About the Surgical Practices and Research Collaborative (SPaRC) group
The Surgical Practices and Research Collaborative (SPaRC) group at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre aims to synthesize and disseminate evidence-based practices and research in surgery. We focus on evaluating and improving surgical care and patient outcomes through innovative health services, clinical trials and population-based research. As a multi-disciplinary research program, our scope of research encompasses a wide range of specialties with a primary focus on the care of surgical and critically ill patients.
Our team is composed of internationally recognized physicians, fellows, residents, scientists and students committed to advancing processes of care, surgical outcomes and survival, and the quality of life in patients. SPaRC fosters interdisciplinary learning and collaboration among experts and trainees and provides an opportunity for members to learn and engage on varied research topics through weekly rounds.
SPaRC was established in 2011 and was founded by the surgical oncologists and clinicians at the Odette Cancer Centre. Currently, this program is led by Dr. Natalie Coburn, a surgical oncologist at Sunnybrook’s Odette Cancer Centre and a senior scientist at Sunnybrook’s Research Institute, as well as a resident chair. Our current resident chair is Dr. Doulia Hamad, a general surgery resident and graduate student in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation of the University of Toronto.
Our research activity is centered on the following:
- Health services and population-based research
- Clinical trials in surgical oncology
- Surgical outcomes and survival for hepato-pancreato-biliary and upper gastrointestinal cancers
- Long-term outcomes and quality of life in cancer and trauma patients
- Quality standards in the processes of care for surgical oncology and trauma surgery
- Quality in trauma systems and emergency surgical care
- Care of older adults in emergency and trauma surgical care
- Access to surgical care
- Odette Cancer Centre
- Institute of Clinical Evaluative Sciences
- Ontario Institute for Cancer Research
- Canadian Institute of Health Research
- Ontario Health – Cancer Care Ontario
- University of Toronto
2021-2022
Dr. Doulia Hamad
2020-2021
Dr. Jesse Zuckerman
2019-2020
Dr. Hala Muaddi
2018-2019
Dr. Catherine Allen-Ayodabo
2017-2018
Dr. Yunni Jeong
2016-2017
Dr. Vaibhav Gupta
2015-2016
Dr. Dan Kagedan
2014-2015
Dr. Payam Tarighi
2013-2014
Dr. Alyson Mahar
2012-2013
Dr. Matthew Dixon
2011-2012
Dr. Roberta Cardosa
- Noel CW, Sutradhar R, Zhao H, Delibasic V, Forner D, Irish JC, et al. Patient-reported symptom burden as a predictor of emergency department use and unplanned hospitalization in head and neck cancer: A longitudinal population-based study. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2021 Feb 20;39:675–84. (10.1200/jco.20.01845).
- Zuckerman J, Coburn N, Callum J, Mahar AL, Zuk V, Lin Y, McLeod R, Turgeon AF, Zhao H, Pearsall E, Martel G, Hallet, J. Declining use of red blood Cell transfusions for gastrointestinal cancer surgery: A population-based analysis. Annals of Surgical Oncology. 2021 Jan; 28(1), 29–38. (10.1245/s10434-020-09291-y).
- Chesney TR, Haas B, Coburn NG, Mahar AL, Zuk V, Zhao H, et al. Immediate and long-term health care support needs of older adults undergoing cancer surgery: A population-based analysis of postoperative homecare utilization. Annals of Surgical Oncology. 2020 Aug 12;28:1298–310. (10.1245/s10434-020-08992-8).
- Tillmann BW, Nathens AB, Guttman MP, Pequeno P, Scales DC, Pechlivanoglou P, et al. Hospital resources do not predict accuracy of secondary trauma triage: A population-based analysis. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. 2020 Feb;88:230–41. (10.1097/ta.0000000000002552).
- Bubis LD, Davis L, Mahar A, Barbera L, Li Q, Moody L, et al. Symptom burden in the first year after Cancer Diagnosis: An analysis of patient-reported outcomes. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2018 April 10;36:1103–11. (10.1200/jco.2017.76.0876).