Scientist
Andre Lamy is a cardiac surgeon practicing at the Hamilton Health Sciences since 1996, and Professor in the Department of Surgery, McMaster University. He led the Canadian Institute of Health Research funded CORONARY trial, which evaluated off-pump CABG surgery versus on-pump CABG surgery in 4752 patients. The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2012 and 2013.
Scientist
Andrew Mente is a Principal Investigator for the Epidemiology program at PHRI, and Associate Professor in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact at McMaster University. He’s working in the ongoing Population Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study, interested in the role of nutrients, foods, and dietary patterns in cardiovascular diseases in populations around the world.
He has received a Project Grant from CIHR to study diet and brain health, a Research Fellowship from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, and a Research Early Career Award from Hamilton Health Sciences, and has published more than 130 papers and two book chapters. Andrew received his doctoral degree in Epidemiology from the University of Toronto, and completed his post-doctoral training in cardiovascular epidemiology at McMaster University.
Scientist
Flavia Kessler Borges is a Scientist at the Population Health Research Institute and an Internist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine and the Perioperative Care Division at McMaster University. She undertook her Masters in Health Sciences and her PhD in Cardiovascular Sciences in Brazil. She undertook a post doctorate and a clinical Perioperative Vascular fellowship under the direction of PHRI Senior Scientist PJ Devereaux at McMaster University. Her research is focused on perioperative cardiac biomarkers, and perioperative strategies to improve patient important outcomes in surgical patients, specially in hip fracture patients. She holds an Internal Career Research Award from Hamilton Health Sciences, a CIHR and NIH large grants as the Principal Investigators of the HIP ATTACK-2 trial.
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.
Scientist
Jason Roberts is a clinical cardiac electrophysiologist at Hamilton Health Sciences and an Associate Professor of Medicine at McMaster University. As a clinician researcher, Jason’s interests focus on the genetics of cardiac arrhythmias, and evaluating the clinical utility of new drugs and gene-based therapies as treatments for both rare and common forms of cardiac arrhythmias. Previously, he worked at the University of Western Ontario as part of the London Heart Rhythm Program, where his research focused on refining insights into the clinical and genetic features of inherited arrhythmia syndromes.
He completed his training in cardiac electrophysiology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and his cardiology fellowship at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, during which he worked with Spartan Biosciences to develop the first point-of-care genetic test in clinical medicine (trial results published in The Lancet). He holds a Master’s degree in clinical epidemiology and biostatistics from UCSF.
Scientist
JD Schwalm is a Scientist in the Knowledge Translation and Health Systems research program at PHRI, an Associate Professor, Department of Medicine at McMaster University, and an Interventional Cardiologist at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) and Niagara Health. Schwalm is also the site lead for Cardiology at the Hamilton General Hospital and the Director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Implementation (www.hhsCEBI.ca), HHS.
Schwalm completed medical school, Internal Medicine residency, and Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology fellowship training at McMaster University, Ontario. He also did further Interventional Training and a Master of Science in Epidemiology, with an interest in Knowledge Translation at the University of Ottawa. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, with certification in Internal Medicine and Cardiology.
His research, supported by CIHR, The Ministry of Health (Ontario), HAHSO, WHO, and WHF, focuses on Knowledge Translation/Implementation Sciences as it relates to the field of cardiology at the patient, physician, and health system level. Schwalm has authored more than 95 peer-reviewed publications, including high-impact journals (i.e. The Lancet and BMJ).
Scientist
Jessica Spence is a cardiac anesthesiologist and intensivist who completed a research fellowship at PHRI and a PhD in Clinical Epidemiology under the supervision of PJ Devereaux.
She is an Assistant Professor at McMaster University and the Principal Investigator of the B-Free Cluster Crossover Trial. Her research program focuses on the perioperative outcomes of cardiac surgery.
Scientist
Jorge Wong is a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist at Hamilton Health Sciences, as well as a scientist in the Arrhythmia and Heart Failure program at PHRI. His research interests focus primarily on the intersection between atrial fibrillation and heart failure, atrial fibrillation epidemiology and catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation. He holds research grants from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, and Hamilton Health Sciences.
