, as well as six strategic priorities for the department.

LEADERSHIP UPDATES

Dr. Shelley Kirychuk is now director of the Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture (CCHSA).

Dr. Anne PausJenssen is now Division Head, General Internal Medicine (GIM). Thank you to Dr. K. Gowda for his contributions as former Division Head of GIM.

NEW FACULTY

Welcome to new faculty member Dr. Jeffrey Marciniuk, who joined the department as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine in December 2022.

NEW STAFF

Welcome to Kathy Lanceleve, the new assistant to our Provincial Head. She has been part of the College of Medicine for the past seven years, previously supporting the Director of Planning, Projects and Accreditation. Kathy has replaced Sheena Kaiser, who has accepted the role of Finance and Administrative Coordinator upon her return from parental leave.

Until Sheena returns, we welcome Courtney Morrison as the Finance and Administrative Coordinator beginning Feb. 21. Courtney is a business advisor for Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan (WESK) and prior to that managed a Best Western hotel in Saskatoon.

Sarah Zdunich is now filling in for Jennifer Gates-Debogorski, program administrator for the Core Internal Medicine residency program, who is also on parental leave. Sara has worked on campus since 2017, most recently in UGME supporting year one students.

Dr. Josh Lawson, Director of Research, Department of Medicine

RESEARCH INFO

As 2023 quickly moves along, we would like to take the opportunity to update you on some of our activities. 

We had our first research lunch and learn event in January where we talked about some of the research resources in the department as well as some tips on preparing to conduct statistical analyses, especially when working with the department’s biostatistician, Minyoung Kim. This was also in preparation for upcoming workshops on statistical analyses that will be announced in the next few weeks. As we move through the term, we will let you know about upcoming events including these workshops and lunch and learns.

Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has hired a new research support person for Saskatoon. Her name is Sharleen Weese Maley and she can be contacted at sharleen.maley@saskhealthauthority.ca if you have questions specific to SHA research processes including operational approvals.

Our researchers continue to be active in obtaining funding and have been recognized for various successes. In the College of Medicine’s COMRAD program, out of 23 grants awarded, seven were led or co-led by Department of Medicine researchers. Also, Drs. Mark Fenton and Erika Penz were recognized by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for their outstanding contributions in peer review.

Please remember that there are several research grant deadlines approaching in the next few months. We encourage you to start looking ahead to these and planning for future projects. In addition, if you are looking into research opportunities or would like to speak with someone about moving into research or advancing your program, please contact Dr. Ozlem Sari, the Department of Medicine's Research Facilitator.

Best of luck in all of your research activities!

Dr. Josh Lawson

Director of Research, Department of Medicine

GETTING TO KNOW

Dr. Stuart Skinner 

Researcher profile: Dr. Stuart Skinner, Infectious Diseases (Regina)

Dr. Angelica Lang 

Researcher profile: Dr. Angelica Lang, CCHSA (Saskatoon)

Kaylene Unger 

Administrator profile: Kaylene Unger, department assistant

CELEBRATING OUR SUCCESS

Dr. Stuart Skinner and members of his team.

Awarding research excellence

Congratulations to Dr. Stuart Skinner (MD), recipient of a 2022-23 Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) Excellence Award. These awards recognize the top-ranked applications from researchers and teams in the past year’s funding competitions. Skinner and his research team received a SHRF Innovation Grant for their project titled Cultural Care for Addictions: A Peer Networks Based Approach.

Skinner is a Department of Medicine faculty member in the Division of Infectious Diseases. He is based in Regina, Sask. and is the executive director of the Wellness Wheel Medical Clinic, which supports First Nations communities in Saskatchewan. (Dr. Skinner (back left) is pictured here with Wellness Wheel team members. (Photo: Michael Bell Photography for SHRF, 2022.)

Dr. Erica Penz and Dr. Mark Fenton.

Top-rated reviewers

Congratulations to faculty members Dr. Mark Fenton and Dr. Erika Penz, who were recently recognized as outstanding peer reviewers by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). They were among six College of Medicine faculty recognized for their exemplary peer review contributions in CIHR’s Fall 2021 and/or Spring 2022 Project Grant competition. Fenton and Penz are both part of the Division of Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine.

Calendar icon.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Grand Rounds

Grand Rounds take place each Wednesday. Watch your inbox for weekly details. Sessions are being held both in-person and online. Archived presentations can be found on our department website.

Resident research day

All department members are invited to attend the program year one (PGY1) Resident Research Days on March 28 from 12 to 2 p.m. in the Vivian Asher Theatre (RUH), and March 30 from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Sasktel Theatre (RUH). For more information contact Nicole Craft.

Department of Medicine Social Hour

All are welcome to share coffee and snacks at these new monthly gatherings, held the first Thursday of every month from 12 – 1 p.m. in the Provincial Head Office, Room 3544. The next event will be held on Thursday, March 2.

REMINDERS

Reminder icon.

OTHER NEWS

IN THIS ISSUE

  • A message from the provincial head
  • Leadership updates
  • Welcome to new faculty and staff
  • 2022-23 annual report
  • Research Info
  • Researcher profile
  • Administrator profile
  • Celebrating our success
  • Upcoming events
  • Reminders
  • Other news

Dr. Hassam Haddad, Department Head

MESSAGE FROM THE PROVINCIAL HEAD

Fall is here and with the changing seasons also comes some faculty and staff changes within our department.

Thank you to our departing division heads and the new faculty members who have stepped into the role of Division Heads for Neurology, the Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture (CCHSA) and Cardiology. More information on personnel updates can be found below.

We are also excited to announce that the department is embarking on strategic planning.

Our current mission statement is to “advance patient care by providing innovative education, research, and clinical service.”

I invite us all to reflect on our mission, and how we live this every day through our work. Please contact Dr. Robert Skomro should you want to provide your input on this planning process.

Sincerely,

Dr. Haissam Haddad
Provincial Head – Dept. of Medicine

LEADERSHIP UPDATES

New Division Heads

  • Neurology - Saskatoon – Gary Hunter
  • Cardiology – Saskatoon – Jason Orvold
  • CCHSA – Dr. Shelley Kirychuk (interim)

Thank you to Drs. Alex Rajput, Erik PausJenssen and Niels Koehncke for your contributions as former heads of the above divisions. 

WELCOME

NEW FACULTY

Welcome to these new assistant professors in the Department of Medicine:

Dermatology

  • Brittany Waller (Regina)

Geriatric Medicine

  • Lucas Diebel (Regina)
  • Kelsey Sharanowski (Regina)

General Internal Medicine

  • Linden Kolbenson (Saskatoon)
  • Abiodun Olajide (Regina)
  • Brandon Suen (Saskatoon)
  • Victoria Tian (Saskatoon)
  • Chukwunonso Ufondu (Saskatoon)

Neurology

  • Cassandra Fleury (Saskatoon)
  • Seyed Hosseini (Regina)
  • Sara Zangeneh (Regina)

Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine

  • Brianne Philipenko (Saskatoon)

New and existing faculty are encouraged to submit photos and any updates to their faculty page profiles on our to jeanette.neufeld@usask.ca.

STAFF CHANGES

Congratulations to Lindsay Doig, who has been promoted to Finance and Administration Manager for the department.

Lindsay began working in the Department of Medicine as the Finance and Administration Coordinator in February 2019 and has been covering both manager and coordinator roles for the past several months.

She has been part of the College of Medicine since 2010, most recently in the Dean’s Office and in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.  

We also welcomed three new staff members in October:

  • Nicole Craft, Program Administrator for the internal medicine core residency program
  • Kaylene Unger, Department Administrative Assistant
  • Jeanette Neufeld, Communications Specialist

NEXT ANNUAL REPORT

Remember to share your successes.

Our next DoM Annual Report will cover January 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023. Please forward news and information as it happens.

We are looking for anything that will help us celebrate the achievements of our department members, including research updates, awards, workplace improvement initiatives or anything else you think may be of interest to our community.

Please send your information to jeanette.neufeld@usask.ca.

Dr. Josh Lawson, Director of Research, Department of Medicine

RESEARCH INFO

As we move into the academic year, we would like to take the opportunity to welcome you back and update you on some of the activities of the department.

On June 3, 2022, we had our annual faculty research day. We organized this as a hybrid event and aligned this with the annual banquet in the evening. The number of presenters and attendees was very impressive, and we look forward to our research day in 2023.

As presented in this newsletter, the Department of Medicine has been successful in obtaining funding from multiple programs. To support research success within the department, we have recently hired Minyoung Kim as a biostatistician who is available to consult with you about your projects and conduct the data management and analysis for these projects.

Please remember that there are several research grant deadlines approaching in the next few months (e.g., Royal University Hospital Foundation). We encourage you to start looking ahead to these and planning for future projects. In addition, if you are looking into research opportunities or would like to speak with someone about moving into research or advancing your program, please contact Dr. Ozlem Sari, the DOM Research Facilitator.

Over the next few months, we will be putting together some activities such as lunch and learns and workshops dedicated to research and research skill development. We hope to also organize some opportunities to have researchers meet and network to learn about the research programs in the department. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to forward your ideas to us

Best of luck in all your research activities!

