Linda Rabeneck, MD'74

Linda Rabeneck, MD’74

As the Vice-President, Prevention and Cancer Control, Dr. Rabeneck oversees Cancer Care Ontario’s prevention, screening, research and surveillance programs. Dr. Rabeneck is also a Professor in the Department of Medicine, at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, and at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. She is also a Senior Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) in Toronto. She is a gastroenterologist and clinician scientist.

Dr. Rabeneck played a leadership role in launching ColonCancerCheck in Ontario, Canada’s first organized, province-wide colorectal cancer screening program.

Dr. Rabeneck leads an active research program focusing on the quality and effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening, and has authored approximately 200 peer-review publications. She currently serves as Global Chair of the World Endoscopy Organization (WEO) Colorectal Cancer Screening Committee, which meets annually in the US and in Europe to facilitate sharing of new knowledge and best practices in colorectal cancer screening around the world.

Dr. Rabeneck has received several awards including a “Women’s Health Hero” Award from Chatelaine magazine in 2004 and the distinction of Master of the American College of Gastroenterology in 2007. In 2007, Dr. Rabeneck was the honoree at the annual Colon Cancer Canada Gala of Hope, held in Toronto. In 2008, Dr. Rabeneck was the recipient of the Achievement, Commitment and Excellence (ACE) Award given to the ColonCancerCheck program team by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Dr. Rabeneck was elected to Fellowship in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2012.

Dianne Miller, MD’80

Dr. Dianne Miller is the Division Head of Gynaecologic Oncology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of British Columbia and a gynaecologic oncologist at Vancouver General Hospital and the BC Cancer Agency. She is also the Provincial Gynaecology Tumor Group Chair for the BCCA, and a member of Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. Dr. Miller completed a BSc in Microbiology at UBC and subsequently her MD again at UBC. She interned at the Toronto Western Hospital prior to working as a Family Doctor in Yellowknife NWT for 2 and ½ years. In 1988, Dr. Miller completed her Royal College certification in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at UBC. This was followed by completion of a Royal College Fellowship in Gynaecologic Oncology at the University Toronto in 1990. Dianne has been employed at BCCA (British Columbia Cancer Agency) and UBC since that time.

In 2000, Dr. Miller co-founded OvCaRe, a group of physicians and scientists with the common goal of enhancing ovarian cancer research in British Columbia, and with the explicit goal of improving outcomes for ovarian cancer patients. Dr. Miller is actively involved in both clinical trials and in collaborations with translational and basic scientists.

(Dr. Miller and the team have had a great impact on prevention initiatives, understanding the genesis of common ovarian cancers, and in using targeted therapies for ovarian cancer. In 2010 her team made a breakthrough that they believe may result in a 50% drop in the incidence of High grade serous cances over the next 20 years. They believe that incidence and mortality rates will be greatly reduced if women getting routine hysterectomies or tubal ligations have their Fallopian tubes removed too, instead of following current practice and leaving them intact. In addition the use of routine genetic testing for BRCA 1 and 2 mutations will contribute to a decrease in incidence of HGS cancers. As doctors learn about these findings and implement this practice into current surgeries, we will begin to see the preventative effect on women worldwide.)

Residents in a New Residence

Beginning residency training coupled with moving to a new city and meeting new people can be a bit overwhelming to say the least so we want to show you that you aren’t alone in these new cities and that there are many UBC Faculty of Medicine alumni living all over the country.

If you’re doing your residency in Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa or Toronto, RSVP today for a social evening where you can meet and mingle with other UBC Faculty of Medicine Alumni in your new ‘hometown’.

All UBC Faculty of Medicine alumni are invited to attend this event and help welcome the new Residents to their cities. All events are free of charge and will include complimentary appetizers and 1 beverage of your choice. Cash bar following.

Click here to register.

Peter Lennox, MD’91

Dr. Peter Lennox has a lot of grateful patients. As a top breast reconstruction surgeon in Vancouver, he gives back what was taken during a mastectomy – for the women, his work provides something positive in a dark time. His brave patients keep him galvanized. Respected widely, Lennox remains an innovator, motivator, educator, and someone to watch.

