Program Director
Dr. Nancy Morin
Dr. Nancy Morin is the Program Director of Colorectal Surgery Residency Program at À¦°óSMÉçÇø. She holds the rank of Assistant Professor of Surgery at À¦°óSMÉçÇø.
Her specialty interests include surgical and endoscopic treatment of colon and rectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, diverticular disease and anorectal disorders.
She earned her medical degree at À¦°óSMÉçÇø, in Montreal, Canada, and subsequently completed her residency in General Surgery at À¦°óSMÉçÇø. Her subspecialty training in Colorectal Surgery was obtained at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.
She is certified by the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada and the College des Medecins du Quebec in General Surgery and Colon and Rectal Surgery. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Colon and Rectal.
Dr. Morin is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada and The American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery. She has sat on several Committees of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. She is an examiner for the Colorectal Surgery exams of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada and the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery. She sits on the administrative council of the Association Quebecoise de Chirurgie and is a member of the Canadian Society of Colon and Rectal Surgery.
Dr. Patrick Charlebois
Patrick Charlebois, MD joined the MUHC division of General Surgery as a Colon and Rectal Surgeon in 2003. He is the current Site Director of the Department of Surgery for the Montreal General Hospital. He holds the rank of Assistant Professor of Surgery and Oncology at À¦°óSMÉçÇø.
His specialty interests include surgical and endoscopic treatment of colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease and anorectal surgery. His practice focuses on minimally invasive techniques used to treat these surgical conditions. His main research interests are mainly in the field of modern management of rectal cancer, Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS), Minimally Invasive Surgery and Multimodal Prehabilitation.
Dr. Charlebois earned his medical degree at À¦°óSMÉçÇø in Montreal, Canada. He then completed residency in General Surgery at À¦°óSMÉçÇø. His subspecialty training in Colon & Rectal Surgery was obtained in Chicago, Illinois at the Cook County, University of Illinois at Chicago.
He is certified by the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada in General Surgery, the American Board of Surgery, the American Board of Colon & Rectal Surgery, and holds a specialist certificate in Colon & Rectal Surgery from the Collège des Médecins du Quebec.
Dr. Charlebois is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada, the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Colon & Rectal Surgery. He sits on the executive committee of the Association Québecoise de Chirurgie. He also has been an examiner for the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada for General Surgery.
Dr. Julio Faria
Julio Faria, MD, is a Colorectal Surgeon at the Jewish General Hospital since July 2001. He oversees the hospital’s Anorectal Physiology Lab and holds the rank of Assistant Professor of Surgery at À¦°óSMÉçÇø.
Dr. Faria earned his medical degree from À¦°óSMÉçÇø. He completed his residency training in General Surgery and spent 5 years at the bench side studying the molecular biology of colorectal cancer at À¦°óSMÉçÇø. His subspecialty training in Colon and Rectal Surgery was obtained at Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska. He is certified by the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada in General Surgery, the American Board of Surgery, the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery, and holds specialist certificates in General Surgery and Colon & Rectal Surgery from the Collège des Médecins du Quebec.
Dr. Faria is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada. He is a past member of the Young Researchers, Continuing Medical Education, and Awards Committees of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgery.
Dr Faria’s specialty interests are colorectal stenting and re-operative pelvic surgery. His contributions to the team also include a significant experience with transanal/transrectal ultrasound, anorectal physiology testing and obstructed defecation.
Dr. Richard Garfinkle
Richard Garfinkle, MD, MSc, PhD, joined the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery at the Jewish General Hospital in 2024. He holds the rank of Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery and is appointed as a Principal Investigator at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research.
Dr. Garfinkle completed medical school and General Surgery residency at À¦°óSMÉçÇø, during which he took three years away from training to pursue research studies. He completed a Master’s in Epidemiology and a PhD in Experimental Surgery (currently known as Surgical & Interventional Sciences). He then completed fellowship in Colon and Rectal Surgery at the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN).
His clinical interests include the management of primary and recurrent rectal cancer, colon cancer, diverticular disease, and inflammatory bowel disease. He is fully trained in robotic-assisted surgery and uses minimally invasive techniques whenever possible. His other areas of clinical practice including anorectal diseases and colonoscopy.
His research and academic interests include the multidisciplinary management of rectal cancer and long-term outcomes of patients with diverticulitis. He also has a particular interest in research methodology and clinical trial design. He was the recipient of the SAGES Researcher in Training Award in 2022 and the SAGES Career Development Award in 2024 and his work has been funded by both provincial and national health research agencies.
Dr. Garfinkle is a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada and a diplomate of the American Board of Surgery. He is board-eligible for the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery and Royal College of Surgeons of Canada Colorectal Surgery certifications. He is an active member of the Canadian Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons.
Dr. Gabriela Ghitulescu
Gabriela Ghitulescu, MD, joined the division of General Surgery at the Jewish General Hospital as a Colon and Rectal surgeon in 2002. She holds the rank of Assistant Professor of Surgery at À¦°óSMÉçÇø amd she is the Associate Program Director for the General Surgery Residency Program.
Her specialty interests include: minimally invasive surgical treatment of colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and other benign conditions; endoscopy; and treatment of anorectal disease. Her main research interests are in the field of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery and Minimally Invasive Surgery.
Dr. Ghitulescu earned her MDCM degree from À¦°óSMÉçÇø and completed her General Surgery training at À¦°óSMÉçÇø. She then completed her Colon and Rectal Surgery training in Allentown, PA, and her Minimally Invasive Surgery fellowship at À¦°óSMÉçÇø.
