Camilla Zimmermann

Head and Lederman Chair, Department of Supportive Care, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

Head, Division of Palliative Care, University Health Network
Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto

Dr. Camilla Zimmermann is Head and Lederman Chair, Department of Supportive Care at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Head of the Division of Palliative Care at the University Health Network, and a Senior Scientist and Chair of Supportive Care Research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Research Institute in Toronto. She is also Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto, where she was the inaugural Director of the Division of Palliative Care. She is internationally known for her research on palliative and supportive cancer care, particularly in testing novel models of early, integrated palliative care for patients with advanced cancer.

Terry Cheng

PhD, RSW

Position: Social Worker/Clinical ResearcherDr. Terry Cheng PhD, RSW, is a Social Worker/Clinical Researcher at the Department of Supportive Care, Princess Margaret Cancer Center. She also holds an academic appointment of Assistant Professor (Status Only)at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto. Her research interests include cross-cultural, breast cancer survivorship, male partners of women living with breast cancer, and psychoeducation group interventions.

Shabbir M.H. Alibhai

MD, MSc, FRCPC

Medical Lead, Geriatric Oncology Program

Staff Physician and Senior Scientist

Dr. Shabbir Alibhai is a Clinician Scientist and a Professor in the Department of Medicine, the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, and the Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Toronto and the University Health Network.  His research interests are in prostate cancer and geriatric oncology, understanding the impact of disease and treatment on the quality of life and functioning of older adults as well as optimal treatment and supportive care of older adults with cancer.  As of early 2015, he is also the medical lead for the geriatric oncology program at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

https://www.uhnresearch.ca/researcher/shabbir-alibhai

Sarah Hales

MD, PhD, FRCPC

A psychiatrist and researcher in the Division of Psychosocial Oncology at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto.  Her research has been funded by the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Prostate Cancer Canada/Movember. Her clinical and research interests include the end of life experience as it affects both patients and families, and psychotherapeutic interventions aimed at alleviating distress in those facing advanced disease. Together with Dr. Gary Rodin she developed Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM), and trains and supervises health care professionals in delivery of this brief supportive expressive psychotherapy for patients living with advanced cancer. Together they authored the book Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully: An Evidence-Based Intervention for Cancer Patients and Their Caregivers (Oxford University Press, 2021).
UHN links:

https://www.uhn.ca/PatientsFamilies/Search_Doctors/Pages/doctor_detail.aspx?doctor=384

https://www.uhnresearch.ca/researcher/sarah-hales

Rinat Nissim

Ph.D., C. Psych.

Dr. Nissim is a staff psychologist and the co-director of the Caregiver Clinic at the Department of Supportive Care of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and an associate member in the Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto. Her research program aligns with her clinical focus on the psychosocial needs of family caregivers of individuals with cancer, utilizing qualitative and mixed-method research approaches.

Kenneth Mah

Scientific Associate, PhD, CPsych (Retired)

Kenneth Mah is part of Dr. Camilla Zimmermann’s and Dr. Gary Rodin’s teams, serving as a Scientific Associate. In his role, he provides research consultation across various research projects, develops manuscripts for publication, and created and conducts a seminar to provide new students with basic knowledge in research methods.

Kenneth Mah attended McGill University and graduated with his PhD in Clinical Psychology.

Jennifer A.H. Bell

Hon B.A., M.A., Ph.D.

Dr. Jennifer Bell is a bioethicist at the University Health Network (UHN), research scientist within the Department of Supportive Care, Research Division at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and education investigator 2 at The Institute for Education Research (TIER) at UHN. Dr. Bell is an assistant professor (status only) in the Department of Psychiatry and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and a member of the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto. Dr. Bell’s program of research addresses urgent ethical issues raised by revolutionary advances in cancer care, such as immune-oncology and gene editing technologies. As an early career scholar, she has led multiple funded projects focused on ethics and clinical trials and novel therapeutics. In recognition of her research achievements, she was honoured in 2020 with an Early Career Investigator Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research presented by the Canadian Association for Psychosocial Oncology. Dr. Bell is an ethicist member of the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health, the pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review Expert Review Committee, and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer – Health Economics Advisory Committee. Within Princess Margaret, Dr. Bell has experience developing fair priority-setting processes to support equitable patient access to emerging and costly therapies as well as clinical trials. She is Principal Investigator of the JustCan Ethics lab www.justcanethicslab.ca

Dr. Bell enjoys rock climbing, playing the banjo and sometimes the oud, and spending time with family.

Gilla K. Shapiro

MA (Cantab), MPP/MPA, PhD, CPsych

Dr. Gilla Shapiro is a part of Dr. Gary Rodin’s team, serving as a psychologist and postdoctoral fellow in the department of supportive care. In her role, she conducts research on the social determinants of health, health equity, end-of-life care, and health policy. Dr. Shapiro completed her doctoral degree in clinical psychology at McGill University and her dual-degree MPP/MPA at the Hertie School of Governance and the London School of Economics and Political Science. Gilla enjoys reading, biking, and travelling.

David Langelier

MD, FRCPC, MSc, Dip CSCN (EMG)

Dr. David Langelier is an Assistant Professor and Clinical Investigator in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. In 2018, he completed his Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency with additional certification in Electrodiagnostics (EMG) from the Canadian Society of Clinical Neurophysiologists. Following residency Dr. Langelier completed a fellowship in Cancer Rehabilitation and Survivorship from the University of Toronto. Dr. Langelier currently works at the Cancer Rehabilitation and Survivorship Clinic at Princess Margaret and has a clinical focus on improving functional impairments and quality of life in all cancer survivors and to increase exercise participation in men and women with cancer. His main areas of research include: examining the effect of physical activity on cancer associated impairments, creation of a surveillance models to effectively screen cancer impairments, physical activity promotion within the advanced/metastatic cancer population, and medical education in cancer survivorship.

Fun Fact: David enjoys baking and is currently taking extra classes to become a master baker.

Dr. Andrew Matthew

PhD. CPsych. Psychologist, Lead, Departments of Surgical Oncology and Supportive Care, Associate Professor,Departments of Surgery and Psychiatry, University of Toronto

Dr. Matthew’s clinical care and research focuses primarily on patients with prostate, testicular, bladder, and kidney cancer. Main topics of research include prevention, treatment decision-making, sexual rehabilitation, survivorship and patient quality of life.

I love to travel having been to nearly 50 countries around the world. Yet I still find nothing more captivating than boating across the open water as the sun sets on the endless horizon of Georgian Bay.

https://www.uhnresearch.ca/researcher/andrew-matthew