Sinai Health/UHN Healthy Ageing and Geriatrics Program is committed to providing high-quality patient-centred care, education and research. Our caring professionals work as part of a comprehensive interprofessional team to ensure all our patients benefit from the expertise and breadth of knowledge that all the members of our team offer.
Dr. Samir Sinha
Dr. Samir Sinha received his Medical Degree from Western University and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Toronto and fellowship training in Geriatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. He further holds a Masters in Medical History and a Doctorate in Sociology that he received from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Family and Community Medicine and Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He has also been the Director of Geriatrics at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network since 2010. Dr. Sinha’s scholarly interests focus on developing sustainable health care models that can better meet the needs of our ageing populations. He has consulted and advised governments and health care organizations around the world and is the Architect of the Government of Ontario’s Seniors Strategy. In 2014, Maclean’s proclaimed him to be one of Canada’s 50 most influential people and its most compelling voice for the elderly.
Dr. Vicky Chau
Dr. Vicky Chau received her Medical Degree from the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the University of British Columbia and fellowship training in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Toronto. She further received a Masters of Science in Health Professional Education from the University of Toronto and is also a graduate of the Eliot Phillipson Clinician-Educator Training Program at the University of Toronto. She is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and is also the Fellowship Director for the University’s Division of Geriatrics. She has also been the Education Coordinator for Geriatric Medicine and a Staff Geriatrician at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network since 2015. Her scholarly interests focus on curriculum development and evaluation.
Dr. Barry Goldlist
Dr. Barry Goldlist received his Medical Degree from the University of Toronto and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Toronto. He is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He has also been a Staff Geriatrician at the University Health Network since 1979 and Sinai Health System since 2009. He previously served as both the immediate past Director of Geriatrics at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network in Toronto and the Director of the University of Toronto’s Division of Geriatrics. A former editor-in-chief of The Canadian Geriatrics Society Journal of CME, his scholarly interests focus on supporting older patients with dementia and their caregivers.
Dr. Shabbir Alibhai
Dr. Shabbir Alibhai received his Medical Degree from the University of Toronto and completed his residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship training in Geriatrics at the University of Toronto. He further received a Masters of Science in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Toronto. He is a Clinician Scientist and an Associate Professor of Medicine, Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, and Medical Sciences at the University of Toronto. He has also been a Staff Geriatrician at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network since 2001 and has been the Medical Director of the Older Adults with Cancer Clinic at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre since 2015. His scholarly interests focus on geriatric oncology, understanding how disease and treatment impact the quality of life and functioning of older adults, as well as optimal treatment in older adults with cancer.
Dr. Karen Agatha Ng
Dr. Karen Agatha Ng received her Medical Degree from the University of Toronto and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto. She further completed her fellowship training in Geriatrics at the University of Toronto. She is also a graduate of the Master Teacher Program at the University of Toronto. She is a Lecturer in Medicine at the University of Toronto. She has also been a Staff Geriatrician at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network and Clinical Lead of Sinai Health System’s Geriatrics in Primary Care Clinics since 2012. Her scholarly interests focus on capacity building, with a desire to work towards instilling the "geriatric lens" across the spectrum of care for frail older adults.
Dr. Asenath Steiman
Dr. Asenath Steiman received her Medical Degree from the Sackler School of Medicine in Tel Aviv, Israel and completed her residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship training in Geriatrics at Mount Sinai Beth Israel in New York City. She has been a Staff Geriatrician at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network since 2015. She is currently enrolled in the University of Toronto’s Master Teacher Program. Her clinical work focuses on geriatric rehabilitation.
Dr. Arielle Berger
Dr. Arielle Berger received her Medical Degree from the Sackler School of Medicine in Tel Aviv, Israel and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein School of Medicine, and her fellowship training in Geriatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. She is a Lecturer in Medicine at the University of Toronto. She has been a Staff Geriatrician at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network since 2013. Her clinical work focuses on geriatric rehabilitation and her scholarly interests focus on medical education, particularly on fostering professionalism among post-graduate medical trainees.
Dr. Stephanie Kim
Dr. Stephanie Kim received her Medical Degree from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and completed her residency in Internal Medicine and her fellowship training in Geriatrics at Rutgers University-New Jersey Medical School. She has been a Staff Geriatrician at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network since 2017. Her clinical work focuses on geriatric rehabilitation and ambulatory care, with an interest in osteoporosis.
