ICRH Institute Advisory Board Members – Biographies
(as of September 2013)
Pam Ratner, PhD, RN, FCAHS (Chair)
Professor
School of Nursing
University of British Columbia
Pamela Ratner, Professor, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, received a PhD from the University of Alberta. Her research focuses on social and behavioural determinants of health. Much of her work has addressed heart health, particularly health behaviour that protects people from heart disease and its sequelae, including tobacco control, smoking cessation, cardiovascular risk perception and reduction, and treatment seeking for acute coronary syndromes. She is interested in gender and ethnicity as influencing factors, and has particular expertise in the measurement of patient-reported health outcomes. Professor Ratner has served on several national boards and expert panels. In 2007, she was elected a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.
Dr. Dina Brooks
Professor, Department of Physical Therapy
University of Toronto
Dr. D. Brooks holds a Canada Research Chair (Tier 2). She is a full Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, University of Toronto. She is trained as a physical therapist and a physiologist and is recognized internationally as a leader in cardiorespiratory rehabilitation. Her research includes a strong focus on exercise training in individuals with respiratory and/or cardiovascular disease. She has over 150 peer peer-reviewed published papers and holds many operating and infrastructure grants. She is the editor of Physiotherapy Canada, the only peer reviewed Canadian physiotherapy journal.
Dr. Elaine Chong, PharmD, BCPS
Director, Clinical Decision Support
Pharmaceutical Services
Ministry of Health
Government of British Columbia
Dr. Elaine Chong obtained her undergraduate and graduate pharmacy degrees at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and completed her pediatric hospital pharmacy residency at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Dr. Chong previously held clinical and management roles with two consulting companies. As Director of Clinical Decision Support with the Drug Intelligence Branch, Pharmaceutical Services, Ministry of Health, she provides advanced clinical input and leadership into policy and practice change initiatives in British Columbia. Her work directly informs decision-makers regarding PharmaCare formulary listings, programs, and other pharmaceutical services and products. She is currently also the Project Director for the Ministry of Health's Smoking Cessation Program.
Dr. Chong's research interests centre on the impact of ethnocultural differences on medication adherence, and cardiovascular and diabetes-related health outcomes. Prior to her posting in government, she was the recipient of postdoctoral research fellowship awards from CIHR and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. As a Clinical Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia, Dr. Chong collaborates with a multidisciplinary national team on a CIHR-funded project that informs Canadian community groups and policy-makers about the need for culturally-appropriate tools and interventions to improve medication adherence.
Dr. Chong serves on a number of national committees, and has completed a six-year term as the pharmacist representative on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Network for Respiratory Care. During her tenure, she initiated the development of pharmacist-specific clinical practice guidelines for respiratory care, in conjunction with the Canadian Pharmacists Association.
Dr. Chong has received a number of national professional awards recognizing her accomplishments, including a Pharmacy Practice "Commitment to Care Award in Technological Innovation"; the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists "Award for Management Issues in Pharmaceutical Care"; and the Canadian Pharmacists Association "New Practitioner Award". She was also named one of "Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100", in the Future Leaders category, by the Women's Executive Network.
Dr. Shurjeel Choudhri, MD, FRCPC
Senior Vice President and Head, Medical and Scientific Affairs
Bayer Inc.
Dr. Choudhri joined Bayer Corporation in 1999 and has had significant experience with the Bayer US medical and Global Development organizations. Before assuming his current role as Head of Medical and Scientific Affairs (M&SA) in Canada, Dr. Choudhri was the Global Clinical Leader, Anti-Infectives with the Bayer Global Clinical Development group. As Head of M&SA for Bayer Inc Dr. Choudhri is responsible for contributing to the Canadian and International development, registration, and post-registration scientific/medical support for Bayer's pharmaceutical products.
Dr. Choudhri obtained his MD from the University of Manitoba and also did his specialty training in Internal Medicine and sub-speciality training in Infectious Diseases in Manitoba. He then completed a senior research fellowship in Nairobi, Kenya and in1996 was awarded the Young Investigator Award by the Canadian Association of HIV Researchers. Dr. Choudhri has authored or co-authored over 100 scientific abstracts and has contributed to over 40 publications in peer reviewed journals.
Prior to joining Bayer, he was an Assistant professor in the Departments of Medical Microbiology and Internal Medicine at the University of Manitoba, Director of the HIV/AIDS program at the St. Boniface General Hospital and the Manitoba Satellite Director for the Canadian HIV Clinical Trials Network.
Mr. Vincent Dumez, MSc
Director, Bureau facultaire de l'expertise patient partenaire
Faculty of Medicine
Université de Montréal
Mr. Vincent Dumez holds a finance degree and a master in science of management from Montreal's international business school Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC). Up until recently, Mr. Dumez was an associate in one of Montreal's most influential consulting firm where he acted as the principal director and the expertise leader on organisational design. Mr. Dumez has worked for up to 13 years as a strategic consultant for large companies and institutions, (particularly in the health care sector) mainly within the field of organisational transformation. He has contributed to more that 150 intervention mandates with regards to strategic planning, organisational diagnostic, optimization of business processes, corporate restructuring, etc. He also currently works as an executive coach for upper management positions.
