Episode 002: UofT new faculty round table mini series (Part 3/4)
Guests: Dr. Parul Tandon, Dr. Fernanda Onofrio, Dr. Alexa Sasson, and Dr. Ali Kohansal
SHOW NOTES
Huaqi Li
Thanks so much for tuning in again to Scope Notes, your gastroenterology focused medical education podcast created by learners for learners!
For any new listeners, I’m your co-host Huaqi Li, current first year Internal Medicine resident at the University of Toronto in Canada working with my co-host Mo Bucheeri, current 5th year Gastroenterology fellow and Chief Resident also at the University of Toronto. Our amazing faculty advisor is Dr. Parul Tandon, a Staff Gastroenterologist and Clinician Scientist in inflammatory bowel diseases at the University Health Network/Sinai Health in Toronto.
With Scope Notes, you can look forward to monthly episodes covering all things GI including practice guidelines, research reviews, and special career topics! We’ll be specifically featuring prominent Gastroenterology staff from the University of Toronto and across Canada for their expert opinions. So come join us from your favorite podcast streaming app!
We would like also to extend a big thank you to the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of Toronto for their generous support of this podcast.
With all that being said, let’s move on to our episode! Welcome back if you listened to the last 2 parts of our current 4-part mini-series featuring new faculty in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of Toronto! This week we are very excited to be joined by the wonderful Dr. Alexa Sasson, a staff gastroenterologist and inflammatory bowel disease expert at the University Health Network with a special interest in clinical nutrition.
Dr. Sasson, welcome to Scope Notes and thanks so much for joining! We'll get started with the first get to know you question. So could you share with our listeners a bit about yourself and your training background?
Dr. Alexa Sasson
Absolutely, well, thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here. So, I'm currently working as a gastroenterologist based at the University Health Network. So, at UHN, I work as an academic Clinician Investigator within the Division of GI and Hepatology. I'm a full-time faculty and assistant professor at U of T and I lead specialty nutrition and IBD clinic. For background, you know, I was born and raised in Toronto. I grew up in a family that was very integrated in the field of medicine and nutrition. My father is a family physician still practicing in Thornhill, and my mom is a trained clinical nutritionist. So, I sort of grew up in a family focused on digestive health and wellness. In terms of background for training, so in undergraduate, I did a double major in physiology and psychology at Western University, and then I pursued my medical studies abroad, which was really quite the journey. So, I did my medical training in different countries, and really it was such a unique experience and approach that really has, you know, shaped my practice, and also allows me to have networks and colleagues all across the globe. So, I went to St George's University, which is in Grenada, for medical school. And my two years, followed by two years in my clinical training in New York City. And then I did my three-year medicine residency at Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. You know, we managed diverse patient populations, very high-volume institutions. And I really, really appreciated that experience. And then personally, you know, it was a dream for me to live in New York in my 20s. I then moved back to Toronto to do my gastroenterology training at U of T. During my training, I really integrated within nutrition and IBD training to expose myself into these disciplines as I felt really drawn to it. So, then this GI training was then followed by dual subspecialty training. So, I moved to Boston. I completed an Advanced Inflammatory Bowel Disease fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and I worked under Dr. Ashwin Ananthakrishnan. And then I moved back home to Toronto to complete a clinical nutrition fellowship at the University of Toronto under Dr. Johane Allard.
And I feel very fortunate to have trained under such experts in the field and receive really strong mentorship, as I still do today. And so amidst those dual subspecialty fellowships, I also completed a Master's in Public Health in Clinical Epidemiology at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health. I did a focused second year training in nutritional epidemiology, and then soon after, I moved full time back home and have joined the GI division and transitioned to faculty this year. And I'm very fortunate, you know, overall, just to be back in Toronto, which is my hometown, family and friends and I have a growing family, so I'm here with my husband, Matt. I have a four-year-old son and a four-week-old son as well.
Huaqi Li
That's lovely. Thank you so much for sharing. It sounds like also Clinical Nutrition has really been a big part of your life, from day one. So, it's great to see that you've integrated that into your practice. You've touched on this, but you trained in Toronto and in Boston and completed a Master of Public Health as well in addition to other fellowships. How have these experiences really shaped your career and practice thus far?
