Brain Health & Stroke

Mike Sharma

Scientist

Mike Sharma, MD MSc FRCPC, is the Director of the Stroke Program at McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences and holds the Michael G DeGroote Chair in Stroke Prevention, at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. His research interests include the development of new antithrombotic treatments, incorporating magnetic resonance imaging endpoints into the design of stroke prevention trials and examining the effects of anticoagulants on stroke recurrence and covert brain infarcts.

He has led trials and sub-studies in large prevention trials focused on these areas including COMPASS MIND, NAVIGATE ESUS, DATAS II and currently leads as principal investigator, the global phase II AXIOMATIC-SSP trial investigating FXI inhibition for stroke prevention in 27 countries.

He has published more than 140 articles in referred journals, is the immediate past Chair of the Canadian Stroke Consortium, the professional organization for stroke physicians and clinical trialists in Canada and established the stroke program at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Sharma is committed to developing integrated processes for stroke care and developing human and system capacity for the next generation of stroke trials.

Ashkan Shoamanesh

Senior Scientist

Ashkan Shoamanesh is an Associate Professor of Medicine (Div. of Neurology) and a stroke neurologist at McMaster University, where he holds the Marta and Owen Boris Chair in Stroke Research and Care. He is the founding Director of the Hemorrhagic Stroke Research Program and a Senior Scientist at the Population Health Research Institute in Hamilton, Canada. Shoamanesh’s clinical trials program focuses on advancing treatment and establishing new standards of care to prevent stroke or reduce stroke-related death and disability. He is the principal investigator (PI) or Co-PI of multiple international multicentre randomized trials, including ENRICH-AF (NCT03950076; Lancet 2023), OCEANIC-STROKE (NCT05686070), SATURN-MRI (NCT03936361) and CoVasc-ICH (NCT05159219). He has also held central leadership roles in the ANNEXa-I (NEJM 2024), PACIFIC-STROKE (Lancet 2022) and NAVIGATE-ESUS (NEJM 2018) trials. Shoamanesh is the founding Chair of the Canadian Hemorrhagic Stroke Trials Initiative (CoHESIVE; www2.phri.ca/CoHESIVE) and was the lead author of the first Canadian Stroke Best Practice Recommendations on the Management of Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

Shoamanesh has published over 170 peer-reviewed manuscripts in top-tier scientific journals. He serves on the editorial boards of Stroke, the International Journal of Stroke, and the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences. He is an active contributor to international scientific meetings and previously co-chaired the World Stroke Congress (World Stroke Organization) and the World Intracranial Hemorrhage Conference.

His research program receives funding from several bodies, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, National Institutes of Health, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Brain Canada, the Australian Government Medical Research Future Fund, British Heart Foundation, and multiple industry partners. His contributions have been recognized with numerous accolades from international organizations, such as the American Academy of Neurology (Pessin Award), American Heart/Stroke Association (Globus Award, Siekert Award, Dudley White Award), American Neurological Association (Denny-Brown Award), European Stroke Organization (Young Investigator Award, Scientific Excellence Award), Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (National New  Investigator Award, Barnett Scholarship) and the World Stroke Organization (Future Leaders Program).

Stuart Connolly

Stuart Connolly is a Professor of Medicine at McMaster University and a cardiac electrophysiologist at Hamilton Health Sciences. He became a faculty member at McMaster University in 1983 and was awarded a full professorship in 1994. He was also appointed as the inaugural holder of the Salim Yusuf Chair in Cardiology at McMaster University.

He has published more than 270 scientific articles in the field, and is currently a member of the editorial boards for a number of prominent cardiology journals, including Heart, the American Heart Journal and the Journal of Pacing and Electrophysiology. His main research interests are focused on the evaluation of treatments for heart rhythm disorders. His academic career has been largely devoted to the design and execution of controlled clinical trials in this area.

He holds a Masters degree from Fordham University, New York, and an MD from McGill University in Montreal. He received his specialist training in cardiology at the University of Toronto and at Stanford University.

Pierre Amarenco

Senior International Fellow

A Professor of Neurology at Paris University in Paris, France, Pierre Amarenco is the founder of the department of Neurology and Stroke Center as well as of SOS-TIA clinic at Bichat university hospital in Paris.