He obtained his MD at McMaster, followed by his internal medicine and cardiology training at the University of Western Ontario. Jorge subsequently completed his clinical electrophysiology fellowship at the University of Calgary and at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He has a Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health, and is currently pursuing his PhD in Health Research Methods at McMaster.
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.
Scientist
Marie Pigeyre is a Scientist at PHRI, and Assistant Professor in the Division of Endocrinology, McMaster University. She has received peer-reviewed New Investigating Funding from Hamilton Health Sciences, and is supported by the Medicine Internal Career Award from McMaster University.
She completed her clinical and research post-doctoral fellowship in epidemiology, genetics and biomarkers at McMaster University in 2019, preceded by a PhD in Epidemiology and Genetics, medical degree, and endocrinology training at the University of Lille in France (2007).
Scientist
Lanktree is an Associate Professor and Scientist, currently serving as the medical director of the McMaster Kidney Genetics Clinic, where he cares for patients with chronic and end-stage kidney disease at St. Joseph Healthcare Hamilton and McMaster University. His research focuses on nephrology, chronic kidney disease, biomarkers, and genetics.
Matt has published more than 100 articles in genetics and medicine and has received peer-reviewed funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, as well as the Canadian and American Societies of Nephrology. In 2022, he was awarded the Canadian Society of Nephrology New Investigator Award. His goal is to use genetics to improve the care of patients with kidney disease.
Scientist
Maura Marcucci is a scientist in the Perioperative and Surgery research group at PHRI, and an Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, and Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, at McMaster University. Leveraging on her background in vascular medicine, thrombosis and hemostasis disorders, and geriatrics, Maura’s current main focus of clinical research is cardiovascular and neurocognitive outcomes in noncardiac surgery. She is currently the project officer of the PeriOperative ISchemic Evaluation (POISE)-3 trial and principal investigator of the POISE-3 sub-study on delirium and cognitive decline.
She obtained her medical training and residency in Internal Medicine in Italy. In 2012-2013 she completed an MSc in Health Research Methodology and a clinical fellowship in Hematology/Medicine at McMaster University. In 2014-2016 she was an Assistant Professor at the University of Milan in Italy, before returning to Hamilton, Canada.
Scientist
Michael McGillion is Associate Professor, and Assistant Dean, Research, at the School of Nursing, McMaster University. He is the Heart and Stroke Foundation/Michael G. DeGroote Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Nursing Research, and the International Visiting Professor of Digital Health, at Coventry University in the UK.
He is an internationally-recognized researcher in the area of persistent forms of cardiac pain such as refractory angina and unrelieved chest pain following successful revascularization procedures. He was Chair of the Joint Canadian Cardiovascular Society – Canadian Pain Society guidelines for the management of refractory angina, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). He is Principal Investigator of the largest CIHR-funded, international prospective cohort study to examine social and psychological predictors of chronic post-surgical pain following cardiac surgery. His research focuses on remote automated monitoring and virtual recovery support for people recovering from cardiac and vascular surgery, decision support for people living with RFA, and global-scale, web-based dissemination of new evidence on persistent forms of cardiac pain.
Mike has been recognized for his research and advocacy by receiving the Canadian Pain Society Early Career Award and the McMaster University Arch Award for outstanding contributions to society; and was the first University Scholar (2019) from the McMaster School of Nursing.
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.
Scientist
Noel Chan is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology and Thromboembolism, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, specializing in anticoagulant therapy and thrombosis medicine. His research seeks to improve our understanding of the triggers for thrombosis (including the role of inflammation) and the determinants of variable response to antithrombotic therapies to inform on novel strategies that have the potential to further reduce the burden of thrombosis.
Scientist
Philip Joseph’s research interests include cardiovascular prevention, global health, heart failure, and cardiac imaging. He is the principal investigator for the PURE-AF substudy, and the SPECT-MINS study, an investigator in the PURE study, and the G-CHF registry. He is also the project officer for the TIPS-3 study. He has published more than 30 peer-reviewed scientific papers.
