Dr. Teresa Purzner MD PhD FRCSC is a clinician scientist neurosurgeon with a special interest in neuroncology and general neurosurgery. She completed her residency training at the University of Toronto, and her PhD training at Stanford University. Her lab, run jointly with her husband Dr. James Purzner, is focused on interdisciplinary approaches to identifying novel drug targets for brain cancer as well as the translation of promising new drug targets into human-ready therapeutics. Her work has led to the identification of a critical new drug target in the brain tumor medulloblastoma – a discovery that she has since translated into a novel drug for both brain cancer and skin cancer, currently being tested in phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials. This work has resulted in her being named a Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate fellow, Biox fellow and SPARK fellow, and has earned her both national and international recognition including the Annual Award of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery, the K.G. McKenzie prize for Basic Science Research, AANS Louise Eisenhardt Award and the Neurosurgery Research and Education Fellowship.
She is a mom, an entrepreneur, and design-thinker, having created her own baby food company as well as redesigned the Integrated Brain Tumor Program.
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Dr. Patrick Murphy is a trauma and acute care surgeon at Medical College of Wisconsin. In this episode we discuss his recent paper, “Understaffed and overworked: The stark reality of acute care surgeon staffing in the United States, an Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma multicenter study.” This conversation turned into more than just a discussion around workforce planning, but also around how surgeons are compensated and surgical culture.
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Dr. Brian Cameron is a retired pediatric surgeon who has spent much of his life dedicated to global surgery. In this conversation, we discuss his new book Ripples from the Rupununi: Dr. Aidun’s Healing Journey. We talk about what it takes to write a book and also discuss the book itself.
Let us know in the comments or via email: Have you ever thought about writing a book?
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Dr. Michael Leveridge is a urologist at Queen’s University. He specializes in urologic oncology and is the editor in chief of the Canadian Urological Association Journal. We spoke to him about his career, his role as editor in chief, and how he creates mental models in his practice. In addition, Dr. Leveridge did a masterclass with us on ureteric injuries. We also watch videos together and get his thoughts on how to avoid these injuries.
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Campbell Roxburgh is a consultant colorectal surgeon and Professor of Colorectal Surgical Oncology at University of Glasgow in Scotland. Mr. Roxburgh is a multi-faceted researcher, surgeon and academic. He has a large body of research in systemic inflammation and tumor response, as well as clinical trials. We were lucky enough to have him join us at Queen’s University for a week. In this talk he gave to the general surgery division, he talked about the development of robotic surgery in Scotland. What stood out for us from his talk was the deliberate, systematic approach to introducing a new technology adopted by the NHS, as opposed to the way that technology is often rolled out in North America. We also had a great time asking Campbell questions at the end of his talk, and we particularly liked his response to how to find work-life balance as a surgeon and an academic.
What do you think? How should something like robotics be rolled out in Canada? Email us at podcast.cjs@gmail.com. Feel free to leave us a voicemail, and we might play your response on our next episode.
Campbell Roxburgh on X: @C_Roxburgh
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Andrea Merrill is a surgical oncologist in Charlottesville, Virginia. She is the creator of Scrubbed Out, a website dedicated to highlighting the talents and passions of surgeons and trainees outside of the operating room. As listeners will know, Chad and I have been obsessed with exploring how to be the best surgeons we can be without losing our humanity in the process. Dr. Merrill had some really important insights on how we might walk the line between being completely immersed in surgery, but also staying grounded. We also talked about several of her superb pieces of writing, including “Free Solo” and “Taylor Swift in the Operating Room”. We’d love to hear from you – what hobbies or side hustles do you have? How do you balance them with a life in surgery? Email us at podcast.cjs@gmail.com.
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Dr. Mohammed Bellal is a consultant urologist based out of Birmingham, UK. He specializes in complex functional reconstructive surgery. He’s also the UK’s first paralyzed surgeon. Dr. Bellal has probably one of the most powerful talks we’ve ever heard called “The Gift of Adversity”. During our conversation with him, we explore the power of fate, and how letting go of the outcomes is such a difficult but powerful life lesson we all need to learn. We also delved deeply into how Dr. Bellal has adapted to his paralysis and has come back to practice as a surgeon, and his insights on how we might design the operating rooms of the future.
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In this second episode of our mini-series with the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA), Richard Mimeault and Liise Honey talk about the “Anatomy of a Lawsuit”. They talk about what you can expect if you are served with a College complaint or a lawsuit, what the process looks like, and how you can psychologically survive through it all.
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It’s hard to describe exactly what Dr. Stephen Foster is. Dr. Foster is a general surgeon, urologist, infectious disease doctor, entrepreneur, and missionary who has spent his career working in Angola. We caught up with Dr. Foster to talk about his life working in Angola and really to explore his thoughts on empowering non-MD providers to provide life-saving care. Dr. Foster has a fascinating biography called “The Benefit of Steel: The Life and Times of Steve Foster.” For us, the conversation with Dr. Foster has reminded us of the huge inequities that exist in the world, but also the tremendous effort of folks like Dr. Foster to make the world a better, more humane place.
If you want to get in contact with Dr. Foster to support his foundation, you can find his email in our show notes.
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Stephen Foster Email: stephen@fosterangola.ca
Clip of Senate hearing with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
That was a clip from a Senate hearing with Robert F Kennedy Jr, who, as many listeners will know, is the current US Secretary of Health and Human Services. In 2025, many folks around the world have become interested in the way that science currently works, particularly around the process of peer review. Peer review is a process where scientific journals ask experts in the field to evaluate the validity and accuracy of articles that are submitted to the journal. There are many challenges around peer review in the modern era, and one particularly thorny one is finding reviewers who have the time and expertise to provide high-quality reviews.
David Maslove is a Clinician Scientist in the Departments of Medicine and Critical Care Medicine at Queen’s University. He, along with economist Chris Cotton and a team of other researchers, recently published an article in the Journal of Critical Care Medicine entitled “Effect of Monetary Incentives on Peer Review Acceptance and Completion: A Quasi-Randomized Interventional Trial”. Dr. Maslove performed what is, in some ways, a very simple study conceptually – does paying reviewers increase the rate at which reviewers complete their reviews? We delve into this study in depth and hear Dr. Maslove’s thoughts on this really important topic.
What do you think? Do you think peer reviewers should be paid? Send us your thoughts via email at podcast.cjs@gmail.com or on X @coldsteelpod.
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The only thing that can save us from our irascibly self-centered existence is to make sure that our existence is in the service of others
Mark Shrime, ENT surgeon, global surgery researcher and now career coach is our guest on this episode. The quote I read was from his wonderful book, “Solving for Why: A Surgeon’s Journey to Discover the Transformative Power of Purpose”. It’s important to understand just how much of a fascinating person Mark Shrime is to get a context for this conversation. Dr. Shrime was the International Chief Medical Officer at Mercy Ships, an international NGO that operates hospital ships. Mark is also one of the major figures in the global surgery space, and was part of the 2015 Lancet Commission on Global Surgery. If that were not enough, he is also an American Ninja Warrior! We explored why Mark felt the need to write a book on purpose as well as his insights on global surgery, amongst many other topics. This was such an important conversation not just for surgeons but for anyone trying discover meaning and purpose in their life.
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Tsuyoshi Konishi
Dr. Tsuyoshi Konishi is an associate professor of Colon and Rectal Surgery at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, USA. We again got a chance to hear several of his talks at the COLOSOS conference in Toronto in Oct 2024.
Dr. Konishi is really helping to bridge the gap between “Eastern” and “Western” approaches to colorectal cancer. In this episode, Dr. Konishi really broke down the sometimes nebulous concept of complete mesocolic excision in right sided colon cancers. We’d really encourage you to head over to our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/@coldsteelsurgery to check out the accompanying video and slides. One of the really enjoyable parts of this conversation was discussing some of the differences between Japanese and North American training – there’s lots we can learn!
Maybe we should incorporate the Japanese system of having everyone upload their operative video prior to board certification?? What do you think? Send us an email at podcast.cjs@gmail.com.
Bio:
After completion of advanced training in the field of Surgical Oncology and Colorectal Minimally Invasive Surgery at top institutions including the University of Tokyo, Cancer Institute Hospital of the JFCR and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. Konishi served as an attending colorectal surgeons since 2010, and Head Attending since 2017, at Cancer Institute Hospital of the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research in Tokyo, Japan. He took a leadership in advancing a minimally invasive surgery program for complex colorectal cancer.
