Faculty

Dr. Laura Donahoe completed her undergraduate degree in Health Sciences at McMaster University and received her M.D. from Queen’s University. She did general surgery training at Dalhousie University and thoracic surgery training at the University of Toronto, with a one-year fellowship specializing in CTEPH, mesothelioma and lung transplantation. She also completed a MSc in Health Sciences Education at McMaster University. Her research interests are varied and include surgical education, specifically technical skill simulation and assessment, and clinical outcomes in transplant, CTEPH and germ cell tumours.

Dr. Jonathan Yeung is Assistant Professor in the Division of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Toronto and Director for the Thoracic Foregut Surgery Program at UHN. He obtained his MD from the University of Toronto in 2005 and studied gene therapy and ex vivo lung perfusion as part of his PhD in the lab of Dr. Shaf Keshavjee.  Following residency in General and Thoracic Surgery in Toronto, he pursued fellowship training in Lung Transplantation in Toronto and Surgical Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.  His clinical practice covers general thoracic surgery and lung transplantation with an additional focus on foregut surgery.  His lab focuses on improving the personalized care of his patients using molecular approaches.  Projects currently include the development of organoid technology to help predict responses to chemotherapy for patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma and the development of blood tests to anticipate transplanted organ dysfunction before clinically apparent injury.

Dr. Wakeam attended medical school at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and completed his postgraduate training in General Surgery and Thoracic Surgery at the University of Toronto. While a general surgery resident, he pursued a master’s degree in public health (MPH) from Harvard and a surgical outcomes research fellowship at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the Center for Surgery and Public Health. During his general surgery residency he was awarded the Resident Mentor Award. Following his general thoracic fellowship training, he undertook additional sub-specialty training in lung transplantation as a fellow in the Toronto Lung Transplant Program at Toronto General Hospital.

After training, Dr. Wakeam joined the faculty at the University of Michigan in 2019 as assistant professor in the Section of Thoracic Surgery. While at the University of Michigan, he maintained a busy general thoracic practice with a focus in foregut surgery as part of the University of Michigan Foregut Program, one of the largest in the United States. In his second year of practice, he was appointed the surgical director of the Michigan lung transplant program. He also founded and co-led the multidisciplinary Michigan Complex Airway Intervention Program (M-AIR).

At UHN, he practices minimally invasive general thoracic surgery with a focus on esophageal, airway and complex general thoracic surgery, and participates in the Toronto lung transplant program. His research interests are in development of clinical trials in lung transplant and thoracic oncology, quality improvement, and health policy and quality measurement in lung transplantation.

Prior to joining the Division of Thoracic Surgery at the Toronto General Hospital, Dr. Czarnecka-Kujawa completed her Internal Medicine, Respirology and Interventional Thoracic Surgery training at the University of Toronto and obtained her Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Dr. Czarnecka-Kujawa’s clinical practice focuses on minimally-invasive diagnosis of thoracic disease including primary and metastatic lung and other cancers using cutting-edge technologies of Endobronchial Ultrasound- guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration (EBUS-TBNA), radial probe EBUS, narrow band imaging, autofluorescence and navigational bronchoscopy. Through the unique training that combined Respirology and Interventional Thoracic Surgery, Dr. Czarnecka-Kujawa has been an important addition to the Lung Rapid Assessment and Management Program (LungRAMP) at the Toronto General Hospital, assisting patients in their cancer journey at all stages of the disease from the diagnosis, through the pre-treatment assessment, and palliation of primary and recurrent lung cancer. As a chairman of the multidisciplinary LungRAMP triage rounds, Dr. Czarnecka-Kujawa oversees an important quality metric of the Program – the timely access to cancer care by streamlining the diagnostic process and assisting in access to clinical trial participation.

Dr. Czarnecka-Kujawa is the clinical director of the multidisciplinary Rapid Assessment of Complex Pleural Effusion (RACE) Program at the Toronto General Hospital, a program focused on timely evaluation and definitive management of malignant pleural effusion and diagnostic assessment of undiagnosed exudates with the goal of reducing malignant pleural effusion-related hospital admissions and improving patient’s quality of life.

