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Accolades for internationally-renowned medical researchers
By MYRON LOVE Internationally known heart researcher Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum has a new accolade to add to his resume in recognition of his ground-breaking research over the past 30 years and more.
Most recently, Kirshenbaum – the long time Director of the St. Boniface Hospital’s Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Professor in the University of Manitoba’s Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology and Pharmacology and Therapeutics – was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Science degree from the University of Kragujevac in Serbia. Previously, he had bestowed upon him the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba R.E. Beamish Memorial Award (in 2014), the University of Manitoba’s Distinguished Alumni Professional Achievement Award (2018,) and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, Research Achievement Award in 2020. Last year, he was inducted into the Order of Manitoba.
He has also been recognized by several international heart research organizations in recent years.
On the late afternoon of Friday, May 3, colleagues, family and friends gathered in the atrium of the Albrechtsen Research Centre at the St. Boniface Hospital complex to celebrate Kirshenbaum’s newest honour.
Several colleagues stepped up to the podium to praise the honoree, among them Dr. Arnold Naimark, Past President of the University of Manitoba. Naimark began his remarks by quoting Winston Churchill’s adage that “no burden is heavier than great potential.”
“I remember Lorrie as a young scientist at the University of Manitoba,’ Naimark commented. “He was always asking questions.
“Not only is he a dedicated researcher, but also he contributes to the scientific community. Many of his students have become leaders in their own right.”
Among others praising Kirshenbaum were: Dr. Ian Dixon, head of the department of physiology and pathophysiology; the Honourable Dr. Rene Cable, Minister of Advanced Education – representing the provincial government; Dr. Jude Uzonna, Vice Dean of Research, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba; and Dr. Bram Ramjiawan, Director of Research, Asper Clinical Research Institute, speaking on behalf of Dr. Michael Czubryt, Executive Director of Research. Albrechtsen Research Centre.
“You do what you do, not in the hope of recognition, but because you want to make a difference,” Kirshenbaum noted when it was his turn at the podium. I love doing research and I love teaching.”
He expressed his gratitude to his wife, Dr. Diane Popeski, and his family, as well as the members of his research team. “I have a group of superb researchers who have been with me for a long time. They have done all the heavy lifting.”
He also spoke of the many students that he has taught over the past 30 years. “I am inspired by younger people,” Kirhenbaum said.
He completed his remarks by referring to those who came before him – mentors in cardiology such as Dr. Naranjan Dhalla, founding director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at the St. Boniface Hospital, and the late Dr. Robert Beamish, the founding director of the Manitoba Heart Foundation.
“I stand on the shoulders of giants,” Kirshenbaum said.
A graduate of the University of Manitoba – with a Ph.D. in Physiology – the son of Mildred and the late Alec Kirshenbaum says that he knew from a very young age that he wanted to devote his life to science and research.
Over the past few years, he and his team of four researchers and 20 workers have been focusing on three specific areas of research into heart health and heart disease. One of those focuses has been a study of the relationship between certain chemotherapy drugs and heart failure. A second area of interest for Kirshenbaum and his researchers has been the effect of night work on the heart and general health of shift workers.
His most recent efforts have been focused on developing a women’s heart research program at the St. Boniface Hospital. Kirshenbaum pointed out in an earlier interview that women suffering from heart disease exhibit different symptoms than men. As a result, heart disease is often undiagnosed in women and undertreated.
“As part of this program, we are trying to recruit a specialist in this area for the St. Boniface Hospital and encourage students at our medical school to consider specializing in this field of medicine,” he noted. “We are striving to develop this dedicated women’s heart health research program with a goal of reducing heart disease and improving quality of life.”
Top liver specialist Dr. Gerald Minuk awarded gold medal by Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver
Dr. Gerald (Yossl) Minuk, Canada’s first liver specialist, and founder of the section of hepatology in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Health Sciences Centre was awarded the Gold Medal by the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver (CASL) – which he co-founded 22 years ago – at its annual meeting, which was held in Toronto on March 1.
Minuk says that he was overwhelmed by the honour. “I am in very impressive company,” he notes. “Four of the previous Gold Medal recipients were also Nobel Prize winners.”
The son of the late Max and Edith Minuk has had a long and colourful career – a career that has taken him all over the world. Early on, he did locums in Churchill and in St. John’s, Newfoundland. He studied hepatology at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. In July, 1982, Canada’s first liver specialist was recruited by Foothills Hospital in Calgary. He returned to Winnipeg in 1987 to found the hepatology section here.
I have written previous stories about Yossl describing a two-week stay teaching in China about 35 years ago – and a later invitation to share his expertise in the oil-rich Arab Kingdom of Qatar where the authorities want ed to hire him despite his being an openly Orthodox Jew.
His 42-year career has encompassed clinical research, ministering to patients, publishing more than 300 research papers, and teaching. He notes that, over the years, he has taught up to 200 students – many of whom have gone forward to start their own liver programs across Canada.
Although Minuk retired two years ago, he continues to work on what was his final research project – a $2.1 million, five-year study to try to determine why Indigenous Canadians suffer from liver disease at a much higher rate than the overall Canadian population.
