“Kudos and Congratulations” recognizes achievements by faculty, residents and trainees in the Department of Surgery. Please send items to be included to alice.mui@ubc.ca
71. – A diamond in the Northern sky
Congratulations to:
Dr. Nadine Caron (General Surgery), based in Prince George
who has received the Queen Elisabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal from Governor General David Johnson. Dr. Caron is an accomplished surgeon as well as contributes considerably to many communities and constituencies. She is a member of the: Governing Council of CIHR, Board of Director of MSFHR, and Research Advisory Committee of the Terry Fox Research Institute where she ensures the voices of Canada’s northern, rural and Aboriginal populations is heard and respected. Dr. Caron is also an organizer of the Family Physicians and Extended Surgical Skills training in conjunction with the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada, an organization who honored her with their annual “Rural Service Award” in 2012.
posted : 2013-February-19
70. – Top 40 under 40
Congratulations to:
Dr. Carl Brown (General Surgery)
who has received a Business Vancouver “Top 40 under 40” award which recognizes outstanding leadership and community contributions of exceptional young professionals.
Dr. Brown is a colorectal surgeon at St. Paul’s Hospital where he has developed innovations which have reduced the invasiveness of life-saving procedures and shortens recovery times. As the president of the Providence Health Care Medical Staff Association, he also brings together more than 1000 physicians, surgeons and midwives to work more effectively together.
posted : 2013-February-19
69. – Breast cancer research on the island
Congratulations to: 
Dr. Pauline Truong (Clinical Professor, Radiation Oncology) and her post-doctoral student Dr. Nelson Leong,
who have been awarded a year-long fellowship from the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, BC/Yukon Chapter. Dr. Leong will join the BC Cancer Agency and Division of Radiation Oncology and Developmental Radiotherapeutics in Victoria to study the risk of brachial plexopathy when adjuvant breast cancer nodal radiation therapy is delivered over 3.5 weeks compared to a more standard 5+ weeks of treatment. Dr. Truong has developed an international reputation for conducting and publishing innovative breast cancer outcomes projects and has successfully attracted a series of fellows to work on such projects through the BC Cancer Agency centre in Victoria.
posted : 2013-February-19
68. – Need 74 more general surgeons
Congratulations to: 
Dr. Hamish Hwang (General Surgeon, Vernon Jubilee Hospital)
and
Dr. Ahmer Karimuddin (General Surgeon, St Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver)
who have just published a study in the BC Medical Journal showing that BC needs 74 more general surgeons. This article was profiled last week in the Vancouver Sun. For more information please read the article
posted : 2013-February-12
67. – A balanced grant for an ENT surgeon
Congratulations to: 
Dr. Desmond Nunez (Head, Division of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery)
who has received a grant from the BC Balance and Dizziness Disorders Society to study
“Does the location of injury in the vestibular system determine the severity of balance impairment?
Dizziness is a common complaint estimated to affect approximately 1 in 4 adults of all ages. In specialist dizziness clinics an inner ear cause can be identified in 51% of patients. New balance function tests allow the site of weakness in the inner ear balance system to be better determined.
Dr Nunez and his co-researchers Dr. Art Mallinson and Dr. Neil Longridge based at the Vancouver General Hospital Neurotology unit will seek to investigate if damage to different areas of the inner ear balance system predicts the way in which patients are affected.
posted : 2013-February-12
66 – CIHR operating (grant) success
Operating grants from the CIHR for 3 Dept of Surgery faculty members who you would only want to operate in a research lab……
Congratulations to: 
Dr. Megan Levings (General Surgery)
who has received a grant to study “The role of FOXP3 and IL-1-family cytokines in regulating CD4+T cell subsets in healthy humans, and in patients with chronic skin inflammation”. The immune system is designed to recognize the difference between harmful and non-harmful foreign proteins, and to not react against proteins that normally exist in an individual. When the processes controlling these functions breakdown, diseases such as autoimmunity and allergy can result. Although many cell types work together to regulate immune responses, one of the major players is the CD4+T cell. Dr. Leving’s lab has discovered new pathways of regulation, and proposes to study these pathways to better understanding of how CD4+T cells can cause disease and to make use of this knowledge to help patients with chronic inflammatory diseases.
Congratulations to: 
Dr. Lucy Marzban (General Surgery)
who has received a grant to study “Molecular mechanisms of islet amyloid mediated beta cell death”. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is characterized by progressive dysfunction and death of insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas which results in elevated blood glucose levels. Patients with T2D have protein amyloid in their islets. Amyloid deposits are toxic to beta cells and contribute to progressive beta cell death in patients with T2D. Dr Marzban’s group will investigate the molecular mechanisms by which amyloid formation destroys beta cells with the aim of developing therapeutic approaches to preserve insulin producing beta cells.
Congratulations to: 
Dr. Alice Mui (General Surgery)
who has received a grant to study “Negative Regulation of Immune Cell Function”. Although immune cell activation is an important host defense mechanism, this inflammatory reaction must be carefully regulated in order to avoid pathological consequences. Interleukin-10 (IL10) is a secreted protein which is a key inhibitor of immunce cell activation. Dr Mui’s lab concentrates on characterizing IL10-induced signalling pathways in order to provide new insights into development of anti-inflammatory therapies for treatment of diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis and organ rejection.
posted : 2013-February-4