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Lisa Hicks

MD, MSc

Investigator

Tel: 416-864-5632

Biography

Dr. Lisa Hicks is a malignant hematologist at St. Michael’s Hospital with an academic focus in health services research and quality improvement. She uses traditional clinical epidemiology methods combined with quality improvement techniques to develop interventions to improve the safety and efficiency of patient care. Thematically, her work focuses on understanding drivers of over-utilization in healthcare and on developing strategies to decrease this phenomenon. She also has an interest in optimizing the safety of cancer treatments. In particular, Dr. Hicks leads research that aims to understand the risk of COVID-19 in patients with blood cancer and how to optimize vaccination in this population. Dr. Hicks is also an active contributor to the development of clinical practice guidelines. She collaborates in this work with Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) and the American Society of Hematology (ASH). Finally, Dr. Hicks has a large clinical practice in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) associated lymphoma and has led clinical studies in this area.

Dr. Hicks is the Chair of the Committee on Quality, for the American Society of Hematology (ASH) and is past-chair of the ASH Choosing Wisely Task Force. Dr. Hicks is the St. Michael’s Hospital Lead for a Hospital initiative addressing overutilization

Recent Publications

  1. Suleman, A, Wine, R, Carrier, M, Hicks, LK. The risk of venous thromboembolism in primary central nervous system lymphoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2024;8 (6):102507. doi: 10.1016/j.rpth.2024.102507. PubMed PMID:39328375 PubMed Central PMC11424797.
  2. Bhella, S, Wilkin, AM, Hueniken, K, Vijenthira, A, Sebag, M, Wang, P et al.. COVID-19 vaccine immunogenicity and safety surrounding fourth and subsequent vaccine doses in patients with hematologic malignancies. Vaccine. 2024;42 (24):126074. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.06.041. PubMed PMID:38944577 .
  3. Harris, CE, Vijenthira, A, Ong, SY, Baden, LR, Hicks, LK, Baird, JH et al.. COVID-19 and Other Viral Infections in Patients With Hematologic Malignancies. Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book. 2023;43 :e390778. doi: 10.1200/EDBK_390778. PubMed PMID:37163714 .
  4. Bodley, T, Levi, O, Chan, M, Friedrich, JO, Hicks, LK. Reducing unnecessary diagnostic phlebotomy in intensive care: a prospective quality improvement intervention. BMJ Qual Saf. 2023;32 (8):485-494. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2022-015358. PubMed PMID:36657786 .
  5. Hicks, LK, Vijenthira, A. COVID-19 and blood cancer in the vaccination era. Blood. 2022;140 (26):2763-2765. doi: 10.1182/blood.2022018396. PubMed PMID:36580343 PubMed Central PMC9906371.
  6. Gong, IY, Vijenthira, A, Powis, M, Calzavara, A, Patrikar, A, Sutradhar, R et al.. Association of COVID-19 Vaccination With Breakthrough Infections and Complications in Patients With Cancer. JAMA Oncol. 2023;9 (3):386-394. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2022.6815. PubMed PMID:36580318 PubMed Central PMC10020872.
  7. Suleman, A, Liu, J, Hicks, LK, Drori, AK, Crump, M, Kridel, R et al.. Methotrexate, cytarabine, thiotepa and rituximab (MATRix) chemoimmunotherapy for primary central nervous system lymphoma: a Toronto experience. Haematologica. 2023;108 (4):1186-1189. doi: 10.3324/haematol.2022.282014. PubMed PMID:36453110 PubMed Central PMC10071115.
  8. Powis, M, Sutradhar, R, Patrikar, A, Cheung, M, Gong, I, Vijenthira, A et al.. Factors associated with timely COVID-19 vaccination in a population-based cohort of patients with cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2023;115 (2):146-154. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djac204. PubMed PMID:36321960 PubMed Central PMC9905967.
  9. Dainty, KN, Seaton, MB, Estacio, A, Hicks, LK, Jamieson, T, Ward, S et al.. Virtual Specialist Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Multimethod Patient Experience Study. JMIR Med Inform. 2022;10 (6):e37196. doi: 10.2196/37196. PubMed PMID:35482950 PubMed Central PMC9239568.
  10. O'Brien, SH, Badawy, SM, Rotz, SJ, Shah, MD, Makarski, J, Bercovitz, RS et al.. The ASH-ASPHO Choosing Wisely Campaign: 5 hematologic tests and treatments to question. Blood Adv. 2022;6 (2):679-685. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2020003635. PubMed PMID:35072726 PubMed Central PMC8791561.
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Affiliations & Other Activities

  • Staff Physician, Department of Medicine, St. Michael’s Hospital
  • Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto