In addition to completing his residency in Dermatology at McGill, Dr. Abdulhadi Jfri simultaneously completed his Master’s degree in Experimental Medicine. Dr. Jfri was recognized with the best Resident Teaching Award from the Canadian Dermatology Association. He shares his experience with us here.
By Dr. Abdulhadi Jfri
Among the most rewarding experiences of my Dermatology residency was having the ability to simultaneously earn my Masters’ degree in Experimental Medicine. With the approval of Dr. Linda Moreau and Dr. Mathieu Powell, our former program directors and under the tutelage of Dr. Ivan Litvinov, I was personally able to explore the chronic, painful skin condition called hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). This oft-neglected illness impacts all psychosocial aspects of patients’ lives and with Dr. Litvinov’s assistance and guidance I was able to start a patient registry. I also presented posters and oral presentations detailing our work at national and international conferences in Poland, France, Spain and the United States.
Throughout the Masters’ year we produced eleven manuscripts: three have already been published in high impact journals and the other eight are currently under review. One of our first publications, which studied genetic mutations identified in patients with HS, was the cover article of the top Canadian dermatology journal, the Journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery (JCMS).The paper was well received by readers.
For me, one of the most objective measures of an experience’s worth is comparing where I was at its beginning to where I was at its end. Looking at the first manuscript I submitted to Dr. Litvinov and comparing it to my last makes clear the improvement in my research skills. Dr. Litvinov patiently corrected my innumerable errors and was one of the best supervisors and mentors I could have asked for.
When I received the happy news that the Canadian Dermatology Association selected me for their Resident Teaching Award 2020 I felt very grateful for this honour and want to take this opportunity to thank all of my teaching staff, who taught me everything I was able to teach. I also want to call attention to the efforts of our current program director, Dr. Khue Nguyen who nominated me on behalf of our staff and residents. I feel very fortunate to be here at McGill among the top experts in all the dermatology subspecialties and to be able to continuously learn from their expertise.
Congratulations Dr. Jfri!
June 18 2020