FrançaisCongratulations to the 2024 CSIM Award Recipients!
Dr. Vincent Chien
CSIM Award for Distinguished Service in General Internal Medicine 2024
Dr. Vincent Chien is a General Internist and Palliative Care Physician in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto and a member of the Division of General Internal Medicine at Sinai Health.
Full biography
Vince has held multiple clinical and educational leadership positions including successful tenures as FitzGerald Academy Director at U of T (2004-2010), Chair MAC, Bridgepoint – (1998-2007) and Medical Advisor for Program Development at Bridgepoint (2001-2007). He was also one of the original co-architects and proposal authors for the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, an international centre for excellence in Knowledge Translation in Healthcare. He was also instrumental in helping Bridgepoint Hospital (a post-acute care hospital specializing in rehabilitation, complex care and palliative care) develop its Medical Education infrastructure and attain academic affiliation status with the University of Toronto in 2010.
He has also helped to shepherd Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital to become the number 1-ranked Faculty of Medicine teaching site at the University of Toronto (2019-2024) in terms of average teaching effectiveness score and rotation effectiveness scores during his tenure as Bridgepoint’s Director of Medical Education.
Dr. Michael R. Kenyon, MBBCh, Dip.Av.Med(SA), FCP(SA), FRCPC (GIM-Founder)
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, UBC
CSIM Award for Distinguished Service in General Internal Medicine 2024
After graduating from The University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, Dr. Michael Kenyon completed his internship and Senior House Officer training at Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, then did national service in the South African Army Medical Service during the bush war in South-West Africa and Angola, where he was awarded the SADF/SAMS Distinguished Combat Service Award.
Full biography
Dr. Kenyon relocated to Canada in 1991, where he built a distinguished career, became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada and was designated a “Founder” of the specialty of General Internal Medicine. Dr. Kenyon is a member of the Waap Lagaax Gisbutwada, Ts’msyen First Nation, he is known as “Halaaytim Lax G’eelm” or “Shaman of the Kalum,” and he currently serves as Head of Internal Medicine and ICU in Terrace. He is a Fellow of The American College of Physicians & Past Governor of the BC Chapter.
His contributions to the medical community include serving as Head of Critical Care at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital most of 2001- 2022, establishing a tertiary ICU at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, an HAU Service (and new buildings for both) and helping to create a nephrology service that led to the opening of the Nanaimo Renal Unit in 2010. He did 3 tours of duty in the Role 3 (Main) Combat Hospital ICU on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. His dedication has earned him several accolades, including the 2019 UBC Faculty of Medicine Award for Career Excellence in Clinical Teaching, the 2020 RCCBC Award of Excellence in Rural Medicine: Lifetime Achievement and the 2023 Mikhail Award for Medical Education. He continues to work an FTE at NRGH ICU despite “retiring” in 2022.
Dr. Nabha Shetty
CSIM Atlantic Award for Mentorship 2024
Dr. Nabha Shetty joined the Department of Medicine at Dalhousie University in 2016 after completion of training in General Internal Medicine, with an academic focus on Quality Improvement and clinical expertise in Obstetrical Medicine.
Dr. Shetty’s brings a passion for system change, with particular attention to Goals of Care as they relate to frailty, and reducing healthcare’s carbon footprint through alignment of resources with value. She is an advocate for generalism in medicine and her teaching philosophy is to help learners see the big picture and bring out their inner generalist.
Dr. Natasha Larivée-Relja
CSIM Atlantic Award for Mentorship 2024
Dr. Natasha Larivée-Relja was born in Montreal, but grew up in Saint John, New Brunswick. After attending UNB for her undergraduate degree, she completed her Masters degree in pharmacoepidemiology at McGill University. After that, she completed her core internal medicine training at Dalhousie University in Saint John and now is in her fellowship in General Internal Medicine.
Outside of her professional life, Dr. Larivée enjoys thrifting and crafting, running, and watching British crime shows. She enjoys community medicine and looking forward to set up her practice. She has a particular interest in endocrinology and obesity medicine.
Dr. Fahad Razak
CSIM National Award for Mentorship 2024
Fahad Razak is an internist at St Michael’s Hospital (Unity Health Toronto), Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Data-Informed Health Care Improvement at the University of Toronto, and Vice President Research at the Canadian Society of Internal Medicine
Full biography
Fahad completed a degree in Engineering Science (Biomedical Engineering) and Medical Doctorate at the University of Toronto, and was the first physician appointed as the David E. Bell Fellow at Harvard University. He is a Senior Fellow at Massey College and on the advisory board of the BMJ. Notable recognitions include the Dr. Robert Sargeant Award for mentorship, Dean’s Emerging Leader Award and the President’s Impact Award at the University of Toronto; the Canadian Society of Internal Medicine’s New Investigator Award; and the Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship from the PSI Foundation.
Fahad served as Scientific Director for the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table and contributed to over 50 science and policy briefs that shaped Ontario’s response to the pandemic. He is a member of the Federal Expert Panel on Science Advisory and Research convened by the Minister of Health.