Dr. Konishi’s research interest includes combining multidisciplinary approaches for complex colorectal cancer, including neoadjuvant therapy, extended surgical resection and a minimally invasive surgery. Particularly, he has been taking an international leadership in studying lateral pelvic lymph node dissection for rectal cancer.
Dr. Tsuyoshi Konishi is currently an associate professor of Colon and Rectal Surgery at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, USA.
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This week we were joined by Dr. Jenny Seligmann. Dr. Seligmann is a Professor of Gastrointestinal and Translational Oncology and Honorary Consultant in Medical Oncology at the University of Leeds. Dr. Seligmann is one of the authors of the seminal FOxTROT trial, which investigated the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced colon cancers. Dr. Seligmann is the lead investigator on the FOxTROT platform, the ARIEL trial, and continues to be on the leading edge of trials for colorectal cancer. In this episode, we explored neoadjuvant chemotherapy for colon cancer specifically. There's lots to take away from this conversation, but one of the things that stood out for us was some of the differences in the structure of the multidisciplinary tumor boards in Dr. Seligmann’s centre versus many centres in Canada. Perhaps in the future, all colorectal cancers will get discussed at tumor boards! What do you think? We’d love to hear your thoughts – email us at podcast.cjs@gmail.com.
Bio:
Dr Jenny Seligmann is Professor of Gastrointestinal and Translational Oncology and Honorary Consultant in Medical Oncology at the University of Leeds, UK. She is the Chief Investigator of the FOxTROT Platform and the ARIEL trial, and has a programme of translational research. She is a member of the ESMO Lower Gastrointestinal Faculty and the UK NCRI Colorectal Cancer Executive Group.
x/twitter: @jenseligmann
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This episode is an edited version of a talk I gave to our first years during their Surgical Foundations course. It’s mainly a reminder to myself: this too shall pass.
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Selwyn O. Rogers Jr., MD, MPH, FACS, is a widely respected surgeon and public health expert. As founding director of the University of Chicago Medicine Trauma Center, Dr. Rogers is building an interdisciplinary team of specialists to treat patients who suffer injury from life-threatening events, such as car crashes, serious falls and gun violence. His team works with leaders in the city's trauma network to expand trauma care on the South Side.
Dr. Rogers has served in leadership capacities at health centers across the country, including most recently as vice president and chief medical officer for the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Dr. Rogers has also served as the chair of surgery at Temple University School of Medicine and as the division chief of trauma, burns and surgical critical care at Harvard Medical School. While at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), he helped launch the Center for Surgery and Public Health to understand the nature, quality and utilization of surgical care nationally and internationally.
Additionally, as executive vice president for community health engagement, Dr. Rogers works with faculty across the University of Chicago as well as members of the community to develop a multidisciplinary approach to trauma care and health disparities. His work will help enhance the understanding of social factors that affect victims of violence and underserved populations, in addition to identifying approaches necessary to achieve better outcomes for trauma victims.
Dr. Rogers' clinical and research interests focus on understanding the healthcare needs of underserved populations. He has published numerous articles relating to health disparities and the impact of race and ethnicity on surgical outcomes.
Twitter: https://x.com/selwyn_rogers
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This episode is a recording of the Queen’s Department of Surgery William Ersil Research Day. This year our invited speaker was Dr. Thomas Forbes, chief of surgery at University Health Network in Toronto and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Vascular Surgery.
In this “How I Built This” style episode in front of a live audience, we explored Dr. Forbes background, his training, the future of residency/fellowship training, his approach to leadership and how he goes “all in” for both work and his family life.
Thanks again to the Department of Surgery at Queen’s for allowing us to record this and to all those in attendance for being such a wonderful audience.
Bio: Dr. Forbes is Professor of Surgery and Chair of the Division of Vascular Surgery at the University of Toronto, a position he has held since 2014. He obtained his medical degree in 1990 from the University of Toronto and completed his general surgery and vascular surgery training at the University of Western Ontario. He is the co-Program Director of the Advanced Aortic Surgery Fellowship at the University of Toronto, a collaborative fellowship between vascular and cardiac surgery in open and endovascular therapies for thoracoabdominal aortic pathologies. Previously he was Chair/Chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery at the University of Western Ontario (2005-2014) and the inaugural Graduate Program Chair of the Masters of Science in Surgery program. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers, editorials and book chapters and given over 100 invited lectures or guest professorships. He is currently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Vascular Surgery and the Canadian Journal of Surgery and a member of several editorial boards. He is the Past-President of the Canadian Society for Vascular Surgery, Section Editor of Rutherford’s Textbook of Vascular Surgery and the Chair of the Vascular Care Working Group of the Cardiac Care Network in Ontario. He is also a former Program Director and vice-Chair of the Vascular Surgery Specialty Committee of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
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We are delighted to release our new collaborative mini-series on “Medico-legal Risks for
the Surgeon”. The Canadian Medical Protective Association and the Cold Steel podcast
have teamed up to release this mini-series exploring some common legal issues that
might arise for surgeons.
