The Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont Foundation is pleased to announce that Amina Dahmani and Charles-Étienne Lebert-Ghali are the proud recipients of the 2016 Jeffrey Michael Cherbaka Scholarship. Origin of the Cherbaka Scholarship Jeffrey Michael Cherbaka was a young 28-year-old lawyer with a great future ahead of him when he died of leukemia. Strong-willed, he was not afraid of taking risks to make his dreams come true. The hard-fought battle he waged against the disease made him a hero in the hearts of his family and friends. In order to honour Jeffrey Michael’s memory in perpetuity, his parents, Michèle and Normand Cherbaka, decided to establish an endowment fund that awards two grants in their son’s name every year. The $2500 grants help support training for young researchers and foster development for senior researchers in leukemia at the Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont. A Real Impact on Research Thanks to her grant, Amina was able to work on her research project: To improve the efficacy of immunotherapy on blood cancers using a new approach that would enable the generation of more effective lines of lymphocytes when transferred to the patient. For his part, Charles-Étienne focused on new cellular therapy to counter the graft versus host reaction, a major complication during which the transplant patient’s new immune system attacks his or her organs. The HMR Foundation is very grateful to the Cherbaka family and wishes to express heartfelt thanks to Dr. Josée Hébert and Dr. Denis Claude Roy, both members of the Selection Committee.

On August 4^th, medical teams at the Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont (HMR) achieved quite a feat: They performed their very first same-day total hip prosthesis. This complex procedure was carried out by a team led by Dr. Pascal-André Vendittoli, MD, MSc, FRCS, Surgery Professor at the Université de Montréal. Thanks to the generosity of its donors, namely those who took part in the golf tournament, the HMR Foundation helped make this medical breakthrough a reality with a contribution of over $312,790. “Until recently, such a procedure required that patients be hospitalized for a period of five to ten days,” explained Dr. Vendittoli, adding: “It has been shown that late mobilization and a prolonged hospital stay are linked to medical complications.” This type of approach holds tangible benefits for the patient: Greater pain control, less nausea, a tight seal around the wound and the preservation of muscle strength, which allows the patient to return home just a few hours after the surgery. Patients are closely monitored at home to ensure their safety and well-being. The HMR Orthopedics team offers same-day joint replacement for hip and knee surgery. It is estimated that in the medium term, approximately 70% of patients could benefit from this.