RESEARCH & Academic News

AWARDS, GRANTS & PUBLICATIONS

• February 19, 2025 - Dr. Fawad Ahmed was awarded the 2025 CAME/ACÉM Certificate of Merit Award. The aim of this award is to promote medical education in Canadian medical schools and to recognize and reward faculty’s commitment to medical education.
• January 29, 2025 - Ka-Kit David Yeung, Juanita Crook, Gregory Arbour, Cynthia Araujo, Deidre Batchelar, David Kim, David Petrik, Tracey Rose, Francois Bachand, HDR brachytherapy combined with external beam radiotherapy for unfavorable localized prostate cancer: A single center experience from inception to standard of care, Brachytherapy 2025.
• January 20, 2025 - Patel R, Mathews J, Hamm C, Kulkarni S, Gupta R, Opperman T, Chiong JD, Nasser A. Real-World Experience with CDK4/6 Inhibitors in the First-Line Palliative Setting for HR+/HER2− Advanced Breast Cancer. Current Oncology. 2025; 32(1):52.
• January 16, 2025 - Abbas U, MacKenzie R, Khan U, Fatima R, Wang TF, Luo R, Hamm C, Cervi A. Anticoagulant management of cancer-associated thrombosis and thrombocytopenia: a retrospective chart review. Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2025 Jan 16;9(1):102684. doi: 10.1016/j.rpth.2025.102684. PMID: 39990096; PMCID: PMC11847241
  

NEW WRH INVESTIGATOR-INITIATED PROJECTS

• Project Title: Uncharted Territory: Exploring the Clinical Features and Survival Patterns of Hormone Receptor-Negative, HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
  Principal Investigator: Dr. Caroline Hamm
• Project Title: Standard Chemo-Immunotherapy versus Real-World Protocols: Evaluating Outcomes in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Neoadjuvant Therapy
  Principal Investigator: Dr. Swati Kulkarni
  
• Project Title: Bridging the Gap: A Retrospective Analysis Evaluating the Prescriber Patterns of Anticoagulant Bridging at Windsor Regional Hospital
  Principal Investigator: Aneet Grewal, PharmD
• Project Title: Identifying the Gaps of Acute Opioid Toxicity and Withdrawal Management in the Emergency Care Setting at Windsor Regional Hospital
  Principal Investigator: Brianna Pelle, PharmD
  

AWARDS, GRANTS & PUBLICATIONS

• December 4, 2024 - During The ECMS's Annual General Meeting, many WRH Professional Staff were recognized for their work and ongoing dedication to the field of medicine. Join us in congratulating the following on their accomplishments:
• Dr. Anthony Pattinson - ECMS Life Membership
  
