Program of Experimental Medicine - POEM
Department of Medicine

Program of Experimental Medicine
POEM


 Cardiology,  Cl Immunology and Allergy,  Clinical Pharmacology,  Critical Care Medicine, 
 Endocrinology and Metabolism, 
 Gastroenterology,  General Internal Medicine,  Geriatric Medicine, 
 Hematology, 
 Infectious Diseases, 
 Nephrology, 
 Respirology,  Rheumatology, 


Cardiology
Pavel.Antiperovitch@lhsc.on.ca
PAVEL ANTIPEROVITCH, MD, FRCPC, Assistant Professor



Cardiology
rodrigo.bagur@lhsc.on.ca
RODRIGO BAGUR, MD, PhD, FRCPC, Associate Professor

Dr. Bagur received his MD degree in 2000 from the National University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Argentina, where he also completed postgraduate Internal Medicine training in 2004, and a Cardiology fellowship in 2008. Subsequently, he completed a 3-year fellowship in Interventional Cardiology at the Quebec Heart & Lung Institute, Laval University, in 2011. During his fellowship, he received full training in transradial coronary interventions, and he is one of the first interventional cardiologists to receive training in recanalization of coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO) and transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in Canada.

Dr. Bagur pursued a PhD in Experimental Medicine at Laval University in Quebec City. His PhD thesis focused on outcomes research on TAVI populations and he successfully finished in 2012.

Prior to his appointment to the London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), Dr. Bagur had an academic appointment as Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, at Laval University, and served as an Interventional Cardiologist at the Quebec University Hospital Centre in Quebec City during 2012-2014. At the beginning of 2015 he moved to London, Ontario, where he was appointed as Interventional Cardiologist in the Division of Cardiology, LHSC, and Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Western University.

Dr. Bagur's clinical interests are catheter-based cardiovascular interventions, including transradial coronary interventions and structural heart disease interventions. He is the founder of the LHSC CTO program and member of the Heart Team for TAVI. His research interests include clinical epidemiology, health services and outcome research, chronic disease and multimorbidity, health-research methods, and evidence-base medicine.

Dr. Bagur is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He is also a member of the editorial board of EuroIntervention and Heart, he has contributed to numerous peer reviewed publications and serves as peer reviewer for most of Interventional Cardiology and Cardiology journals (PUBLONS).

Keywords:
Cardiovascular Epidemiology
Catheter-based cardiovascular interventions
Comorbidity Burden and Outcome Research
Evidence-base Medicine
Health-research Methods
Meta-analysis
Patient preferences and values
Patient-important outcomes
Systematic reviews
Transcatheter aortic valve implantation
Transradial coronary interventions


Cardiology
Sarah.Blissett@lhsc.on.ca
SARAH BLISSETT, MD, MHPE, FRCPC, Assistant Professor

Bio sketch unavailable at this time.


Cardiology
Mark.Chandy@lhsc.on.ca
MARK CHANDY, MD, PhD, FRCPC, Assistant Professor

Dr. Chandy completed his MD/Ph.D. at Pennsylvania State University. His doctoral thesis was chromatin dynamics under the supervision of Dr. Jerry Workman. After completing medical school, Dr. Chandy trained in Internal Medicine at the University of British Columbia, followed by a Cardiology and Echocardiography fellowship at the University of Toronto. Dr. Chandy entered the Clinician-Scientist Training Program at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Mansoor Husain and investigated vascular biology using small animal models. With a desire to learn more about stem cell biology, Dr. Chandy trained in the laboratory of Dr. Joseph Wu, a world-renowned expert in stem cell biology and the Director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute. Here, Dr. Chandy learned how to reprogram human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). Human iPSCs provide a limitless tissue supply with an individual's unique genetic code for personalized disease modeling, drug discovery, and regenerative medicine. Dr. Chandy also learned how to design experiments to leverage iPSC disease modeling and understand the mechanisms of cardiovascular disease. Dr. Chandy's current research focuses on understanding the pathophysiology of environmental exposures such as air pollution, e-cigarettes, and marijuana on cardiovascular disease using human iPSC-derived tissue. Dr. Chandy's laboratory employs next-generation sequencing (NGS), proteomics, and gene editing to decipher the mechanisms of cardiovascular disease.