Dr. Josh Lawson

Director of Research, Department of Medicine

GETTING TO KNOW…

Dr. Bhanu Prasad, Nephrologist

Researcher profile: Dr. Bhanu Prasad, Nephrology (Regina)

Minyoung Kim, Biostatistician

Administrator profile: Minyoung Kim, Biostatistician

CELEBRATING OUR SUCCESS

SHRF award winners.

Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) achievement

Congratulations to Dr. Angelica Lang (Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture) and Dr. Jay Shavadia (cardiology) for receiving Establishment Grants from SHRF.

Dr. Lang’s project will investigate better testing and treatment recommendations for rotator cuff disease. Dr. Shavadia’s project will evaluate withdrawal of beta-blocker therapy in patients treated with coronary artery bypass surgery.

Read more about the funded projects here.

Angela Loehndorf

Administrative accolades

Congratulations to Angela Loehndorf, who received the Post-Graduate Medical Education (PGME) program administrator of the year award at the annual PGME Celebration Night in October. Loehndorf co-ordinates the neurology residency program and has been in the role since 2019. She has worked in the Department of Medicine since 1998, when she first became program administrator for Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine.

The award is presented to the administrative staff member who demonstrates commitment to the successful delivery of residency education, builds and sustains a positive working relationship with residents, communicates and collaborates effectively and demonstrates commitment to building knowledge and understanding of their program and residency training.

In her award nomination, Loehndorf was commended for her willingness to go above and beyond for the residents – including developing a pandemic call schedule and smoothing the transition to virtual teaching. She is also aware of issues that affect resident wellness, and does her job with “integrity, patience and an approachable manner.”

Dr. Varun Srivatsav 

Conscientious collaborator

Dr. Varun Srivatsav, a third-year Internal Medicine resident in Regina, was awarded the CanMEDS Collaborator Role award at the PGME event. Srivatsav was recognized for his excellent skills as a collaborator – whether in team settings, teaching, research or working with patients, and for his demonstrated commitment to improving those skills.

“Over the past two years, Dr. Srivatsav has proactively sought out opportunities where he could work with others to make positive changes to medical education,” noted his award nomination letter.

Outstanding resident research

Resident Research Days is a joint initiative between the College of Medicine’s Office of the Vice-Dean Research and PGME. This year’s event was held in June, 2022 and provided a chance to showcase resident research and to recognize their contributions to the college’s research program. The award winners were also recognized as part of the PGME Celebration Night.

Winners from the Department of Medicine were:

  • Top Poster – Clinical:
    • Second place – Tim He, Internal Medicine (Saskatoon)
  • Top poster--- What Works:
    • First place – Katherine Archibold, Neurology
    • Third place – Carly Yim, Internal Medicine (Saskatoon)
  • Award certificates selected via campus community adjudication:
    • Top Poster, Clinical: Jaihoon Amon, Cardiology
    • Top Poster, What Works: Katherine Archibold, Neurology

CoMRAD recipients

Congratulations to the six Department of Medicine members who received 2022 USask College of Medicine Research Awards (CoMRAD):

  • Troy Harkness, Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology and Terra Arnason, Endocrinology and Metabolism – Identification of molecular mechanisms governing the onset of multiple drug resistant cancer and reversal by activation of the Anaphase Promoting Complex
  • George Katselis, CCHSA – Applications of Proteomics to Study Vibration-Related Micro-Concussions
  • Angelica Lang, CCHSA – Shoulder function measurement for everyone: a validation study of wearable sensors for community-driven research
  • Stacey Lok, Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine – Induced Sputum and Bronchoalveolar Lavage Analysis in Interstitial Lung Disease
  • Veronica Marcoux, Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine – Evaluation of peripheral eosinophil blood cell counts as potential prognostic indicators in fibrotic ILD
  • Bhanu Prasad, Nephrology (Regina) – Decoding the ultra-rare disease – Loin Pain Hematuria Syndrome

UPCOMING EVENTS

Grand Rounds in Saskatoon are back!

After a summer break, Grand Rounds in Saskatoon are back.

Sessions are now held both in-person and via Zoom. Kaylene Unger will send out the topic, location and link each week. Watch your inbox.

Attendance at Grand Rounds allows you to keep up with research and other initiatives in the Department. It also contributes to our sense of community and is an opportunity to connect with colleagues you might otherwise not see.

Recorded presentations are archived on the Department website here.

Pain and Therapeutics Annual Conference – Nov. 26
This interdisciplinary conference includes a full schedule of current chronic pain topics including mental health, nutrition, disability and intimacy. Attendees can learn to navigate the Chronic Pain Pathway, apply the PEER simplified chronic pain guidelines and participate in a chronic pain simulation. More information or to register.  

Division of Continuing Medical Education (CME) 2022-23 webinar series
CME’s weekly webinar series runs from October 2022 to April 2023 and features Saskatchewan experts with a different theme each month.

  • 21 – Latest in GLP1 agonist and SGLT2i therapy |Dr. G. Caspar-Bell
  • 28 – Current approaches to glycemic optimization in Type 2 diabetes | Dr. Nassrein Hussein

REMINDERS

Reminder icon.

We welcome faculty to submit their recent publications or other research efforts such as clinical trials. We update our publication lists online monthly – any additional information you send is appreciated.

Our website is also a source for more regular news updates and other department information.

Helping our community

Salvation Army food hamper.

In this season of giving, the Department of Medicine has placed a Saskatoon Food Bank donation bin in the department office at Royal University Hospital until Wednesday, Dec. 7. Donations of non-perishable items are welcome. A recent USask study found that due to rising food prices, one in ten Prairie residents are using the foodbank. Donations can also be made directly to the Saskatoon Food Bank online.

MORE RESEARCH NEWS:

IN THIS ISSUE

  • A Message from the Provincial Head 
  • Dept. of Medicine Research Day 
  • Dept. of Medicine Annual Banquet
  • New Leaders 
  • Annual Report Prep
  • Celebrating Success 
  • Getting to Know You 

MESSAGE FROM THE PROVINCIAL HEAD

June marks the end of another academic year and with that comes a variety of awards from the university, the college and the department. While I am delighted to provide special recognition for some of our outstanding clinicians, educators, administrators and researchers, I also want to recognize the tremendous effort put in by every member of this department – faculty, staff and residents. It has been another challenging year and your determination and commitment have been inspiring. Thank you all.

I hope you find time this summer for rest, relaxation and rejuvenation with family, friends and loved ones.

Dr. Haissam Haddad, 
Provincial Head – Dept. of Medicine

Department of Medicine Research Day
Thank you to all who presented and attended the Department of Medicine Research Day on the afternoon of June 3. While it was great to be back in person, the hybrid format enabled attendees from throughout the province. Congratulations to our presentation winners.

Department of Medicine Annual Banquet
Thank you to Dr. Paul Armstrong from the University of Alberta for his inspiring and heartfelt address at the DoM Annual Banquet and earlier in the day kicking off the DoM Research Day. 

The Unified Head Awards were handed out to recognize extraordinary efforts made by faculty during the past year. Resident awards were also handed out at the evening festivities. Congratulations to all the winners.

WELCOME NEW LEADERS

Dr. Rob Basi (GIM) has taken on the new role of Acting Medical Director of Clinical Flow for Saskatoon. Dr. Basi will be focusing on patient flow as well as credentials and privileges.

Dr. Jason Orvold has taken on the position of Division Lead in Cardiology in Saskatoon effective July 1, 2022. Thank you to Dr. Erik PausJenssen for his leadership and work in this position for many years.

COMING EVENTS

World Indigenous People’s Conference on Viral Hepatitis
Join hepatitis experts and Indigenous leaders to hear about the latest developments in hepatitis testing, treatment and care. Enjoy and learn from, Elders’ wisdom, Indigenous ceremony and cultural performances. The event is free and online June 22 and 23. Registration and additional information can be found here.

Annual Report Prep
The next Department of Medicine Annual Report will cover 1 Jan. 2022 – 30 June 2023.

To facilitate the collection of information over such a long timeframe, we encourage all faculty to let us know of any awards or recognition as they happen. Send your information to sheena.kaiser@usask.ca or susan.burton@usask.ca. Celebrating each others’ wins helps to reinforce our culture of success. 

CELEBRATING SUCCESS

USask Distinguished Researcher
Congratulations to Dr. Don Cockcroft (Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) on being selected as one of two recipients of the University of Saskatchewan’s Distinguished Researcher Award. The awards committee noted Dr. Cockcroft’s long-standing global leadership in the areas of asthma and respiratory diseases, his multidisciplinary collaborations, and his mentorship to a large number of trainees as the factors setting him apart from other exceptional nominees from across campus.

Excellence in Teaching
Congratulations to Dr. Shaqil Peermohamed (Infectious Diseases – Saskatoon) on receiving one of the 2022 Excellence in Teaching Awards from Resident Doctors of Saskatchewan. The award considers the quality of teaching, positive role-modeling, and rapport with residents as well as overall enthusiasm and commitment.

