Institute Advisory Board Members
(September 2006 - August 2007)
Victor Han, MD, FRCPC, FRCP (Chair)Director
Child Health Research Institute
Aside from being Director of the Child Health Research Institute, Dr. Han is also a Professor of Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Biochemistry, and Anatomy and Cell Biology, at the University of Western Ontario, a CIHR University Delegate, a past MRC Scholar and Scientist, Co-Director of the CIHR Group in Fetal and Neonatal Health and Development, and a Canada Research Chair in Perinatology.
Dr. Victor Han received his medical degree from the Institute of Medicine, University of Rangoon, in 1973. He trained in Paediatrics in Universities of Southampton and Oxford, UK, and in the subspecialty in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at the University of Western Ontario. He then received research training in molecular biology and biochemistry of growth factors at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, between 1983 and 1987 as an MRC Research Fellow. He has received specialist certification in Pediatrics in the United Kingdom (FRCP), Canada (FRCP) and United States (American Boards), and a sub-specialist certification in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine in United States (American Sub-Board).
Dr. Han’s research furthers the understanding of the role of insulin-like growth factors and mechanisms contributing to fetal and placental development. He has made invited presentations at over 100 national and international conferences and has published over 160 research articles in high impact journals such as Science, Endocrinology and American Journal of Physiology.
Laura Arbour, MD
Clinical Geneticist
Department of Medical Genetics
University of British Columbia
Dr. Laura Arbour is a clinical geneticist in the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree, with a specialization in biology in 1986 at the University of Windsor, and obtained a Master of Science degree, with a concentration in genetic counseling, and another Master of Science degree in genetics and biology, both at McGill University (1988). She received her medical degree at McMaster University in 1991, and conducted postdoctoral fellowship training in pediatrics (1991-94) and genetics (1994-96) at McGill University.
Dr. Arbour's broad interests connect clinical medicine, genetics and ethics. Her clinical practice and research focuses on northern and Aboriginal health issues as they pertain to genetics and child health. Her current research program includes the study of the nutrient and genetic basis of congenital heart defects in the Inuit of Nunavut, Long QT Syndrome (a hereditary heart disorder) in a Northern British Columbia community, and the Genetics of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis in Pacific Northwest Native Peoples.
Dr. Arbour has participated in several Canadian workshops, which explored participatory methods of conducting biomedical research in Aboriginal populations. She is a member of the CIHR Aboriginal Ethics Working Group, which is developing guidelines for carrying out health research in Aboriginal communities. Dr. Arbour serves on the CIHR Science Advisory Council for Rural and Northern Health Research and is on the executive councils of the Canadian Society of Circumpolar Health and the International Union of Circumpolar Health.
Jay M. Baltz, PhDAssociate Director
Ottawa Health Research Institute
Dr. Jay M. Baltz is Associate Director of the Ottawa Health Research Institute (OHRI). He is a Senior Scientist and Head of the OHRI's Reproductive and Developmental Biology in the Hormones, Growth, and Development Program. He is also Associate Chair (Research) and professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Baltz received his Bachelor of Arts in Physics (1978) from the University of Pennsylvania, and PhD in Biophysics (1986) from Johns Hopkins University. He then conducted postdoctoral training in biophysics at John Hopkins University (1986) and Harvard Medical School (1986-1991). At Harvard, he investigated control mechanisms in early embryos.
The overall goals of our research are to better understand the changing physiology of oocytes and embryos as they rapidly develop at the beginning of life, and to improve the treatment of infertility through research leading to the development of improved techniques for producing healthy oocytes and embryos. To achieve these goals, Dr. Baltz's laboratory is currently investigating transport processes, cell volume regulation, intracellular pH regulation, and other homeostatic mechanisms which help growing and maturing oocytes and preimplantation embryos.
Dr. Baltz is Director of the Program on Oocyte Health, a Strategic Initiative of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health. He has received an Ontario Premier's Research Excellence Award, a James Shannon Award from the US National Institutes of Health, and was a Medical Council of Canada Scholar.
