A top neurosurgeon and researcher, an emergency physician and chief of medical staff, a philanthropic orthodontist, a psychiatrist who works with transgender people and a doctor focusing on disease prevention in the primary care centres he co-founded. What do these five people have in common? Not only are they FoMD faculty members or alumni, they have also been named to Avenue Magazine's 2015 Top 40 Under 40 for Edmonton and Calgary.
Dr. Tejas Sankar, one of this year's honourees, says that support from the faculty has been absolutely key to his success. The assistant professor in the Division of Neurosurgery first came to the U of A from Montreal for his residency in 2003, drawn by the excellent work environment and the reputation of those teaching in his specialty. But he returned to practice, teach and do research partly because of the faculty's support for his dream to be a clinician-researcher.
Sankar specializes in Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) to treat Parkinson's disease and other brain illnesses, the only surgeon in Edmonton who uses this technique. "We have an excellent team of neurologists and neuroscience researchers here, and I am able to contribute to a growing clinical and research program in Parkinson's and DBS that I think will be internationally recognized one day." He sees the Top 40 Under 40 nod as an acknowledgement of his hard work, as well as a recognition that he is now fully an Edmontonian. "Edmonton feels like home now and I feel like my contributions are helping my adopted city."
Another of the faculty's Top 40 Under 40 has a multi-generational family connection with the U of A. Dr. Ryan Oland's (MD '00) grandfather, father and mother all attended the university before him. The emergency physician and chief of medical staff at WestView Health Centre in Stony Plain did his undergraduate degree, medical degree, residency and fellowship at the U of A. That long association with the FoMD has also instilled the desire to give back to the next generation of doctors.
"I've learned that it is an obligation for a medical professional to give back through teaching and helping out with the next generation of learners," he explains. He has taken that message to heart. In addition to supervising doctors at WestView, Oland finds time to mentor medical students and residents as an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine. He also helped set up a partnership between WestView and the U of A to help attract more doctors to rural hospitals.
Rounding out the FoMD's presence in Edmonton's 2015 Top 40 Under 40 list is Dr. Amer Hussain (DDS '08). The owner and co-founder of Pure Orthodontics-a group of three clinics in Edmonton-stresses first-class patient treatment. He also stresses charitable work, offering patients the chance to donate part of the payments for their orthodontic work to building schools in developing nations.
Making the grade with Calgary's 2015 Top 40 Under 40 cohort are FoMD alumni Dr. Joe Raiche and Dr. Jonathan Chan. Raiche (MD '09) was honoured for his groundbreaking work as Calgary's only psychiatrist specializing in work with transgender patients. Chan (MD '01) was recognized for co-founding Imagine Health Centres, a collaborative approach to primary health care that focuses on preventing illness.
Avenue's Top 40 Under 40 Edmonton and Calgary lists celebrate the cities' up-and-coming leaders from across fields such as medicine, business, public service, film, music, science, culinary arts, design and culture. Honourees are high achievers in their careers who are dedicated to building the cities and communities in which they live.