SHRF Success
Congratulation to Dr. Erika Penz (Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine – Saskatoon) and her team, for a $150,000 grant from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) to develop a more coordinated and streamlined provincial smoking cessation program.

Congratulations also to Dr. Stuart Skinner (Infectious Diseases - Regina) and the rest of the Wellness Wheel team, who were awarded close to $50,000 from the SHRF to formalize peer network and mentorship programs that support clients with substance abuse disorders.

You can read more about their innovative research projects.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU
In an effort to get to know each other just a little bit better, we are happy to present two researcher profiles and an administrator profile. Click on their names to learn more.

Dr. Alexandra King is the Cameco Chair in Indigenous Health and Wellness.

Dr. Eric Sy is well-published researcher focusing on Critical Care.

Janna Ethier is the Senior Administrator for the Internal Medicine Residency Program.


If you would like to be profiled in our newsletter contact ozlem.sari@usask.ca.

IN THIS ISSUE

  • A Message from the Provincial Head 
  • Welcome to new faculty
  • Leadership Updates 
  • 2021 Annual Report 
  • Research Info
  • Researcher Profiles
  • Administrator Profiles
  • Celebrating our Success
  • Upcoming Events
  • Reminders

A MESSAGE FROM THE PROVINCIAL HEAD 

Each wave of covid is another sprint in the pandemic marathon. And just like runners in a marathon, collapse can come suddenly, even when the end is in sight.

Current demands on Internal Medicine are without precedent. Medicine faculty in leadership positions throughout the province are advocating and advising to keep the system running. Clinicians continue to step up and take on extra shifts and extra duties.

While I am extremely proud and grateful for everyone’s contributions, I encourage you all to take care of yourself first. Check-in with yourself. If you are in distress – reach out now. Let me know. Let a colleague know. Let someone know. Or use an online resource like the Wellness Support Line (www.cma.ca/supportline) at the CME Physician wellness hub website. 

Let us continue to take care of ourselves, and each other, as compassionately as we care for the people of this province.

Dr. Haissam Haddad
Provincial Head – Dept. of Medicine

WELCOME
Welcome to new Department of Medicine faculty who recently joined the team.  

  • Dr. Scott Donald– Cardiology, Regina
  • Dr. Amina (Sarah) Henni – Infectious Diseases, Saskatoon
  • Dr. Olu Ogundare – Nephrology, Regina
  • Dr. Joma Kondi – GIM, Prince Albert
  • Dr. Livinus Okafor – GIM, Yorkton

LEADERSHIP UPDATES

New Division Heads

  • GIM – Saskatoon – Anne PausJenssen
  • Cardiology – Regina – Andrea Lavoie
  • GIM – Regina – Olumide Ogundare
  • Nephrology – Regina – Syed Amin

Thank you to Drs. Gowda, Zimmerman, Boan and Karunakaran for your contributions as former heads of the above divisions. 

Area Leads

  • NW Area Lead – Vacant
    • Thank you to Dr. Abdul Lookman for his years of service in this role.
      Lookman has joined the Nephrology Division in Regina.
  • SW Area Lead – Majid Diaz
    • Thank you to Dr. Fauzi Ramadan for his leadership in this role.

2021 ANNUAL REPORT

The new Department of Medicine Annual Report is now online. Check it out to see some of the successes of your colleagues during the past 18 months.

A link to the online version can be found on the homepage of the department website at www.medicine.usask.ca/medicine.  Hard copies will be distributed in the next few weeks to Division Heads and other leaders in the SHA and the University. 

RESEARCH INFO

Research Restriction Reminder
Please be sure to check the current restrictions for conducting research at SHA or USask facilities. 

You can find USask information on the USask COVID19 page at https://covid19.usask.ca.  While visitors to USask facilities no longer need to show proof of vaccination status, everyone is expected to wear a mask when inside any university buildings.  Updates from SHA will be distributed when we receive them as well as posted on our Sharepoint site.”

Save the Date
The Department of Medicine Research Day is scheduled for Friday JUNE 3.  A decision will be made closer to the date on what the format of the event will look like including whether it is an online or in-person event.  Deadlines for Abstracts is MAY 9.

CIHR Success
The Department of Medicine is well represented in the latest round of CIHR Project Grants. Congratulations to the following researchers and their teams for their successful applications from the fall 2021 competition.

  • James Dosman, Shelley Kirychuk, Josh Lawson, Mark Fenton, Niels Koehncke
    Assess, Redress, Re-Assess:  Addressing Disparities in House, Home and Mental Health Among First Nations People.
  • Alexandra King (Co-I)
    Atotitum~Becoming of Age: Inspiring healthy sexuality and wellness through "Identity Healing" to prevent, reduce and eliminate HIV/HCV/STBBI inequities among Indigenous youth in Saskatchewan.
  • Mark Fenton (Co-I)
    Assessing the Patient, Provider and Policy Impacts of a Positive Airway Pressure Device Recall for Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation.
  • Juan Ianowski, Julian Tam, Anderson Tyan, Veronica Campanucci, Julia Montgomery, and Asmahan AbuArish
    Cellular bases of cystic fibrosis lung disease: epithelial ionocytes transport bicarbonate and control airway surface liquid pH; while club and goblet cells control hydration and volume.

Research Rounds
Dr. Julian Tam will be speaking about his research program at the DOM Saskatoon Grand Rounds on March 23.

Lunch and Learn Reminders
Research Lunch and Learns are an opportunity to connect with researchers throughout the university and medical community and learn about topics specific to research, including resources available.

Recorded sessions can now be viewed from the Dept of Medicine Research Sharepoint site, which can be accessed on the Dept of Medicine Research website at the top of the Research Page. (Resources for DoM Members Only)

Contact our research facilitator Ozlem Sari if you have questions or suggestions for future topics.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU 

In an effort to get to know each other just a little bit better, we are happy to present two researcher profiles and two administrator profiles. Click on their names to learn more. 

Dr. Payam Dehghani is a prolific researcher in Regina's Cardiology Division.

Dr. Terra Arnason is a clinician (Endocrinology - Saskatoon) and a molecular scientist. 

Mark Walkner is the new Finance and Administration Manager for the department.

Sheena Kaiser is the Administrative Assistant for the Provincial Department Head. 

CELEBRATING OUR SUCCESS

Lifetime Achievement Recognition
Dr Ali Rajput

Congratulations to Dr. Ali Rajput (Neurology – Saskatoon) on being awarded the 2022 Achievement Award from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation.

The award is presented to a senior researcher currently residing in Saskatchewan whose exemplary career achievements have inspired us with their drive, leadership and ingenuity. It recognizes their work over their career to build capacity, advance knowledge, inform decision making, and to provide health, economic and social impacts in Saskatchewan.
Excellence
in Medical Education
Dr Card

Congratulations to Dr. Sharon Card (GIM- Saskatoon) on being recognized by the Canadian Association for Medical Education with a 2022 CAME/ACéM Certificate of Merit Award.

Dr. Card is the CBD Lead for the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine, and the Past Chair of the GIM Specialty Committee for the Department of Medicine.

The award recognizes her exceptional contribution and commitment to medical education throughout her academic career.
Leadership Credentials
Dr Barton

Congratulations to Dr. James Barton (Nephrology – Saskatoon) who recently earned the Canadian Certified Physician Executive (CCPE) credential from the Canadian Society for Physician Leaders (CSPL). Along with being a Clinical Professor in the Nephrology Division,  
Dr. Barton is also the nephrology residency Program Director and the Associate Dean, Continuing Medical Education.

The CCPE credential recognizes and advances physician leadership and excellence through a national, peer-generated, standards-based assessment process.

UPCOMING EVENTS

World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Viral Hepatitis – Saskatoon June 22 – 24, 2022

Featuring leading hepatitis experts and Indigenous leaders in health and wellness, the latest medical and frontline development in hepatitis testing, treatment and care, the wisdom and knowledge of Elders, safe spaces sharing lived and living experiences of hepatitis, and Indigenous cultural and land-based activities.

Registration is still open. There is a limit of 150 in-person tickets and unlimited online access.

Abstract Submission Deadline: March 15. For more information go to wipcvh.org

REMINDERS

Faculty Promotion Reminder
A reminder to start preparing if you are intending to seek a promotion to Associate Professor or Professor during the next academic year. Some important dates:

  • June 15 - Candidates shall advise their Department Head of their decision to seek promotion.
  • August 1 - The candidate shall have provided to the Department Head information in support of the candidacy for promotion.

For more information on the USask promotion process, including Guidelines for Preparation of Case Files for Promotion, please see the VP Faculty website.

 

Grand Rounds in Saskatoon are back!
After a hiatus to accommodate the micron Covid surge, Grand Rounds in Saskatoon are back.

We will continue to use ZOOM until we get clearance from the SHA to resume in-person Grand Rounds. Sheena will send out the topic and link each week. Watch your inbox.

Attendance at Grand Rounds allows you to keep up with research and other initiatives in the Department. It also contributes to our sense of community and is an opportunity to connect with colleagues you might otherwise not see.