Dr. Sandra Davidge received her PhD from the University of Vermont in 1993 and conducted her postdoctoral fellowship at the Magee Womens Research Institute/University of Pittsburgh until 1996. She is currently an Associate Professor in Obstetrics/Gynecology and Physiology at the University of Alberta and holds a Canada Research Chair in Women's Cardiovascular Health and is a Senior Scholar of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research. Dr. Davidge serves on numerous scientific committees and grants panels and is a member of several professional societies. She is a reviewer for several scientific medical journals, and funding agencies, as well as Associate Editor for the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology. Her research program encompasses studying vascular function as it relates to 1) pregnancy/pre-eclampsia, 2) hormonal status (i.e. estrogen/progesterone effects) and 3) aging. Both pre-eclampsia and aging are associated with oxidative stress and therefore this has been a focus of her studies regarding mechanisms of altered vascular function, in particular endothelial cell dysfunction. Her research was recently recognized for Excellence in Research with the Martha Cook Piper Award at the University of Alberta and the President's Scientific Achievement Award at the Society of Gynecologic Investigation meeting in March 2003.
Claire Fortier, B.Sc., MBA
Vice President
Grants & Finance
Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children Foundation
Ms. Claire Fortier is Vice President, Grants and Finance at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children's Foundation. In this role, she is responsible for all aspects of the financial management of the Foundation, and the granting of funds to the hospital and through the National Grants Program.
Ms. Fortier received her Bachelor of Science degree, with a specialty in Economics at McGill University (1978). She obtained her Master of Business Administration degree from INSEAD, France (1983).
Ms. Fortier has worked in the charitable sector for more than 20 years and has extensive experience in granting as well as administration. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Hospital for Sick Children, and is also Corporate Secretary of the hospital's foundation, as well as the staff resource for the Board and its standing committees.
William Fraser, MD, MSc, FRCPC
Professor and Chair
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
University of Montreal
Dr. William Fraser received his MD from Dalhousie University in 1979. He finished his residency in Family Medicine in 1981 and his speciality in Obstetrics at McGill in 1986. He did sub-speciality training in Fetal Medicine and an MSc in Epidemiology at the University of Calgary. Since August 2002, he is Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Montreal. He also works at Hospital Ste Justine as an obstetrician. He is a researcher and the Director of a research unit in perinatology at Ste Justine.
He is past-president of APOG (Association of Professors in Obstetrics & Gynecology), and the Director of STIRRHS (Strategic Training Initiative in Research in Reproductive Health Studies) funded by the CIHR. Since 2003, he is the holder of a Canadian Research Chair in Perinatal Epidemiology.
Dr. Fraser has more than 15 years of experience in directing multicentred clinical trials. His research projects are funded by the CIHR and the FRSQ.His past and present research projects examine the numerous questions and problems related to perinatology, including preeclampsia, ceasarean sections, meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS). He is an external reviewer for scientific journals such as Canadian Journal of Public Health, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Paul Glover, MBA
Director General
Safe Environments Programme
Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch
Having started his career at Health Canada in 1986, Mr. Paul Glover brings 20 years of health management experience to his role as the Director General of the Safe Environments Programme in Health Canada's Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch. There he is responsible for a wide range of science programs that identify and respond to risks to human health found in the environment. This includes science and research in the areas of drinking water, air quality, climate change, radiation and assessments of risks from environmental impacts.
Mr. Glover earned his master's degree in Business Administration from Queen's University (2002).
Mr. Glover serves on the Board of Directors of the Queensway-Carleton Hospital, the Centre for Water and the Environment at Queen's University, and the Canadian Water Network. On the international front, he is working with the United States as a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Medicine's Round Table on Health and the Environment.
Maureen Heaman
Associate Professor, Faculty of Nursing
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
Faculty of Medicine
University of Manitoba
Dr. Maureen Heaman is an associate professor in the Faculty of Nursing with a cross-appointment in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Manitoba.
Dr. Heaman obtained her bachelor of nursing degree (1978) and master of nursing degree (1987) from the University of Manitoba, and completed her PhD at the school's Interdisciplinary Program (2001). Her research interests include perinatal epidemiology and psychosocial/behavioral aspects of pregnancy. Specific projects have addressed risk factors for preterm birth, determinants of inadequate prenatal care, health behaviors in pregnancy, perception of pregnancy risk, stressors associated with bed rest for high-risk pregnancy, and home visiting to vulnerable infants/families.
Dr. Heaman has been published several times in peer-reviewed journals, and is an editorial board member for Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada. She is a member of several professional associations, and recently completed a five-year term (1998-2003) as the RN representative on the Council of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC). She serves on the Maternal Health Study Group and the Maternity Experiences Study Group for the Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System (CPSS) with the Public Health Agency of Canada. Dr. Heaman is the recipient of a New Investigator award from CIHR (2003-2008). She is also a mentor for the Strategic Training Initiative in Research in Reproductive Health Sciences (STIRRHS) and the Strategic Training Program in maternal-fetal-newborn health research, both funded by CIHR.