Dr. Czarnecka-Kujawa is a clinician Investigator at the University of Toronto. Her research interests are centered around two major topics: 1) health technology assessment with specific focus on population with malignant and benign disease of the thorax, evaluating the relationships between evidence based medicine and decision modeling and use of administrative data to develop longitudinal costing models; 2) assessment of health-related quality of life in patients with malignant diseases of the thorax.
Dr. Czarnecka-Kujawa is collaborating closely with the clinical investigators within the Division of Thoracic Surgery and The Toronto Health Economic and Technology Assessment Collaborative (THETA) focusing on projects related to translational research in lung cancer and expanding evaluation of new technologies and programs and evaluating their clinical and economic impact by performing their cost-effectiveness assessments and developing longitudinal cost models using local costing data.

Dr. Czarnecka-Kujawa has participated in clinical practice guideline development through the Cancer Care Ontario (CCO). She has offered her expertise and contributed to the development of the lung cancer entry and transfer of care criteria, the lung cancer diagnostic pathway and pulmonary nodule assessment and follow up through her participation in the diagnostic assessment program and solitary pulmonary nodule working groups within the CCO.

Dr. Czarnecka-Kujawa is actively involved in Interventional Pulmonology training at the University of Toronto as one of the clinicians within the Interventional Thoracic Surgery training program. She participates in education of Thoracic Surgery and Respirology trainees and other specialty trainees in topics related to Interventional Pulmonology through didactic sessions within structured courses and simulation training at a local and international level (i.e. American Association of Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology annual postgraduate courses, American College of Chest Physicians, American Thoracic Society, University of Toronto EBUS-TBNA and radial probe EBUS training courses, University of Toronto Thoracic Boot Camp, Toronto Thoracic Refresher Course, University of Toronto Thoracic Surgery and Respiratory Academic half day).

Dr. Czarnecka-Kujawa is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology.

Dr. Waddell is the Pearson-Ginsberg Chair, Division of Thoracic Surgery, University of Toronto and Head of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at University Health Network, including Toronto General Hospital. Dr. Waddell received his MD from the University of Ottawa in 1987, where he received the Gold Medal in Surgery. He completed surgical internship at St. Michael’s Hospital before joining the University of Toronto General Surgery Residency Program. He pursued basic laboratory training for 5 years as part of the Surgical Scientist Program, completing his MSc with Alec Patterson in 1992 and his PhD with Greg Downey in 1995.

He received numerous honours for his research work including the Governor General’s Gold Medal and the Royal College Prize for Resident Research. He completed General Surgery training in 1997 and his Thoracic Surgery fellowship in 1998. Following completion of clinical training he undertook an additional year of laboratory research as a McLaughlin Fellow at Imperial College in London, England. He was appointed as Assistant Professor in 2000, promoted to Associate Professor in 2004, and was promoted to Full Professor in 2010. He has earned numerous distinctions, including the Blalock Scholarship from the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, a CIHR New investigator Award, a CFI New Opportunities Fund Award, the George Armstrong Peters Prize in the Department of Surgery, a Wightman-Berris Individual Teaching Award, and was recognized with the R. Fraser Elliott Chair in Transplantation Research in 2005 and the Richard and Heather Thomson Chair in Translational Research in 2010. In 2011, he received the highest research honour from the University of Toronto Department of Surgery, the Lister Prize.

He runs a large lab with funding from the Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education, CIHR, Heart and Stroke, the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Roche Organ Transplantation Research Foundation, the PSI Foundation and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. His laboratory focuses on alternative approaches to the chronic shortage of donor lungs, especially stem cell and regenerative medicine approaches to lung disease. He leads the lung group for the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine. His clinical interests include lung transplantation and lung volume reduction surgery, lung cancer and especially minimally invasive and robotic thoracic surgery.

He co-founded two companies related to lung re-conditioning for lung transplantion (EVLP). He continues to lead one of these, XOR – Labs Toronto Inc as CEO. XOR – Labs Toronto is developing medical devices to facilitate EVLP.

Shaf Keshavjee is a Thoracic surgeon and Director of the Toronto Lung Transplant Program. He is Chief of Innovation at University Health Network (UHN). He is Professor of Thoracic Surgery and Biomedical Engineering and Vice Chair for Innovation, Department of Surgery, Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto (UofT).