Dr. Alexa Sasson
Yeah, great question. So I think, it was really profound impact training in both cities and also across different countries. And really, each experience was quite unique and brought different opportunities and perspectives that think have shaped my training as a whole. Being in Toronto, Toronto is my home, very diverse patient base, different populations. It really taught me to be adaptable and collaborate within a multi-disciplinary care team. Moving to Boston, you know, for further training, it's a very high paced academic setting, there's cutting edge research, innovation. It was very inspiring to be in a very bright academic center. And it really helped encourage me to propel further in this field. The Master of Public Health, you know, added a really different, special layer, deepened my understanding within the public health range, systemic factors like policy, equity, how it affects patient care outcomes. And so, it really provides a different lens and also helps shape my patient approach. Within the Master in Public Health, I did elective coursework that really focused on nutritional epidemiology, and so that's helped shape my research and advocacy work. It was also really special, you know, we were a small class. It was around like 60 plus of us from all over the world, and so people with different diverse backgrounds and expands both on my network and just having friends globally. So really, I think ultimately, these experiences have really shaped me into the physician I am today, and I hope to still continue to grow within all these experiences.
Huaqi Li
That's amazing. It's so cool to have all these multicultural experiences across different cities, different countries. You touched on your family is here, and you know, you have a great social network here. But what else drew you to the University of Toronto, specifically, and what have you enjoyed the most so far?
Dr. Alexa Sasson
So, of course, yes, I grew up here in Toronto, and really, I've had experiences with the University throughout my life. You know, I started my academic research at the age of 19 during my undergraduate summer. So I actually did a nutrition project with the heart failure clinic. And, you know, it was such an important experience. There's so much innovation happening, research opportunities, again, within a very diverse community. And then, having completed my GI training here, I was really able to experience firsthand being part of the division, and felt really privileged, you know, to work alongside such talented trainees, and now colleagues, in a really great academic environment that really fosters collaboration and growth. You know, I was lucky that my passion for both IBD and nutrition was aligning with the vision of the GI group now, right? So they wanted to see there's growth that's required in this space, and there's a lot of great expertise. And I, you know, I hope to be here, make a big impact and contribute to this space. So having that alignment and having that support was really special, and came at a really timely fashion. I've had the pleasure of working with the Division now for nearly two years. And I really, truly appreciate and love my experience. You know, for example, within our IBD program itself, we've spearheaded multi-disciplinary rounds, including Surgery, Rheumatology, Dermatology and so that can improve patient care outcomes and also research innovation. So you can see how just being in such a collaborative, vibrant space really helps spark growth. And I'm very, very excited to see, you know, the real-world impact that will have. And while we're just in the early stages now, it's been so fulfilling, and I'm really excited about what's to come.
Huaqi Li
Thank you so much. I think that interaction, or intersection of nutrition and gastroenterology is so important. And you touched on the research program that you've established, but can you tell us a bit more about the specific program you're working on in Toronto?
Dr. Alexa Sasson
Yeah, absolutely. So, I have a focus, as I mentioned, within nutrition as well as within inflammatory bowel disease. So, within the nutrition space, you know, I'm presently leading the development of the nutrition practice at Toronto Western Hospital. I spearheaded a weekly GI nutrition clinic. I work jointly with a registered dietitian who is absolutely wonderful, and we provide unique, comprehensive nutritional assessments and support for patients with a wide breadth of GI related underlying disorders or risks, so individuals that are nutritional risk or those that require additional nutrition support for dietary counseling and guidance as well. So right now, the current home parental program is based under the expert care of Dr. Johane Allard at Toronto General Hospital, and in time, we hope to build a home enteral program out of Toronto Western Hospital. I'm also the dedicated inpatient GI staff managing the inpatient parenteral nutrition at Toronto Western Hospital, as well as part time at Mount Sinai Hospital. And so I get to work alongside, you know, a wonderful group of dedicated dietitians and pharmacists and nurses to support the parental inpatient needs.
