Congratulations to our SickKids staff members who’ve received awards, honours and appointments

In September, October and November, members of the health-care and science communities are recognized for their achievements and contributions. SickKids would like to congratulate the following staff members:

Vito Forte receives 2015 Manning Innovation Award

Dr. Vito Forte, Liaison Officer and retired surgeon in the Department of Surgery, has won a 2015 Ernest C. Manning Foundation Innovation Award. Forte received the award for developing and successfully commercializing the OtoSim, a simulated “silicone” ear teaching tool that is helping medical students learn how to more accurately diagnose ear conditions before they practice on patients.

“The ability to perform an ear exam, or otoscopy, is one of the most poorly acquired medical skills and one of the hardest to teach for the simple reason the ear drum is so tiny,” says Forte. “I’m so proud of the team we put together to develop this product and put it out on the market, essentially revolutionizing the way otoscopic teaching is done on a global scale.”

The Innovation Award is one of several awards the Ernest C. Manning Awards Foundation gives annually to talented Canadian innovators who are improving the lives of Canadians and others around the globe through their commercialized innovations.

For more information on the OtoSim, visit http://otosim.com/.

2015 Wilder Penfield Award presented to Carter Snead

Dr. Carter Snead, Staff Neurologist and Senior Scientist in the Neurosciences & Mental Health Program, has been awarded the 2015 Wilder Penfield Lifetime Achievement Award by the Canadian League Against Epilepsy (CLAE) in recognition of his distinguished career in paediatric epilepsy research.

Snead’s research has developed new animal models for investigation of generalized absence seizures, has introduced new avenues for the treatment of spasms in infants and has pioneered the use of magnetoencephalography (MEG) as a diagnostic tool to improve surgical outcomes for epilepsy surgery. His research continues to focus on the development of improved diagnostic protocols for children with extra temporal localization-related epilepsy for surgical treatment of their epilepsy.

Diane Hebert receives Clinician Recognition Award from The Canadian Society of Transplantation

Congratulations to Dr. Diane Hebert, Staff Nephrologist, and recipient of The Canadian Society of Transplantation’s (CST) Clinician Recognition Award. Hebert was recognized for her exemplary commitment to the CST’s mission through excellence in front-line clinical innovation, program development, humanitarianism and education.

Hebert is widely regarded as a leader in the field of transplantation in children, and is known as an expert to consult for complex paediatric transplant cases. She is part of a multidisciplinary team at SickKids that addresses growth, nutrition, neurodevelopment issues, cardiovascular issues, adolescent issues and psychosocial issues to provide excellent long-term outcomes to transplant recipients and their families at the hospital.

Lisa Robinson and Susan Schneeweiss appointed to Decanal Office in Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto

Congratulations to Dr. Lisa Robinson and Dr. Suzan Schneeweiss who have both been appointed to positions in the Decanal Office in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto (U of T).

Robinson, who is Head of the Division of Nephrology and Senior Scientist in the Cell Biology Program, as well as a Professor at U of T, will serve as the Faculty of Medicine’s Chief Diversity Officer. She will provide leadership on matters of diversity and inclusion and work collaboratively to build alliances, develop strategic partnerships and engage internal and external partners to enhance and promote the diversity of faculty, learners and staff across the Faculty of Medicine.

Schneeweiss will serve as the Faculty of Medicine’s Associate Dean for Continuing Professional Development, in addition to her role as Associate Professor in the Department of Paediatrics at U of T. She currently works as a Staff Physician and Director of Education in the Division of Paediatric Medicine at SickKids, while also serving as a Continuing Professional Development Educator with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Schneeweiss has received a number of awards and honours for her role in continuing education, including the 2015 Royal College Accredited CPD Provider Innovation Award as a co-lead for the U of T Continuing Education Leadership Program.

Sean Egan receives 2015 Breast Cancer Research Program Breakthrough Award

Dr. Sean Egan, Senior Scientist, Developmental & Stem Cell Biology Program, has been awarded the 2015 Breast Cancer Research Program Breakthrough Award from the U.S. Department of Defense through its Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. The total amount of grant funding awarded to Egan is $834,990 USD.

Metastasis, the spread of cancer throughout the body, represents the most significant barrier to the cure and survival of patients with cancer. By designing genetic screens in mouse models with breast cancer, Egan and Dr. Eldad Zacksenhaus at the Toronto General Research Institute have been able to identify cytoplasmic proteins and complexes that control the metastatic spread. This new grant funding will help Egan and Zacksenhaus determine how stress granules control and induce metastasis and allow them to work towards identifying novel therapies to treat patients with this disease.

Julie Brill named Fellow of The American Association for the Advancement of Science

Congratulations to Dr. Julie Brill, Senior Scientist in the Cell Biology Program and Director of the Collaborative Program in Developmental Biology at the University of Toronto, on being named a 2015 Fellow of The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). This year, the AAAS recognized 347 of its members as Fellows for their efforts towards advancing science applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished.

Brill was recognized for her research in biological sciences, specifically the discovery of in vivo roles and regulation of phosphatidylinositol phosphates in cell morphogenesis during animal development. As a Fellow, Brill aims to better understand conserved lipid signaling pathways that are important in human development and disease.

Amira Klip receives Honourary Doctorate from the University of Copenhagen; Walter B. Cannon Award

Dr. Amira Klip, Senior Scientist in the Cell Biology Program has received a honourary doctorate from the University of Copenhagen. The university presented Klip with the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa in Physiology for her leading research contributions in the area of signal transduction in skeletal muscle that have inspired research at the university. Klip was also acknowledged for her training of students and postdoctoral fellows from the University of Copenhagen. The honourary doctorate was presented to Klip at a celebration on Nov. 20 in Copenhagen attended by her majesty the Queen of Denmark.   

Klip is also the recipient of the 2016 Walter B. Cannon Award Lecture, awarded by American Physiological Society (ASP). This award is in recognition of her work in the area of the control of glucose metabolism by insulin and exercise, and her recent discoveries of the immune component of insulin resistance.

David Malkin receives Henry Friesen Award from the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation

Dr. David Malkin, Senior Scientist in the Genetics & Genome Biology Program, and Staff Physician in Haematology/Oncology, has received the 2015 Henry Friesen Award and Lecture from the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation (CSCI) for his leadership in the field of cancer genetics and his pioneering discoveries of the molecular basis of Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS).

LFS is a unique cancer predisposition syndrome that causes an almost 100 per cent lifetime cancer risk to patients. Since his discovery of inherited mutations of the p53 tumour suppressor gene as the cause of most cases of LFS, Malkin has refined the indicators for genetic testing for at-risk patients. In 2011, he developed a clinical surveillance protocol, known as the Toronto Protocol, designed to improve early tumour detection with the goal of improving patient outcomes. This protocol is now being used across the world and has substantially improved the rate of survival for these patients. Malkin’s research demonstrates the continuum of translational research and shows how basic laboratory research is helping transform the care for children and families predisposed to cancer.

“The recognition of genetic risk as a significant factor in the development of cancer in both children and adults has taken decades to be appreciated. We now know that our genetic ‘makeup’ is important in defining our risk of cancer – and this is leading to exciting opportunities to discover new ways to prevent cancer in genetically at risk individuals, to detect cancers at an extremely early stage in those who get them, and to treat them in individually precise ways. Discoveries in cancer genetics will transform the care of patients with these devastating diseases,” says Malkin.

Congratulations to our SickKids staff on your achievements!