Dr Keshavjee completed his medical training at UofT in 1985. He subsequently trained in General Surgery, Cardiac Surgery and Thoracic Surgery at UofT followed by fellowship training at Harvard University and the University of London for airway surgery and heart-lung transplantation, respectively. He joined the faculty at UofT in 1994 and was promoted to Full Professor in 2002. Dr. Keshavjee was the inaugural holder of the Pearson-Ginsberg Chair in Thoracic Surgery and served as the Chair of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Toronto from 2004 to 2010. He served as Surgeon-in-Chief of University Health Network from 2010-2022. He currently holds the Donald K. Jackson Chair in Lung Transplant Research.

Dr Keshavjee’s clinical practice is in thoracic oncology, lung cancer and lung transplantation. He has a passion for surgery and innovative research. He is a Senior Scientist and Director, Latner Thoracic Laboratories in the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, UHN. He leads a large team of researchers in a foremost pulmonary research program and is widely published in the field. His specific research interest is in lung injury and repair related to transplantation. His current research involves the study of support systems, molecular diagnostics and gene therapy to repair organs and to engineer superior organs for transplantation.

Dr. Keshavjee has served on the board of directors of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, the Canadian Society of Transplantation, and the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, where he also served as Treasurer and 102^nd President. He has received numerous awards for contributions to medicine, including the George Armstrong Peters Young Investigator Award, Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 Award, the Colin Woolf Award for Excellence in Medical Education, and the Lister Prize in Surgery – the highest award for research achievement in the Department of Surgery at UofT. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and has been awarded Honorary Doctor of Science Degrees from both Ryerson University and Queen’s University. He was also awarded an Honorary Fellowship to the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh for his service to mankind.

He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Society for Transplantation, the Lifetime Achievement Award from Canadian Blood Services, and the American Society of Transplantation Innovation Award for contributions to the field of lung transplantation. He was awarded the prestigious Medawar Prize from the Transplantation Society for his profound influence on the field of organ transplantation. He received the prestigious Flance-Karl Award from the American Surgical Association – awarded to a surgeon who has made a seminal contribution in basic laboratory research which has been applied to clinical surgery for his work in ex vivo organ perfusion. He also received the FNG Starr Award – the highest national award from the Canadian Medical Association recognizing a physician for their outstanding and inspiring lifetime achievement.

Dr Keshavjee has received two Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medals and the national Governor General’s Award for Innovation. He was awarded the Order of Ontario in 2014 and received Canada’s highest civilian honour in 2013 with an appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Dr. Cypel is a Staff Thoracic Surgeon at University Health Network and an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto. He received his MD in 1999 and completed his general surgery and thoracic surgery residency program in 2004. In 2005 he started his post-doctoral research fellowship at the Latner Thoracic Surgery Laboratory supervised by Dr. Keshavjee, and he earned a Masters’ degree at the Institute of Medical Science/University of Toronto. During this time, he developed a new method of lung preservation and donor lung repair called Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion (EVLP). This method is now used clinically in Toronto and in many other centers, and has significantly increased the number of transplantable lungs. He subsequently performed a 3 years fellowship in thoracic oncology, cardiac surgery, and lung transplantation at the University of Toronto. During his training, he has received 13 awards, including the McMurrich Award given for the best fundamental science work by any level trainee in the Department of Surgery and the 1st Annual Zane Cohen Clinical Fellowship Achievement Award. He also achieved a large number of 1st author peer review publications including high impact journals such as Science TM and The New England Journal of Medicine. His main clinical interests are minimal invasive thoracic surgery for lung cancer, treatment of pulmonary metastases, artificial lung devices and lung transplantation.

Dr. Cypel academic interests are in lung transplantation, gene and cell therapy to repair injured organs, and the use of artificial lung devices. In thoracic oncology Dr. Cypel’s research is now focused in minimal invasive thoracic surgery, and the use of loco-regional therapies for the treatment of pulmonary metastases. He has recently earned a young investigator scholarship (Michael DeBakey Scholarship 2011-2013) from the American Association of Thoracic Surgery to develop an in vivo lung perfusion model to be used as platform for various anti-cancer metastases therapies, especially for colorectal cancer and sarcomas.