Dr. Nathan Stall
Dr. Nathan Stall received his medical degree from Western University and completed his residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship training in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Toronto. He is currently a research fellow at Women‘s College Research Institute at Women’s College Hospital and is completing a PhD in Clinical Epidemiology & Health Care Research at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the University of Toronto. His doctoral research uses large administrative databases to study the population health impact of caregiving for dementia. His other research interests include drug safety for older adults, sex and gender-based determinants of ageing, and health care utilization among persons with dementia. His research is supported by the University of Toronto Department of Medicine’s Eliot Phillipson Clinician-Scientist Training Program and the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship. He has been a Staff Geriatrician at Sinai Health System since 2017. His clinical work focuses on acute care geriatrics. Dr. Stall attends on the inpatient Geriatric Medicine Consultation Service and on the Internal Medicine Clinical Teaching Units at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Dr. Lindy Romanovsky
Dr. Lindy Romanovsky received her Medical Degree from University College Dublin, and completed her residency in Family Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and her fellowship training in Geriatrics at the Harvard Medical School Multi-Campus Geriatric Fellowship in Boston, Massachusetts. She further received a Masters of Science in Healthcare Quality from Queens University. She is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is the geriatric medical lead at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and has been a Staff Geriatrician at the University Health Network and Sinai Health System since 2018. Her clinical work focuses geriatric rehab, ambulatory care and inpatient geriatric consultants.
Dr. Richard Norman
Dr. Richard Norman received his medical degree from the University of Toronto. He went on to complete residencies in internal medicine and geriatric medicine, also at the University of Toronto. In addition, he holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Science as well as a Master’s Degree in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, both from the University of Toronto. He joined the geriatrics group at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network in 2019. His clinical work focuses on geriatric medicine in the acute care and rehabilitation settings. He has a scholarly interest in improving the delivery of care to older adults as well as development of new models of care.
Dr. Don Melady
Dr. Don Melady is a staff Emergency Physician. With a particular interest in excellent care of older people, he leads the Geriatric Emergency Medicine programme in the ED at Mount Sinai. A graduate of Western University, he has certificates of added competence in both Emergency Medicine and Care of the Elderly. He is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Toronto and the director of a fellowship in Geriatric Emergency Medicine based at the Schwartz-Reisman Emergency Medicine Institute (SREMI). He is a core founding member of the Geri ED Collaborative; and sits on the board of the Geriatric ED Accreditation program of American College of Emergency Physicians. He is also the founding chair of the Geriatric EM Committee at CAEP and the chair of the Clinical Practice Committee at the International Federation of Emergency Medicine.
Dr. Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher
Dr. Christina Reppas received her medical degree from the University of Toronto and then completed her internal medicine residency at McMaster. She returned to the University of Toronto to complete her fellowship training in Geriatric Medicine. She is currently a research fellow at Women’s College Research Institute and is completing a PhD in Clinical Epidemiology & Health Care Research at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the University of Toronto.
Her doctoral research uses large administrative databases to explore practice patterns and long-term adverse health outcomes after delirium. Her goal is to better understand and address the unmet needs of older adults who have recently immigrated to Canada or have a preferred language other than english. Her research is supported by the University of Toronto Department of Medicine’s Eliot Phillipson Clinician-Scientist Training Program and the CIHR Canadian Graduate Scholarships Masters Program award. Her clinical work focus on acute geriatrics and she attends on both the inpatient Geriatric Medicine Consultation Service and on the Internal Medicine Clinical Teaching Units.
Dr. Kristine Kim
Dr. Kristine Kim received her medical degree from the University of Limerick in Ireland. She completed her residency at the University of Saskatchewan and her Geriatric Medicine training at the University of British Columbia. She is currently working as a Clinician in Quality Improvement. She joined the geriatric group at Sinai Health and University Health Network in 2021. Her clinical work focuses on acute inpatient Geriatric Medicine Consult services and ambulatory care. Her interests include Geriatric Emergency Medicine and development of new models of care in the Emergency Department and outpatient setting to target at risk older adults.
Dr. Luxey Sirisegaram
Dr. Luxey Sirisegaram received her Medical Degree from the University of Calgary and completed her residency and fellowship training at Western University. She is currently completing a Masters of Applied Science in Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality at Johns Hopkins University. She has been a Staff Geriatrician at Sinai Health System and the University Health network since 2022. Her clinical work focuses on geriatric outreach programs. Her scholarly work focuses on preoperative screening for frail older adults and urinary incontinence.
Dr. Alana Miller
Dr. Alana Miller received her Medical Degree from the National University of Ireland, Galway and completed her residency in internal medicine and geriatric medicine fellowship at the University of Toronto. She also holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Calgary. She joined the geriatric group at Sinai Health System and University Health Network in 2022. Her clinical work focuses on geriatric medicine in acute care, rehabilitation settings and ambulatory care.