His academic work has been in stroke prevention. He has published more than 450 research papers, reviews and book chapters; with significant contributions to the descriptions of cerebellar infarction, aortic arch atherosclerosis as a cause of stroke, and genetic and metabolic risk factors for stroke.

He has contributed to the leadership of major trials including SPARCL, Treat Stroke to Target, ARCH, XANTUS, SOCRATES, THALES, SPIRE, PROMINENT, RIISC and THETIS trials involving antithrombotics and lipid lowering agents as well as acute intracranial revascularization (RECANALISE). He’s led TIAregistry.org which resulted in insights into the outcomes of patients presenting with TIA, and is involved in the validation of new targets in animal models of ischemic stroke.

Robert Hart

Senior Scientist

Robert Hart is Professor of Medicine (Neurology) at McMaster University and a vascular neurologist at Hamilton Health Sciences. After completing a fellowship in cerebrovascular disease at the Oregon Health Sciences University, he spent most of his career at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio before relocating to McMaster University in September 2011.

He has a long-standing interest in stroke, stroke research, and clinical trials. He has directed several randomized clinical trials serving as the principal investigator of the NIH/NINDS-sponsored Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation (SPAF) I, II and III trials (1987-2000) and co-principal investigator of the NIH/NINDS-sponsored Secondary Prevention of Small Subcortical Strokes (SPS3) randomized trials (2001-2013). Antithrombotic therapies to prevent stroke in atrial fibrillation and especially novel oral anticoagulants are areas of special interest. He has published more than 250 articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Raed Joundi

Investigator

Raed Joundi is a stroke neurologist at Hamilton Health Sciences, Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine (Division of Neurology) at McMaster University, and Investigator in the Brain Health research program at PHRI. His main academic interest is in evaluating and finding novel strategies to improve functional outcomes, quality of life, and cognition in people with cerebrovascular disease.

He obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Manitoba, MD from Queen’s University, DPhil from Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship, and neurology residency training at the University of Toronto. He then completed a stroke fellowship and MSc in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Calgary supported by a CIHR Fellowship Grant.

Aristeidis Katsanos

Investigator

Aristeidis Katsanos, MD, PhD is a Vascular Neurologist, Assistant Professor at the McMaster University and Investigator at the Population Health Research Institute, Hamilton, ON, Canada. His research focuses on emerging neurosonology applications and the evidence-based evaluation of novel therapies in acute stroke treatment and secondary stroke prevention.

He has published more than 250 papers in high-impact medical journals to date and currently serves as the Co-PI of two phase 2 randomized controlled clinical trials evaluating optimal blood pressure control after endovascular thrombectomy (DETECT; NCT04484350) and the use of colchicine for the prevention of vascular events after an acute intracerebral hemorrhage (CoVasc-ICH; NCT05159219).

He received the Young Investigator Award from the European Stroke Organisation, New Investigator Award from the Heart & Stroke Foundation Canada and the EJ Moran Campbell Award from the Department of Medicine, McMaster University. He serves as an Academic Editor for PLoS One, Associate Editor for Frontiers in Neurology, and Assistant Editor for Stroke. 

Kanjana Perera

Scientist

Kanjana (Sashi) Perera is a Scientist in the Brain Health and Stroke research program at PHRI, Assistant Professor, Medicine (neurology), McMaster University, and a stroke neurologist at Hamilton Health Sciences. Her main research focus is on secondary stroke prevention, cryptogenic stroke, and uncommon causes of stroke and the optimization of clinical care in this patient population.

She has served as Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator for Phase II and III clinical trials, and is on the adjudication committees for international multicenter stroke/cardiovascular trials. She has won research awards, and her work has been published in high-impact medical journals. She obtained her medical degree from Sri Lanka with Honors for academic excellence. She completed her training in Neurology at the University of Western Ontario in 2013 and subsequently pursued a fellowship in Stroke/Vascular Neurology at McMaster University.

Jackie Bosch

Scientist

Jackie Bosch is the Assistant Dean of the McMaster Occupational Therapy Program and a PHRI Scientist. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Therapy, a Master’s degree in Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and a PhD in Rehabilitation Science. She also serves as a Professor in the School of Rehabilitation and has an Adjunct Appointment with the University of Galway College of Medicine, Nursing, and Health Sciences.