• Dr. Robert G. McKay - ECMS Life Membership
  
• Dr. Jennifer Jaco - ECMS Life Membership
  
• Dr. Bill Taylor - ECMS Life Membership
  
• Dr. Mark Awuku - OMA Presidential Award
  
• Dr. Kevin Tracey - 2024 OMA Life Membership
  
• Dr. Caroline Hamm - King Charles III Coronation Medal
  
• Dr. Fouad Tayfour - King Charles III Coronation Medal
  
• Dr. Marguerite Chevalier - King Charles III Coronation Medal
  
• Dr. Frank Demarco Sr. - King Charles III Coronation Medal
  
• November 14, 2024 - Hossami, M.; Abdel-Nabi, R.; Zaib, F.; Touma, K.; Nassar, R.; Rim, S.C.; Paunic, M.; Hilal, O.; Gupta, P.; Hirmiz, R.; Hamm, C,: et al. Facilitation of Enrollment onto Cancer Clinical Trials Using a Novel Navigator-Assisted Program: A Cross-Sectional Study. Curr. Oncol. 2024, 31, 7144-7154. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol31110526
• November 4, 2024 - Wu CHD, Wierzbicki M, Parpia S, Kundapur V, Bujold A, Filion E, Lau H, Faria S, Ahmed N, Leong N, Okawara G, Hirmiz K, Owen T, Louie AV, Wright JR, Whelan TJ, Swaminath A. Toxicity in patients receiving radiotherapy for ultracentral stage I non-small cell lung cancer: A secondary analysis of the LUSTRE randomized trial. Radiother Oncol. 2024 Oct 29;202:110605. doi: 10.1016/j.radonc.2024.110605. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39481606.
• October 13, 2024 - Bai Y, Bolger S, Khan S, Sangle N, Wang L, Cervi AL (2024). Primary Refractory Discordant Diffuse Large B-Cell and Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma. Journal of Hematology.
• September 26, 2024 - Dr. Sindu Kanjeekal received a $30,000 WE-SPARK grant for her work on Establishing a biomarker discovery platform to track progression to treatment resistant neuroendocrine prostate cancer.
• September 26, 2024 - Dr. Rasna Gupta received a $30,000 WE-SPARK grant for her work on CDK4/6 inhibitors as immune modulators in HR+/HER2- breast cancer.
  
• September 26, 2024 - Dr. Nikesh Adunuri received a $5,000 WE-SPARK grant for his project on Effect of Incentive Spirometry on Length of Hospital Stay in Non-Critically Ill Patients Admitted to a General Medicine Unit
• September 19, 2024 - Anand Swaminath, MD¹; Sameer Parpia, PhD²; Marcin Wierzbicki, PhD³; Vijayananda Kundapur, MD⁴; Sergio Faria, MD⁵; Gordon S. Okawara, MD¹; Theodoros K. Tsakiridis, MD, PhD¹; Naseer Ahmed, MD⁶; Alexis Bujold, MD⁷; Khalid Hirmiz, MD⁸; Timothy Owen, MD⁹; Nelson Leong, MD¹⁰; Kevin Ramchandar, MD¹¹; Edith Filion, MD¹²; Harold Lau, MD¹³; Zsolt Gabos, MD¹⁴; Robert Thompson, MD¹⁵; Brian Yaremko, MD¹⁶; Selma Mehiri, MD, PhD¹⁷; Alexander V. Louie, MD, PhD¹⁸; Kimmen Quan, MD¹; Mark N. Levine, CM, MD²; James R. Wright, MD, MSc1; Timothy J. Whelan, BM BCh1Stereotactic vs Hypofractionated Radiotherapy for Inoperable Stage I Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer: The LUSTRE Phase 3 Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncol. Published online September 19, 2024. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2024.3089
• September 19, 2024 - Basmaji, John MD1; Arntfield, Robert MD1; Desai, Karishma MD1; Lau, Vincent I. MD, MSc2; Lewis, Kim MD, MSc3,4; Rochwerg, Bram MD, MSc3,4; Fiorini, Kyle MD1; Honarmand, Kimia MD, MSc5; Slessarev, Marat MD, PhD1; Leligdowicz, Aleks MD, PhD1; Park, Brian BSc1; Prager, Ross MD1; Wong, Michelle Y.S. MSc1; Jones, Philip M. MD, MSc6; Ball, Ian M. MD, MSc1; Orozco, Nicolas MD7,8; Meade, Maureen MD, MSc4; Thabane, Lehana PhD4; Guyatt, Gordon MD, PhD4. The Impact of Point-of-Care Ultrasound-Guided Resuscitation on Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Shock: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Critical Care Medicine (), September 18, 2024. 
• September 4, 2024 - Ladak R, Fifield B, Porter L,, Hirmiz, K, Hamm, C  (September 03, 2024) Long-Term Survival in Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Positive Bone-Only Metastatic Breast Cancer: Trastuzumab, Denosumab, and Potential Synergistic Effects. Cureus 16(9): e68576. doi:10.7759/cureus.68576
• September 2024 - Parmar H, Gaul J, Xhaferllari I, Schneider K, Hirmiz K, Yousuf J, D'Alimonte L, Pan M (2024). Emergent Palliative Radiation Therapy During Ongoing Cyberattack: Designing Downtime Delivery Protocols to Ensure Safe and Effective Radiation Treatment. Radiotherapy and Oncology.
• August 20, 2024 - Fernández-Codina A, Nevskaya T, Baron M, Appleton C T, Cecchini M J, Philip A, El-Shimy M, Vanderhoek L, Pinal-Fernández L, Pope J E (2024). Brentuximab vedotin for skin involvement in refractory diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis, an open-label trial. Rheumatology (Oxford)
• August 20, 2024 - Fontyn S, Bai Y, Bolger S, Greco K, Wang T-F, Hamm C, Cervi A (2024). Inferior vena cava filter use at a large community hospital: a retrospective cohort study. Scientific Reports.
• August 20, 2024 - Ross L, Hansen D, Proudman S, Khanna D, Herrick A L, Stevens W, Australian Scleroderma Interest Group, Canadian Scleroderma Research Group, Baron M, Nikpour M, SCTC Activity Index Working Group (Collaborator - Fernández-Codina A) (2024). Development and Initial Validation of the Novel Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium Activity Index. Arthritis & Rheumatology
• August 16, 2024 - Yeung T, Agrawal R, Seesahai J, Warkentin T. A spontaneously healed distal femoral fracture in an infant born preterm: A case report and review of the literature. J Clin Ultrasound. 2024 Aug 16. doi: 10.1002/jcu.23781. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39151067
• August 1, 2024 - Ladak, Rahman; Sementilli, Massimo; Calandra, Jillian; Lazo-Langner, Alejandro; Siegal, Deborah; Wang,Tzu Fei; Luo, Rong; and Cervi, Andrea L.. (2024). Physician practice patterns on the use of inferior vena cava filters in venous thromboembolism. Research and Practice in Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 8 (6). 
• July 7, 2024 - Dr. Caroline Hamm, Dr. Hema Gangam and Schulich Students Omayma Al Jabiry, Mostafa Alimari, Sira Jaffri, Mahtab Malekian Naein, Megan Noble and Taraquin Opperman poster on Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child development compared to established age-matched standards was accepted at the 4th World Congress on Pediatrics and Neurology
• July 1, 2024 - Dr. Padma Naidu and students: Rishi Naidu, Rajanpaul Sandhu, Shruiti Rajasekharan and Mansi Arora's abstract Real-World Evidence Study of Naltrexone/Bupropion for Achieving Clinically Significant Weight Loss was accepted at The Obesity Society Annual Meeting.
  
