Deanna Cheng

Faces of Temerty Medicine: Gazelle Halajha

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 12 Sep 2023 18:22:44 +0000

Faces of Temerty Medicine: Gazelle Halajha

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 09/12/2023 - 14:22

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"During my surgery rotation at Sunnybrook’s trauma centre, I got to see and do so much," Halajha says. "I never felt more useful." (supplied image)

Deanna Cheng

Topic

Our Community

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Student Experience

Women's College Hospital

Gazelle Halajha, now entering her fourth year of medical school at the University of Toronto, believes it's important for doctors to recognize “when someone is struggling and needs more support.”

She witnessed those challenges first hand as her mother and “biggest role model” worked to give her children the best life possible, following the death of their father.

“I grew up in a single parent household and saw how often people in these situations can struggle to access care,” Halajha says. “I saw my mom’s health and well-being suffer as she worried about her next paycheque and how to provide for her children.”

The aspiring surgeon has conducted research in chemotherapy, quality improvement in trauma surgery and women’s health while working to help cover the cost of her education. Alongside the inspiration and support provided by her mother, Zena, she attributes her achievements and ability to balance her busy schedule to the support of multiple student awards.

She spoke with writer Deanna Cheng about what drew her to medicine and her dreams for the future.

Why did you decide to pursue medical school at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine?

I was born and raised in Toronto – my mom and my entire family lives here. When I was applying for medical school, I was looking at what was close to home and what fit my needs, as well as the kind of doctor I wanted to become. I wanted to be able to work in a place like Toronto, where there are people from all different walks of life coming into its hospitals who need help. Temerty Medicine trains you as a physician to recognize when someone is struggling and needs more support and that was big for me. It's a school that reflects my values.

What kind of doctor do you want to become?

I want to become a doctor who is inclusive and self-aware. I grew up in a single-parent household and saw how often people in these situations can struggle to access care. I saw my mom’s health and well-being suffer as she worried about her next paycheck and how to provide for her children.

What inspired you to become a doctor?

I always say that I wouldn't be anywhere in life without my mom. I learned through her what it meant to persevere and to be dedicated to what you love. My mom was 30 years old when my dad passed away in a car accident. To her, all that mattered was that she was working towards giving her two kids the best life possible. She is my biggest role model.

Now that you’re entering your fourth year of medical school, what can you tell me about your experience?

In my third year, I had my surgery rotation very early on and basically fell in love with the specialty. I know for certain it's what I want to do. During my surgery rotation at Sunnybrook’s trauma centre, I got to see and do so much. I never felt more useful. I soon realized that what I had a passion for was surgery especially in the areas of surgical oncology, breast cancer and trauma surgery.

Tell me more about your research in surgical oncology.

In my second year of the MD Program, I started working in the area of breast cancer. I found I was really interested in the surgical aspect of breast cancer treatment as well as in medications used and the effects they have on the body. I was mentored by and worked with Dr. Husam Abdel-Qadir, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and a staff cardiologist at Women's College Hospital, doing research related to chemotherapy and its cardiotoxicity. A lot of breast cancer patients are in their 20s and may wish to have children one day. I wanted to look at how chemotherapy affects egg fertilization and what it means for these patients. I’ve also started looking at caesarean section scarring. I haven't figured out exactly what I want to do in general surgery, but I just know that that feeling of excitement is something that I want to work towards.

You are also interested in trauma surgery. Can you tell me more about that?

While I was at Sunnybrook’s trauma centre, I saw patients coming in after experiencing vehicle accidents, shootings and stabbings. It's remarkable what these teams do to help patients in the operating room, while making sure their families are well supported. I lost my father quite young due to trauma from a car accident in Iran. The health-care system there is not the same as it is in Canada. Growing up, I spent a lot of time thinking about what would have happened to my dad if he had the car accident somewhere else in the world where the trauma response is faster. I'm curious to see what other parts of the world are like and am excited to take my knowledge and my skills to trauma centres around the world and to bring my experience back here, to Canada.

You received the T.S. Butcher Bursary and the Frank William Moore Award in Medicine from the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. In what ways has donor support helped bring you closer to this dream?

I committed to putting myself through school because my mom was a single parent. Medical school is costly, so I worked part time for my first two years. I was a nanny, I worked in retail, I also worked as an autism support worker at Woodview Mental Health and Autism Services and in research at Women's College Hospital. I was so thankful to have help from scholarships and bursaries, which made a huge difference. It was challenging to balance work with school and with my other extracurriculars. Support from donors meant I could focus more on my education and on myself and my well-being. Thanks to donors, I can dedicate my energy to learning and supporting patients and becoming a better doctor.

What has been your most memorable moment at Temerty Medicine so far?

One highlight was a Health Systems Research (HSR) course. I focused on types of cancers, like pancreatic cancer, which are caught so late in the game and are very devastating and very hard to recover from. A lot of my research was looking at young patients who receive chemotherapy treatments, and who later on have side-effects like heart failure. I wanted to investigate screening guidelines for these cancers. The research project yielded that lymphoma patients are at greater risk of cardiovascular events after treatment with chemotherapy. I created an abstract and was able to present it at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) annual meeting presentations. Now, we’re talking about creating guidelines that can be implemented across Toronto.

What do you think lies ahead for you?

Coming into medicine, my goal was to always, ultimately, give back. I hope that when I become a surgeon, I can make sure my patients are well supported and have adequate follow-ups. While I was clerking, I saw a lot of interdisciplinary work being done (involving social workers, occupational therapists, physical therapists, etc.). Many teams would come together to support individual patients. I hope my journey will include more training as part of interdisciplinary teams, so I can learn from different kinds of health professionals and take that knowledge to other hospitals.