IN THIS ISSUE

  • A Message from the Provincial Head 
  • Welcome to new faculty
  • Laframboise recognized for service to education
  • Regina looking for instructors
  • TRC and healthcare
  • Research update and info
  • Researcher profiles – Dr. Sharyle Fowler
  • Celebrating our success

WELCOME to the DEPARTMENT of MEDICINE NEWSLETTER   

Change is a constant, and we are preparing for big changes at our department office. After thirty-one years of service to the Department of Medicine, Helen Chapple, our Finance and Admin Manager, has decided it is time to shift her focus to other things, like her grandchildren and her cabin. Helen has handed in her resignation and will be leaving at the end of December.

We will also be seeing less of Lesley Reynolds who will be moving over to a half-time position as Subspecialty Program Admin Assistant on November 16th.  Lesley has been here almost as long as Helen and has been the first point of contact in the head office for the past four years. Being able to tap into their institutional knowledge has made my job easier, and I want to thank both Helen and Lesley for all they have done.

If you are at RUH and have a moment, please feel free to come to the department main office area to say “goodbye” to Helen and “see you around” to Lesley. They both spend long hours at their desks and may welcome a break.

Change is also here with the arrival of new faculty.  Below you will find a list of faculty members who joined our department in the past several months. Welcome to you all.

Please take a moment to read our newsletter where you will find a celebration of your colleagues’ successes and other activities within the department.

As always, stay safe, take care of yourself, and know that your efforts are greatly appreciated.

Dr. Haissam Haddad
Provincial Head – Dept of Medicine

WELCOME

Welcome to new Department of Medicine faculty who recently joined the team.

  • Angelica Lang – CCHSA – Saskatoon – July 2021
  • Joseph Dimitry – GIM – Saskatoon – July 2021
  • Matthew Skeldon – GIM – Saskatoon – August 2021
  • Fatima Pirani – GIM – Saskatoon – October 2021
  • Ambreen Khan – Rheumatology – Saskatoon – May 2021
  • Vanessa Rininsland – Rheumatology – Saskatoon – July 2021
  • Sarah Oberholtzer – Rheumatology – Saskatoon – August 2021
  • Zachary Wolfmueller – Rheumatology – Saskatoon – August 2021
  • Omoniyi Henry Akinpeloye – GIM – Regina – July 2021
  • Mowad Benguzzi – GIM – Regina – July 2021
  • Calvin Tsui – GIM – Regina – August 2021
  • Alia Daoud – Respirology – Regina – August 2021

 RECOGNITION for DR. LAFRAMBOISE   

 Dr. Laframboise

Dr. Karen Laframboise was recognized by the USask College of Medicine as the Program Director of the Year for the 2020-21 academic year. The award was presented at the annual PGME Celebration Night held virtually on October 15.

In the award presentation, Dr. Laframboise was noted for her skills as a clinician and as a strong, caring mentor who exemplifies professionalism while holding residents to high standards. Under her leadership, the core internal medicine residency program evolved into the strong, nationally renowned residency program it is today.

The award is presented to the program director who demonstrates Innovation in residency education, sustained impact on the quality of residency education, positive measurable outcomes, effective leadership and mentorship within the residency program and a strong track record for promoting ethics, reflection and humanism in residency education.

Dr. Laframboise led the Core Internal Medicine Program for seven years. In July she handed over the reins to Dr. Jessie Baptiste. 

MORE PGME CELEBRATION NIGHT WINNERS

The Department of Medicine was well-represented amongst the winners at the annual PGME Celebration Night.  

Dr. Gupta  Congratulations to Dr. Anmol Gupta – PGY3 – Regina, one of two winners of the CanMED Health Advocate Award. The chief administrative resident in Regina, Dr. Gupta’s noted achievements include his upcoming research project on the impact of delays in discharge prescriptions for patients in smaller, more remote communities, and his efforts in establishing mobility and mortality rounds where residents and staff can review challenging cases and discuss solutions to systemic issues in the local health system.

Dr. Odeshi  Congratulations to Dr. Oluwatosin Odeshi – PGY3 – Regina, for being recognized with the CanMED Professionalism Award. Dr. Odeshi is the first Regina-based Dermatology resident. She was noted for her mentorship, leadership and advocacy efforts. Along with her ongoing research on the severity of skin disease of Indigenous patients in rural and remote communities, she created and provided the inaugural Skin of Colour Lecture at the University of Saskatchewan for the dermatology module – a starting point to diversify medical education.

The winners were announced from the USask College of Medicine Resident Research Day which was held virtually on June 21. The top poster award in the Clinical category as selected by academic adjudicators went to Dr. Samuel Harder. Second place in the same category went to Dr. Yasaman Torabi and Dr. Sanji Ali. In the What Works category, Dr. William Kennedy was awarded the 2nd place prize.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Dr. HarderDrs, Torabi and AliDr, Kennedy

NEW TEACHING OPPORTUNITES in REGINA 

Starting in August 2022, the College of Medicine will offer the full MD program at the Regina campus.

The Regina campus faculty and staff are preparing for the first cohort of Year 1 medical students. There are many teaching opportunities in the topics of communication skills, physical exam skills, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and more.

If you are interested in teaching and would like more information, please contact Dr. Jackie Kraushaar (jacqueline.kraushaar@usask.ca) or Dr. Helen Chang (woodrabbit@sasktel.net).   For more details on the program expansion, please see the press release.

TRC and HEALTH CARE

As part of the University of Saskatchewan’s observation of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation,

Dr. Alexandra King (GIM – Saskatoon) joined with colleagues from the College of Medicine to present a webinar about implementing the TRC Calls to Action related to health care.

orange shirt day   Department of Medicine Main Office and Admin staff are joined by Drs. Penz, Sanche and Haddad on Orange Shirt Day, 2021. 

 

SUPPORTING RESIDENTS 

counter with snacks

A new fund has been established to provide financial assistance for wellness-related activities for Internal Medicine residents completing clinical rotations at the University of Saskatchewan.
Priorities include:
  1. Snacks/Coffee/Tea for the Resident Lounge
  2. Meals for the Resident’s on Call: December 25th and January 1st
  3. Purchases or upgrades of existing lounge furniture or appliances
  4. Additional enhancements to the resident lounge or resident wellness as needed. 
Contact Lindsay Doig or Helen Chapple if you are interested in making a donation to support our residents. The university will issue charitable receipts for all donations.  

RESEARCH UPDATE – Submitted by Dr. Josh Lawson, Director – Research  

As we move into the academic year, we would like to take the opportunity to welcome you back and update you on some of the activities of the department. First, we would like to thank everyone for your dedication to the health and safety of our province in your clinical and research activities as we continue to navigate the pandemic. Over the past year and a half, many of us have had our research activities affected and the processes to conduct research have changed over time. We will continue to update you about the steps required by the University of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Health Authority to conduct research.

Moving into the new year, we have a number of research activities on which we will be working. On October 1, 2021 we had our first lunch and learn of the year. At this session, we provided an overview of some of the resources available within the Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, and beyond (Clinical Research Support Unit and Clinical Trials Support Unit). Our aim is to provide one lunch and learn session per month focused on topics relevant to conducting research in the Department. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to forward your ideas to us.

On June 9, 2021 we had our annual faculty research day. This was held along with some resident research presentations. The number of presenters and attendees was very impressive and we look forward to our research day in 2022. Tentatively, the faculty research day will be held June 3, 2022.

Please remember that there are several research grant deadlines approaching in the next few months (e.g. RUHF). We encourage you to start looking ahead to these and planning for future projects. In addition, if you are looking into research opportunities or would like to speak with someone about moving into research or advancing your program, please contact Dr. Ozlem Sari (ozlem.sari@usask.ca), the DOM Research Facilitator.

Best of luck in all of your research activities!

OTHER RESEARCH INFO

  • A new DoM Research Sharepoint site is up and being populated with information specifically for DoM members. You will need your USask NSID to access.   We are still building the site, but it already includes a recording of a grant writing workshop from Spring 2021 focussing on how to get funding from the DoM, College of Medicine Research Awards (ComRAD), RUH Foundation and Sask Health Research Foundation (SHRF).
  • Thank you to the judges and participants of the PGY2/3 Research Poster presentation held via WebEx on Wednesday, October 13 and Tuesday, October 19. The winners will be announced shortly.
  • Several Department of Medicine members have been profiled by the College of Medicine’s Researchers Under the Scope podcast series.
    • Episode: Dr. Michael Levin and the race to reverse MS neurodegeneration 
      (September 20, 2021)
    • Episode 27: Dr. Alex Wong – In a war zone – Dr. Wong looks back at the covid-19 pandemic
      (so far) (June 3, 2021)
    • Episode 18: Dr. Erika Penz – The burden of lung disease and lightening it (January 18, 2021)

GETTING TO KNOW YOU 

We are a large department with faculty spread throughout the province. To put faces to names and get to know each other a little bit better, we are happy to present a brief profile of a very active researcher in our department. Click here to learn more about Dr. Sharyle Fowler  - Associate Professor, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology in Saskatoon. 

CELEBRATING our SUCCESS 

ComRAD Recipients

Congratulations to the four Department of Medicine members who were successful applicants in the latest round of USask College of Medicine Research Awards (ComRAD). Here’s a look at the research projects that received funding.