Within the program itself, we also want to expand on education. So together with Dr. Allard, we've been working to integrate more nutrition education into the residency and fellowship program. And several months ago, we started with twice monthly lectures and journal clubs, and hope to grow and expand from there as well. This year, I also co-created the Toronto Western IBD center with two amazing colleagues, so Dr. Parul Tandon and Dr. Maria Cino. And this initiative has really allowed for more dedicated IBD patient care to Toronto Western Hospital, building multidisciplinary care team pathways and really wanting to connect patients to the treatments they require, and also managing the various manifestations of their disease, not only gastrointestinal, but as I mentioned, you know, dermatology, rheumatology and surgery as well. And just recently, we've had the pleasure of integrating a nurse practitioner to our practice. And this would allow, really, for a more expanded focus and integration of routine health maintenance and addressing modifiable risk factors, you know, such as incorporating nutritional health and mental health screening and support for patients. Also, within the 2025 year, we'll be starting a fellowship program, which is really exciting. You know, being able to work with and guide, you know, the next generation of leaders is incredibly rewarding, and we have a lot to learn from them, and we have a lot of mentorship and menteeship to provide. And so it's very exciting space that we're hoping to grow the program. So another thing, not only within the clinical care but also within the research pathway, within the GI UHN division, we've created a GI database registry, and that will help generate prospective data for patients that are managed across the GI disciplines and experts that are based both at Toronto Western Hospital and Toronto General Hospital. And this collaboration and development, you know, really will provide unique insight and allow us to gather data over years to come that can help these populations.
Huaqi Li
That is very exciting. Lots of really great initiatives there that you’ve been able to roll out in just 2 years. I think especially having that program to be able to train the next generation to help continue implementing these initiatives is so important. And can you tell us a bit more about where you see the program developing in the next five years?
Dr. Alexa Sasson
You know, I envision having these subspecialty programs, you know, that will work as a leader for center of innovative research and comprehensive patient care. You know, we really want to lean into partnerships and collaborations, both within the institution and also nationally and internationally. And I think we're uniquely positioned to make a wide impact here and make a difference working with others. We're focusing also on integrating technology, so incorporating intestinal ultrasound for IBD care and management that will really help shape treatment choices and outcomes and do so in a more timely manner for our patients, which is very exciting. I hope our team will be recognized for its multi-disciplinary approach fostering the collaboration among specialists, and provide a more broad-based treatment coverage. And again, as I mentioned, with the growing fellowship program, you know, we really want to prioritize education and training and, you know, help immerse future gastroenterologists, nutritionists, IBDologists within this space. We're really hoping, overall, really, that we just make significant contributions to the clinical practice and also to the academic environment in driving innovative research. For any listeners who are interested to learn more, or any interest in, you know, collaborating with us. You know, please feel free to reach out. We'd love to work together and really just make a big difference for our patients.
Huaqi Li
Thank you so much. I think so important that integration, kind of the multidisciplinary nature of what you're working on, I think the patients must really appreciate it as well. And to end off, do you have any advice for listeners who are hoping to pursue Gastroenterology and/or IBD?
Dr. Alexa Sasson
Definitely. So I think for anyone you know, aspiring to pursue a career in GI or IBD, you know, my biggest piece of advice would be embrace the curiosity and really stay passionate about the field. I think what drew me so much to GI is it's such an incredibly dynamic field. It bridges different forms of medicine, technology, procedural skills, and it's really quite fascinating. And so it's a mix of acute care, chronic care, clinical expertise, procedural expertise. And I really, you know, encourage people to lean into that. For listeners that are starting young, you know, start by building a really strong foundation in both your undergraduate or medical school studies. If you're already within residency, I think it's so important to seek out mentorship, especially those within the field, because getting early hands on experience is a really important opportunity. Whether it be through rotations or research projects, it's really important. The networks that you gain really shape your careers and I really am so grateful to those that have led me to where I am today, because it really makes the biggest difference. And just also not to underestimate the importance of research. You know, GI especially is a very evolving field, a lot of advancements especially within IBD, endoscopy, clinical nutrition. So just getting involved early, collaborating early for young trainees, you know, it allows for creation of networks. You can travel for exciting conferences, and I think, overall, will help you stay involved and ahead of the curve.
Huaqi Li
Thank you so much. That's really, really helpful. Dr. Sasson, thanks again for a very engaging conversation. That’s it for our episode today! Thanks so much to our listeners for tuning in, join us again next week for the last part of our new faculty mini-series!
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