Publications
Lab Website

Keywords:
Cardiovascular disease
Environmental cardiology
Induced pluripotent stem cells
Precision medicine
Stem cell biology


Cardiology
Bryan.Dias@lhsc.on.ca
BRYAN DIAS, MD, FRCPC, Associate Professor

Dr. Bryan F. Dias is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Western Ontario. He received his MD in 1992 from the University of Western Ontario. He completed a rotating internship with Victoria Hospital in London followed by completing his core internal medicine in cardiology residency at McMaster University. In 1999 to 2001 he did an echocardiographic fellowship at the University of Toronto (University Health Network). He joined the staff at the University of Western Ontario-Victoria Hospital in September 2001. He is the Medical Director of Non-Invasive Cardiology

Keywords:
Cardiac manifestations of neuroendocrine tumor
Cardiac source of emboli
Cardiology
Congenital heart disease in adults
Echocardiography
Neuroendocrine manifestations of neuroendocrine tumor


Cardiology
pallav.garg@lhsc.on.ca
PALLAV GARG, MD, MBBS, MSc, FRACP, Associate Professor

Dr. Pallav Garg is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Western University and a staff Interventional Cardiologist at London Health Sciences Center.

He received his medical degree at the University of Melbourne and completed his postgraduate internal medicine and cardiology training in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. He undertook his subspecialty cardiology training at Harvard Medical School including interventional cardiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital followed by peripheral vascular intervention at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. In addition to this he spent 2 years as a clinical research fellow in the Cardiovascular Division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Clinical Research Institute. Dr. Garg holds a Master's degree in Epidemiology from Harvard University School of Public Health, focusing on clinical epidemiology, biostatistics, decision analyses and clinical trial design. His research area of interest is in the evaluation of efficacy and safety of novel drugs and percutaneous device therapies in interventional cardiology.

Keywords:
Administrative databases
Angioplasty Stents
Clinical Research
Clinical trials
Coronary Artery Disease
Drug-Eluting Stents
Epidemiology
Health Outcomes Research
Healthcare Databases
Observational studies
Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
Restenosis
Systematic reviews


Cardiology
lorne.gula@lhsc.on.ca
LORNE GULA, MD, FRCPC, MSc, Associate Professor

Dr. Gula is a Cardiologist specializing in arrhythmia management at University of Western Ontario. He completed medical school at University of Ottawa in 1997, with subspecialty training in Cardiology in London, Ontario and Arrhythmia Fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

He has been on staff since 2005 and specializes in clinical management of heart rhythm disturbances with special interest in catheter ablation and device implantation. Research interests include management of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias and prevention of sudden death. He has been involved with authorship of 131 peer-reviewed published manuscripts. Dr. Gula completed a Master of Science in Epidemiology degree at Harvard University in 2005 and is a Heart and Stroke Foundation researcher.

Keywords:
Ablation
Arrhythmia
Atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, Management
Atrial fibrillation
Cardiac conduction and arrhythmias
Cardiology
ICD
Pacemaker
Sudden death, prevention
Supraventricular tachycardia
Ventricular tachycardia


Cardiology
Habib.Khan@lhsc.on.ca
HABIB KHAN, MD, MBBS, PhD, Assistant Professor

Dr. Habib Khan is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario. He is a member of the Arrhythmia Service at the London Health Sciences Centre in London, Ontario.

He received his medical degree at the University of Peshawar, Pakistan and completed his postgraduate internal medicine in Ireland obtaining MRCP Ireland. He pursued training in Cardiology and Internal medicine in Nottingham and obtained MRCP UK. He subspecialized in adult cardiac electrophysiology with a 2-year fellowship in Nottingham and a further 2-year fellowship here in the London Heart program of University Hospital. In addition to the clinical training, he spent three years in clinical research at the Brompton and Harefield Hospital and Imperial College London and was awarded Ph.D. in 2020. Dr. Khan’s research interests include the evaluation of atrial function using multimodality imaging in patients with atrial fibrillation and the association of autonomic dysfunction in cardiac arrhythmias. His other research interests include the effects of His Bundle pacing and left bundle branch area pacing on the left ventricle in patients with heart failure or risk of heart failure.

Dr. Khan is an active supporter of research and collaborates well with others in the division of cardiology and other medical specialties. He has publications in peer-reviewed journals and is keen to continue his path in research with an emphasis on advanced cardiac pacing, and autonomic dysfunction. He is the lead of the Inherited Arrhythmia / Cardiac Conditions service and takes part in extensive research collaboration with the Hearts in Rhythm Organization (HIRO) network across Canada.

Over his career, he has published over 100 abstracts and manuscripts; and presented at international conferences, including ESC, AHA, BCS, HRS, and CHRS. He is also a reviewer in established journals such as JACC, Heart Rhythm, PACE, Cardiac Electrophysiology, JAMC and was Junior Editor for EHJ Case Reports.

He is engaged in co-supervising PhD student, mentoring medical students through work-study experience and SRTP programs alongside cardiology and EP fellows.

