A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
| Clinical Pharmacology |
 UTE SCHWARZ, PhD, Assistant ProfessorDr. Schwarz is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine and Department of Physiology & Pharmacology. She received her medical degree at the Technical University Dresden, Germany in 1995, and received her accreditation in Clinical Pharmacology from the Saechsische Aerztekammer, Dresden, Germany in 2003. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, USA (1999-2000), and joined the Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, at Vanderbilt University as a junior faculty member in 2004. In 2012, Dr. Schwarz completed her Ph.D. graduate training in Pharmacology & Toxicology at the University of Western Ontario under the supervision of Dr. Richard Kim. In 2005, she was awarded the Presidential Trainee Award by the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ASCPT), and was recipient of a Western Graduate Research Scholarship in Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Western Ontario (2007 - 2012). Within the Personalized Medicine Program, her translational research pursues studies evaluating genetic and environmental factors that influence variation in drug exposure, therapeutic response, and toxicity in adult and pediatric patient populations with focus on drug metabolizing enzymes and drug transporters. Specifically, Dr. Schwarz’s research is focused on better understanding interpatient variability in blood exposure and adverse effects of direct oral anticoagulants (also DOACs), a new class of medications prescribed in patients with atrial fibrillation to prevent strokes. Her collaborative research in the area of oncology aims to discover and apply pharmacogenetic factors that can better predict the therapeutic and/or adverse drug responses of the chemotherapeutic agents 5-fluorouracil and tamoxifen in patients with colorectal and breast cancer (Collaboration Dr. Richard Kim). Other studies evaluate if genotype-guided dosing of mercaptopurine in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) prevents severe bone marrow toxicity and if genetic markers and blood exposure of methotrexate predict renal toxicity in pediatric ALL. Another area of interest relates to how genetic factors may help optimize the prescribing of anti-nausea medications for children undergoing cancer therapy (Collaboration Dr. Alexandra Zorzi). A current project applies cell-based and transgenic mouse models as well as a clinical study in subjects at high risk for type 2 diabetes to investigate underlying mechanisms of statin-induced impaired beta cell function involving drug transport. To aid in the discovery of novel pharmacogenetic predictors, Dr. Schwarz has been leading the development and validation of a next-generation gene sequencing strategy targeting exomes of 100 drug metabolizing enzymes, transporters, and drug targets. She is a member of several Professional organizations, including the Canadian Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics (CSPT) and the International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics (ISSX). Keywords: Chemotherapeutics Drug metabolizing enzymes Drug transporters Drug-drug interactions Oral anticoagulants Personalized medicine Pharmacogenetics Pharmacokinetics Statins |
| Gastroenterology |
 ROCIO SEDANO, MD,MSc(C), Assistant ProfessorDr. Rocio Sedano is a gastroenterologist with a special interest in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, particularly upper Crohn’s Disease, Neurogastroenterology, and Eosinophilic Esophagitis. She completed her Gastroenterology Fellowship at Universidad de Chile, and subsequently completed a Clinical and Research Fellowship in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Western University, followed by a second Fellowship in Neurogastroenterology and Motility at Western University. She is also an MSc candidate in clinical trials from the University of London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK. Her research interests are clinical trials, index development, and outcome measures. Keywords: Clinical trials Index development Inflammatory Bowel Disease Neurogastroenterology Outcome measures Upper Crohn’s Disease |
| Critical Care Medicine |
 MITHU SEN, MD, FRCP(C), BSc, ProfessorDr. Sen is Associate Professor Medicine, Divisions of Respirology, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry (SSMD). She has been extensively involved in undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing professional development since 2004. She has been Director of Undergraduate Education, Postgraduate Education, Program Director in Critical Medicine (Adult), and is the founding Chair of the Canadian Critical Care Review Course. She has been Assistant Dean, Faculty Equity and Wellness since 2014. In this role, she has been the Chair of the Mentorship Oversight Committee, the Faculty Affairs Advisory Committee and the Faculty Wellness Committee. Her leadership created an international peer reviewed award winning Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Faculty