UTDRO Annual General Meeting 2024

UTDRO is delighted to share highlights from our memorable Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2024, held on Thursday, November 7. This year’s AGM celebrated the excellence and achievements of our exceptional faculty members. We extend our gratitude to all faculty for their invaluable contributions to teaching and advancing the academic mission at the University of Toronto.

Special thanks to our co-hosts, Drs. Deepak Dinakaran and Aruz Mesci, and to Drs. Laura Dawson, Eileen Rakovitch, May Tsao, David Hodgson, and Fei-Fei Liu, whose presentation of awards helped make this year’s AGM a resounding success.

During the AGM, Dr. Dawson announced an upcoming leadership change within the department. Ms. Cate Palmer will be stepping down and retiring from her role as Director of the Medical Radiation Sciences (MRS) program in mid-December. On behalf of the department, Dr. Dawson expressed heartfelt gratitude for Ms. Palmer’s exceptional contributions, dedication, and tireless efforts in training generations of future radiation medicine professionals.

We are also pleased to welcome Dr. David Hodgson as our new Vice-Chair of Research. Our deepest thanks go to Dr. Mike Milosevic for his outstanding service in this role, where he led numerous research initiatives and fostered a collaborative environment that has enriched our department's research efforts.

We invite everyone to join us in congratulating our newly appointed faculty, those who have earned senior promotions, and all of our UTDRO award recipients from this year’s AGM.

New Appointments

• Dr. Aishah AlQaderi - Lecturer, Odette Cancer Centre
• Dr. Andrew Chiang - Assistant Professor (Adjunct), Trillium Health Partners
• Dr. Deepak Dinakaran - Assistant Professor, Odette Cancer Centre
• Dr. Enrique Gutierrez - Visiting Clinical Professor, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
• Dr. Alex Karotki - Assistant Professor, Odette Cancer Centre
• Dr. Thomas McGowan - Assistant Professor (Adjunct), Trillium Health Partners

Senior Promotions

Professor

• Dr. Catherine Coolens - Medical Physicist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

Associate Professor

• Dr. Jennifer Croke - Radiation Oncologist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
• Dr. Benjamin Lok - Radiation Oncologist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
• Dr. Alexandra Rink - Medical Physicist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
• Dr. Danielle Rodin - Radiation Oncologist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
• Dr. Teodor Stanescu - Medical Physicist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
• Dr. Danny Vesprini - Radiation Oncologist, Odette Cancer Centre

Award Recipients 2024

Education Awards

Medical Radiation Sciences (MRS) Program

• Best Guest Lecturer Award
  • Ms. Nicole Cancelliere
  • Ms. Kayli Chen
• Excellence in Classroom Teaching Award – Ms. Jennifer Dang
• Excellence in Research Supervision Award – Ms. Madette Galapin
• Excellence in Clinical Supervision Award – Ms. Marnie Peacock

Undergraduate Medical Education  

• Best Clinical Teaching Award – Dr. Derek Tsang
• Outstanding Contribution to the Program Award – Dr. Barbara-Ann Millar

Postgraduate Medical Education     

• Classroom Teaching Award
  • Dr. Jillian Tsai
  • Dr. Matthew Wronski
• Advocacy & Mentorship Award
  • Dr. Jay Detsky
  • Dr. Jeffrey Winter
• Excellence in Research Supervision Award
  • Dr. Leigh Conroy
  • Ms. Sophie Huang

Leadership & Development Awards

• Cummings Educational Leadership Award – Dr. Andrea Bezjak
• Professional Development & CME Award – Ms. Darby Erler

Clinical and Experimental Radiobiology Course

• Excellence in Radiobiology Education Award – Dr. Scott Bratman

MR-integrated Radiation Therapy Training (MRiRT) Program

• Classroom Teaching Award – Ms. Ling Ho

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Research Awards

• Best Annual Research Performance Award – Dr. Mark Ruschin
• Sustained Excellence in Research Award – Dr. Robert Weersink
• Excellence in Research Leadership Award – Dr. Kathy Han

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Rising Star Award for Outstanding Research Potential

• Dr. Rachel Glicksman