Suffering from three chronic diseases for more than three decades — and thus significantly relying on health care services — M. Dumez has been actively involved in the reflexion and the promotion of the 'patient partner' concept. This involvement has come forward over the recent years through the completion of his masters dissertation entitled 'Quebec's infected blood scandal or the failure of the doctor-patient relationship', his active contribution to the training of patients with chronic diseases, and from his work on various boards of community organisations and involvement as a speaker in numerous forums and workshops addressed to healthcare professionals.
In the past two years, Mr. Dumez has been a key collaborator of the Faculty of medicine of the University of Montreal, reflecting on the means to improve the patients, physicians and healthcare professionals relationships altogether. This collaboration has led him to become, in October 2010, the first director of new Faculty Office of the Patient Partner Expertise of the University of Montreal's Faculty of medicine.
Dr. Mark Eisenberg, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHA
Professor of Medicine, McGill University
Director of Cardiovascular Health Services Research Group of the Jewish General Hospital
Dr. Eisenberg is a tenured Professor of Medicine at McGill University and a Staff Cardiologist at the Jewish General Hospital. He is an Associate Member of the McGill Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and was the Director of Clinical Research of the McGill Cardiology Fellowship Program for 18 years. In addition to his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Eisenberg is the Director of the Cardiovascular Health Services Research Group at the hospital and a Principal Investigator at the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology. Dr. Eisenberg completed his MD at the University of Rochester. He then did a residency in Internal Medicine at McGill University, and a Masters of Public Health at Harvard University. Afterwards, he completed a research fellowship in Echocardiography and Epidemiology at the University of California in San Francisco, where he also completed a cardiology fellowship. Dr. Eisenberg did an interventional fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. He obtained a Masters of Management in International Health Leadership from McGill University in 2010.
Over the course of his career, Dr Eisenberg has published over 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals and participated in multiple collaborative works. In 2010, he published a book entitled “The Physician Scientist's Career Guide.” His research interests include primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, health services and outcomes research, smoking cessation, the metabolic syndrome, clinical trials, and meta-analyses. He is also interested in related, broader prevention and public health issues, such as obesity and patient exposure to radiation from medical therapeutic and diagnostic procedures. Over the years, Dr Eisenberg has received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, and the Fonds de la recherche du Québec-Santé for his different research projects.
Dr. Marlys L. Koschinsky, PhD
Dean of Science
University of Windsor
Dr. Koschinsky obtained her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of British Columbia and subsequently joined the Cardiovascular Research Group at Genentech, Inc. in San Francisco, California, as a Medical Research Council-funded post-doctoral fellow.
It was during her post-doctoral studies that she developed a research interest in structure/function analyses of lipoprotein(a), which had been characterized at Genentech, Inc., and identified in population studies as a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Funded by a salary award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Dr. Koschinsky accepted a position at Queen's University as an Assistant professor in 1991, and initiated a research program focused on analysis of the mechanism of action of emerging risk factors for the development of atherothrombotic disease including lipoprotein(a) and thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI). Dr. Koschinsky has received salary support from the Heart & Stroke Foundation in the form of a Research Scholarship Award (1995-2000), and subsequently held a Career Investigator Award from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario (2001-2011). She was the Director of the Queen's University Cardiac, Circulatory and Respiratory Research Group from 2002-2008.
In 2008, Dr. Koschinsky was appointed as Dean of the Faculty of Science at University of Windsor where she is also a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. She also holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences at Queen's University, and in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University.
Funding for Dr. Koschinsky's research has come from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario as well as from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR). Dr. Koschinsky has received numerous awards and invited lectureships in recognition of her contributions to lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) and TAFI research. Amongst her research accomplishments are characterization of Lp(a) assembly, elucidation of a role for Lp(a) in promoting endothelial dysfunction, defining the mechanisms underlying the antifibrinolytic effect of Lp(a), and discovery and characterization of the gene encoding TAFI. She actively collaborates with pharmaceutical companies as well as basic and clinical research groups throughout the world. In addition to her research program, Dr. Koschinsky has served in many administrative capacities including membership on the Board of Directors of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario and on the Advisory Board for the CIHR Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Heath. Most recently she has been appointed to the Advisory Board for the Cardiovascular Research Institute at Wayne State University in Michigan and to the Board of Directors for WE-Tech Alliance, a technology accelerator serving the Southwestern Ontario region.
