Siba Haykal MD, PhD, has been appointed the Section Chief of Reconstructive Oncology for the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery within the Department of Surgery, effective March 1, 2024. She is an acclaimed specialist in microsurgical reconstruction and research interests in breast reconstructive surgery and vascularized composite allotransplantation.
In her new position, Dr. Haykal will work closely with Bohdan Pomahac, MD, Frank F. Kanthak Professor of Surgery and Division Chief of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, to offer procedures that utilize modern microsurgical techniques.
“Dr. Haykal is an accomplished surgeon-scientist. Her research has had a remarkable impact on complex oncological and microsurgical reconstruction of the breast, and head and neck cancer patients,” said Dr. Pomahac.
Dr. Haykal graduated from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine in 2007 as class valedictorian and silver medalist, and subsequently completed her residency training in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Toronto in 2016. During her residency, she completed a four-year Doctor of Philosophy in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine with a focus on tracheal reconstruction.
She obtained numerous grants and awards including the Canadian Institute of Health Research Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship for her project, “Evaluation of the Immunogenicity of Decellularized Allografts for Airway Transplantation.” Dr. Haykal pursued fellowship training in microsurgical reconstruction at the Albany Medical Center in New York. She joins the Yale School of Medicine Department of Surgery after serving as an assistant professor at the University of Toronto. Her clinical focus is on complex oncological reconstruction and microsurgical reconstruction of the breast, head and neck and extremity.
Dr. Haykal is the co-principal investigator of the Tissue Repair and Regeneration Lab. Dr. Haykal serves as the co-chair of the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program Annual Scientific Meeting. She was named as an honoree for “Canada's Top 40 under 40” for 2021 and is the recipient of American Society for Reconstruction Microsurgery – Women in Microsurgery Travel Scholarship and the Hugh G. Thomson Humanitarian Award for her clinical, academic and research work, and is the author of over 40 peer-reviewed publications including a study published in Advanced Healthcare Materials illustrating the utility of recipient-derived stem cells for airway repair.