Lucie Jeannotte, PhD
Professor
Department of Medical Biology
Université Laval
Dr. Lucie Jeannotte is a full professor in the Department of Medical Biology at Université Laval.
Dr. Jeannotte received both her B.Sc. and her M.Sc. training in Biochemistry at Université de Montréal. In 1987, she obtained her PhD in Molecular Biology at the Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal, Department of Biochemistry at Université de Montréal. Following her post-doctoral studies in Developmental Genetics at Columbia University in New York with Dr. Elizabeth J. Robertson, Dr. Jeannotte became an assistant professor in the Department of Medical Biology at Université Laval in Québec City in 1991. She was promoted associate professor in 1998 and full professor in 2002.
In Dr. Jeannotte’s laboratory, research is directed towards understanding the molecular mechanisms responsible for the development of the mammalian embryo -- with a particular emphasis on the involvement of members of the Hox gene family.
Throughout her training and her career, Dr. Jeannotte has received studentships, fellowships and scholarships from the Medical Research Council (MRC), the National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) and the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé au Québec (FRSQ). She currently holds a Chercheur National award from the FRSQ. She has served MRC, NCIC, FRSQ and the Cancer Research Society (CRS) as a panel member. Dr. Jeannotte is currently acting as co-chair of the medical advisory board and vice-president of the CRS as well as member of the CIHR Developmental Biology panel.
K. S. Joseph
Perinatal Epidemiologist
Associate Professor
Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Pediatrics
Dalhousie University
Dr. K.S. Joseph works as a perinatal epidemiologist, with a joint appointment as an associate professor in the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Pediatrics at Dalhousie University and the IWK Health Centre.
He received his bachelor of medicine and surgery degree (1982) and medical degree, with a concentration in community medicine (1987) from Christian Medical College, in Vellore, India, and a PhD in epidemiology and biostatistics (1995) from McGill University.
Dr. Joseph's research interests include pregnancy complications, preterm birth, fetal growth, perinatal mortality and serious neonatal morbidity. He has authored numerous publications, some of which have appeared in journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, British Medical Journal, Obstetrics Gynecology and Pediatrics.
Dr. Joseph is a member of the Steering Committee of the Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System for the Public Health Agency of Canada. In 2002, he received the Peter Lougheed/CIHR New Investigator Award. More recently, he was awarded the Geoffrey C. Robinson award of the Canadian Pediatric Society for outstanding contributions to child and youth health through population health research.
Brenda Kirtzinger, BComm, CHE
Director
Intersectoral Programming
Prairie North Health Region
Ms. Brenda Kirtzinger is Director of Intersectoral Programming for Prairie North Health Region in northwest Saskatchewan. She works with many intersectoral partners including school divisions, First Nations agencies, Métis organizations, the Saskatchewan Department of Community Resources and Employment (Social Services) and other human service organizations in the area of community development. Her specific programming responsibilities include Prairie North Health Region’s role in: federal/provincial Kids First initiative; Saskatchewan SchoolPlus initiative and Saskatchewan In Motion health promotion strategy.
Brenda Kirtzinger is also responsible for the health region’s Primary Care programming. Ms. Kirtzinger holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan and has attained the Certified Health Executive designation from the Canadian College of Health Service Executives.
Ms. Kirtzinger has a diverse background in health administration. She has held positions which include Administrator of a rural integrated health facility, Needs Assessment Coordinator, Human Resource Consultant, Director of Organizational Performance and Evaluation/Quality of Care Coordinator, and Regional Transition Coordinator.
Shoo Lee, MBBS, FRCPC, FAAP, PhD
Dr Shoo Lee is a neonatologist and health economist. He received his medical degree from the University of Singapore, completed pediatric training in Newfoundland, Canada, neonatal fellowship training at Boston's Children's Hospital, and received his PhD in Health Policy (Economics) from Harvard University. He is Director of the Centre for Healthcare Innovation and Improvement and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia, and recipient of the Aventis Pasteur Research Award from the Canadian Pediatric Society. He is Coordinator of the Canadian Neonatal Network, and has developed a national Canadian database to study outcomes and practice variations in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), develop models for healthcare improvement, and guide health policy. He patented risk prediction and health informatics systems for neonatal care and is currently developing models to facilitate translation of research and knowledge into clinical practice and health policy to improve quality of care. He has worked actively to develop health care and health training in developing countries and established a national neonatal fellowship training program in the People's Republic of China. He is a member of the Canadian Pediatric Society Fetus and Newborn Committee, the Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System Steering Committee and several Canadian Institutes of Health Research committees. He serves on the Advisory Committees of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, the British Columbia Institute of Technology, and the Scientific Steering Committee of the British Columbia Research Institute for Children's and Women's Health.
