Appointments

New Director of Obstetrics

Dr. Roberta Shear, a member of the JGH Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology since 2000, has been named Director of Obstetrics, the Family Birthing Centre and Obstetrical Ultrasound. Dr. Shear has received fellowship training in maternal fetal medicine, and she has played an integral role in the hospital’s High-Risk Obstetrical Team and in the Obstetrical Ultrasound Department.

Dr. Shear has also been extensively involved in training students, residents and fellows, and she is a long-time examiner for the Royal College of Medicine. She has also been involved in several multidisciplinary committees related to obstetrical care.

Oncology Chief re-appointed

Dr. Gerald Batist

Dr. Gerald Batist has been re-appointed Chief of the JGH Department of Oncology for a third term. The hospital’s Search and Selection Committee noted that the department has “flourished under Dr. Batist’s tenure,” having secured a national and international reputation for clinical care and for fundamental and translational research.

Dr. Batist, a medical oncologist and molecular pharmacologist, conducts research that focuses on novel drug development and therapeutic resistance. He is Director of the Segal Cancer Centre at the JGH, and Deputy Director and leader of the Cancer Axis at the Lady Davis Institute at the JGH. He is also a tenured Professor of Oncology at McGill University, where he served as Chair of Oncology for 10 years.

Dr. Batist co-created the Quebec Clinical Research Organization in Cancer, a province-wide network, and was a co-founder the Paris-based Worldwide Innovative Networking consortium for personalized cancer medicine. He has received significant funding for personalized medicine initiatives, leading large groups in biopsy-driven innovative studies designed to identify molecular signatures of resistance and novel therapeutic targets.

Senior McGill post for JGH psychiatrist

Dr. Nicola Casacalenda, an award-winning member of the JGH Department of Psychiatry, has been appointed Associate Chair of Clinical Affairs in McGill University’s Department of Psychiatry.

At the JGH, Dr. Casacalenda has twice received the Henry Kravitz Award for Best Teacher in training psychiatry and family medicine residents. He is also Director of the Collaborative Mental Health Program, and he serves as a consultant to the Goldman Herzl Family Practice Centre.

Dr. Casacalenda is a three-time recipient of the McGill Psychiatry Residents’ Association Award for Best Teacher. In 2011, he was named to the McGill Faculty Honour List for Educational Excellence, and in 2013, he received the Award for Excellence in Education from the Association of Chairs of Psychiatry of Canada.