AFOTS Recurrence

Jeff Healey

Senior Scientist

Jeff Healey is a Cardiologist/Electrophysiologist and Professor of Medicine at McMaster University.  He is Yusuf Chair and Director of Cardiology at McMaster University. He is the chair of the Canadian Stroke Prevention and Intervention Network (CSPIN) and past chair of the Canadian Atrial Fibrillation guidelines committee. He is also on the steering committee of the international AF Screen organization.

Healey was the lead author of the ASSERT trial that demonstrated the increased stroke risk associated with sub-clinical atrial fibrillation (New England Journal of Medicine 2012), and the principal investigator of the ARTESIA trial, which demonstrated that anticoagulation with apixaban reduced the risk of stroke in patients with sub-clinical atrial fibrillation New England Journal of Medicine 2023). He is also the principal investigator of the LAAOS-4 trial, evaluating the role of left atrial appendage occlusion on top of NOAC therapy for prevention of stroke in high-risk individuals with atrial fibrillation.

William McIntyre

Scientist

William is a cardiologist and a native of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. He completed Medical School and Internal Medicine Residency at Queen’s University and Adult Cardiology Residency at the University of Manitoba. He completed a Fellowship in Cardiac Electrophysiology and Pacing and a PhD in Health Research Methodology at McMaster University. He is the only Canadian to receive the European Heart Rhythm Association’s Diploma of Advanced Studies in Cardiac Arrhythmia Management.

He is a consultant cardiologist and arrhythmia service lead at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. He leads the post-operative atrial fibrillation program at Hamilton Health Sciences.

William is a Scientist at PHRI and an Assistant Professor at McMaster University. He holds research funding from Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Heart and Stroke Foundation of the Canadian Stroke Prevention Intervention Network (C-SPIN), the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) Atrial Fibrillation Awards Program and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

He has published more than 150 peer-reviewed articles, including first author works in JAMA, Annals of Internal Medicine, Circulation and the European Heart Journal. He was the 2023 recipient of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society’s Young Investigator Award. His research interests include atrial fibrillation screening, medical therapy of atrial fibrillation and the treatment of new-onset atrial fibrillation in cardiac surgery patients.

Tara McCready

Program Director

Tara McCready, PhD, oversees a variety of collaborative programs at PHRI, and serves as Project Manager for PHRI research studies and registries.

She was recruited to PHRI as a Program Director for the Canadian Network and Centre for Trials Internationally (CANNeCTIN), a national network funded by the CIHR/CFI Clinical Research Initiative program to improve the prevention and treatment of cardiac and vascular diseases and diabetes.

Previously the Executive Director of the Canadian Maternal, Infant, Child and Youth Research Network, Tara holds a PhD in Biochemistry and a MBA in Technology Commercialization from the University of Alberta.

Alex Grinvalds

Project Manager

Alex Grinvalds has more than 15 years experience in clinical research, of which 13 have been at PHRI. He has worked on randomized studies, device trials and numerous registries. Currently, Alex is working on studies involving patients with heart failure and arrhythmias.

Alex holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Queen’s University and a Certificate in Clinical Research from Humber College.