Lennox now serves as Interim Head of UBC’s Division of Plastic Surgery. As a UBC medical student he was torn choosing between specialties, however, it seems the young Lennox made a good choice. Now having been in practice for 15 years, Lennox still exhibits an obvious intellectual interest in plastic surgery and a rich satisfaction in the many ways he can help patients, while inspiring the next generation of surgeons.

In addition to breast reconstruction, Lennox is active in all aspects of plastic surgery including skin grafting for burn victims, hand reconstructions, facial and body trauma, and soft tissue reconstructions, to name a few. With no two bodies or medical problems identical, he must always tailor each operation for each patient – it’s this marriage of problem solving, innovation, and anatomy that keeps him so keen and interested. (We know Dr. Bill Ovalle will be pleased that his anatomy lectures continue to have such an impact!)

“If you show five plastic surgeons a plastic surgical problem, you’ll probably get five different answers. And they’re all interesting, not wrong – they’re just different approaches using plastic surgery principals,” explains Lennox.

In 2012, Lennox was one of the first Canadian plastic surgeons to adopt a procedure to save a woman’s nipples during breast reconstruction. This is just one innovation among many in the specialty – changing technology dictates that plastic surgeons continuously learn and refine new procedures, to the great benefit of patients.

Although he performs many types of surgeries, Lennox credits his interest in breast reconstruction to his mentors, including the late Patricia Clugston, MD ‘86 who gave him inspiration, training, and friendship, before succumbing to scleroderma at the age of 46. There is now a research-focused breast reconstruction Chair at UBC in her honour and Lennox will be choosy in helping to decide who will fill her shoes.

As a clinical associate professor and division head, Lennox himself has now become the mentor for many emerging surgeons and hopes his continued enthusiasm about the ever-changing specialty will rub off on them. Lennox is also a champion of “community building” between academic and private practice plastic surgeons, and works to sustain the longstanding tradition of camaraderie among plastic surgeons in Vancouver.

“The UBC plastic surgery program has a fantastic reputation that has been built on the backs of the residents. So all of us who graduated from it are very proud and protective of it,” explains Lennox.

Lennox shares his life with his wife of 21 years, two children and a dog. He also employs a “cruel” personal trainer to keep himself fit.

Keith Neufeld, MD’11 & Anastasia Neufeld, MD’11

It always seems as if a love story can be told very differently, depending on who you speak to, the husband or the wife. In this case, Keith and Anastasia Neufeld seemed to be on the same page when recalling the details of how they met, minus a few Keith’s memory lapses!

According to Keith, the first day of medical school at UBC was spent meeting classmates, getting to know one another, and getting oriented to the program. It didn’t take Anastasia long to get to know Keith and pegged him as ‘the flirt’. Intrigue got the best of her and here is where Keith says that Anastasia mentioned in passing to Keith, “You’re a flirt…when will it be my chance?” (memory lapse?!). Well, whatever the way the story went, Anastasia did get her chance when Keith stayed late after class one day to walk her to the bus loop and asked if she would study for an upcoming Histology exam with him.

In a short time there were ski trips, medical mission trips, and local road trips. All in hopes of spending as much time together as possible. On one of their road trips to Seattle to celebrate Anastasia’s birthday, Keith proposed to Anastasia in a parking lot. Already living together and knowing that their remaining years in medical school were only going to get more hectic, Keith and Anastasia tied the knot 5 months later on a beach in Mexico, surrounded by good friends and family.

The rest is… history! Keith and Anastasia finished medical school last spring and are completing their residencies in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Adjusting to a new environment and missing their families, Keith and Anastasia are constantly there for each other and are continually learning new things about each other every day. “It’s the things you don’t know about your partner that makes you love them even more” mentioned Keith at the end of our interview. Somehow, we think with beautiful words like that, the ‘memory lapses’ in how he and Anastasia fell in love, aren’t so bad.

-Written by Kira Peterson

Gareth Eeson, MD’08 & Jenny Dicus, MD’08

On the first day of Medicine 2004 we were seated alphabetically in orientation groups. That’s when I, Jenny Dicus, first met Gareth Eeson. Luckily the path lab was also arranged alphabetically because in between looking at slides I often caught this sneaky devil making eyes at me. It took until Spring of first year until we actually starting dating. A trip to India that summer sealed the deal. We got engaged in Julian Alps on a trip after we picked up our Medicine degrees. We married the following summer and celebrating hiking in Iceland. This year we welcoming our son, Henry, into the world!