Wellness Program in 2016 and 2017. Dr. Sen serves on The Associated Medical Service (AMS) Board of Directors, which oversees many aspects of education nationally including History of Medicine (including Hannah Chairs) and the award winning AMS Phoenix Project. She is an experienced Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) appointed external surveyor for postgraduate training programs nationally. She is recognized nationally for her expertise in accreditation of academic institutions and training programs. She was serves on Fellowship Affairs Committee, along others (RCPSC). Her experience in health care and hospital systems, having been on the Board at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), Professional Staff Organization (PSO) President, and Medical Advisory Committee member, as well as Chair of LHSC Resuscitation Committee for more than 10 years, gives her experience significant breadth. She has been instrumental in developing health policy locally and nationally since 2008. Her experience as an educator and her influence is sought after in national projects and policies, including those setting precedence in the Canadian health care system, including the Fatigue, Risk, Excellence: A PanCanadian Consensus on Resident Duty Hours, published (2013), where she was recruited to serve on the Medical Education Expert Working Group (EWG) and contributing author as well as currently on the Fatigue Risk Management EWG. Dr Sen was recruited in 2011 to The CanMEDS 2015 Project, to write milestones and elements in The Scholar, Life Long Learner EWG as a core member and a contributing author. This work is the fabric of all specialty and subspecialty program to translate into the CBME program. She has been continuing this work by writing Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA’s) at RCSPC. She was trained as trainer in the first RCPSC ASPIRE (Advancing Patient Safety in Residency Education. She was elected Chair of the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada Physician Health and Wellness Group, bringing undergraduate, postgraduate, and faculty affairs, work in this area and leading this initiative nationally. She is an integral member of RCPSC Steering Committee National Physician Health Strategy. She was an invited speaker at Canadian Medical Association (CMA) Canadian Conference on Physician Health (CCPH) 2017. She serves on the national RCPSC Specialty Committee, and is the Director of Education for The Canadian Critical Care Society. She serves on the curriculum Planning Committee and chaired the Ontario Thoracic Society (OTS) Better Breathing Conference in 2016. She has also been an instructor for Crucial Conversations (VitalSmarts) for a decade. Dr. Sen received The Cameron Gray Award (OTS) in 2000, Junior Teaching Award of Excellence in the Department of Medicine in 2008, and Dean’s Award of Excellence for Postgraduate Education in 2013. She received the AAMC “Best in Class International Award” in 2016 & 2017, for her leadership at SSMD in faculty vitality & wellness, resilience, and work life integration. The Group on Faculty Affairs (GFA), AAMC is the international expert group in Faculty Affairs, thus great honour to win this peer reviewed international award two years in a row (2016 & 2017). This innovative work was the creation of a faculty wellness program at SSMD, Western University, that led to this prestigious international recognition of our University as a lead in this area of faculty affairs. Keywords: Sleep and delirium in the ICU Sleep and mechanical ventilation |
| Respirology |
 HANA SERAJEDDINI, MD, FRCPC, Assistant ProfessorBio sketch and keywords unavailable. |
| Gastroenterology |
 MICHAEL SEY, MD, FRCPC, Associate ProfessorDr. Michael Sey is a POEM Scientist and a gastroenterologist specializing in therapeutic endoscopy at the London Health Sciences Centre, an Associate Professor of Medicine at Western University, and a Scientist at the Lawson Health Research Institute. He completed his gastroenterology residency at Western University, advanced endoscopy at Indiana University Medical Centre, clinical trials development at Harvard Medical School, and a Master of Public Health at Harvard University. His research focuses on gastrointestinal bleeding, small bowel endoscopy, and colonoscopy quality. Keywords: Bowel preparation Capsule endoscopy Double balloon enteroscopy Endoscopic ultrasound Gastrointestinal bleeding Screening colonoscopy |
| Infectious Diseases |
| SARAH SHALHOUB, MD, FRCPC, Assistant Professor Dr Shalhoub is a clinician teacher and Medical Director of the Transplant Infectious Diseases Program at Western University. She completed her medical degree at KAAU, Saudi Arabia. She completed her transplant infectious diseases training at University of Toronto. Her research focuses on infections in the immunocompromised host. Keywords: Transplant Infectious Diseases |
| Infectious Diseases |
 MICHAEL S. SILVERMAN, MD, FRCPC, FACP, AAHIVMed, Chair/Chief of Infectious Diseases
Western University and London Health Sciences Center and St Joseph’s Hospital