Dr. Marc de Perrot obtained his Medical Degree and completed his Surgical Residency at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. In 2000, he began his Clinical and Research Fellowship in Thoracic Surgery at the University of Toronto and obtained his Masters degree in the Thoracic Surgery Laboratory in 2002. In 2004, Dr. de Perrot complemented his training by obtaining a Fellowship in Thoracic and Vascular Surgery at Hospital Marie-Lannelongue in Paris, France.

In 2005, he joined the Division of Thoracic Surgery as a staff surgeon and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. In 2009, he was appointed Associate Professor of Surgery based on his research and clinical work.

Dr. de Perrot’s surgical expertise focuses on surgery for end-stage lung diseases such as lung and heart-lung transplantation as well as pulmonary endarterectomy for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. He is also the Head of the Toronto Mesothelioma Program and is involved in basic science research, new treatment with immunotherapy and combined modality therapy.

Dr. de Perrot is a prolific author with over 100 peer reviewed articles as well as several book chapters and state-of-the-Art review. In addition, he regularly presents at international symposia.

Dr. de Perrot is a regular reviewer for peer reviewed journals such as the American Journal of Transplantation, Annals of Thoracic Surgery, European Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery, Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, and Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

Dr. Kazuhiro Yasufuku is the Pearson-Ginsberg Chair, Division of Thoracic Surgery, University of Toronto and Head of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at University Health Network, including Toronto General Hospital. He serves as Director of Endoscopy and Director of the Interventional Thoracic Surgery Program at the University Health Network. He also holds the William Coco Chair in Surgical Innovation for Lung Cancer. Dr. Yasufuku is a graduate of Chiba University School of Medicine in 1992, completing his PhD in 2002. Prior to joining the Division of Thoracic Surgery in 2008, he had been a staff surgeon at Chiba University since 2003. He is an internationally known Thoracic Surgeon with specific expertise in minimally invasive thoracic surgery and minimally invasive diagnostic procedures.

Dr. Yasufuku has been a leader in the field of minimally invasive diagnostics and therapeutics for thoracic malignancy. He co-developed the Convex Probe Endobronchial Ultrasound in collaboration with Olympus and has successfully introduced the clinical application of EBUS-TBNA in Thoracic Oncology. His clinical interests include minimally invasive diagnostic and surgery for thoracic oncology and lung transplantation. He leads the Thoracic Robotic Surgery Program and GTx Program at the University Health Network.

He is a Senior Scientist at the Latner Thoracic Surgery Research Laboratory, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network. His research interests include development of new technology in early diagnosis and ultra-minimally invasive thoracic surgery, translational research in thoracic image guided therapeutics (GTx), nanotechnology enabled image guided intervention for lung cancer, and molecular profiling of advanced stage lung cancer by minimally invasive procedures. He has numerous ongoing clinical trials looking at the application of new technology in Thoracic Surgery and Interventional Pulmonology.

Dr. Yasufuku is very active in International Societies related to Thoracic Surgery and Interventional Pulmonology. He is Associate Editor for the Journal of Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology, Associate Editor for Respiration, STS Pearson’s General Thoracic Surgery E-book and the Editor in Chief for the World Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology Newsletter.

Dr. Andrew Pierre graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School in 1993 and then trained in General Surgery, completing his requirements in 1999. During that time, he spent two years in the thoracic surgical research laboratories, obtaining his Masters degree in the area of lung injury and transplantation under the supervision of Dr. Shaf Keshavjee.

After completing General Surgery, he spent two years in the Thoracic Surgical Training Program at the University of Toronto from 1999-2001. Dr. Pierre spent the following year at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center training in advanced minimally invasive surgical procedures as they apply to the lung, esophagus and mediastinum. Dr. Pierre joined the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Toronto General Hospital in 2002.

Dr. Pierre’s clinical work involves all areas of thoracic surgery, but his current areas of special expertise include minimally invasive surgery for the lung, esophagus, and stomach, lung transplantation, and tracheal reconstruction. Since 2006 he has been the Director of the Fellowship Training Program in Thoracic Surgery at the University of Toronto. He was also the Program Director for the Royal College Residency Training Program in thoracic surgery from 2011 – 2021.