UTDRO residents and fellows honoured at 2018 graduation BBQ
The University of Toronto’s Department of Radiation Oncology (UTDRO) celebrated and honoured the graduation of 17 radiation oncology fellows, six radiation oncology residents and six medical physics residents at the University of Toronto’s Hart House on June 6, 2018.
UTDRO Chair Dr. Fei-Fei Liu welcomed everyone to the event and praised the graduates on their outstanding achievement. “This is an opportunity for us to recognize the hard work, dedication and perseverance of the graduates and their family members,” said Dr. Liu. “You have all demonstrated exception talent and skills and have made a valuable contribution to our program and to the future of our professional field.”
Dr. Liu commented on how UTDRO is recognized nationally and internationally for having one of the top academic cancer programs in the world and that the graduates face fierce competition to get into the program.
Dr. Glen Bandiera, Associate Dean, Post Graduate Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, also attended the event and provided a few opening remarks. “Your success today represents a tremendous amount of hard work, attention to detail and raw talent,” said Dr. Bandiera. “I wish all graduates great success in the future, may your time at UTDRO serve you well as clinicians, scholars, leaders and change agents, wherever you have chosen to continue your career.”
Dr. Michael Milosevic, UTDRO Vice Chair of Research, announced the Research Day Awards, which acknowledge the contribution the trainees made through their research to the program. Research Day occurred earlier in May and showcased the work of UTDRO’s trainees, who are supervised by various faculty members during their projects. The Research Day Awards were presented to the following recipients:
- R. S. Bush Award - Academic Excellence in Research by a Radiation Oncology Fellow: Dr. Fabio Moraes
- J. R. Cunningham Award - Academic Excellence in Research by a Physics Resident: Dr. Leigh Conroy
- Richard P. Hill Award - Academic Excellence in Research by a Graduate Student: Ariana Rostami
- W. J. Simpson Award - Academic Excellence in Research by a Radiation Oncology Resident: Dr. Pencilla Lang
- Best Poster Award: Dr. Nhu-Tram Nguyen
- Chair's Award for Academic Excellence in Research: Dr. Roja Zakariaee
The chief physics resident, chief radiation oncology resident and the chief fellow presented the teaching awards to UTDRO faculty. These awards recognize faculty who are nominated by the trainees. The following faculty members were recognized for their exceptional mentorship and guidance throughout the program:
- Residents’ Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching: Dr. Eric Leung
- Residents’ Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching by a Fellow: Dr. Mark Niglas
- Physics Residents’ Award for Excellence in Physics Teaching: Dr. Douglas Moseley
Dr. Andrea McNiven, Director of the Physics Residency, Dr. Andrea Bezjak, Director of Medical Residency, and Dr. Peter Chung, Director of Fellowship, presented the completion certificates to our trainees and Dr. Gregory Czarnota, Executive Vice Chair, concluded the evening saying that the trainees make the program what it is today.
“It was a great experience,” said Dr. Ekaterina Tchistiakova, medical physics resident. “There’s a lot of great people to learn from and there’s a lot of expertise in the field, but it’s also really great to be done and I’m really excited about things to come.” Dr. Tchistiakov will be moving on to work for the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary.
Dr. Pablo Munoz, radiation oncology fellow, was equally excited to be finishing the program, but was also sad to be moving on. “I’ll truly miss working at UTDRO. At the same, I’m looking forward to new challenges and to starting my SBRT program back in Chili with all the knowledge and learning from UTDRO.”
View the 2018 graduation BBQ photo alblum.
Learn more about our residency and fellowship programs at radonc.utoronto.ca.