Medical Director of Infection Control- St Joseph’s Hospital
Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases
Western University
London, Ontario, Canada
Dr. Silverman received his medical degree and Residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Toronto. He carried out his fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, and an HIV post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco, USA. Dr. Silverman is a pioneer in the field of Fecal Microbial Transplantation (FMT) for treatment of Clostridium difficile. He was one of the first to perform the procedure in North America and he has established a large clinical and research program associated with this. He was also the first to demonstrate the effectiveness of FMT in first line therapy of cancer patients on immunotherapy. He has conducted many studies of prevention of infectious complications of injection drug use and has worked extensively in developing countries doing research on HIV and Tropical Infections. He has over 140 peer reviewed publications including recently as a first or senior author in the Annals of Internal Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Medicine, JAMA series and Lancet Infectious Diseases. Reviews of his work have been written in Science, Nature and reported in the International mass media including in the New York Times, BBC, CNN, The Times of India etc.. Keywords: Fecal microbial transplantation HIV PWID |
| Cardiology |
 SAMUEL SIU, MD, FRCPC, Professor, Director of Maternal Cardiology Program, Faculty Coordinator for Physician Leadership ProgramDr. Samuel Siu received his MD from the University of Alberta and completed postgraduate training in Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Interventional Cardiology, and Cardiac Ultrasound at the Edmonton General Hospital, Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, and Harvard Teaching Hospitals. He completed the Master program in Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health and the executive MBA program at Ivey Business School. Dr. Siu is Professor of Medicine at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. His current focus includes: maternal cardiac health, cardiac imaging, adult congenital heart disease, knowledge translation, and program development. His research program has received sustained peer reviewed grant support from the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Canadian Institutes for Health Research. He received the 2014 Western University Departmental Research Award, the 2015 Dean’s Research Award from Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, and the 2019 Western University Departmental Innovation Award. Keywords: Adult congenital heart disease Cardiac imaging Integrative cardiac physiology Maternal heart health Population translational research Pregnancy and heart disease |
| Cardiology |
 ALLAN SKANES, MD, FRCPC, Professor, Department of Medicine, Director of Electrophysiology Lab, LHSC
Dr. Allan C. Skanes is currently the Director of the Electrophysiology Laboratory at London Health Sciences Centre, University Campus, London, ON, Canada and an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Western Ontario. He received his medical degree in 1990 from the University of Toronto where he also completed his Internal Medicine training. He completed his Cardiology and Electrophysiology training at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute before a research fellowship in Syracuse New York investigating the underlying mechanisms of arrhythmia, especially atrial fibrillation. The Electrophysiology Laboratory, a busy interventional program with an active and productive research program, is a current clinical user of state of the art imaging and navigation technologies. Dr. Skanes, Director, is an experienced electrophysiologist and clinician scientist with a specific interest in non-pharmacologic therapy for arrhythmia, remote and non-fluoroscopic catheter navigation and catheter ablation of cardiac arrhythmia. He is uniquely skilled to evaluate clinical utility of imaging and tracking technologies, image-modality compatible tools as well as fusion of device representations with maps of anatomy and function. Most recently, he co-chaired the 2010 Canadian Cardiovascular Society management guidelines for atrial fibrillation. He is actively researching novel non-fluoroscopic catheter navigation technologies in animal models as well as human studies. His research contributes clinical relevance and applicability to development of navigation and guiding technologies. It also provides unique experience and skill set as well as an environment for further translational development to human studies. He has published 144 peer-reviewed papers and 10 book chapters. Keywords: Arrhythmias management Atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, Management Atrial fibrillation Cardiac conduction and arrhythmias Cardiology Catheter ablation Electrophysiology ICD Pacemaker Resynchronization devices Sudden death, prevention |
| Critical Care Medicine |