Keywords:
Arrhythmia
Atrial fibrillation
Atrial strain imaging
Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT)
His bundle pacing (HBP)
Left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAP)


Cardiology
shahar.lavi@lhsc.on.ca
SHAHAR LAVI, MD, FRCPC, Bsc, Professor

I received my Bsc and MD from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology and completed postgraduate training in internal medicine and cardiology at Rambam Medical Centre, Haifa, Israel. Subsequently I completed a research and clinical fellowship in coronary physiology, imaging, and interventional cardiology at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. During my fellowship I received formal training in clinical research and obtained a Certificate in Clinical Research from the Clinical Research Training Program at the Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education. In 2008 I completed a Fellowship in Interventional Cardiology at Toronto General Hospital. During my training I received numerous awards, as well as research and fellowship grants.

I published about 40 peer-reviewed papers in top ranked journals and presented many abstracts in scientific meetings.

Presently, I am an assistant professor at the University of Western Ontario in the Department of Medicine, and an Interventional Cardiologist at London Health Sciences Centre. I am working on several clinical research studies that I initiated involving coronary physiology and myocardial protection during PCI and acute myocardial infarction.

Keywords:
Atherosclerosis
Cardiovascular disease
Coronary physiology Myocardial protection
Intravascular ultrasound
Physiology
Thrombosis


Cardiology
pleongs@uwo.ca
PETER LEONG-SIT, MD, MSc, FRCPC, FHRS, Associate Professor

Dr. Leong-Sit is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Western University and a member of the London Heart Rhythm Program at London Health Sciences Hospital in London, Ontario. He completed medical school at the University of British Columbia, Internal Medicine residency at McMaster University, Cardiology Fellowship at the Western University, Arrhythmia Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, and Masters of Science in Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. He joined the London Heart Rhythm Program in 2009 with a clinical and research interest in atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia catheter ablation. He has contributed to over 74 peer-reviewed publications, 7 book chapters, 4 textbooks, and 5 non-peer reviewed publications. He has received multiple teaching awards and co-chaired an intracardiac echo and cardiac transseptal puncture course in C-Star.

Keywords:
Ablation
Arrhythmia
Atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, Management
Atrial fibrillation
Cardiac conduction and arrhythmias
Sudden death, prevention
Ventricular tachycardia


Cardiology
manlucuj@gmail.com
JAIMIE MANLUCU, MD, FRCPC, Associate Professor

Dr. Manlucu is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Western Ontario and a member of the Arrhythmia Service at the London Health Sciences Centre (University Hospital) in London, Ontario.

She is a medical graduate of McMaster University and completed her Internal Medicine and General Cardiology training at Western University before going on to subspecialty training in Advanced Cardiac Electrophysiology at the Ottawa Heart Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital (Harvard University, Boston, MA).

She joined the London Arrhythmia Service in 2012 where she is currently the Program Director of the Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship Training Program and the Director of Cardiac Implantable Device Program. She has a special interest in implantable cardiac devices, laser lead extraction and complex catheter ablation. Her research interests include cardiac resynchronization therapy, the management of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, and the prevention of sudden death.

Keywords:
Arrhythmia
Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT)
Endocardial CRT
Sudden Cardiac Death


Cardiology
tpeng2@uwo.ca
TIANQING PENG, MD, MSc, Professor

Dr. Peng is a professor in the Departments of Medicine and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Western University. He is also a basic scientist at the Lawson Health Research Institute of London Health Sciences Centre. He was medically qualified at Shanghai Medical University in 1991 and undertook research fellow training in molecular virology at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry in Munich, Germany, in molecular pathology at Imperial College School of Medicine in London, UK and in Medicine at Western University, Canada.

Dr. Peng is the recipient of a number of awards, including Rick Gallop Award for Research Excellence from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario (2006), a New Investigator Award from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (2006-2011) and a New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (2011-2016).

Dr. Peng’s research involves the understanding of the mechanisms and therapeutic targets for myocardial injury and dysfunction. He utilizes a wide range of approaches ranging from cellular, molecular biology to in vivo physiology. Cultured primary cardiomyocytes and isolated whole hearts are used to study the molecular mechanisms of myocardial injury and dysfunction and the role of key genes/proteins in this process. To assess the physiological significance of each molecule, related knockout or transgenic and wild-type animals are employed.

The research in Dr. Peng’s lab has been focusing on (1) anthracycline cardiotoxicity; (2) ischemic heart disease; (3) diabetic cardiovascular complications including cardiomyopathy and vascular dysfunction; and (4) multiple organs dysfunction in sepsis.

