Welcome New Radiation Oncology 2023 PGY1s!
On March 22, 2023, we had another successful CaRMS Match Day.
Please join us in welcoming our newest medical students who will become PGY1 residents as of July 1, 2023:
- Dana Bartolucci (Northern Ontario School of Medicine, NOSM)
- Elina Cook (Queen’s University)
- Maleeha Qazi (University of Toronto)
- Neelabh Rastogi (McGill University)
Dana Bartolucci
Dana was born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario and attended the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) for her medical training. Prior to this, she completed her undergraduate degree in Radiation Therapy through Laurentian University and the Michener Institute. In her spare time, she enjoys dancing, baking, and keeping up with the automotive industry. She cannot wait to get started with her Radiation Oncology training - what a full circle moment for her. And of course, she also can't wait to move to the vibrant city of Toronto!
Elina Cook
Elina grew up mostly in Finland, and moved to Toronto to complete an undergraduate degree in Human Biology at the University of Toronto. She discovered Radiation Oncology during her Master’s degree in the Department of Medical Biophysics through her supervisor Dr. Stanley Liu at Sunnybrook, and became very interested in radiobiology and normal tissue radiotoxicity. During her MD/PhD at Queen’s University, she developed skills in translational research, focusing on clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential. She aims to apply this expertise back to radiobiology and radiotoxicity.
She cannot wait to begin training at the UTDRO, and to delve into all that Toronto has to offer, academic and otherwise. She is looking forward to living life to the fullest with her spouse, and exploring all the attractions and events of the city together. She also plans to pursue her research interests with vigor!
Maleeha Qazi
Maleeha Qazi was born in the beautiful valley of Quetta, Pakistan and moved to Toronto as a refugee at the age of 14. Having witnessed the experiences of many family members with cancer, she initially pursued a career in cancer research and completed her undergraduate and PhD in biochemistry at McMaster University. While she worked on developing models to study treatment resistance and identify new therapeutic targets in brain tumours, her interactions with patient partners and the oncology team motivated her to undertake further training in medicine.
During her medical education at the University of Toronto, she found that her most clinically nurturing and rewarding experiences amalgamated in the practice of Radiation Oncology, where she could practice a wide breadth of oncology care using cutting-edge technology and in a truly patient-centered and multidisciplinary team environment.
Outside of medicine, she spends her time being a mom to a very energetic 2-year-old and together they love to read, paint, run around in playgrounds, and spend time with family and friends.
Maleeha is delighted to be joining the UTDRO team for the next stage of her training and she looks forward to all the opportunities that will allow her to grow further in her role as a future clinician-scientist.
Neelabh Rastogi
Neelabh was born in Hamilton and raised in Ottawa, where he completed his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering. That is also where he developed the unreasonable dream that very soon, one day, the Senators will be Stanley Cup champs (before the Leafs, obviously). Neelabh then went on to pursue his medical education at McGill University, where he discovered radiation oncology late in the game. However, the unique mix of meaningful patient interaction, clinical impact and innovation made the decision to pursue a career in this field, an easy one. Outside of medicine, you can find him going to the gym, playing sports with friends, following all things hockey related and exploring by eating his way through the dynamic city of Toronto. Neelabh is very excited to be part of and learn from an exceptional group of clinicians and researchers at UT-DRO!