 MARAT SLESSAREV, MD, MSc, FRCPC, Assistant ProfessorDr. Marat Slessarev is a clinician-scientist in the Division of Critical Care. He completed his HonBSc, MD, MSc in Physiology and post-graduate training in Internal Medicine at the University of Toronto, followed by fellowship in adult Critical Care Medicine and a PhD in Medical Biophysics at Western University. Dr Slessarev works as a Consultant Intensivist at Critical Care Trauma Centre and Medical Surgical Intensive Care Unit at LHSC and as a Regional Medical Lead (Donation) at Ontario Health (Trillium Gift of Life Network). His research is focused on clinical innovation at the intersection of neurosciences, critical care and organ donation. He co-leads the following studies/programs of research: 1) NeuPaRT (Neurologic Physiology after Removal of Therapy) program of research seeks to measure when brain activity stops relative to circulatory arrest during the dying process after removal of life support, and interpret these findings from the ethical, legal, and policy lenses to inform the timing of death determination in deceased organ donation; 2) SAVE program of research (https://saveicu.com) that seeks to advance sedation practices in critical care, in part through its flagship SAVE-ICU RCT - a pragmatic open-label multicentre trial comparing the effect of sedation with inhaled (intervention) vs IV (control) sedatives on patient (mortality, quality of life) and health system (duration of ventilation, ICU stay) outcomes in patients with respiratory failure; and 3) ABOVE (Advancing Brain Outcomes in pediatric critically ill patients sedated with Volatile AnEsthestic Agents) - a pilot multicentre RCT assessing if sedation with inhaled anesthetics vs IV sedatives improves neurocognitive outcomes in paediatric patients; 4) Normothermic Regional Perfusion (NRP) – a new intervention that reconditions donor organs after circulatory determination of death but prior to transplantation by selectively recirculating oxygenated blood to abdominal (A-NRP) or thoraco-abdominal (TA-NRP) organs. While practiced in Europe and USA, NRP has not been adopted in Canada due to concerns regarding violation of death determination criteria and potential for donor harm (via resumption of brain blood flow and sentience). Dr Slessarev co-leads provincial interdisciplinary working group that aims to address these challenges and safely implement this method in Ontario. Keywords: Critical Care Innovation Neurocognition Organ Donation Sedation |
| Endocrinology and Metabolism |
 TAMARA SPAIC, MD, FRCPC, Associate ProfessorDr. Tamara Spaic is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of Western Ontario (Western). She trained in internal medicine and endocrinology at Western University. She completed a two-year research fellowship at Western University where she also received her Master of Science degree in clinical epidemiology and biostatistics. Dr Spaic has a clinical practice in adult endocrinology with a focus on type 1 diabetes. She is working with the National Diabetes Management Strategy Team on improving the quality of care for people with diabetes in Canada. Dr Spaic’s research interest is in improving health outcomes of individuals with type 1 diabetes and closing the care gap between pediatric and adult care. She is a co-Principal Investigator of the Transition Trial assessing structured transition from pediatric to adult care in adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes. She also participates in various other multicenter trials involving type 1 diabetes patients. Further, her interest is in the use of electronic medical records and clinical databases in diabetes research. Keywords: Electronic medical records Transition Type 1 diabetes |
| General Internal Medicine |
| ERIN SPICER, MD, MSc, FRCPC, Assistant Professor |
| Cardiology |
 NEVILLE SUSKIN, MD, FRCPC, Associate ProfessorDr. Suskin is a cardiologist at LHSC and Medical Director of the SJHC Cardiac Rehabilitation & Secondary Prevention Program. He is an Associate Professor of Cardiology and POEM Researcher at Western’s Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. Dr. Suskin holds a cross-appointment to the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, where he completed his MSc. He is actively involved in the delivery and evaluation, including informatics, of cardiac rehabilitation, having served as a member of the Cardiac Care Network of Ontario Consensus Panel on Cardiac Rehabilitation & Secondary Prevention (1999), Chair of the Steering Committee of the Ontario Cardiac Rehabilitation Pilot Project (2001-2), and President of the Canadian Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation (2006-8). Dr. Suskin is co-creator of the London Cardiovascular Information System (LCVIS) an electronic patient management platform for cardiac rehabilitation. Dr. Suskin is also one of the first ICES Western Faculty Scholars, where he is exploring real-world cardiac rehabilitation programmatic outcomes and costs compared to usual care. Keywords: Cardiac rehabilitation & secondary prevention |