  • Dr. Niels Koehncke – CCHSA - Blood Lead Levels in Workers Exposed to Surface Lead on Radiology Shielding
  • Dr. Josh Lawson – CCHSA - An Investigation into the Relationship Between Childhood Asthma and Mental Health Conditions
  • Dr. Stephen Lee – Infectious Diseases  - Regina -  Confirming Clinical Trial Results Using Real-World Data (Big Data Databases)
  • Dr. Michael Levin – Neurology – Saskatoon - A Novel Approach to Study Oligodendrocyte Dysfunction in Multiple Sclerosis Disease Models

 

USask College of Medicine's Spirit of the College Award

Dr. AsiniwasisCongratulations to Dr. Rachel Asiniwasis 
(Dermatology – Regina) who received the USask College of Medicine's Spirit of the College Award at the 2021 Highlights in Medicine Conference and Reunion held virtually on August 27. In her nomination, Asiniwasis was noted for her keen interest in caring for people, demonstrated through remote clinics, private practice, research, and inspiring students at all levels. Among her contributions, Asiniwasis and her team have expanded to service several remote northern Indigenous communities in Saskatchewan.

waniska Centre launch
Congratulations to Dr. Alexandra King, Cameco Chair in Indigenous Health and Wellness, (GIM- Saskatoon) for her role in the creation of the waniska Centre for HIV, Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and sexually transmitted blood-borne illness (STBBI). The centre was launched on National Indigenous People’s Day in June.  Read more about the centre’s community-led research goals.

DID YOU KNOW

Dr. John Gjevre (Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine – Saskatoon) is the Vice President of the Saskatchewan Medicine Association (SMA) and Dr. Patrick Duffy (GIM – Regina) is on the SMA Board of Directors.   Thank you both for this important contribution to the medical community. 

REMINDERS 

Grand Rounds
If you missed any Grand Rounds from the past year, you can find a recorded version on the Department of Medicine website with a link at the top righthand side of the homepage. Go to www.medicine/usask.ca/medicine.

IN THIS ISSUE

  • A Message from the Provincial Head
  • Promotions 
  • New Program Directors 
  • Education Update - CaRMS Success - Dr. Rahul Mainra
  • Dept to Medicine Diversity Corner - Dr. Nassrein Hussein
  • Research Update – Dr. Josh Lawson
  • Researcher Profiles – Dr. Erika Penze and Dr. Michael Prystajecky
  • Celebrating our Success
  • Reminders

Welcome to the Dept. of Medicine Newsletter  

For the academic community, June marks the end of the year as another cohort of learners moves through to the next stage of their education or on to the start of their careers. For those of you directly involved in teaching or in supervising students’ and residents' research, I want to thank you for rising to the challenge and providing our medical students and residents with the knowledge, tools, and skills they will need to succeed.

For those who had no direct interaction with students, I thank you for demonstrating your professionalism and commitment throughout these difficult 15 months. To the admin staff who juggled remote work to get faculty and students to the right place at the right time, a big thank you. I look forward to seeing all of you back on campus.

I encourage everyone to find an opportunity to relax and recharge at some point this summer.
Dr. Haissam Haddad
Provincial Head

Promotions

Congratulations to the Dept. of Medicine faculty who will receive promotions effective July 1, 2021. 
  • Dr. Rahul Mainra – Nephrology – promoted to Professor
  • Dr. Sharyl Fowler – Gastroenterology & Hepatology – promoted to Associate Professor
  • Dr. Gary Hunter – Neurology – promoted to Associated Professor
  • Dr. Shaqil Peermohamed – Infectious Diseases – promoted to Associated Professor
  • Dr. Alex Wong – Infectious Diseases (Regina) – promoted to Associate Professor

Your contributions to the University and the province are greatly appreciated.

New Program Directors  

As of July 1

  • Cardiology:  Dr. Stephan Wardell
  • Internal Medicine (Core):  Dr. Jessie Baptiste
  • General Internal Medicine:  Dr. Alia Teja

Many thanks to Dr. Kelly Coverett (Cardiology), Dr. Karen Laframboise (Core IM), and Dr. Baptiste (GIM)  for excellent work in leading these programs over the past many years.

Education Update - CaRMS Success for Dept. of Medicine

- submitted by Dr. Rahul Mainra - DoM Director of Undergraduate Medical Education

The percentage of Year 4 students choosing IM continues to trend upwards. Dr. Mainra breaks down the numbers and provides information about Year 3 clerks and Year 2 clinical skills activities. Read more.

Department of Medicine Diversity Corner

- submitted by Dr. Nassrein Hussein, EDI Committee Chair

The Department of Medicine EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Committee hosted Dr. Sean Polreis who gave an eye-opening presentation on unconscious bias during May 5, 2021 Grand Rounds.

Stay tuned for more EDI presentations and workshops being offered throughout the year. In the meantime, for anyone interested in more reading surrounding EDI in medicine, see the EDI Committee Page for articles about dismantling systemic anti-Black racism, implications of systemic racism on Indigenous peoples, and addressing gender inequality. 

Research Update

- submitted by Dr. Josh Lawson, DoM Director of Research

It’s been a busy time for research with Faculty Research Day on June 9, PGY1 Resident Research Days in mid-May and an excellent grant writing workshop focussing on DoM, CoMRAD, RUH  Foundation and SHRF funding programs. Read more.

Getting to Know You

We are a large department with faculty spread throughout the province. To put faces to names and get to know each other a little bit better, we are happy to present two more brief profiles of active researchers in our department.

Click on the links to read more about Dr. Erika Penz, a self-described "burdenologist" from the Division of Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine in Saskatoon, and Dr. Michael Prystajecky from GIM in Saskatoon, whose research is focussed on perioperative medicine. 

If you are interested in sharing some of your thoughts for the Getting to Know You section, please contact our Communications Officer Susan Burton. 

Celebrating our Success

Federal Funding to tackle MS
Congratulations to Dr. Michael Levin, Sask MS Clinical Research Chair, for being awarded $250,000 over two years from the New Frontiers in Research Funding program. Read more.

National Recognition
Congratulations to Dr. Alex Wong – Infectious Diseases (Regina), for winning a 2021 CAHR-CANFAR Excellence in Research Award. The award is from the Canadian Association for HIV Research and is meant to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of Canadian researchers in HIV/AIDS research.

Research Support
Congratulations to Dr. Rachel Asiniwasis – Dermatology (Regina) and Dr. Stephen Lee – Infectious Diseases (Regina) for being selected for the 2021-23 Clinical Research Support Program (CRSP). The CRSP is a partnership between the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the College of Medicine – Regina campus, intended to assist new clinician-researchers in establishing a track record that can strengthen their future funding applications.

Community Involvement
Congratulations Dr. Andrea Lavoie – Cardiology (Regina) for being named a finalist for the Regina YWCA Woman of Distinction Award in the health care hero category. The award recognizes leadership and community contributions.

Reminders

Recorded Grand Rounds 
If you missed any Grand Rounds from the past year, you can find a recorded version on the Department of Medicine website with a link at the top righthand side of the homepage. 

Annual Report Prep
Please let your Division Head know of any outstanding success in the past academic year so we can include the information in our next annual report. 

IN THIS ISSUE

  • A Message from the Provincial Head
  • 2019/2020 Annual Report
  • Welcome to New Faculty and Staff
  • Research Update – from Dr. Josh Lawson
  • Research Success
  • Researcher Profiles – Dr. Stephen Lee and Dr. Debra Morgan
  • UGME During the Time of COVID-19 – from Dr. Rahul Mainra
  • Educator Profile – Dr. Gudrun Caspar-Bell
  • Podcast Participation
  • Grand Rounds Reminder

From the Provincial Head, Dept. of Medicine

March 11, 2021 marked the one-year anniversary of Covid-19 being declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Our lives have not been the same since.

Throughout this challenging year we, as a department, have demonstrated our mission of advancing patient care by providing innovative education, research and clinical services. We have lived our vision of inspiring hope for Saskatchewan patients.

Thank you all for your dedication, commitment and resiliency. And while the pandemic is not over, I want to look to the future. As the vaccine rollout continues, we will be considering lessons learned that can inform or alter how we teach, provide care and conduct research in the future.

There have been many changes since I took on the leadership of this department in April 2016, including a wide variety of new clinical innovations, a new province-wide administrative structure and perhaps most dramatically, the recruitment of 75 new faculty members throughout the province.

If we want to continue our journey of continuous improvement, we need feedback and new ideas. In mid-April, external reviewers will be visiting to see first-hand how we communicate, how we teach and learn, how we support and conduct research and how we provide quality care for our patients.

Our response to the Covid-19 pandemic shows that we can change rapidly to meet changing needs. This review will provide a more considered examination of changing needs. It will be a jumping-off point for discussions with the College of Medicine and the Saskatchewan Health Authority and will assist us in the development of our next 5-year strategic plan later this year. 

Please take a few moments to read the contents of this month’s newsletter so we can get to know each other a little better and build a stronger team.