She is certified by the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada, the American Board of Surgery, and the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery. She also holds a specialist certificate in Colon and Rectal Surgery from the Collège des médecins du Québec.
Dr. Ghitulescu is a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada, and a member of the American College of Surgeons, the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons and the Canadian Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons.
Dr. Lawrence Lee
Lawrence Lee, MD PhD joined the MUHC division of General Surgery as a Colon and Rectal Surgeon in 2017. His main speciality clinical interests relate to the treatment of colorectal neoplasia and inflammatory bowel disease. In particular, Dr. Lee specializes in advanced minimally invasive and endoluminal approaches to the treatment of colorectal disease using flexible endoscopy, transanal endoscopic surgery, and Transanal Total Mesorectal Excision (TA-TME).
His research interests include health technology assessment and comparative effectiveness research for surgical technologies and innovations, with emphasis on the practice of colorectal surgery. Other areas of research include perioperative assessment, and functional and patient-reported outcomes after major abdominal surgery.
Dr. Lee completed his General Surgery residency at À¦°óSMÉçÇø during which time he completed an MSc in Epidemiology and a PhD in Healthcare Economics. He then completed a Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship at Florida Hospital in Orlando, FL. He is the recipient of the SAGES Researcher-in-Training award, amongst other national and international prizes and scholarships for his research and clinical work.
Dr. Lee is a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada and a diplomate of the American Board of Surgery, and holds a specialist certificate from the Collège des Médecins du Québec.
Dr. Sender Liberman
Sender Liberman, MD, is the Program Director of the General Residency Program at À¦°óSMÉçÇø. He holds the rank of Professor of Surgery and Oncology at À¦°óSMÉçÇø.
His specialty interests include surgical and endoscopic treatment of colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease and anorectal surgery. His practice focuses on minimally invasive techniques used to treat these surgical conditions. His main research interests are mainly in the field of modern management of rectal cancer, Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS), Minimally Invasive Surgery and Multimodal Prehabilitation.
Dr. Liberman earned his medical degree at À¦°óSMÉçÇø in Montreal, Canada. He then completed residency in General Surgery at À¦°óSMÉçÇø. His subspecialty training in Colon & Rectal Surgery was obtained in Chicago, Illinois at the Cook County, University of Illinois in Chicago and Lutheran General Hospital Program.
He is certified by the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada in General Surgery, the American Board of Surgery, the American Board of Colon & Rectal Surgery, and holds a specialist certificate in Colon & Rectal Surgery from the Collège des Médecins du Quebec.
Dr. Liberman is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada, the American College of Surgeons and the American Society of Colon & Rectal Surgery. At the Royal College, he is Vice Chair of the Colorectal Surgery Subspecialty Committee and an Examiner for General Surgery. He sits on the Medical Advisory Board of the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada and is Secretary-Treasurer and Officer of the Canadian Society of Colon & Rectal Surgery.
Dr. Allison Pang
Dr. Barry Stein
Barry L. Stein, MDCM is the director of the Center for Colon and Rectal surgery at the À¦°óSMÉçÇø Health Center. He holds the rank of Assistant Professor of Surgery and Oncology at À¦°óSMÉçÇø.
His specialty interests include the endoscopic management of polyps, surgical treatment of colon and rectal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. His practice includes the extensive use of laparoscopic techniques to treat these surgical diseases since 1992. His research interests include the multimodal management of rectal cancer, preoperative radiotherapy for rectal cancer in a watchful waiting program, Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS), Minimally Invasive Surgery, Prehabilitation in the deconditioned patient.
He also has a special interest in surgical education and served on the General Surgery Residency Training committee for many years as well as served as the Assistant Program Director in General Surgery for many years. He has earned multiple teaching awards at À¦°óSMÉçÇø in the Department of Surgery.
Dr. Stein earned his medical degree at À¦°óSMÉçÇø in Montreal and then completed his General Surgery training at À¦°óSMÉçÇø. He subsequently did a 1 year GI fellowship at À¦°óSMÉçÇø. After that he completed 2 years of subspecialty training at the Lahey Clinic, Boston, Massachusetts. He returned to Montreal and worked at the Jewish General Hospital for 10 years before moving over to the À¦°óSMÉçÇø Health Center and establishing the Center for Colon and Rectal Surgery.
He is certified by the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada in General Surgery, the American Board of Surgery, the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery and holds a specialist certificate in Colon and Rectal Surgery from the College des Medecins du Quebec.
Dr. Stein is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada, the American College of Surgeons and the American Board of Colon & Rectal Surgery and sits on the medical advisory board of the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada.
Dr. Carol-Ann Vasilevsky
Dr Carol-Ann Vasilevsky is currently Director of the Division of Colon & Rectal Surgery at the Jewish General Hospital. She is an assistant professor of surgery & oncology at À¦°óSMÉçÇø.
Her specialty interests include advanced endoscopy, surgical treatment of colon and rectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, diverticulitis as well as complicated redo surgery for these problems.
She earned her MDCM at À¦°óSMÉçÇø where she also completed her residency in General Surgery.She subsequently obtained her subspecialty training in Colon and Rectal Surgery at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
She is certified in both General Surgery and Colorectal Surgery by the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada and holds a specialist certificate in colorectal surgery from the College des Medicines du Quebec. She is a diplomat of the American Board of Surgery and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. She is a member of the American Society of Colon & Rectal Surgeons. She served as President of the Canadian Society of Colon & Rectal Surgeons and has sat on the administrative council of the Association Quebecoise de Chirurgie.