Jeremy Neufeld, MD’11 & Caitlin Naylor, MD’11

We met on the second day of medical school during the orientation week scavenger hunt. Our eyes locked while passing a lightly salted pretzel from one toothpick to another. We threw our heads back in laughter as we watched our fellow classmates fall to the ground after spinning deliriously around tennis racquets. The day culminated with our glistening bodies soaking up the west coast sun following a super soaker event that we will not soon forget. We grew closer during the next few months and spent the next four years getting to know each other through the trials and tribulations of medical school. We supported each other during months of cramming for exams followed by participating in Weepers parties and class trips. We took advantage of the opportunity to travel to India for a medical elective during fourth year. We got engaged on a beach in Goa under an Indian sunset. The joy and support we shared with one another transitioned us into a cross-Canada couples match extravaganza. This resulted in our match to the Ottawa Anesthesia and Family Medicine Programs. We were fortunate to have each other during the moving process and the start of a new adventure. We are writing this letter with bellies full of Mexican delicacies as we have recently returned from Nuevo Vallarta where we were united in wedded bliss. It seems our love has come full circle as we will soon be celebrating our wedding reception in Vancouver at the MSAC alongside our medical community friends and family.

-Submitted by Jeremy Neufeld, MD’11

Bill Sanders, MD’84 & April Sanders, MD’84

While consuming as many free cookies as possible at student orientation in 1980, Bill Sanders never guessed that he would also be meeting April, his future wife, that day. By the end of that first day of medical school Bill and April had set their first date which would take place a week later at Simpatico Ristorante on West 4th. Enjoying each other’s company tremendously, they moved in together a month later and were married within the year. They recently celebrated their 30 year anniversary by taking their 2 children, one of whom was celebrating a 21^st birthday, back to that very restaurant where they had their first date. Being the adventure seeking couple that they are, they also headed south for scuba diving and an exploration holiday to the Galapagos and Machu Pichu.

-Written by Kira Peterson

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UBC Enthusiastic Alumni Needed

Looking for a chance to reconnect and be involved with your alma mater? Dreaming of being a university student all over again? You’re in luck! alumni UBC is preparing for another exciting Alumni Weekend and we’re looking for 150 volunteers to help us make it happen!

Alumni Weekend takes place on Saturday May 24, 2014 and is an annual event that invites UBC alumni to Point Grey Campus for a day of exciting workshops and classes (without quizzes!), tours of the attractions on campus and a chance to reunite with old friends.

Volunteers will assist at the various venues, tours, educational sessions and registration. They will also help with event preparation, assist with wayfinding and transportation and overall, ensure that everyone feels welcome. Volunteer shifts are only 5 hours long so you can enjoy the day!

For more information and to register to be a volunteer CLICK HERE

Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health

New Centre for Brain Health to unite research and patient care

Media Release | February 27, 2014

Photo: Don Erhardt

The Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health will house clinics, research and education facilities.

Canada’s largest integrated brain centre officially opens today, uniting research and patient care to change the way brain disorders are treated and studied.

The Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health (DMCBH), a partnership between the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health, unites under one roof research and clinical expertise in neuroscience, psychiatry and neurology in order to accelerate discovery and translate new knowledge into better treatment and prevention strategies.

The DMCBH is home to clinics for Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, depression and other brain disorders. Innovative programs that integrate research and patient care, led by Canada’s top researchers – including Canada Research Chairs, BC Leading Edge Endowment Fund Leadership Chairs and a Canada Excellence Research Chair – will offer British Columbians improved access to treatments and clinical trials.

The DMCBH will also house research labs in concussion, stroke, addiction and healthy aging, and serve as a venue for the education and training of hundreds of medical students and graduate students.

Affecting one in three Canadians from early childhood to old age, brain dysfunction costs more than $30 billion annually and is expected to overtake heart disease and cancer as the leading cause of death and disability in Canada by 2020.

Visit UBC News (news.ubc.ca/category/cbh) for a special series on research at DMCBH. Photographs of the DMCBH are available at news.ubc.ca/2014/02/27/cbh/.

To learn more about DMCBH, visit www.centreforbrainhealth.ca.