Summer 2015 (Volume 25, Number 2)

Awards, Appointments, Accolades

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Dr. Earl Silverman was the 2014 recipient of the Excellence in Investigative Mentoring Award bestowed by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). This honour recognizes his outstanding contributions and ongoing mentorship in the Division of Medicine at the University of Toronto. In his role within the mentorship program Dr. Silverman oversees trainees in their academic pursuits, guiding them towards academic productivity and success. “The longer I work in this capacity, the more mutually beneficial the role becomes,” Dr. Silverman asserts. His contributions are tremendous: the program counts over 100 successful trainees from international institutions; notably, more than 50% of the fellows hold academic appointments.

When the Division began, Dr. Silverman’s position was more research oriented. As the Division expanded, so too did his role, evolving into one deeply rooted in mentorship and guidance. “I would like to give especial thanks to Dr. Ronald Laxer, who was my partner in starting the Division”, Dr. Silverman notes, “as well as Dr. Rayfel Schneider, who was initially responsible for trainees, and who graciously supported my own transition into the role of mentor.”

Dr. Mala Joneja of Queen’s University, in Kingston, Ontario, was awarded a 2015 Certificate of Merit from the Canadian Association of Medical Education (CAME). The Certificate of Merit is awarded to recognize and reward faculty for their contributions to medical education at Canadian medical schools.
Dr. Joneja’s contributions include promoting excellence in the training of future rheumatologists, as well as providing guidance and support for international medical graduates.

Dr. Joneja is also the recipient of the Associate Medical Services (AMS) Phoenix Project Fellowship (2012-2014). Her work with the AMS Phoenix Project highlights the use of critical-incident narratives during residency training to promote the development of compassionate physicians.

Dr. Linda Kwakkenbos is a post-doctoral Fellow at McGill University and Co-Director of the Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network (SPIN). After the 2012 completion of her PhD in Social Science at Radboud University, in the Netherlands, Dr. Kwakkenbos started working with Dr. Brett Thombs at McGill University. She initially coordinated the SPIN project, and was later named Co-Director. SPIN is an international collaborative team of researchers, clinicians, and individuals with scleroderma devoted to developing and implementing patient-centered care that targets important issues related to quality of life and well-being among people with scleroderma. SPIN is currently recruiting 2,000 patients with scleroderma for an ongoing cohort, which will provide the infrastructure for rehabilitation, educational, and psychological intervention trials.

Dr. Kwakkenbos recently received the prestigious Banting Post-Doctoral Fellowship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to continue her work in scleroderma and to expand the novel cohort trial concept to rare diseases more broadly.