Dr. Lillian Sung MD, PhD
Dr. Sung joined the staff at The Hospital for Sick Children in September 2004 after completing fellowships in Haematology, Infectious Diseases and Clinical Investigation and receiving a PhD in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Toronto.
She is a Pediatric Oncologist and Clinician Scientist with an independent research program focused on supportive care for children with cancer. Her overall goal is to optimize supportive care for children with cancer, with an aim to maximize quality of life, survival, and cost-effectiveness. She is the Chair of Cancer Control and Supportive Care for the Children's Oncology Group (COG). This group oversees all studies of supportive care including studies related to symptom management and patient-reported outcomes.
Her clinical focus is on the inpatient care of children and adolescents with leukemia and lymphoma. She also has a major focus on research education. She has taught graduate courses for the School of Graduate Studies, University of Toronto since her faculty appointment and she currently co-directs an advanced randomized trials course. In addition, she has contributed to the development of the Clinical Research Training Institute supported by the American Society of Hematology and developed a research training course in Latin America and Qatar.
Sadie Cook
Clinical Research Project Manager
Sadie completed her honours undergraduate degree in Children’s Education and Development from Wilfred Laurier University focusing her studies on children’s psychology and human rights.
She started working at the Juravinski ICU in 2012 where she completed her Medical Terminology and Behavioral Science certificates. Sadie joined the SickKids team in 2014, and here she is able to combine her hospital experience and passion for working with children.
Emily Vettese
Clinical Research Project Manager
Emily completed her undergraduate degree at Ryerson University where she obtained a Bachelors of Applied Science in the field of Nutrition and Food. This passion for health and wellness inspired her to become a certified yoga instructor, where she has gained over 800 hours of training and education.
As part of Dr. Sung’s research team at SickKids, Emily is able to combine these interests to create impactful and long-term change within the field of health.
Neeraj Dhaliwal
Clinical Research Project Coordinator
Neeraj graduated from the University of Toronto in 2020, where she completed her Honours Bachelor of Science with a major in human biology along with a double minor in physiology and immunology. She developed a passion for working with children after volunteering at SickKids in Child Life and clinical research roles. Neeraj joined the Sung Research team in 2020, and she hopes to use her prior experiences to contribute to the field of supportive care in pediatric oncology.
Nicole Crellin-Parsons
Clinical Research Project Assistant
Nicole completed her Honours Bachelor of Medical Sciences from Western University. There she became interested in the benefits of yoga while running varsity track. During her undergrad, Nicole developed a passion for improving the lives of children and their families. She spent 6 years working with children with autism and special needs in her community.
Nicole joined the Sung Research team in 2022. She is excited to integrate her research skills and improving children’s health through supportive care.
Lawrence Guo
Machine Learning Specialist
Lawrence completed his PhD at the University of Toronto where he used multivariate analysis methods including machine learning to research how neural processes drive action planning. Lawrence is passionate about leveraging techniques from data science and machine learning to aid decision making. Being part of the Sung Research team allows Lawrence to use his passion to make a meaningful impact on the healthcare system.
Santiago Arciniegas
Machine Learning Specialist
Santiago completed his Bachelor’s degree in Honours Neuroscience at McGill University, followed by a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. He has long been passionate about the intersection between health, wellbeing, and technology. His past work focused on the use of neural networks, digital signal processing, and computer vision to study the human nervous system and to develop brain-computer interfaces. As a member of the Sung team at SickKids, Santiago has the opportunity to apply his machine learning skills on electronic health records data to help improve clinical outcomes of children.
Zakia Joseph-Frederick
Research Student
Zakia completed her Honors Bachelor of Science degree at University of Toronto, double majoring in Biology for Health Science and Psychology. She has always had an interest in working with children and is passionate about preventative healthcare and quality of life.
She is an outreach and volunteer coordinator for Women and Children Social Networking. A non-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting children, women, and families through community-based programs and resources.
Zakia joined the Sung Team in hopes to learn more about clinical research and supportive care.
Ida Mehrdadi
Research Student
Ida is a second-year undergraduate student at the University of Toronto studying physiology, neuroscience & psychology. She is co-chair for the Hart House Recreational Athletics & Wellness committee at U of T and also volunteers in the NICU at the Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital. In the future, she is hoping to pursue a career in pediatrics and work in healthcare.