Her research focuses on improving functional outcomes in clinical trials, particularly for stroke survivors in low-resource settings, and enhancing clinical trial methods. Bosch has taken on leadership roles in large-scale trials such as HOPE, HOPE-TOO, HOPE-3 (NCT00468923), DREAM (NCT00095654), ORIGIN (NCT00069784), TIPS-3 (NCT01646437), and COMPASS (NCT01776424). She leads the Organized Stroke Care Across Income Levels (OSCAIL) group, which has conducted a proof-of-concept study implementing key aspects of stroke unit care in hospitals within low-resource settings. Currently, the OSCAIL group is working on a community-based study aimed at improving outcomes for stroke survivors in these challenging environments. Bosch is also interested in optimizing how clinical trials are conducted, especially by finding new ways to make the start-up and execution processes more efficient.

Jackie Bosch has published 184 articles and received several awards, including the Lorna Reimer Award for Leadership from the Canadian Occupational Therapy Foundation in 2019 and the Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Programs Award for Graduate Students in 2014.

Danielle de Sa Boasquevisque

Associate Research Fellow

Danielle de Sa Boasquevisque is an Associate Research Fellow at PHRI, supervised by Ashkan Shoamanesh, and is pursuing a Masters in Health Research Methodology at McMaster University. At PHRI, she is a co-Investigator in the ENRICH-AF trial and Project Officer for the CATIS-ICAD trial.

She obtained her MD from Federal University of Espirito Santo in Brazil and has completed internal medicine and neurology training in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 2018, she completed her MSc in Neuroscience at Albert Einstein Institute/Sao Paulo, Brazil where she studied safety of transcranial direct current stimulation in patients after ischemic stroke. She also pursued a two-year clinical Stroke fellowship at McMaster University from 2018 to 2020.

Danielle has research interests in vascular neurology including acute stroke, neuro-rehabilitation, intracranial atherosclerotic disease and intracerebral hemorrhage. She is currently implementing an ICH cohort study and performing systematic review regarding ICH related outcomes.

Eric Smith

Associate Senior Scientist

Eric Smith is a Professor of Clinical Neurosciences, and the Katthy Taylor Chair in Vascular Dementia in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, and Hotchkiss Brain Institute, and a member of the Calgary Stroke program. His research program has three main components: Population studies of brain health, using neuroimaging to identify predictors of cognitive impairment and decline; biomarker studies in patients with cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease and cerebral amyloid angiopathy; and quality improvement and health outcomes research in patients with stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage. His research has been funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions, Canadian Stroke Network, and the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

He received his MD degree from McGill University in 1998 and completed a residency in Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, teaching hospitals of Harvard Medical School. A one-year fellowship in Stroke and Vascular Neurology was completed at Massachusetts General Hospital in 2003. He earned a Master of Public Health degree (MPH) from the Harvard School of Public Health in 2005.

Amanda Taylor

Associate Program Manager

Amanda Taylor is an Associate Program Manager who currently coordinates trials in stroke, and has experience conducting trials in acute coronary syndrome and arrhythmia. Amanda joined PHRI in 2007. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree (Honours) in Neurobiology from Brock University.

Dipika Desai

Program Manager

Dipika Desai oversees many epidemiologic studies, including the South Asian birth cohort, START, the South Asian Heart Risk Assessment (SAHARA), and the Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Minds (CAHHM), as well as management assistance and oversight in the utilization of samples from a number of other studies.

She has a Bachelor’s degree in Food and Nutrition from the M S University in Baroda, India, and a Master’s degree in Human Nutrition from the University of British Columbia.

Jodi Miller

Project Manager

Jodi Miller has more than 15 years experience in academic research. She has been at PHRI since 2012 where she has coordinated large international industry and investigator initiated trials. In her current role she coordinates clinical trials and clinical quality assurance projects in stroke.

Jodi has a BSc in Physics from Mount Allison University and a PhD in Medical Biophysics with a focus on magnetic resonance imaging applications from Western University.

Kevin Reeh

Project Manager

Kevin Reeh has more than 15 years experience in academic research. He has been at PHRI since 2014, and has been involved in the coordination of large, multicenter international clinical trials, as well as pilot/feasibility studies. These project include industry-sponsored, and investigator-initiated with industry and/or grant funding.

He has Bachelor degrees in the Biological Sciences and Health Sciences from Brock University, as well as a Masters of Science from Dalhousie University.