Fei-Fei Liu, MD

Princess Margaret Cancer Center

Fei-Fei Liu, MD, is currently the Scientific Director of the Institute of Cancer Research at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. She is also a Professor of Radiation Oncology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, and Radiation Oncologist in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Princess Margaret Cancer Center. From 2012-2022, she served as both the Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, and Head of the Radiation Medicine Program at the Princess Margaret Cancer Center in Toronto. All in all, she has been a physician-scientist in radiation oncology for 36 years. With her many years in this profession, she is proudest of the success of the people she has mentored, the impact of her research on clinical practice, and the opportunities she has had to connect with her patients. As well, the success and growth of the departments over those 10 years is another moment of pride for Dr. Liu.

Dr. Liu said that she has had many mentors who have contributed to the growth of her career in different ways. One of these mentors, Dick Hill, PhD, mentored her in shaping grant applications, designing experiments and data interpretation. Dr. Liu acknowledges that most of her mentors were men since they were the majority of basic laboratory researchers during that era. She did, however, note role models who were women. One of these role models was Mary Gospodarowicz, MD, who advised Dr. Liu not to aim for perfection. Dr. Liu stated this was the single most important advice she received, as this gave permission for Dr. Liu to be less demanding on herself.

Dr. Liu explained that the two biggest lessons she has learned from being a mentor are patience and not to prejudge people. Physicians are trained to make decisions quickly, but in mentorship, you are nurturing your trainees and watching them grow, which takes time. One of her trainees said, “What has amazed me most about Dr. Liu’s mentorship is her ability to make a trainee feel valued and respected, no matter how busy she is. Even though she is now Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, she meets with all her trainees on a regular weekly basis.” Dr. Liu strives to prioritize the success of her mentees just as much as, if not more than, her own success.