Dr. Marilyn Mackay-Lyons, BSc, MScPT, PhD
Associate Professor
School of Physiotherapy
Dalhousie University
Dr. MacKay-Lyons received her BSc (Physical Therapy) from University of Toronto, MSc (Physical Therapy) from University of Southern California, and PhD (Physiology) from Dalhousie University. She is an Associate Professor in the School of Physiotherapy, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada and an Affiliated Scientist with the Capitol District Health Authority, and holds cross-appointments in Dalhousie University Department of Medicine and IWK Health Centre. Dr. MacKay-Lyons has extensive clinical and research experience in neuro-rehabilitation. Currently, she is leading a large multi-site clinical trial on the role of exercise and education on secondary stroke prevention and is lead author of best practice recommendations for the clinical application of aerobic exercise in stroke rehabilitation. Dr. MacKay-Lyons is on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Stroke Network, member of the Advisory Board of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee and Chair-Elect of the HSFC Nova Scotia Advisory Board, and an associate editor of Physiotherapy Canada and the Hong Kong Physiotherapy Journal. She has received several awards including the Enid Graham Memorial Lectureship, Life Membership in the Canadian Physiotherapy Association, Canadian Progress Club Women of Excellence Award for Research, and Dedicated Service Award from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Dr. Peter Nickerson, BSc, MD, FRCPC
Associate Dean (Research) Faculty of Medicine
Professor of Internal Medicine and Immunology
Flynn Family Chair in Renal Transplantation
University of Manitoba
Dr. Peter Nickerson is a Clinical Nephrologist and Professor of Internal Medicine and Immunology and the Associate Dean (Research) at the University of Manitoba. He is the Executive Medical Director, Organs and Tissue Office, Canadian Blood Services (CBS).
Dr. Nickerson obtained his MD, Internal Medicine, and Nephrology training at the University of Manitoba, followed by a Transplant Research Fellowship at Harvard Medical School from 1991 to 1995.
Dr. Nickerson currently holds the Flynn Family Chair in Renal Transplantation at the University of Manitoba. His clinical research focuses on developing non-invasive techniques for diagnosis of renal allograft rejection; mechanisms underlying acute and chronic rejection; and health care system design to enhance access to transplant.
Dr. Denis O'Donnell, M.D., FRCP(I), FRCPC
Professor, Department of Medicine, Physiology, Rehabilitation Medicine
School of Kinesiology and Health Studies
Queen's University
Denis E. O'Donnell, M.D., FRCP(I), FRCPC, is a Professor of Medicine, Physiology, and Kinesiology/Health Studies at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada and is a member of the Division of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine at this institution. He completed his medical degree at University College, Galway, Ireland, and undertook a 3 year pulmonary research fellowship at the University of Manitoba with Drs. N.R. Anthonisen and M.K. Younes. His main research interest is clinical integrative physiology, with a current focus on exercise pathophysiology and the mechanisms and management of dyspnea in cardiopulmonary diseases. He has published and lectured extensively on these topics. Dr. O'Donnell is Director of the Respiratory Investigation Unit at Queen's University and Past President of the Canadian Thoracic Society.
Dr. David Proud, PhD, FRSC
Professor, Department of Physiology & Pharmacology
Canada Research Chair in Inflammatory Airway Diseases
University of Calgary
Dr. David Proud obtained his undergraduate and Ph.D. degrees in biochemistry from the University of Essex in Colchester, United Kingdom. He then received postdoctoral training at the US National Institutes of Health. He subsequently joined the Faculty of the Department of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, achieving the rank of Professor of Medicine in 1993. In 2001, Dr. Proud moved to the University of Calgary to accept the position of Head the Airway Inflammation Research Group and Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology.
Dr. Proud holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Inflammatory Airway Diseases. His major research interests focus on the pathogenesis of viral exacerbations of asthma and COPD and on airway epithelial cell biology. He holds funding from the CIHR and the US National Institutes of Health, and has published over 270 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, monographs and invited reviews. He has has received several honours and awards, including a Fogerty International Fellowship, the Frey-Werle Foundation International Research Prize, and the Lorraine Award of Excellence from the Lung Association of Alberta & NWT. In 2012, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Bernard Thébaud, MD, PhD
Senior Scientist, Regenerative Medicine Program
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) & Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute
Pediatrician, Division of Neonatology, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario
Professor of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa
Dr. Bernard Thébaud is a clinician-scientist recruited to Ottawa from Edmonton in 2012 to accelerate the translation of stem cell-based therapies to improve the outcome of extreme prematurity. Dr. Thébaud is a senior scientist with OHRI and a neonatologist with CHEO, where he provides care to critically ill newborns.
Dr. Thébaud obtained his MD at the University Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France in 1991 and trained in Pediatrics and Neonatology at the University Paris V in Paris, France, where he also obtained a MSc and PhD, before completing a 2 year post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Alberta.
Dr. Thébaud studies the mechanisms of lung development, injury and repair in order to design new treatments for incurable lung diseases. Dr. Thébaud has set out an ambitious research program for his lab in order to study clinically-relevant questions for translation into real-life applications. Over the new five years, his goal is to bring safe and effective cell-based therapies for lung diseases into the clinic, and thereby create vast improvements in patient outcomes.
Dr. Thébaud has participated on numerous peer reviews committees at the international, national and provincial level, including NIH and CIHR. He has over 70 peer-reviewed publications, and given over 50 lectures at leading international meetings and institutions over the past 5 years. He received the "Rising Star in Perinatal Research" award from the CIHR Institute for Human Development, Child and Youth Health in 2008, and the "Best in Current Canadian Child Health Research" Sanofi Pasteur Research Award in 2007. Dr. Thébaud holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Lung Development, Injury and Repair.
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