Striving to reduce the incidence of colorectal cancer.

Staff Profiles

Our Staff is Unsurpassed:

The VEC doctors work closely with our highly experienced in-house staff to perform diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy procedures and provide you with excellent medical attention. The medical team consists of endoscopists, specially trained nurses, technical support staff, and administrative assistance. The Vaughan Endoscopy Clinic is usually supported by board certified anaesthetists, for administration of I.V. sedation.

The founding physicians have been active participants in the province's colon cancer screening program initiatives including participation with Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) in the development of the FOBT screening program. They have also participated in the development of the CCO quality guidelines.

Alphabetical Listing of VEC Partners:

The ten VEC partners are all active and experienced gastroenterologists, working out of 5 GTA hospitals.

	William Appell MD, FRCPC Dr. William Appell graduated from U of T medical school in 1976 and received his fellowships in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology in 1981. He has been on active staff as a gastroenterologist at the Toronto East General Hospital since that time. Dr. Appell is a previous chief of Medicine, Head of the Division of GI and Director of the Endoscopy Unit at the hospital. He has a large gastroenterology and endoscopy practice and is interested in disease prevention such as preventing colon cancer through early detection and surveillance.
	David Ford MD, FRCPC Dr. David Ford graduated from McMaster University in 1995 with his medical degree and completed his Internal Medicine qualifications in 1998. He further specialized in Gastroenterology, with additional training in ERCP. Prior to obtaining his medical degree, Dr. Ford completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and a Master of Science degree in Immunology. Dr. Ford is a previous Site Chief of Gastroenterology at the William Osler Health System, Etobicoke Campus. Dr. Ford is also an Investigator for numerous clinical research trials and an Executive member of the Toronto Digestive Disease Associates (TDDA). He is the Vice President of the Vaughan Endoscopy Clinic.
	Michael Gould MD, FRCPC Dr. Michael Gould has a busy GI/Hepatology practice in Vaughan and is a staff gastroenterologist at the Etobicoke Campus of the William Osler Health System. He is Medical Director of the Vaughan Endoscopy Clinic and is Vice President of the Toronto Digestive Disease Associates clinical research group. He is a Past Chief of Medicine of the William Osler Health System. He is also past President and one of the founders of the Ontario Association of Gastroenterology (OAG) and currently sits on the OAG board of directors. He was Cancer Care Ontario Endoscopy Lead from 2011-2014. Dr. Gould is currently the Endoscopy Director at William Osler Heath System. He is a faculty member of the CAG Skills Enhancement in Endoscopy program, and is a recognized leader in endoscopic quality.
	Susan Greenbloom MD, FRCPC Dr. Susan Greenbloom graduated from medical school at University of Toronto and completed her Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology specialization at U of T as well. She has been practicing as a gastroenterologist since 1995 and is an active staff member of the William Osler Health Centre, Etobicoke Campus. Dr. Greenbloom is involved with clinical research studies at the Toronto Digestive Disease Associates (TDDA) and has a large gastroenterology practice, including hepatitis expertise due to her Hepatology fellowship at University of Toronto.
	David Kreaden MD, FRCPC Dr. David Kreaden attended University of Toronto Medical School and graduated in 1973 and completed fellowship training in internal medicine and gastroenterology in 1977. Dr. Kreaden was appointed to the department of internal medicine at Northwestern Hospital where he established the division of gastroenterology and was chief until the hospital merged into the Humber River Regional Hospital. Dr. Kreaden is presently staff gastroenterologist at Humber River Regional Hospital Finch since 1998. Presently in addition to luminal gastroenterology and liver, he has an interest in swallowing disorders and heads the motility department at Humber River Hospital. He is a member of Toronto Digestive Disease Associates and chairman of the Toronto West "Gut Club."
	Eric Leong MD, FRCPC Dr. Leong graduated from The Johns Hopkins University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Molecular Biology and French Literature in 1989. He subsequently obtained his medical degree at the University of Toronto in 1993 and completed his Internal Medicine residency at U of T. During his Chief Medical Residency and while working as a Clinical Assistant in Gastroenterology at Toronto Western and Toronto General Hospitals, his research focused on bone density and depression in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis. Dr. Leong specialized in Gastroenterology and Hepatology during his fellowship at Stanford University and received training in ERCP and EUS. He is an active staff member at Humber River Regional Hospital and is a research investigator with TDDA.
	Michael J. Ostro MD, FRCPC Dr. Ostro graduated from medical school at University of Toronto in 1979. He also completed his Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology Residencies at U. of T. He did a Research Fellowship in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and acid-suppression therapy. Dr. Ostro is currently active staff as a Gastroenterologist at The Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga. He is a past Director of Credit Valley Digestive Disease Group and is a current research investigator with the Toronto Digestive Disease Associates.
	Theadore Ptak MD, FRCPC Dr. Ted Ptak graduated from medical school at the University of Ottawa in 1963 and in Internal Medicine there in 1969. He was the past president of the Ontario Association of Gastroenterologist (2004-2006) and is a founding member and president of the Toronto Digestive Disease Associates research group. Dr. Ptak was the former chief of Medicine at York Finch General Hospital and Humber River Regional Hospital. He is the present Head of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy at Humber River Regional Hospital. Dr. Ptak has a special interest in Therapeutic ERCP, Hepatology, and Endoscopic Ultrasound. He is the recipient of a Distinguished Service Award from the Ontario Association of Gastroenterology in recognition of outstanding gastroenterology research and clinical practice.
	Rajiv Sethi MD, FRCPC Dr. Rajiv Sethi specializes in Gastroenterology. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Toronto in 1992. After practicing as a family doctor in Toronto, he completed his specialty training in Internal Medicine at Jacobi Medical Center in New York in 2001. He completed his fellowship in Gastroenterology at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas in 2004. He has been on staff at Toronto East General Hospital and Presbyterian Hospital of Plano. He joined the William Osler Health Centre in 2008 as a Gastroenterologist and is currently at the Etobicoke site. He is an investigator in clinical research trials in association with Toronto Digestive Disease Associates.
	Jonathon Springer MD, FRCPC Dr. Jonathon Springer graduated from medical school in 1994 and completed his Internal Medicine (1998) and Gastroenterology (1999) specialist training at University of Toronto. He did a therapeutic endoscopy fellowship in Calgary in 1999 and is currently the chief of GI and chair of the endoscopy committee at St. Joseph's Health Centre. Dr. Springer is a community representative on the U of T gastroenterology education training committee and teaches GI residents endoscopy. He is also an investigator in clinical research trials in association with the TDDA (Toronto Digestive Disease Associates).