• June 20, 2024 - Dr. John Mathews received the Excellence in Teaching and Mentorship award for Schulich Oncology

• June 18, 2024 - Dr. Andrea Cervi and Schulich Medical Students Pedrom Farid and Marco Quaijano received a SWORP grant for their Review of Quality Care Metrics for Patients with Sickle Cell Disease Presenting to Hospital: A Multi-Centre 10-Year Experience.
• June 18, 2024 - Dr. Swati Kulkarni and Schulich Medical Student Alexander Mung received a SWORP grant for their Identification of Patient Characteristics Affecting Outcomes in Mono-Immunotherapy Versus Combination Chemotherapy-Immunotherapy Treatment in Stage IV NSCLC Patients: A Prospective Cohort Study.
• June 18, 2024 - Dr. Mohammad Jarrar and Schulich Medical Students Chrystal Hyuynh and Emily Doucet received a SWORP grant for their Retrospective Chart Review of Sickle Cell Crisis Management in Pediatric Patients at WRH, ESHC, and CKHA.
• June 18, 2024 - Dr. Sahar Khan and Schulich Medical Students Francesco Vito, Rufina Ning, Allyson Ripley received a SWORP grant for their Retrospective analysis of the impact of prognostic and mortality scores in post-induction mortality in acute Leukemia Patients treated at Windsor Regional Hospital.
• June 5, 2024 - Dr. Rosy Laschuk was awarded the 2024 Newcomer Award at the WRH Professional Staff awards night.
• June 5, 2024 - Dr. Michael Coughlin was awarded the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award at the WRH Professional Staff awards night.
• June 5, 2024 - Dr. Caroline Hamm was awarded the 2024 Research Excellence Award at the WRH Professional Staff awards night.
• June 5, 2024 - Dr. Marguerite Chevalier was awarded the 2024 Spirit of Medicine Award at the WRH Professional Staff awards night.
• June 5, 2024 - Dr. Junaid Yousuf was awarded the 2024 Educator and Mentor Award at the WRH Professional Staff awards night.