Dr. H Haddad

 Dr.  Haissam Haddad, Provincial Head

 

 

 

2019/2020 ANNUAL REPORT
The 2019/2020 Annual Report is available online for viewing. You can find it in the Celebrating Success section of our website. (www.medicine.usask.ca/medicine)

Our Annual Reports are meant to highlight the achievements of our department members and provide a glimpse into what we do. We are already thinking about next year’s annual report so please share your successes by sending them to our communications officer at susan.burton@usask.ca

WELCOME

NEW FACULTY
Two familiar faces joined the Department of Medicine faculty in January 2021.
Dr. Stacy Lok (below left) and Dr. Ingrid Wirth (not shown), completed their residency at USask.
Dr. Lok is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine in Saskatoon. Dr. Wirth is an Assistant Professor in the Respirology Division in Regina.

 Dr. Lok Dr. Stacy Lok                                                          Tracy Lee  Tracy Lee

ADMIN SUPPORT
Welcome to Tracy Lee (above right), a new Clerical Assistant helping Lesley Reynolds keep the Department on track. You may already recognize her name as has taken over responsibilities for sending out the DoM weekly rounds schedule and the CT On-Call Roster. Tracy is looking forward to meeting everyone when we are regularly back in our offices on the 3rd floor of RUH. 

Jenelle Butler joined the admin team in late January and immediately jumped into her role organizing the activities with CaRMS. Jenelle is filling in for Jennifer who is on leave.

RESEARCH UPDATE – submitted by Dr. Josh Lawson - Director, Research

Research in the Department of Medicine has been progressing despite many activities being paused by COVID. As a reminder, if you wish to start new research activities or restart activities that were previously paused, you may need to submit an application to the University of Saskatchewan’s “Request for campus/field activity or access.” It will then be reviewed by a committee in the College of Medicine from a COVID health and safety perspective. If you are hired by USask or your research project has USask Research Ethics Board approval and you cannot complete the project entirely remotely, you will have to go through this review process. Please email Josh Lawson if you have questions. Remember, because of this approval process, it may take longer to start your research as the approvals may be paused depending on the state of COVID in the province.

There are several other activities happening with regard to research over the next few months: 

  • We continue with our monthly research lunch and learns. We have had four of these since September and all have been very interesting. Topics have included Research Resources in the DOM, RUHF/SHRF funding opportunities, Quality Improvement, and SHA ethical and operational approvals. Please look for emails about upcoming sessions. Everyone is welcome!
  • We look forward to having a DOM faculty research day this spring after having to cancel it last year. It will be an opportunity to see a number of research projects led by DoM faculty. We anticipate that this event will be held virtually. Additional information will follow. 
  • As always, if you are looking into research opportunities or would like to speak with someone about moving into research or advancing your program, please contact Dr. Ozlem Sari, our DoM Research Facilitator.

Best of luck in all of your research activities! JL

RESEARCH SUCCESS

SHRF GRANTS
We would love to hear about your research grant successes so we can share the good news with the entire department. Here are two recently announced grants from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF). 

Congratulations to Dr. Eric Sy and Dr. Stephen Lee along with their co-principal investigators who were awarded an SHRF Impact Grant for their project: Evaluation of the effect of a virtual intensive care unit follow-up clinic on patient outcomes among ICU survivors that have been discharged home (Vi-DISH).
Dr. Sabira Valiani and co-principal investigators received an SHRF Innovation Grant for their project: Connect-ICU: Using technology to facilitate patient and family-centred care, enhance communication, and build relationships between patients, their loved ones, and the healthcare team in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

INVITED PRESENTATIONS
Congratulations to Dr. Terra Arnason from the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism for her recent participation in Research Canada’s national celebration of 100 years of insulin. Dr. Arnason was one of twenty invited speakers who provided an update on the current state of diabetes research for Parliamentarians and heads of  Diabetes Canada and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Thank you Dr. Arnason for representing the USask Department of Medicine on a national stage.  

SHARE YOUR PUBLICATIONS 
Congratulations to Dr. Alex Wong, Infectious Diseases – Regina, for a December 2020 publication in the Lancet.
We are capturing publications from DoM members through Pub Med alerts, but we may be missing some. Please send in your recent publications to susan.burton@usask.ca for posting on the research page of the Department of Medicine website. We want to showcase the wide range of high-quality research being carried out by members of the department.

RESEARCH PROFILE

Using a question and answer format we get to know about Dr. Stephen Lee, Assistant Professor, Infectious Diseases - Regina 

 Dr LeeMy Background: 
I was born and raised in the Prairies and did my medical school at the University of Alberta after 3 years of work in the neurosciences. My residency in Internal Medicine was also at the University of Alberta. Needing a bit of a change, I then completed a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at McMaster University. After spending a year doing locums (including here in Saskatchewan) and travelling around the world, I settled into my current position with the University of Saskatchewan to be closer to home. I'm currently also pursuing a Master of Science in Health and Clinical Informatics through Oregon Health and Science University.

Areas of Research and Big Moments in Research:
Spending time with researchers at the forefront of evidence-based medicine at McMaster got me thinking about the underlying principles of how we practice medicine. I discovered a concept called precision medicine which seeks to create treatments applicable to specific individuals rather than patient populations.

The widespread use of precision medicine relies on the field of medical informatics and data science. With widespread internet and computer use, massive volumes of health data are now available for computation. For instance, while traditional research methodologies often rely on flawed surveillance systems for novel medical associations or even human intuition, the field of data science can simply look at the data with a "big picture" lens and pick out associations that were never previously thought of.

My specific work seeks to incorporate this emerging field into research with infectious diseases. Examples of this include resolving novel adverse events with drugs or finding novel insights in the fight against COVID-19 through large-scale databases. We have established collaborations with prominent researchers nationally and internationally.

Future Aspirations for Research:
I plan to build upon our current team, establish a team that combines skills in medicine, informatics, statistics, and computer programming and continue to establish collaborations with national and international researchers. The field is so new, I think the current work is only scratching the surface of what's possible. I hope to bring our site to the forefront of this work.

RESEARCH PROFILE

Using a question and answer format we get to know about Dr. Debra Morgan (PhD), Professor, CCHSA - Saskatoon 

DMorgan.jpgMy Background:
I grew up in rural Saskatchewan and did my RN training at SIAST, then completed a BSN, MN, and a special case PhD in Nursing at the University of Saskatchewan. There was no graduate training in Nursing here at that time so some of my studies were at the University of Alberta. I did a postdoctoral fellowship at the Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture and then joined the faculty in 1999.

Areas of Research:
Most of my research is focused on improving the quality of life and care for people living with dementia, and their families, in rural areas. For the last 20 years I have led the community-based Rural Dementia Action Research (RaDAR) research program.

Big moments in research:
The first was receiving a CIHR New Emerging Team grant in 2003, which we used to start the Rural and Remote Memory Clinic at the University to provide specialist dementia diagnosis and management. Following the 5-year demonstration project we secured ongoing Ministry of Health funding to continue.

The second was starting the Rural Dementia Summit in 2008 to bring together the Decision Maker Advisory Council created to guide a CIHR Applied Chair grant. The Summit has evolved into a growing community of practice to advance dementia care in Saskatchewan that has met yearly for 13 years now.

Another big moment was receiving a 7-year CIHR Foundation grant in 2016 that supports research with rural healthcare providers to co-design team-based primary care memory clinics. Four rural memory clinics have been implemented so far.

Messages for junior researchers and early-career clinicians on how to get involved in research:
I was fortunate to have wonderful mentors who helped me get started. With their support I was able to form a research team that continues to work together. Draw on your mentors and find colleagues who share your interests and that you enjoy working with. Collaborating with community partners to address their priorities has also been very rewarding.

Future aspirations for research:
Our focus now is on developing strategies for spreading and sustaining the rural primary care memory clinics and measuring outcomes. The Covid 19 pandemic has slowed this work over the last year so we are looking forward to re-starting our projects.

UGME DURING THE TIME OF COVID-19 - submitted by Dr. Rahul Mainra, Director, Undergraduate Education 

Many of you are likely wondering what a clerk is allowed to do in the setting of the pandemic. Here is the most up to date list of activities medical students are allowed to be involved in:

  1. All medical students must not be involved in the care of patients who are probable, suspect or confirmed positive for COVID-19.
  2. Pre-clerkship students:
    a) will not be involved or see any patients who are screen positive for COVID-19.
    b) will not be involved in any AGMP procedures.
  3. Clerkship students: 
    a) may participate in the care of patients who are screen positive for COVID-19.
    b) may participate in AGMP procedures for patients who are screen positive or probable or suspect for COVID-19. We recommend this to only occur to meet a unique learning experience/objective. We recommend that you decide the risk to the student and if you feel it is too high then you may recommend to the student they not be involved.
  4. Medical students have access to full PPE as would be required for the clinical exposure (including N95 masks).
We thank you for your ongoing commitment to learning during this difficult time and please contact us with any questions or comments. - RM

EDUCATOR PROFILE

Using a question and answer format we get to know about Dr. Gudrun Casper-Bell, Associate Professor, Endocrinology & Metabolism - Saskatoon 

Dr. Caspar-BellMy Background:
I came to Canada in November 2006 to work as an Endocrinologist and faculty member in the College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan. I did my training for internal medicine and endocrinology in Germany at the University of Heidelberg and Frankfurt Am Maine. My doctoral thesis in 1998 was in the field of autoimmune thyroid diseases.