Dr. Guillaume Lim Fat
Dr. Guillaume Lim Fat received his medical degree from Queen’s University. He went on to complete residencies in internal medicine at Western University and geriatric medicine at the University of Toronto. He is currently completing a Master’s Degree in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the University of Toronto. He joined the geriatrics group at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network in 2023. His clinical work focuses on geriatric medicine in the acute care and rehabilitation settings, as well as older adults with cancer at the geriatric oncology clinic. He has a scholarly interest in improving timely access to specialized care for older adults, adverse effects of awaiting long-term care in hospital, and development of new collaborative models of care.
Dr. Rameez Imtiaz
Dr. Rameez Imtiaz received his medical degree from the University of Ottawa. He then completed his Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine residency at the University of Toronto. He is currently enrolled in the Master’s Degree in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the University of Toronto. He has been a staff Geriatrician at Sinai Health System and the University Health network since 2023. His clinical work focuses on Geriatric Medicine care in the acute inpatient, rehabilitation and ambulatory setting. He has a scholarly interest in advancing models of care that better address frailty and functional decline during emergent hospitalizations.
Sabrina Haq
Sabrina received her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Waterloo. She has worked full-time as a Community Pharmacist with Rexall since 2015. As a core member of the Independence at Home Community Outreach Team, Sabrina conducts in-depth home medication reviews for homebound patients, and further provides medication reconciliation and counselling services for patients attending the geriatric medicine clinics at Mount Sinai Hospital, and the falls prevention clinics and geriatric day hospital at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.
Revital Shuster
Revital received her Masters of Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University. A registered social worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, Revital began working with Sinai Health System’s Circle of Care as a community-based social worker in 2011 and recently took on a new role as a Social Work Care Navigator in 2016 to provide seamless transitions back home for patients being discharged from our hospitals. Her clinical interests focus on assisting seniors to maintain independence in the community, mental health and palliative care.
Rebecca Lemieux
Rebecca started her career at Mount Sinai in 2005 as a Registered Nurse on 11 North, an adult inpatient surgical unit, where she cultivated her passion for delivering quality geriatric nursing care. Rebecca received her Masters of Nursing from the University of Toronto and she holds Gerontological Nursing Certification from the Canadian Nurses Association. As Clinical Nurse Specialist, Rebecca is a specialized member of the Geriatric Medicine Consult Service, collaborating and delivering care focused on the assessment, screening, care co-ordination and transition support of high risk seniors among the medical and surgical inpatient populations at Mount Sinai Hospital. She aims to empower and support staff to provide high-quality geriatric care at the bedside through coaching, education and Quality Improvement initiatives organizationally.
Bria Dexter
Bria received her Masters of Public Health from the University of Waterloo and is a Registered Dietitian with the College of Dietitians of Ontario. She also holds a Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute. As a Manager of Ambulatory Services at Mount Sinai Hospital, she supports the operations of multiple ambulatory clinics including the Outpatient Geriatric and General Internal Medicine clinics.
Agnes Kulinek
Agnes completed her Masters of Nursing at the University of Toronto and subsequently earned her Gerontological Nursing Certificate from the Canadian Nurses Association. After a few years in acute care, Agnes migrated to community based geriatrics care. As the Clinical Coordinator with the Independence at Home Community Outreach Team since its inception in 2016, Agnes works on an interprofessional team to support community dwelling, frail older adults in their goal to age in place. She enjoys travelling to various corners of the city, often on her bike, learning about and collaboratively achieving each older adult’s definition of health and happiness.
Shayna Pilc
Shayna is a Social Worker specializing in Gerontology. She completed her Bachelors in Social Work from Ryerson University and her Masters in Social Work from the University of Toronto. Shayna’s experience extends to patients recovering from motor vehicle accidents, work place accidents, mental health issues, stroke, dementia and other cognitive impairment. As an active member of the Independence at Home Community Outreach Team, Shayna connects with patients on a therapeutic level completing social work assessments and connecting patients with community resources to enhance their lives. Shayna is passionate about connecting with each patient with their families and assisting them in obtaining the highest quality of life.
Angel Lau
Angel received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from York University and holds a diploma in Recreation Management in Gerontology from George Brown College. Angel has been serving the geriatric population since 2014 and has worked in various community settings, thereby developing well-rounded methodologies of how to engage the elderly both socially and recreationally. As the Elder Life Specialist, Angel coordinates the Maximizing Aging Using Volunteer Engagement (MAUVE) program, which links specially trained volunteers with hospitalized older adults to improve the quality of life while helping maintain and improve cognitive and physical functioning. Angel aims to achieve patient-centered care for all patients and to support volunteers by leveraging her skills and passion for geriatric care.