Fahad Razak, MSc, MD, FRCPCInternist, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health TorontoProvincial Lead, General Medicine, Ontario HealthCanada Research Chair in Data-Informed Health Care Improvement, University of TorontoAssociate Professor, Faculty of Medicine and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto
Dr. Matthew Patel
CSIM National Award for Mentorship 2024
Dr. Matthew Patel graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and completed his core internal medicine residency at McMaster University. At RCSI, he was involved in the Canadian Irish Medical Students Association, peer tutoring and mentorship, and served on multiple academic committees. In residency, he has continued his mentorship of Canadians studying medicine abroad and expanded his mentorship to include those attending Canadian medical schools and junior residents as well. At McMaster University, Matthew contributed to the Academic Half Day, Journal Club and Wellness Committees. He is grateful for all his mentors and recognises that effective mentorship goes beyond career advice. Matthew is completing his general internal medicine fellowship at the University of Toronto and is looking forward to continued involvement in mentorship, leadership and medical education.
Dr. Ayelet Kuper
CSIM Senior Investigator Award 2024
Dr Ayelet Kuper is a Professor in the Department of Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto and an Internist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
Full biography
A child and grandchild of Holocaust survivors, she received a doctorate in Holocaust literature from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar prior to her medical training; between June 2022 and June 2023 she served as the Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s Senior Advisor on Antisemitism.
She has been teaching and doing committee work related to social justice for a wide range of equity-seeking groups for many years; she has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers, many of which are related to power, equity, and inclusion in medical education.
Dr. Kieran Quinn
CSIM New Investigator Award 2024
Dr. Kieran Quinn is a General Internist and Palliative Care Clinician-Scientist at Sinai Health in the Department of Medicine and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto and an Adjunct Scientist at ICES.
Full biography
Dr. Quinn served on the Ontario Palliative Care Network and as Assistant Scientific Director for the Ontario Science Advisory Table. He co-led the establishment of Canada’s national Long COVID research network and was appointed an expert member of the National Task Force on post COVID-19 condition. He was recently named a national co-chair for the development of clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of post COVID-19 condition in Canada. His early research success includes over 100 publications and more than $29 million dollars in competitive grant funding.
Dr. Quinn was awarded the Governor General’s Gold Medal for Academic Excellence and the John Charles Polanyi Prize in Physiology and Medicine. He has mentored 14 trainees who have published and won several awards for their work together.
Dr. Michael Quon
CSIM Health Promotion Scholarship 2024
Michael Quon is a General Internal Medicine specialist at The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) and an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa. He is on a mission to improve support and accessibility for physicians and trainees with disabilities.
Full biography
In collaboration with the CMA, he developed a national community of practice, named Physician Health Inclusion, for physicians and trainees with disabilities and chronic conditions. He is leading a national collaborative to develop a best practice PGME process for accommodations of residents with disabilities.
His commentary to address ableism in physician well-being planning was recently published in JAMA.
Recipient of the CSIM Medical Education Award 2024
Dr. Hadi Tehfe
Dr. Hadi Tehfe is a first-year Internal Medicine resident at the University of Ottawa. He also completed his medical school training at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Tehfe’s academic interests include clinical research, postgraduate medical education, point of care ultrasound and General Internal Medicine. His current project that will be supported by the CSIM Medical Education Award focuses on the perceptions of medical residents on what constitutes effective feedback. When not engaging in medical education, Hadi is spending his time visiting Canada’s 100 best restaurants with friends and family.
Recipient of a CSIM Education and Research Fund Scholarship 2024
Dr. William Silverstein
Dr. William Silverstein is a general internist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and an Assistant Professor (Clinician in Quality and Innovation) in the Department of Medicine and the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. His academic interests lie at the intersection of QIPS, resource stewardship, health services research, and educating clinicians to incorporate high-value care into their practices. He holds several leadership roles in organizations dedicated to reducing low value care, including as Lead of Choosing Wisely Canada STARS, Chair of the Canadian Society of Internal Medicine’s Choosing Wisely Committee, and Editor of the Teachable Moments Series at JAMA Internal Medicine, which publishes articles that seek to educate medical trainees about the harms that result from overuse of health services.
Recipient of a CSIM Education and Research Fund Scholarship 2024
Wei Fang Dai, MD, MPH, Internal Medicine Resident, University of British Columbia
Dr. Dai completed her medical degree at the University of Toronto and her Masters in Public Health at Columbia University. She is a current resident in Internal Medicine at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Dai is passionate about integrating technology into medical education. She is particularly interested in leveraging 3D printing to create simulation models for medical trainees to develop procedural skills. She has previously led an initiative to distribute over 300 3D-printed stethoscopes to incoming medical students. She is passionate about applying her research knowledge to explore the validity and feasibility of 3D-printed educational models to enhance internal medicine training.
Winners of the 2024 Abstract Competitions
| Research/QI Oral Competition 1 – Ms. Catherine Andary 2 – Dr. Michael Reaume 3 – Mr. Louis Park |
Clinical Oral Competition 1 – Dr. Shaima Kaka 2 – Mr. Nicolas Sanchez 3 – Dr. Nicole Hawe |
| Research/QI Poster Competition 1 – Dr. Michael Wong 2 – Dr. Stephanie Hinton 3 – Dr. Valerie Kim |
Clinical Poster Competition 1 – Dr. Natalie Rakocevic 2 – Dr. Jia Li Liu 3 – Dr. Jade Choo-Foo |