•  May 29, 2024 - Dr. Kenneth Schneider, Dr. Kitty Huang and Dr. Ming Pan's study on Comparison of Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) and Conventional Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) for Locally Advanced Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Retrospective Cohort Study was published in Cureus.
• May 26, 2024 - Dr. Caroline Hamm received a 3-year grant from Breast Cancer Canada for her work on identifying appropriate clinical trials for patients with metastatic breast cancer.
  
• May 31, 2024 - Dr. Larry Jacobs received the 2024 Schulich Award of Excellence for Faculty in Distributed Sites.
  
• April 13, 2024 - Dr. Caroline Hamm's article Identifying and addressing a new barrier to community-based patients accessing cancer clinical trials was published in Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications
• April 12, 2024 - Dr. Ming Pan's case report on Metastasectomy and Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Colorectal Cancer With Liver and Lung Oligometastases: A Case Report of Complete Remission in a 96-Year-Old Patient was published in Cureus
• April 19, 2024 - Dr. Telford Yeung's study Sex-Based Differences in the Sonographic Characterization of Diaphragm Thickness in Preterm Infants With Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia at Term Corrected Age was posted in the Journal of Ultrasound Medicine
• March 28, 2024 - Dr. Syed Anees's article Inertial and Flexible Resistive Sensor Data Fusion for Wearable
  Breath Recognition was published in Applied Science
• March 20, 2024 - Dr. Padman Naidu's abstract on the Real-world Weight Loss Outcomes of Optifast® Total Meal Replacement Program in a Community Clinic has been accepted at the 31st European Congress on Obesity - ECO 2024
• February 5, 2024 - Dr. Swati Kulkarni's article the Real-world survival outcomes of immunotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer: A single-center retrospective review has been published. 
• February 26, 2024 - Dr. Indryas Woldie, Dr. Caroline Hamm, Dr. Rasna Gupta, Dr. Sindu Kanjeekal and Dr, Mohammad Jarrar's article on the Presentation and Outcome of Patients with Multiple Myeloma (MM), Single Centre Experience from Windsor Essex Regional Cancer Centre was published in the Journal of Blood Medicine.
• February 28, 2024 - Dr. Sabeen Anwar's article on Use of Apremilast to Achieve Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment Goals and Satisfaction at 1 Year in the Canadian Real-World APPRAISE Study has been published.
• January 30, 2024 - Dr. Andrea Cervi and medical students Umaima Abbas, Tzu-Fei Wang, Robin MacKenzie, Ushra Khan and Rija Fatima were awarded the Fall 2023 CanVECTOR Research Start-Up award for their study on Anticoagulant Management of Cancer-Associated Thrombosis and Thrombocytopenia: A Multicenter Retrospective Review
  
• January 18, 2024 - Dr. Caroline Hamm was awarded the CIHR SPOR Innovative Clinical Trials grant for the Clinical Trials Navigator program

NEW WRH INVESTIGATOR-INITIATED PROJECTS

• Project Title: Multi-Centre Retrospective Chart Review of Sickle Cell Crises Management in Pediatric Patients
  Principal Investigator: Dr. Mohammad Jarrar
• Project Title: Rates of Surgical Intervention and Gender Disparity in Spine MRIs ordered by Family Physicians versus Specialists
  Principal Investigator: Dr. Syed Naqvi
  
• Project Title: Histologic Compatibility Between Intraoperative Frozen Section Analysis and Permanent Section Analysis in CNS Tumors at Windsor Regional Hospital
  Principal Investigator: Dr. Abdul Naeem
  