Sarah Connelly
Sarah started her career at Mount Sinai in 2004 as a Registered Nurse on 11 South, an adult inpatient surgical unit. Sarah is currently working on achieving her Masters of Nursing and she holds a degree in Gerontology from the University of Guelph. As a Geriatric Emergency Management RN, Sarah is responsible for completing comprehensive gerontological assessments to identify high-risk patients for facilitation of appropriate interdisciplinary follow up. As well as, liaise with community supports and services to complete community referrals for patients post-ER discharge. She aims to advocate for geriatric patients that come to the emergency department and work collaboratively to allow for successful discharge planning.
Hyaemin (Helen) Kim
Helen graduated from Queen’s University with a Bachelor of Nursing Science in 2017. She started her career in medical-surgical nursing and worked the majority of her career in the emergency department. After a few years into her nursing career, she went on to pursue her Master’s in Nursing Science at Queen’s. Working in the emergency department piqued her interest and desire to facilitate better care for geriatric patients visiting the emergency department. Currently, Helen is working as a Geriatric Emergency Management RN, providing assessment and coordinating care for high-risk geriatric patients visiting Mount Sinai Hospital.
Hamsa Krishnapillai
Hamsa is the Nurse Clinician with the Inpatient Geriatric Medicine Team. With a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a nursing degree, she is passionate about providing compassionate care to vulnerable populations. Starting her career as an RN Supervisor in Long-Term Care, she discovered her love for geriatrics. As part of the inpatient geriatric medicine consulting service, she collaborates with physicians, nurses, and allied healthcare staff to implement specialized interventions to meet the unique needs of older adults. She strives to make a meaningful impact in the lives of patients and families she works with. Hamsa is dedicated to quality improvement through research, knowledge translation and nursing education.
Kristina Kokorelias
Dr. Kristina Kokorelias works as the Senior Academic Program Coordinator for the Department of Medicine’s Healthy Ageing and Geriatrics Program at Sinai Health and the University Health Network. In her role, Kristina helps to oversee the academic outcomes of the program by contributing to the operations, teaching, leadership, quality improvement, and health services research to help improve the quality of care for older adults and their caregivers. Kristina also has status appointments as Associate Scientist (Sinai Health) and Assistant Professor, Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto. Her program of research aims to understand the experiences and needs of family caregivers and older adults with complex care needs with the aim of using this information to develop, evaluate, and implement timely family-centered care programs and services. Her other research interests include advancing models of integrated care, sex and gender-based differences in family caregiving, and health care utilization patterns amongst diverse patient populations. Kristina aims to work closely with the end users of her research so the programs that are developed through research are in line with the goals and objectives of existing health and social care service delivery models.
Damen Bell
Damen graduated from the University of Guelph-Humber, receiving his Honours Bachelor of Applied Arts Degree in Media and Communication Studies and a Diploma in Media Communications specializing in Public Relations. As a Communications and Health Education Program Coordinator, Damen leads our communication activities which include managing our social media platforms and website. He also assists in developing and advancing the program’s health education materials and content.
Libby Mendonca
Libby received her diploma in Medical Office Administration from George Brown College. As an Administrative Assistant, Libby provides the core administrative support to help coordinate all of our educational trainees in geriatrics. She further provides administrative support to Drs. Barry Goldlist, Vicky Chau and Luke Devine.
Elsa Nana Nzepa
Elsa received her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Psychology from Duke University. As a Program Coordinator, Elsa supports the Healthy Ageing and Geriatrics program through programming and events coordination. She also provides clinical administrative support.
Adele Miron
Adele received her Medical Office Administration Diploma in 2019. She has worked in various long-term care and hospital settings including UHN’s Toronto Western Hospital Emergency Department and Chartwell Retirement Residences. She is passionate about patient care and communication. Adele now provides support to the General Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine Clinics at Sinai Health.
Andrea Ligtenberg
Andrea is a graduate of the Medical Office Administration Program at Mohawk College and joined Sinai Health and the University Health Network, after over 7 years of working as an Administrative Assistant at Hamilton Health Science’s Rehabilitation Program. In her current role, Andrea supports the main administrative functions of the Office of the Director of Geriatrics, the Healthy Ageing and Geriatrics Program and the Division of Geriatric Medicine.
Date Modified: November 2023