In this first episode, we explore some basic legal issues that surgeons might face. We
explore the peer-review system, documentation, inherent risk, the role of the system in
medico-legal errors, and the impact these issues have on surgeons.
Stay tuned for our other episodes!
Bio:
Dr. Richard Mimeault completed his medical degree at McGill University in 1982. He
went on to do an internship at the Wellesley Hospital in Toronto, followed by a general
surgery residency in Ottawa and then a two-year transplant fellowship at the University
Hospital in London, Ontario. In 1989, he returned to Ottawa where he started a practice
of general and hepatobiliary surgery at the Ottawa Hospital. He was in practice for 27
years during which time he was closely involved with the residency training program
and undergraduate education. He was also peer assessor for the College of Physicians
and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) and volunteered in third-world surgery and surgical
education. He joined the CMPA as a physician advisor in 2017.
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Thank you for joining us on Cold Steel!
Dr. Caprice Greenberg is a surgical oncologist at UNC School of Medicine in North Carolina. She is a preeminent health services researcher and also the founder of the Academy for Surgical Coaching. We caught up with her to do a deep dive on surgical coaching and the work that she’s done on a state-wide level to create a coaching program. Dr. Greenberg is an iconoclast and provides some really important insights on the importance on having a vision and pursuing it, no matter how off the beaten path it may be.
Bio:
Dr. Greenberg is a world-renowned health services researcher and surgical oncologist, and she most recently served as chair of the Department of Surgery at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.
She also is a leader in the study of care delivery in operating rooms and innovative approaches to collaborative learning and will bring research projects to the School of Medicine related to surgical coaching and methods to improve rural cancer care delivery.
Greenberg earned her MD from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and her Masters of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health. Her general surgery residency was completed at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and she completed her surgical oncology fellowship at the Dana – Farber/Partners Cancer Center in Boston.
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Dr. Adom Bondzi-Simpson is a general surgery resident and PhD student at the University of Toronto. He’s been nationally recognized for his advocacy work and research work on social justice and social determinants of health. He is a winner of the Canadian Medical Association for Young Leaders, the 2023 winner of the Mikhael Award for Medical Education from the Resident Doctors of Canada, among other accolades. In this episode we do a very deep dive on Adom’s upbringing and background, and his thoughts on how we can make the house of surgery a more diverse and welcoming place.
Links:
1. https://temertymedicine.utoronto.ca/news/faces-temerty-medicine-adom-bondzi-simpson
2. “Where is the Black doctor!?” CMAJ piece. https://www.cmaj.ca/content/194/34/E1175
3. https://pubmed-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.proxy.queensu.ca/37640638/
4. https://pubmed-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.proxy.queensu.ca/37063147/
5. CMA Award: https://www.cma.ca/get-involved/awards/awards-young-leaders/dr-adom-bondzi-simpson
Thank you so much for joining us on Cold Steel!
The tremulous surgeon seems like such an oxymoron, an impossible paradox. The reality of course, is that many surgeons have a tremor. Our discussion on this episode with Lilli Cooper on tremors was a wonderful exploration of performance anxiety in surgery. Lilli Cooper is a plastic surgeon in the UK, and produced a segment for the BBC on tremors in surgeons. We caught up with her to talk about what she’s learned about tremors and the insights she has on performance in surgery. You can check out all the work she does on her website https://lillicooper.co.uk/.
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2. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0021j9y
3. A pilot study of performance enhancement coaching for newly appointed urology registrars. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38767172/
4. Enhancing surgical performance by adopting expert musicians' practice and performance strategies. https://www-sciencedirect-com.proxy.queensu.ca/science/article/pii/S0039606017306323
5. Romy Nitsch and Jen Mccall on Imposterism in Surgery. https://open.spotify.com/episode/3UuP5JTGuhP8J2JvycoEFh