Describe your most memorable teaching moment.
Research and teaching inpatient care setting is my passion. I find it very exciting to show students and residents different approaches to unlock the complex puzzle of different medical entities. It’s very exciting to be able to pass the passion of being a doctor. The highlights of my teaching sessions are when I can involve my followers in medical tests and imaging (ultrasound) that I do myself and see the “AHA” effect. It is very rewarding when former students or residents reach out to discuss a case or a patient they are involved with as they remember that I had shown them a similar case before.

In your busy clinical days, how do you fit in teaching?
My daily clinics are mostly focused on teaching. I book a wide variety of endocrine disorders (and of course follow-ups) so that I can expose the learners to different clinical pictures.

Why is teaching important to you?
Medicine is a very complex field that you cannot strictly learn from literature. Being taught different ways to approach disorders and symptoms, seeing different clinical pictures, interpreting signs and lab work is most effective if you have an experienced teacher with you. I like to share my knowledge and passion with learners hoping to give them the right tools on their way to a successful career as a doctor.

What is the key to successful teaching?
In my opinion, the motivation of the learners, being a good role model and being available to stand by the learners' sides are keys to successful teaching.

PODCAST PARTICIPATION

Thank you to the Department of Medicine members who have shared your knowledge and promoted the Department of Medicine by participating in Researchers under the Scope podcasts produced by the USask College of Medicine.  Let us know if you have a topic that would be of interest to the general public.

  • Episode 1 – Eric Sy talks about hitting COVID-19 with Hydroxychloroquine, Remdesivir and blood plasma (10:38) Recorded May 5, 2020
  • Episode 2 – Drilling down on how COVID-19 affects vulnerable people with Donna Goodridge (10:42) Recorded May 6, 2020
  • Episode 16 – Indigenous wellness though “slow” research, with Alexandra King (23:09) Recorded January 4, 2021
  • Episode 18 – The burden of lung disease and lightening it, with Erika Penz (15:09) Recorded January 18, 2021

RECORDED GRAND ROUNDS 

Department of Medicine Grand Rounds are recorded and available for viewing usually by the Friday after the Wednesday presentation. A link to the Grand Rounds page is available from the homepage of the department’s website at www.medicine.usask.ca/medicine.

SHARE YOUR SUCCESS

If you have a national or international achievement, please consider letting our communications office know so we can share it with the rest of the team. Celebrating each other’s successes makes our department stronger. Contact susan.burton@usask.ca for any communication needs.

 

FROM THE PROVINCIAL DEPARTMENT HEAD

Welcome to the new year and a time of new hope as we start to see the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel.  The vaccine rollout for frontline healthcare workers has begun and some of you have already received your vaccinations. 

I appreciate your patience and acknowledge there have been some challenges particularly around transparency and communication of the vaccine distribution process. Member concerns have been communicated to Pandemic Leads who agree criteria for determining priority for vaccines will be reviewed to ensure more timely access to all DoM members.

While the Department is not the source of vaccine rollout information, nor part of the decision-making process, we do want to help you get answers to your questions. This special newsletter provides links to a variety of sources where you can get more information about Saskatchewan’s vaccine rollout plan.

Let us continue to support each other and learn from each other as we get through these challenging times.

SHA RESOURCES

SHA Emails

  • The SHA is attempting to communicate directly with physicians via SHA email Information on activating your SHA email account is available here.
  • Physicians are being contacted directly via SHA email as they become eligible to be vaccinated.
  • SHA emails are also being used to invite physicians to participate in weekly online Physician Town Hall Updates being every Thursday from 6:00pm to 7:30pm. Past sessions can be found here. This appears to be the best opportunity to have your questions answered.

SHA Website

  • You may find some answers to your question on the SHA COVID-19 Vaccine webpage, which includes regular updates, including provincial tracking.

SHA Weekly Updates

  • A summary of SHA’s Weekly Update - COVID Vaccine Planning emails sent to Department Heads and other leaders within the SHA is available on the Department of Medicine COVID-19 sharepoint site in the Vaccine folder. You will need your USask NSID and password to sign into this site which you can access from the DoM homepage. medicine.usask.ca/medicine.

SOURCE ARTICLES

  • The SHA website has information and guidance about both vaccines being used in Saskatchewan. You can find it here.
  • Read the New England Journal of Medicine publications about both the Moderna vaccine and Pfizer vaccine.
  • Additional publications about these and other vaccines are posted as PDFs in a new Vaccine Folder in the Department of Medicine Sharepoint Drive. You will need your USsask NSID and password to access this site.

OTHER LINKS

Welcome
We are living through challenging times. I want to once again thank each and everyone one of you for your sacrifices, your extraordinary efforts and your commitment to the people of this province and to the mission of the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan. 

We are also witnessing social unrest and growing frustration with systemic racism and sexism. It is a reminder for each of us to examine our unconscious biases and regularly check ourselves for stereotypes, prejudices and ultimately unintentional but still hurtful discrimination.

Earlier this year, the Department of Medicine created a Diversity Committee to promote an environment of equity, diversity and inclusion. Committee Chair Dr. Nassrein Hussein explains more about the committee below.

This newsletter also has important information about opportunities to share your research success. Not only does this help to attract graduate students and residents, it can lead to the identification of synergies and collaborative opportunities within the department. I encourage you to explore the information about your colleagues on our website at medicine.usask.ca/medicine.

This season’s newsletter also includes research profiles from a relatively new faculty members as well as a Distinguished Professor who has been at the University of Saskatchewan for more than 50 years.

And speaking of new arrivals, I extend a warm welcome to the 16 new faculty members who recently joined our team. I look forward to more opportunities to see all of you in person.

On a sad note, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the great contributions made to our community by Dr. Jose Tellez who recently passed away. He was a highly valued member of our department and he will be missed. 

Please enjoy this edition of our newsletter and consider submitting story ideas for the next issue.  

Dr. Haissam Haddad
Provincial Head

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee at the Dept of Medicine. 
Submitted by Nassrein Hussein – EDI Committee Chair

In the summer of this year the Department of Medicine Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee was initiated, with the inaugural meeting held July 6, 2020. The mission of this committee is to promote an environment of diversity and inclusion within the Department of Medicine, in line with the University of Saskatchewan’s Diversity and Inclusion Policy, using evidence-based initiatives to implement best practices. [Read More]

Welcome to new faculty who recently joined the Department of Medicine
(July, August and September, 2020)

  • Dr. Michael Cenkowski – Cardiology
  • Dr. Chris Pekrul - Cardiology
  • Dr. Steve Pylypchuk – Cardiology
  • Dr. Devon Houdek – Endocrinology & Metabolism
  • Dr. Krista Lagimodiere – Geriatric Medicine
  • Dr. Megan Surkan – Geriatric Medicine
  • Dr. Fahd Al-Dhalaan – General Internal Medicine
  • Dr. Anmol Cheema – General Internal Medicine (Regina)
  • Dr. Ben Leis - General Internal Medicine
  • Dr. Arthur Ling – General Internal Medicine
  • Dr. Michelle Lund – General Internal Medicine (Swift Current)
  • Dr. Regan Cooley – Neurology
  • Dr. Priya Figurdo – Neurology (Regina)
  • Dr. Sanchea Wasyliw – Neurology
  • Dr. Colin Ellis – Respirology, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine
  • Dr. Cairistin McDougall - Rheumatology (Regina)

Return of Grand Rounds 
Grand Rounds have returned in Saskatoon. Up to 30 people are allowed in the Vivian K Asher Lecture Theatre, or you can attend live via WebEx.  All sessions will be recorded if you cannot attend the live event. Information about Grand Rounds is sent out each week from Lesley Reynolds and can be also accessed from the homepage of the Department’s website.

RESEARCH REMINDERS 

  • Research Lunch and Learns (RLLs) are needs-driven topical meetings with the goal of:
    • increasing understanding of each other’s research
    • building a strong research community, and
    • fostering learning and growth.
RLLs take place once a month, on a Friday at noon. This academic year all sessions will be via WebEx only. If you would like to present or have a topic you think should be covered, please email Ozlem Sari with your presentation idea or title.

  • Check out the Recent Publication section at the top of the research page on the Department of Medicine website (medicine.usask.ca/medicine) where you can share your publications with your colleagues. The page is updated based on alerts from Pub Med. You can also send a note about your latest publication to the communications office at dom.communications@usask.ca.

  • Several faculty members in Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert and Moose Jaw are actively involved in COVID-related studies. You can find a list here and on the research page of our website. If you have recently started COVID-related research, please let our research facilitator know. Ozlem Sari can be reached at ozlem.sari@usask.ca.

  • We want to showcase everyone’s research interests, so if you have not already done so, please fill out the one-page Faculty Information Form so you can be included in the Directory of Research Interests on the department website. The directory is meant to aid potential residents and graduate students who are searching for a research supervisor. You can find the form in the Research Faculty section on the Research page of our website. You may also want to check your faculty profile and send updated information to dom.communications@usask.ca.

