I retired from the Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology one year ago. I have attached a CV, but a brief summary of my career is as follows:
1. I trained in Toronto in Internal Medicine and Hematology.
2. I then did postgraduate studies in molecular biology at the Samuel Lunenfeld Institute in Toronto, and in molecular virology at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.
3. I was appointed as active staff at UHN in 1988 and have worked there since; first at Toronto General Hospital, and then at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. For my initial 10 years there, I treated non-malignancy hematology and acute leukemia.
4. I ran a cancer genetics laboratory for 20 years at the University of Toronto that focused on the inheritance of testicular cancer and melanoma. My publications include papers in the NEJM and Nature Genetics.
5. I practiced as a medical oncologist at PMH for 25 years. My practice encompassed skin cancers (largely melanoma), testicular cancer, and sarcoma.
6. I was involved in many of the seminal trials in melanoma with both targeted therapies and immunotherapy. I was a coauthor on a number of papers in the NEJM.
7. I am Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto.
8. At the end of my career, I chaired the Oncology Research Ethic Board at UHN. I continued this administrative position following retirement. This is a very busy REB/IRB: we assess hundreds of cancer trials each year. I am deeply involved in the assessment and monitoring of these trials, and hence have considerable insight into current oncology investigative practice.
9. I am still courtesy staff at UHN, and have attended on the Cancer/GIM team at TGH. I will be taking a locum in Barrie, Ontario as a medical oncologist for 3 months from Sept-Nov 2023 to cover a colleague’s paternity leave. I will be managing patients with melanoma, sarcoma, and CNS malignancies. Taken together, I have a rather unique blend of experience in basic research, clinical trials, and current oncology practice. I think I would bring considerable knowledge and benefit to your startup. As you may have guessed from my preceding summary, ‘retirement’ is an unfamiliar concept to me.