• Project Title: Spinal Cord Monitoring versus Standard Care: Impact on Postoperative Neurological Outcomes
  Principal Investigator: Dr. Abdul Naeem
• Project Title: Spine Score
  Principal Investigator: Dr. Balraj Jhawar

• Project Title: The use of less invasive surfactant administration (LISA) versus Intubation Surfactant Extubation (InSurE) in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome
  Principal Investigator: Dr. Sajit Augustine

• December 2023 - Dr. Natalie Malus was asked to present and be a panel moderator at the Critical Care Canada Forum. Her presentation, and expert panel, was part of the Organ Donation Topic Stream. Panel topics include: "Practical Advice for Effective Approach and WLSM" and "Practical Challenges in Death Determination"
• October 17, 2023 - Dr. Swati Kulkarni was an author on the Systemic Therapy for Small-Cell Lung Cancer: ASCO-Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario) Guideline published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology
• September 20, 2023 - Dr. Andrea Cervi's article Antithrombotic Management of Patients with Deep Vein Thrombosis and Venous Stents: An International Registry was published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. 
• September 20, 2023 - Dr. Fawad Ahmed and Schulich Medical Student Erik Cassar's poster on the Cross-sectional Analysis of Impact of Covid Pandemic on the Presentation of Colorectal Cancer to a Large Community Hospital has been accepted to the Family Medicine McWhinney Day poster session.
• September 12, 2023 - Dr. Andreu Fernandez-Codina and Schulich PGY1 Resident Chris Nguyen have published a chapter in "Diagnostic Criteria of Autoimmune Diseases" edited by Dr. Yehuda Schoenfeld and Dr. Ricard Cervera.
• September 3, 2023 - Dr. Caroline Hamm and Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry students (Gopika Punchhi, Rainbow Negus, Hammad Saif Sharon Pritchard, Olivia Owen, Aman Sehmbi) manuscript on Real-world challenges in eligibility for MMR vaccination two years after autologous and allogeneic HSCT has been published.
• September 1, 2023 - Dr. Telford Yeung received a WE-SPARK 2023 Igniting Discovery Grant for his project - Reducing contamination in umbilical cord blood cultures for the diagnosis of early onset neonatal sepsis at Windsor Regional Hospital: A prospective cohort quality improvement study.
• September 1, 2023 - Dr. Indryas Woldie received a WE-SPARK 2023 Igniting Discovery Grant for his project -  A novel translational pipeline for the treatment of Multiple Myeloma.
• September 1, 2023 - Dr. Syed Naqvi received a WE-SPARK 2023 Igniting Discovery Grant for his project - Automated detection of brain metastases using machine learning.
• September 1, 2023 - Dr. Mason Leschyna received a WE-SPARK 2023 Igniting Discovery Grant for his project - Effectiveness of Ontario Naloxone program.
• September 1, 2023 - Dr. Caroline Hamm received a WE-SPARK 2023 Igniting Discovery Grant for her project - Expansion of the clinical trials navigator (CTN) program with staged introduction of the navigator program to demonstrate benefit to availability of the CTN program.
• September 1, 2023 - Dr. Amit Bagga received a WE-SPARK 2023 Igniting Discovery Grant for his project - Evaluation of a continuous glucose sensor in patients with diabetes on hemodialysis.  
• August 16, 2023 - Dr. Hamm, Dr. Woldie and medical students Abdelhady Osman and Alex Zhou's article Critical Illness in Migrant Workers in the Windsor-Essex Region: A Descriptive Analysis has been published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
• August 3, 2023 - Dr. Sahar Khan was awarded Schulich's Department of Oncology's Excellence in Academics and Teaching Award
• August 3, 2023 - Dr. Caroline Hamm was awarded the Bristol Myers Squibb grant for "Development of a Patient Directed Tool for Early Identification of Grade 2 toxicity in immunotherapy."