  • Return to Research on campus. If your research was halted due to COVID, you may be able to start up again. Check out USask’s COVID information page, and the Request for Campus / Field Activity or Access to Campus. Resources you may need, including forms, are available on the Department of Medicine Sharepoint Covid Site in the Return to Work – Research folder.

Competent Learners make Competent Doctors
Submitted by Dr. Rahul Mainra – Director UGME

Competency By Design (CBD) has taken deep roots in our post-grad training programs and is now gearing up in undergraduate medical education.

Dr. Sharon Card gave a wonderful Grand Rounds on Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) in post-grad residency education. Take home points which resonated with many included using the term “Readiness” instead of “Trustable.” Is your medical student “Ready” to do a history and physical exam on their own or do they need you to be present? [Read more]

Getting to Know You - Researcher Profile with Dr. Jay Shavadia

Using a question and answer format, we learn more about Dr. Jay Shavadia, Assistant Professor of Cardiology.

What is your area of research?
Most of my research work is focused around population outcomes within registries of patients across the spectrum of acute coronary syndromes. [Read more]

Getting to Know You - Researcher Profile with Dr. Ali Rajput

Using a question and answer format, we learn more about Dr. Ali Rajput, Distinguished Professor of Neurology. 

What is your area of research?
My area of research is movement disorder – parkinsonism, essential tremor, dystonia et., and ranges from epidemiology, clinical therapeutics, clinicopathological brain biochemistry, molecular genetics and translational research. [Read more]

In our next newsletter,  Researcher Profiles with Dr. Andrea Lavoie and Dr. Alex Wong.

Taking the Pressure Off: Ear Savers for Saskatoon’s Frontline Healthcare Workers

Infectious Diseases specialist Dr. Shaqil Peermohamed knows the importance of wearing a mask to prevent the spread of disease. But he also saw the discomfort, pain and damage to ear lobes that frontline healthcare workers were experiencing as a result of wearing masks for the entire duration of their shift, day after day, so he decided to do something about it. [Read more]

Dr. Jose Tellez-Zenteno
- in Memoriam

Dr. Tellez

Professor of Neurology, Dr. Jose Tellez-Zenteno, passed away on October 2, 2020. His expertise and compassion helped untold numbers of patients with epilepsy.  

Dr. Tellez-Zenteno received his medical degree from the National University of Mexico in 1996. After residencies in internal medicine and neurology, he came to Canada for clinical fellowships at the epilepsy program at the London Health Sciences Centre in London, Ontario and at the Foothills Medical Center in Calgary, Alberta.  

He arrived at the University of Saskatchewan in 2007 and was promoted to a full professor in 2013. A prolific author with an exceptional citation record, he was an internationally recognized expert in his field. At the University of Saskatchewan, he is remembered as an enthusiastic teacher, a relentless researcher and the founder of Saskatchewan’s first program for complex patients with epilepsy.  

His death is an extraordinary loss to all his patients, to the University of Saskatchewan and to his colleagues around the world. 

 

Greetings   

As we head into our third month of the novel corona virus outbreak here in Saskatchewan, I want to thank you all for your ongoing commitment and dedication. This has been a trying time and it is far from over. The generosity of spirit you have displayed in sharing your expertise and supporting each other has inspired me and affirms my belief in, and dedication to, our team.

I recognize that everyone has been working under unusual conditions and I want to thank all Department Area Leads and members of the provincial Department for stepping up in this crisis at the Department and/or Pandemic levels. And finally, I would like to thank our administrative team members who are working from home but are still helping us connect and carry on. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

I hope you find this issue of our newsletter informative and that you will consider contributing interesting stories in the future. Stay strong, stay safe and take care of yourselves.

Dr. Haissam Haddad
Provincial Head

Department of Medicine – COVID-19 Bootcamp

Join your colleagues in the Department of Medicine every Thursday from 12 – 1 for an online COVID-19 Bootcamp put on by USask Continuing Medical Education and the Department of Medicine. Watch for an invite in your USask Outlook calendars. All sessions are recorded and available for viewing. Watch recorded sessions here.

COVID-19 Info & Updates Sharepoint Site

To assist department members in keeping track of Covid-19-related information, a COVID Info & Updates Sharepoint site has been created. It is only accessible to members of the Department of Medicine and you will need your USask NSID to sign in. The site serves as an archive of information that may be of particular relevance to department members. Weekly updates, emailed from Lesley Reynolds, provide a list of new information added to the site.

Dispelling Covid-19 Myths via Social Media
Dr. Hassan Masri, GIM and Emergency specialist, is hoping to inspire others to be part of the solution when it comes to battling COVID-19. He has a steadily growing following for his Facebook videos where he answers questions about the virus. Read more…

PGY1 Research Days June 2 and 9th

Watch your email for invite and link for the PGY1 presentations. They will take place via WebEx on June 2 and June 9 from 1 to 5pm. The link will be available to anyone who wants to attend.
Plans are still being developed for the PGY2 poster presentations.

Keeping Students on Track

Shout out to the UGME and PGME Administrators who have been working from home to reschedule clinical courses, organize online academic half days, reschedule research days and respond to student queries. Read more here to see what four of them have been working on.  

CONGRATULATIONS

SHRF Grant Success

Congratulations to three Department of Medicine researchers who recently received grants from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF). Dr. Bhanu Prasad (MD) and Dr. Donna Goodridge (PhD) received 2019-20 Collaborative Innovation Development Grants, which are designed to address health challenges particularly relevant to Saskatchewan. Dr. Sharyl Fowler (MD) received a 2019-20 Sprout Grant for patient-oriented research. Read more.

International Film Award

Congratulations to Dr. Stuart Skinner and the rest of the Wellness Wheel team in Regina for international recognition of your HIV and Hepatitis C program at Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation.
An award wining video, Connecting with Care Ahtahkakoop, focussed on the Ahtahkakoop Health Centre’s Know Your Status program.  The video took home the grand prize in the first annual Hepatitis Elimination Video Contest sponsored by the Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination. It highlights the work being done in Saskatchewan and in First Nation communities to address Hepatitis C. View the video.

 2019 David Cotton Award Winner

Dr CC Tyan

     Congratulations to Dr. Chung Chun (Anderson) Tyan for being awarded the
     2019 David Cotton Award. The award recognizes an outstanding faculty
     member who has contributed to the care of respiratory patients in
     Saskatchewan and to the academic life of the Division of Respiratory,
     Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan.



Welcome 
Welcome to the first edition of the Department of Medicine newsletter. Please take a few moments to browse the contents. We hope you will find it informative.

Our goal for the newsletter is to help build a closer-knit community of internists throughout the province of Saskatchewan.

With that in mind, we ask you to submit your news, including achievements and upcoming activities, so we can share with your colleagues. Photos are great too. Happy reading!
                 
Dr. Haissam Haddad
Provincial Head

Faculty Retreat 
More than 60 department members from throughout the province came to Saskatoon for the first all faculty retreat this past fall. Along with meeting colleagues from other communities, and putting faces to names, it was an opportunity to ask questions and have lively discussions about provincial standardization.
Read more. 

Getting to Know You
In each edition of Internal Insights, we will introduce you to one or two members of the Department of Medicine. If you would like to participate in the Getting to Know you section of Internal Insights, send a note to DoM.communications@usask.ca.

Research support is the focus of this edition, as we introduce you to Ozlem Sari, Department Research Facilitator, and Masud Rana, Department Biostatistician.
Click here to read more about Ozlem.  Click here to read more about Rana.

Congratulations! 
Dr. Haissam Haddad was recently awarded the Canadian Certified Physician Executive (CCPE) credential.

The certification from the Canadian Society of Physician Leaders recognizes Dr. Haddad’s leadership capabilities described in the “LEADS in a Caring Environment Framework.” This is a significant accomplishment and indicates a high level of professional leadership competence. Congratulations Dr. Haddad!

Does Your Profile Page Need Updating?
Under the One Faculty Model, all members of the Department of Medicine who are involved in teaching or research are faculty with the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine. So why not get your information up, or up to date, on the profile pages of the USask website.
Read more about suggested content. 

Call for Content
Internal Insights is YOUR newsletter. Get to know each other by sharing information about your special projects, upcoming events, as well as personal and professional success stories. 
What are we looking for?
Quality improvement initiatives/ Research updates/  Education updates / Department events/ Community engagement activities / PHOTOS / Information you think would be interesting for your colleagues. 
Please send your content to DoM.communications@usask.ca.

Save the Dates - Residents Research Days 2020
Department of Medicine
PGY1 - Case Presentations Tuesday April 21, 11:30am - 3:30pm 
PGY1 - Case Presentations Tuesday April 28, 11:30am - 3:30pm
PGY 2 & 3 - Poster/ Podium Presentations Friday May 1, 2020 8:30am - 4:00pm
Residents' Banquet - Friday May 1, 2020 Cocktails 5:30
For more information contact: yimika.plumptre@usask.ca.

Upcoming Events
Send us information about local events you are organizing or participating in, and we will share with your colleagues.