Sinai Health redefines world-class care by assembling top-tier talent and cultivating exceptional leaders. Meet some of the leaders who push boundaries, discover breakthrough treatments, engage our community, and embody the future of health care.
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Community Leader
“Supporting health care is a necessity.”
An active philanthropist, writer and photographer, Shani Mornan has a deep appreciation for nurturing and giving back to the communities that have raised her. As a Leadership Sinai (LS) board member, Shani is excited to work with a group of like-minded individuals equally passionate about giving back to those communities. Shani currently leads LS’s signature program, Lunch with Leaders. The series creates a space for like-minded philanthropists to network and develop their leadership skills.
“Having an opportunity to engage with the Sinai Health community knowing there’s a possibility it may impact even just one life, is a wonderfully fulfilling feeling and the very least I can do,” says Shani. “Supporting health care is a necessity. Period. None of us are here without it and at some point, we, and all our loved ones will need to be supported in order to sustain or regain our own health.”
In addition to LS, Shani sits on the board of directors at BGC Toronto Kiwanis where she chairs the fundraising committee.
Researcher
“With more than 100,000 new strokes in Canada every year, there is evident urgency for additional support for stroke survivors and their families.”
Dr. Michelle Nelson is a health services researcher at the Science of Care Institute, part of the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, striving to close the gap between hospital, home and community for patients with complex care needs.
Her current research, a first-of-its-kind study in Canada, aims to create an evidence-based, transitional at-home support program for stroke survivors, drawing on the lived experiences of patients and their families. The $1.8 million project will recruit, train and match volunteers to newly discharged stroke survivors, offering them crucial psychosocial and practical support as they navigate their recovery.
“With more than 100,000 new strokes in Canada every year, there is evident urgency for additional support for stroke survivors and their families,” she said.
By systematically evaluating and demonstrating the value of community and volunteerism in improving patient experiences and health outcomes, Dr. Nelson’s work has the potential to reshape the landscape of stroke care in Canada and around the globe as she is a Vice President of the World Stroke Organization.
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Physician
The first academic hospitalist to work at both Mount Sinai and Hennick Bridgepoint Hospitals.
Dr. Jordan Pelc is the hospital medicine director and medical informatics lead for Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital where, as the first academic hospitalist working across both campuses, he has helped facilitate a significant expansion of the clinical and academic output of the hospital medicine program.
He provides care to inpatients in both acute and post-acute campuses at Sinai Health. Dr. Pelc supervises medical learners at both sites and is involved in formal educational activities such as small group facilitation, elective design and grand rounds development.
Dr. Pelc uses both quantitative quality improvement methods and qualitative narrative methods in his academic work. His projects include improving care for in patients with brain injuries and substance use disorders, developing novel approaches to ethical issues for hospital patients, and optimizing the efficient use of the hospital electronic medical record. He has helped develop a number of interdisciplinary collaborations which continue to produce academic output.
He is also an Assistant Professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto where he completed his medical degree, residency and fellowship training, as well as a Master of Science in chemical physics.
Clinical Scientist
“My hope is to build robust research programs to enhance palliative care practice.”
Dr. Kieran Quinn, a clinical scientist and general internal medicine and palliative care physician at Mount Sinai and Hennick Bridgepoint Hospitals, is among the University of Toronto School of Graduate Studies recipients of the Governor General’s Gold Medal for academic excellence. This is one of the highest awards for graduate students in Canada, with past winners including Kim Campbell, Pierre Trudeau and Tommy Douglas. He has also received the John Charles Polanyi Prize in Physiology/Medicine, a prestigious award that recognizes the top early career researchers and scholars in Ontario.
Dr. Quinn is passionate about improving access to high-quality, palliative care that can support people through serious illness and ensure the care they receive is aligned with their goals and needs for end of life. He focuses on improving access for people with non-cancer illnesses, such as heart failure or dementia.
“My hope is to build robust research programs to enhance palliative care practice so that, for these patients and their families, every day can be meaningfully spent together with the best quality for the remainder of their life,” says Dr. Quinn.
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Philanthropist
“The nurses, doctors and admin team at Mount Sinai Hospital saved our family.”
In November 2023, Maliyah’s Hike marked its fourth year of honouring National Prematurity Day. In recognition of Mount Sinai Hospital’s 100th anniversary, Dylan Riches, along with friends and family, hiked 100 km across and around Toronto in support of the Newton Glassman Charitable Foundation Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Dylan started this initiative in 2020 when his daughter Maliyah had a complicated birth, which led to a stay in the NICU. After Maliyah came home happy and healthy, Dylan organized this hike as a way to show thanks for the care Maliyah and her parents received. To date, he has raised more than $74,000 in support of Sinai Health.
“I think that what the community has done for Sinai Health Foundation is pretty incredible,” Dylan said. “When my daughter was in the hospital, I knew I was in one of the best hospitals in the world, so she was receiving truly the best care. If anyone is going through this, you are not alone and you are in the best hands possible.”
Researcher
“The next big step is using cutting-edge technology.”
As a surgeon-investigator, Dr. Tsoi splits her time between the operating room and the research lab, where she hones her training in biomedical engineering and nanotechnology to better understand sarcoma — the same cancer Terry Fox had.
Dr. Tsoi believes sarcoma research is on the cusp of breakthroughs. “The next big step is using cutting-edge technology to better understand what drives these tumours,” she says, “and the infrastructure at Sinai Health will help us offer these therapies.”
Home to the largest multi-disciplinary sarcoma program in Canada, Sinai Health’s Chris Hugh Sharp Cancer Centre is one of the top three sarcoma research centres in the world, which is why 85 per cent of patients come from outside the city to receive its world-renowned care and expertise.
Dr. Tsoi’s research is being recognized by the federal government. As a recent recipient of a Canada Research Chair, a prestigious appointment reserved for retaining top research talent, her work is supported for the next three years.
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