• July 29, 2023 - Dr. Tarek Elfiki and Dr. Khalid Hirmiz's article Adjuvant Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy in Resected Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Systematic Review and Clinical Practice Guideline has been published in Current Oncology.
• July 17, 2023 - Dr. Telford Yeung was awarded the 2023 Canadian Neonatal Network Early Career Investigator Award.
• July 14, 2023 - Dr. Ming Pan's Perceptions of Canadian Radiation Oncologists, Medical Physicists, and Radiation Trainees about the Feasibility and Need of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) in Canada: A National Survey was published in Cancers.
• June 29, 2023 - Dr. Padmaja Naidu's poster entitled “Real-world Weight Loss Outcomes of Optifast® Total Meal Replacement Program in a Community Clinic" was accepted at The Obesity Society Annual Meeting to be held during Obesity Week (October 14-17, 2023).
• June 28, 2023 - Dr. Robert McKay's Addiction Medicine team will be presenting at META:PHI 2023 on "Referral to Addiction Medicine Program in patients with substance use disorder - our experiences at WRH"
• June 22, 2023 - Dr. Swati Kulkarni & Dr. Junaid Yousuf have been promoted to Associate Professors at Western University
• June 21, 2023 - Dr. Caroline Hamm received the Above and Beyond award from the Faculty of Science at the University of Windsor
• June 13, 2023 - Dr. Robert McKay's Addiction Medicine team will be presenting at the CSAM-SMCA in British Columbia (October 19 - 21, 2023) on "A Cross-Sectional Study to Identify Baseline Data and Referral Rates to Addiction Medicine Services in Patients Who Present with Substance Abuse"
• June 13, 2023 - Dr. Sahar Khan received the Academics and Teaching Award at the London Cancer Research and Education Day for Windsor Oncology
• June 2, 2023 - Dr. Caroline Hamm and student Mahmoud Hossami presented the "Clinical Trials Navigation (CTN) program" at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago, Illinois. The poster was in the top 13 in its division, expanding on the importance of clinical trials and its effect on patient outcomes
• May 16, 2023 - Dr. Riley Jakob was chosen as a finalist in the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Ignite Competition for innovative teaching style. Dr. Jakob presented in Texas during May 2023 and finished 3rd place overall!
• May 16, 2023 - Dr. Telford Yeung was recognized by the Canadian Neonatal Network (CNN). The award recognizes a research project conducted in the past calendar year using the CNN data for those who are within 5 years of their staff appointment.
• April 27, 2023 - Dr. Indrayas Woldie, Dr. Pat Allevato, Dr. Ian Mazzetti and Dr. Caroline Hamm's case series "Amyloidosis: a case series and review of the literature" was published in the Journal of Medical Case Reports. 
• April 26, 2023 - Dr. Andrea Cervi & team had one of the top medical student research posters "IVC filter use in a large community hospital" at the Western Annual Conference 
• April 26, 2023 - Dr. Sahar Khan & team had one of the top medical student research posters "Use of a device to assess frailty in myeloma patients" at the Western Annual Conference
• April 26, 2023 - Dr. Indrayas Wolder, Dr. Caroline Hamm & team had one of the top medical student research posters "Critical Illness in Migrant Workers" at the Western Annual Conference
• April 17, 2023 - Dr. Indrayas Woldie, Dr. Caroline Hamm & team were accepted for their presentation on "Critical Illness in Migrant Workers" at the Bioethics Conference in Portugal.
• April 17, 2023 - Dr. Sahar Khan's abstract "Changes in Mental Status in Myeloma Patients on Imid Therapy" was accepted at the CoMy Myeloma Conference in Paris, France. 
• April 11, 2023 - Dr. Syed Anees' article " A Wearable Multisensor Patch for Breathing Pattern Recognition" was published in the IEE Sensors Journal
• March 28, 2023 - Dr. Fawad Ahmed's research study was published in the Journal of Primary Care & Community Health "Self-Reported Study Analyzing Physicians’ Personal Compliance with Health Prevention Guidelines in a Medium-Sized Canadian Community"