He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, with certification in both internal medicine and cardiology. obtained his B.A.Sc at McMaster University in 2000, and his M.D. at Western University in 2004. His internal medicine (2004-2007) and cardiology (2007-2010) residencies were completed at the University of Ottawa. Subsequently, he completed additional clinical training in Nuclear Cardiology at McMaster University (2013), a M.Sc. in Health Research Methodology at McMaster (2010-13), and a post-doctoral research fellowship in PET imaging at Harvard University (2015).
Scientist
Richard Whitlock is Associate Chair, Research, and a Professor at the Department of Surgery, McMaster University. He was awarded the inaugural Canada Research Chair in Cardiovascular Surgery in 2020.
As well as being a PHRI Scientist, Richard is a cardiac surgeon and intensive care physician at Hamilton Health Sciences. His clinical focus is on aortic valve intervention and aortic surgery. He is a lead investigator for the CIHR funded studies SIRS, LAAOS III, and TRICS III, which have established a network of more than 120 centres to address important questions in his field.
He has published more than 90 articles in referred journals. Medically qualified at the University of Toronto, Richard received his specialist training in cardiac surgery and critical care medicine at McMaster University. In 2012, he received his PhD in clinical epidemiology.
Scientist
Sanjit Jolly is an interventional cardiologist at Hamilton Health Sciences and associate professor at McMaster University. He has formal training in clinical trials with a M.Sc. in Health Research Methodology from McMaster. He was the principal investigator of the RIVAL trial, a randomized trial of 7021 patients comparing radial and femoral access for coronary intervention. He is also the principal investigator trial of the ongoing TOTAL trial, an international randomized trial (N=10,700) of thrombectomy during primary PCI.
Scientist
Tej Sheth is a Scientist with the Perioperative and Surgery research program at PHRI, as well as a Principal Investigator in atherosclerosis imaging, an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at McMaster University, and a interventional cardiologist at Hamilton Health Sciences. His research interests include invasive and non-invasive coronary imaging modalities, including coronary angiography, optical coherence tomography, and CT coronary angiography. He is Director of the CT Angiographic Core Lab for the COMPASS CABG study and the COMPLETE trial at PHRI.
Scientist
Zubin Punthakee is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Medicine (endocrinology and metabolism) and Pediatrics, at McMaster University. His research interests are: clinical trials of diabetes management; association between obesity and insulin resistance/diabetes, especially in youth; health care delivery and outcomes during transition from pediatric to adult care; and long-term outcomes of pediatric endocrine diseases.
At PHRI, he has held leadership roles in the TIDE trial, ORIGINALE study and RICH LEGACY study. He has published more than 22 articles, been supported by Research Career Awards from Hamilton Health Sciences and the Department of Medicine at McMaster University, and holds research grants from agencies including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
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.
Associate Deputy Director, Scientist
Emilie Belley-Côté is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at McMaster University; she practices critical care cardiology in the cardiovascular intensive care unit and coronary care unit at the Hamilton General Hospital. Her research interests include perioperative cardiac surgery care, knowledge synthesis and guideline development. At this stage in her career, she has more than 120 publications, including articles in NEJM, Lancet, JAMA, as well as first-tier critical care journals.
She obtained her MD from Université de Sherbrooke in 2006. After internal medicine and cardiology training, as well as an MSc in Clinical Sciences, she completed a critical care fellowship at McMaster. In 2019, she completed a PhD in Health Research Methodology at McMaster University.
Scientist
Dominik Mertz is Associate Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, and Medical Director Infection Control at Hamilton Health Sciences. His research interests include the epidemiology and risk factors for resistance and infections by resistant bacteria; prevention of C. difficile infection; infection control and of hospital epidemiology; and antimicrobial stewardship.
He has published more than 60 peer reviewed articles to date, is an associate editor for BMC Infectious Diseases, and serves as the first-named editor for the third edition of the book ‘Evidence-based Infectious Diseases’.
Associate Scientist
Atul Verma is the Director of Cardiology for the McGill University Health Centre and the Isadore Rosenfeld Chair in Cardiology. He is an electrophysiologist with an interest in complex ablation, particularly for AF and VT; new technologies; and clinical trials. He has over 300 peer-reviewed publications including the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and the Lancet. He is an international expert in pulsed field ablation and other novel technologies for cardiac ablation. He has also served as Chair or on the Writing Committee of both national and international guidelines for AF.
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