Keywords:
Anthracycline cardiotoxicity
Autophagy
Cardiomyocytes
Inflammation
Microvascular endothelial cells
Mitochondrion
Necroptosis
Oxidative stress
Protein modifications
Sepsis


Cardiology
gpickering@robarts.ca
J. GEOFFREY PICKERING, MD, PhD, FRCPC, FCAHS, FACC, FAHA, Professor

Dr. Pickering is a professor in the Departments of Medicine, Biochemistry, and Medical Biophysics at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University in London, Ontario. He is also a cardiologist and Board-certified echocardiographer at the London Health Sciences Centre and scientist and Director of the Molecular Medicine Research Laboratories at the Robarts Research Institute. He obtained his MD in 1983 at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and received fellowship certification in internal medicine and cardiology in 1987 and 1989, respectively, from the Royal College of Physicians of Canada. He obtained a PhD in medical biophysics at Western University in 1990. Dr. Pickering subsequently undertook post-doctoral training in vascular biology at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts and assumed a faculty position at that institution.

Dr. Pickering is the recipient of a number of awards and honours, including the Young Investigator Award from the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, a Research Scholarship from the Medical Research Council of Canada, a Career Investigator Award from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, a Premier’s Research Award of Excellence from the Government of Ontario, a Dean’s Award of Excellence for Research, the Hypertension Canada Senior Investigator Award, the Ken Bowman Research Achievement Award from the University of Manitoba, and a Western Alumni of Distinction Award. He holds the Heart & Stroke Foundation Barnett-Ivey Chair. He is currently¬ the Chair of the Cardiovascular Sciences panel at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and has been Chair of the Cellular Biochemistry Panel at the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Chair of the Clinical Advisory Committee of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, Chair of the Research Committee of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Hypertension Society, and President of the Canadian Society for Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario from 2009-2017. He was inducted as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2018.

Dr. Pickering’s research is internationally recognized in the field of vascular cell biology and blood vessel restructuring. His research group has discovered novel genes and pathways that regulate vascular cell function in health and disease, with implications for vascular aging, vascular regeneration and the prevention of heart attacks and stroke.

Keywords:
Cardiovascular disease
Translational research
Vascular Biology


Cardiology
samuel.siu@lhsc.on.ca
SAMUEL SIU, MD, FRCPC, Professor, Director of Maternal Cardiology Program, Faculty Coordinator for Physician Leadership Program

Dr. 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@lhsc.on.ca
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


Cardiology
Neville.Suskin@lhsc.on.ca
NEVILLE SUSKIN, MD, FRCPC, Associate Professor

Dr. 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


Cardiology
anthonysltang@gmail.com
ANTHONY TANG, MD, FRCPC, Professor

Dr. Anthony Tang is Professor of Medicine and Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics at Western University. Dr Tang is presently Staff Electrophysiologist Division of Cardiology for the London Health Sciences Centre. He obtained his MD from the University of Toronto and his clinical training in internal medicine and cardiology at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Tang obtained a Heart and Stroke Research Fellowship to receive electrophysiology research training at Duke University Medical Centre. He is member of Ontario Medical Association, Canadian Cardiovascular Society, Canadian Heart Rhythm Society, and Heart Rhythm Society (Fellow).

Dr. Tang’s clinical and research expertise is on the diagnosis and treatment of patients with cardiac arrhythmia, particular in heart failure patients. He has conducted multi-national, multicentre clinical trials for more than 25 years. Dr. Tang has continuous funding from CIHR grants for over 15 years. Currently, he is the Scientific Director & CEO for the Canadian Arrhythmia Network (CANet), which is funded by the Network of Excellence (NCE) from 2015-24.

Dr. Tang is an internationally renowned researcher, has been an invited speaker at national and international meetings, and is a peer reviewer for scientific journals, as well as grant reviewer. His publication record includes over 200 peer reviewed papers.

Keywords:
Ablation
Arrhythmia
Atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, Management
Atrial Fibrillation
Cardiac conduction and arrhythmias
ICD
Pacemaker
Sudden death, prevention
Ventricular tachycardia


Cardiology
Niko.Tzemos@lhsc.on.ca
NIKOLAOS TZEMOS, Bsc(Hons), MD(Hons), MA(Hons), MRCP(Lond), FESC, Professor

He completed his undergraduate training at the University of Milan, Italy, graduating with a first class honors degree in Medicine and Surgery [MD (Hons)]. He subsequently trained in Internal Medicine at the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom. He then completed a two-year clinical research training at the University of Dundee, which lead to the award of MA with Honors in Hypertension and Vascular Biology.

