Celebrating research excellence at the 47th Annual Shields Research Day

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The 47th Annual Shields Research Day showcased the growing strength of research within the Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, from basic science to clinical innovation and quality improvement. This year’s event, held on May 1, 2026, welcomed more than 400 attendees and featured outstanding work from trainees and researchers across the department.

This year’s Shields Day Lecture was delivered by Dr. Laura Niklason, whose talk, “From Inception to Commercialization – An Innovative Road,” explored the development of bioengineered arteries and offered a compelling perspective on translating academic research into real-world innovation.

We were also pleased to feature the Anesthesia Faculty Lecture by Dr. Akash Goel, “Beyond Suffering: Drug-Assisted Psychotherapy and Neuroplasticity in Chronic Pain,” which examined maladaptive neuroplasticity in chronic pain and highlighted emerging approaches, including drug-assisted psychotherapy.

The scientific program featured 18 oral presentations, highlighting high-quality work in basic science, clinical research and quality improvement/education. In addition, nearly 50 poster presentations showcased an even broader breadth of research from our trainees and researchers. Read the Book of Abstracts to learn more.

Awards

Throughout the day, awards were presented to recognize and celebrate exceptional contributions and achievements from faculty, trainees and researchers across the department.

Teaching Awards

• Dr. John Desmond Award – Dr. Sanket Agrawal (Toronto Western Hospital)
• New Faculty Teaching Excellence Award – Dr. Christopher Charles (Mount Sinai Hospital)
• Dr. Doreen Yee Award – Dr. Ki Jinn Chin (Toronto Western Hospital)
• Dr. Gil Faclier Award – Dr. Howard Meng (Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre)
• Dr. David Fear Award – Dr. Pablo Perez D’Empaire (Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre)
• Dr. Gerald Edelist Award – Dr. Simone Schiavo (Toronto Western Hospital)
• Interprofessional Teaching Award – Dr. Gregory Silverman (Mount Sinai Hospital)

Anesthesia Trainee Awards

• Arthur Scott Award in Anesthesia and Critical Care – Dr. Connor Brenna
• Dr. Alan W. Conn Graduate Award – Dr. Connor Brenna
• Thomas Donald Hammell Award – Dr. Calvin Diep
• Alan K. Laws Travel Award – Dr. Sigogini Sivarajah
• Evelyn Bateman and Arthur Scott Award – Bellinda Yin

Staff Awards

• Staff Teaching Award – Dr. Christopher Charles (Mount Sinai Hospital)
• Staff Teaching Award – Dr. Jesse Goldmacher (Toronto Western Hospital / Women’s College Hospital)
• Staff Mentorship Award – Dr. Henderson Lee (Michael Garron Hospital)
• Staff Teaching Award – Dr. Kan Ma (St. Michael’s Hospital)
• Staff Teaching Award – Dr. Farraj Massouh (Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre)
• Staff Teaching Award – Dr. Farrukh Munshey (Hospital for Sick Children)
• Staff Teaching Award – Dr. Selene Martinez Perez (Toronto General Hospital)
• Staff Teaching Award – Dr. Michelle Sattar (Michael Garron Hospital)
• Staff Teaching Award – Dr. Jaclyn Waddell (St. Joseph’s Health Centre)
• Staff Dr. Congeniality Award – Dr. Roland Xu (Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre)

Shields Day Awards

Outstanding Oral Presentations:

• Excellence in Basic Science – Dr. Cezar Souza
• Excellence in Clinical Science – John Tran
• Excellence in Quality Improvement/Education – Dr. Kathleen Vannelli

Outstanding Poster Presentations:

• Excellence in Basic Science – Dr. Connor Brenna
• Excellence in Clinical Science – Jessica Xiong
• Excellence in Quality Improvement/Education – Dr. Kathleen Vannelli

Thank you to all of our speakers, moderators, judges, abstract reviewers, and the Shields Research Day Planning Committee for their invaluable contributions to the 47th Annual Shields Research Day.