U of T grad Ben Ouyang wants to answer the 'questions that matter most to patients and their families'

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 18:30:37 +0000

U of T grad Ben Ouyang wants to answer the 'questions that matter most to patients and their families'

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 08/17/2022 - 14:30

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Ben Ouyang, who earned a joint MD/PhD at U of T, is now a first-year resident at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston (photo by Julia Soudat)

Deanna Cheng

Topic

Our Community

Institute of Biomedical Engineering

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Alumni

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

When he was six years old, Ben Ouyang and his family emigrated from Tianjin, China to the United States and then settled in Canada.

He recalls being drawn to science at a young age, saying it inspired him to pursue his undergraduate degree as well as a joint MD/PhD at the University of Toronto.

A past recipient of the Doctor Henry and Helen Goldenberg Hematology Award from the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Ouyang is now a first-year resident at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Writer Deanna Chang recently caught up with Ouyang to ask him about his journey in medicine, how mentorship inspired his research in cancer nanomedicine and what his future holds.

Why did you decide to pursue medical school at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine?

At the end of my undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering, I felt like I only had a brief introduction to biology and medicine. I didn't really understand how the human body worked. I wanted to go to medical school to build a foundation of knowledge about human physiology and human pathophysiology – to continue asking questions about how and why the human body worked the way it does. Temerty Medicine allowed me to pursue both my research and medical training while opening opportunities with research labs in and around Toronto.

Why did you choose the concurrent MD/PhD training program?

While exploring medical school, I discovered the path of the physician-scientist – physicians who both care for patients and pursue biomedical research. I fell in love with research and felt I needed more background in the fundamentals of human biology so I could investigate scientific and medical questions and be more impactful with my work. I chose the MD/PhD program to help me focus on the questions that matter most to patients and their families. I’m hoping I’ll be able to find answers for them.

What question did you set out to answer and what problem were you looking to solve?

I spent five years in Dr. Warren Chan’s lab in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering looking as deeply as I possibly could into cancer nanomedicine. The field is built around the idea that we can deliver chemotherapy drugs more effectively into tumors by using nanoparticles. This would increase the delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs to tumors, shrinking them more effectively than if you just gave them on their own using classic chemotherapy. By analyzing 10 years of studies, Dr. Chan found that only about 0.7 per cent of the injected nanoparticles are delivered to the tumor, a number that has been pretty stagnant over time. It highlighted a big problem in the field and, with Dr. Chan, we worked to increase that number.

What were your research findings?

We identified that the biggest barrier to drug delivery is the liver, whose cells filter toxins from the body. It effectively scrubs up to 99 per cent of the injected nanoparticles. What I discovered in my PhD studies was that the liver cells have an inherent maximum capacity of nanoparticles that they can take up. If there are too many nanoparticles flowing through the blood vessels, these cells can no longer take them up quickly enough. Then the nanoparticles can flow right past them and continue on to the rest of the body and the tumour. Using this concept, we developed decoy nanoparticles that were empty, made with inert molecules without any loaded drugs. These decoy nanoparticles distracted the liver cells – enabling more of the nanoparticles loaded with drugs to make it to the tumor.

What could this mean for health and health care?

This innovation is now patent pending, and we are working to license it with a goal to translate it to humans. If all goes well, I hope that this method can be used with approved nanoparticles to increase the efficacy of killing tumors. It also has potential to extend beyond cancer to deliver medications like gene therapies. If we figure out how to overcome delivery barriers, then we can greatly expand the realm of possibilities for treating diseases.

What was your PhD supervisor like?

Dr. Chan is an incredible mentor. He taught me rigorous science while asking really interesting questions. He has this philosophy of mentorship where each student that passes through his lab receives a customized plan depending on their interests, goals and backgrounds. My first interview with him was scheduled for 20 minutes, but it went for two hours because he delved deep into my interests, career goals and my philosophy for research, and asked how he could fit into my journey. I am so grateful that these meetings with him continued throughout my PhD. I’ve also been lucky to have excellent research mentors through every step of my journey. It makes me excited to also give back to the community through my own mentorship.

What advice would you give to the next generation of people who are interested in pursuing careers in medicine or research?

University Professor Michael Collins from the University of Toronto’s department of civil and mineral engineering once advised, “To find the answer, you must know the answer.”

To “know the answer” requires a solid foundation of knowledge. In order to build that foundation, I think it’s important to pursue your questions as far as they can go by speaking to different doctors or scientists and learning the biggest problems they’re facing and if these problems are interesting to you too. If you can imagine what the final outcome would be if you solved it, take a step back and think about what prerequisite steps need to be completed first and iterate it down until you get to a problem you can solve with your current skills. Whether that’s by reading, coding or sharing your knowledge over a coffee or your favourite ice cream, you will come to know and find the answers naturally, and then good things will happen.

What are you doing now in your first year of residency?

I'm currently completing my first year of residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston as part of the Stanbury Physician-Scientist Pathway. I chose it in particular because it is catered towards my career aspirations to become a physician scientist.

You recently received the Doctor Henry and Helen Goldenberg Hematology Award. What did that mean to you?

It was an honor to receive the Doctor Henry and Helen Goldenberg Hematology Award. Hematology and oncology is a field that I have a great interest in and receiving this award validates to me that I could be an appropriate fit for this career. It also relieves financial stresses. It enables me to focus on my passion for research and innovation. Instead of looking for ways to supplement my income, I can read an extra paper or reflect more deeply about medical mysteries and their solutions.

What lies ahead for you?

There is a long road ahead of me. I am hoping to complete my residency at Massachusetts General Hospital within the next few years before exploring a fellowship in hematology and oncology. My goal is to become a good physician and a good scientist. Beyond that, I hope that by the end of these five years, I can identify one or two specific unanswered questions that I can embark on a journey to discover the answers to.