Early during his postgraduate training, he developed an interest in advanced cardiac imaging, subsequently pursuing further subspecialty training in echocardiography at the University Health Network Toronto, and cardiac MRI and CT with the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He completed his postgraduate training in Cardiology at the University of Edinburgh where he held the position of Clinical Lecturer.

His main interest is translation cardiac research using advanced cardiac imaging techniques as means of connecting basic science to clinical outcomes.

Keywords:
Cardiac Imaging


Cardiology
michael.ward@lhsc.on.ca
MICHAEL WARD, MD, PhD, FRCPC, Assistant Professor

Dr. Ward’s education started with a passion for human genetics, and he completed an Honour’s BSc at McGill university while also working at the Montreal Genome Centre. He then pursed a PhD and MD at the University of Toronto. His doctoral thesis was on the use of progenitor cells genetically engineered to secrete vasoactive agents and regenerate cardiovascular tissues lacking blood supply. This lead to his involvement in clinical trials of cell therapy for cardiovascular diseases such of pulmonary hypertension and myocardial infarctions. Following his formal education, he then pursed his residency in internal medicine and then in cardiology in Toronto. He then completed his Interventional Cardiology training at University Health Network, focusing on complex interventions, haemodynamic support devices and interventions for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).

Dr. Ward’s clinical interests are in coronary artery disease (CAD), complex percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), treatment of cardiogenic shock and in HCM. He is one of the founding members of the LHSC HCM Program, and has started a program for percutaneous septal reduction therapies for patients who are not candidates for surgery.

Dr. Ward’s research interests include cardiac regeneration with stem/progenitor cell-based gene therapy. He is interested in how the bone marrow produces regenerative cells in the context of various clinical scenarios, such as chronic severe CAD, and following successful cardiac interventions. As a member of the HCM team, he is also involved in the development of a regional research program for the advancement of medical therapy for this disease.

Keywords:
Interventional Cardiology


Cardiology
Luiz.Ybarra@lhsc.on.ca
LUIZ YBARRA, MD, FRCPC, Assistant Professor

Dr. Luiz Fernando Ybarra is an interventional cardiologist and the co-Director of the Chronic Total Occlusion Program at London Health Sciences Centre, University Hospital, London, ON, Canada. He obtained his MD in Brazil, where he subsequently completed post-graduated training in internal medicine, cardiology and interventional cardiology. Dr. Ybarra also completed a 2-year dedicated fellowship in Chronic Total Occlusion and Complex Percutaneous Coronary Intervention at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Dr. Ybarra earned a PhD in Health Sciences and an MBA, with exceptional academic performance.

Dr. Ybarra is the recipient of numerous awards, honours and research grants, and has contributed to several peer-reviewed scientific publications. He serves as reviewer and editorial board member for scientific journals and has been an invited speaker and faculty member in major international interventional cardiology conferences.

Dr. Ybarra’s technical expertise in complex coronary interventions, particularly in chronic total occlusions, is nationally and internationally recognized. His clinical and research activities focus on complex coronary artery disease interventions, with special interest in chronic total occlusion.

Keywords:
Chronic total occlusion
Complex coronary intervention
Coronary artery disease
Mechanical circulatory support
Percutaneous coronary intervention


Cardiology
raymond.yee@lhsc.on.ca
RAYMOND YEE, MD, FRCPC, FACC, Professor

Dr. Yee is the Interim Chair of the Division of Cardiology at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University and City-Wide Interim Chief of Cardiology, London Teaching Hospitals, London, Ontario. He is currently the Ramsay Gunton Professor of Medicine at Western. He is a medical graduate of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and a Fellow of the Heart Rhythm Society. His clinical expertise is in management of cardiac arrhythmias.

Having published over 300 articles in peer-reviewed journals and books, Dr. Yee’s expertise is well sought after within the field of cardiac electrophysiology. His research has been published in scientific journals such as Circulation, Canadian Journal of Cardiology, American Journal of Cardiology, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology, Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology and the Journal of Heart Rhythm Management.

Dr. Yee is affiliated with several professional associations including the Royal College of Physicians of Canada, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society the Heart Rhythm Society and the Canadian Heart Rhythm Society. He is an exam writing committee member for the International Board of Heart Rhythm Examiners, former Chair and current member of the Specialist Advisory Committee for Medical Devices Used in the Cardiovascular System for the Medical Device Bureau (Health Canada) and Chair of the International Standards Organization Technical Committee/ Subcommittee 6 (Active Implants).

Keywords:
Atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, Management
Cardiac conduction and arrhythmias
Sudden death, prevention