Anyone who knows Yossl also knows that his principal passion beyond his career has been the House of Ashkenazie, the last of the old North End shuls. He has been a mainstay of the old shul for decades – often recruiting medical colleagues and students to join him at shul for morning minyans. In recent times, morning minyans at the Ashkenazie have declined to Thursday mornings only – but Yossl Minuk hopes to keep the old building going by turning it into a museum – for which he is still seeking funding.
In the meantime, he continues to attend twice daily minyans at the Lubavitch Centre.
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First year medical student Tim Rozovsky founds new association for local Jewish medical students
By MYRON LOVE In the face of a concerning surge in antisemitism over the past nearly three years, I am happy to report a good news story in that regard. Tim Rozovsky, the founder of the new Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba, reports that he and his fellow Jewish students enrolled in the University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine are not experiencing any significant issues involving antisemitism.
Hopefully, the matter of the notorious Med school Valedictorian who used his podium to attack Israel was a one-off.
“My goal in forming the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba,” says the first year medical student, “was to create a safe, supportive environment for my fellow Jewish medical students.”
He reports that the current first year class at the school has eight Jewish students – an increase over more recent years – with maybe a dozen more in the other years.
For a new medical student, Rozovsky already has an impressive resume. He was born in Russia and grew up in Israel. After the completion of his army service in 2018, the then-22-year-old rejoined his parents, Dr. Katya and Alexander, who had moved to Winnipeg a few years before.
Prior to coming to Winnipeg, Rozovsky had completed a personal trainer program out of The Academic College at Wingate in Jerusalem. Some readers may know the young man from his work as a Master Personal Trainer at the Rady JCC.
Shortly after arriving here, he enrolled in a kinesiology program at the University of Winnipeg. He graduated with a BKin Honours in 2023 and did post graduate work at the University of Manitoba. Last fall, he received his MSc in Physiology and Pathophysiology – earning two gold medals, along with 32 awards and scholarships in the process.
Rozovsky says that it was his mother who inspired him to pursue a career in medicine. Dr. Katya Rozovsky is an associate professor at the University of Manitoba and an attending radiologist, specializing in pediatric diagnostic imaging.
(Tim also adds that his wife, Irina Gelzin, whom he married about a year ago, is training to be a nurse.)
Insofar as the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba is concerned, Rozovky reports that the group gets together multiple times a year. One of its programs was a joint Chanukah celebration with the Jewish Physicians Association of Manitoba.
There was also a joint program with the Christian Medical and Dental Students’ Association of Manitoba.
“More recently, we have been helping prospective Jewish medical students with their applications,” he says. “Hopefully we will be able to get together over the summer with the incoming Jewish students.”
As to his own future plans, Rozovsky notes that it is too early for him to be deciding on a specialty. “My goal,” he says, “is to work hard and get good grades and become the best doctor that I can be.”
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Gray Academy to Represent Manitoba at National Reach for the Top Competition
By NOAH STRAUSS Posted June 6) Gray Academy’s Reach for the Top team is headed to Moncton, New Brunswick, to represent Manitoba at the National Reach for the Top tournament.
Reach for the Top is a Canadian school league that quizzes teenagers on a variety of different topics, from science and history to pop culture. Reach started out in 1961 in Vancouver, where a local CBC station broadcasted the new show; it eventually became a national broadcast starting in 1966. Alex Trebek, who famously hosted Jeopardy!, started out by hosting Reach for the Top.
Gray Academy’s very own team, made up of Grade 7 and 8 students, will travel to Moncton, New Brunswick, to compete as Team Manitoba. By winning the provincial Reach tournament, they secured their spot in the national competition.
Faculty members at Gray Academy are very supportive of the program. The Jewish Post spoke with three different staff members at the school. Coach and high school teacher Danielle Miller says she is excited for the trip; although she will not be accompanying the team herself, shehas coached them all year.
“This year we had over 20 students come to the club to join us, they practice twice a cycle at lunch,” Miller said. Due to the large turnout this year, two teams had to be formed. At lunch practices, students split into two teams of four where each player has a buzzer. The two teams compete to see who can answer the most questions correctly.
One of the two teams did exceptionally well at various tournaments throughout the year and will be traveling to nationals as the sole team representing Manitoba.
Co-coach Micah Doerksen described Reach as a great academic competition where young minds are tested on various topics through quick,fast-paced questions.
High school guidance counselor Lindsey Leipsic said, “We have athletes, non-athletes, we have students who are really involved and students who are not as involved at school, and we have quiet leaders, and we’ve seen friendships be built in Reach.” Some of her favorite memories of Reach involve seeing students from across Winnipeg come to Gray Academy and bond with one another. Lev Chisick, who is competing at nationals, agreed, saying, “Moncton is going to strengthen our school spirit and make us a better team.”
As the junior team makes their way to Moncton, the senior team will head to provincials. Later this week, students from the senior team will travel to Virden, Manitoba, to compete at the provincial level. The team qualified after placing high enough at their most recent tournament, which took place at St. Paul’s.
Confidence is high as the school heads into these final tournaments. When Nath Goldenberg, who is also competing at nationals, was asked what he is most looking forward to, his answer was short and sweet:“Winning.”