Hugh O'Brodovich MD, FRCP(C) is presently a Professor of Paediatrics and Physiology at the University of Toronto. At the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) he is a paediatric respiratory medicine specialist and a senior scientist in the Research Institute. Born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada in 1951, he attended the University of Manitoba and obtained his MD and training in paediatrics and respiratory medicine prior to completing a 3-year research fellowship at Columbia University in New York. He returned to Canada in 1981 as an Assistant Professor at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. In 1986 he moved to The Hospital for Sick Children where he subsequently became a senior scientist, Division Head of Respiratory Medicine and Head of the Sick Kids’ Research Institute’s Division of Respiratory Research. From 1996-2006 he was the Chair of Paediatrics University of Toronto and the Chief of Paediatrics Hospital for Sick Children.
Throughout his career he has been continuously funded by the MRC of Canada – Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. He has been awarded career investigator awards by the MRC and Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. He has published 19 book chapters and 144 peer reviewed manuscripts and hold two patents. Dr. O’Brodovich has been the Associate Editor of the Am. Rev. Respir. Dis (Am. Resp. Crit. Care Med.), Editor of the Pediatric Research and a member of the editorial board of the American Journal of Physiology (Lung). Dr. O’Brodovich has been the Chairman of the Respiratory Medicine Sub-Board of American Academy of Pediatrics and Vice-Chair for the Respiratory Medicine Examinations Royal College Physicians & Surgeons of Canada
He, his trainees, research associate and collaborators wish to develop new therapies for the neonatal and adult (acute) respiratory distress syndromes (RDS) and heart failure induced (cardiogenic) pulmonary edema. Since arriving at SickKids in 1986 his work has focused on how the lungs clear airspace fluids and has utilized the newborn as a paradigm for alveolar fluid clearance: all infants are born with “alveolar edema” yet virtually all survive this salt water drowning. The key finding had a significant impact of our understanding and treatment of respiratory diseases since it indicated for the first time that neonatal respiratory distress syndrome was initiated by two, and not one, mechanisms; the previously known relative surfactant deficiency and his observation of impaired fluid clearance from the lung’s airspaces.
James M. Roberts, M.D., is Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Professor of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, the Elsie Hilliard Hillman Chair of Women's and Infants' Health Research, Vice President for Research Magee Women's Hospital and Director of Magee-Womens Research Institute. Dr. Roberts' early work was on signal transduction in myometrium. For the last 16 years he has concentrated on the pregnancy complication preeclampsia. His current research efforts include, fundamental, clinical and health services approaches to the understanding and management of this disorder in this country and abroad. He has received national and international recognition for this work. He was the recipient of the Chesley Award for lifetime achievement in the study of hypertension in pregnancy by the International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy. He is the author of more than 200 publications and is a reviewer for numerous medical and scientific journals. He has served on the editorial boards of several journals including Developmental Physiology, Placenta, The Journal of Gynecological Investigation, Women's Health Issues, Hypertension, and Hypertension in Pregnancy. He has served on scientific review boards of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Medical Research Council of Canada (now the Canadian Institute for Health Research), the Food and Drug Administration and the March of Dimes. He served as chair of the NICHD Maternal Fetal Medicine Network from 1990 -1999 and is past president of the Perinatal Research Society, the North American Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy, the Society of Gynecological Investigation and the International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy. Dr. Roberts was formally admitted to fellowship ad eundem of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in September of 2000. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the USA National Academy of Sciences and was awarded the Duane Alexander Award for excellence in mentoring by the National Institute of Child Health and Development. His research has been funded for the past 20 years by numerous agencies including the NIH and the March of Dimes. He has trained more than 45 M.D. and Ph.D. scientists of whom more than 80% remain in academic positions.
Peter Rosenbaum, MD, CM, FRCP(C)
Dr. Peter Rosenbaum joined the faculty of McMaster University in 1973 and has been a Professor of Paediatrics there since 1984. With Dr. Mary Law he was the co-founder in 1989 of the award-winning CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research, a health system-linked research unit funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, and closely allied to the new Ministry of children and Youth Services. CanChild is now recognized internationally for its research and dissemination activities in the field of childhood disability. Dr. Rosenbaum holds one of the original Canada Research Chairs, first awarded in January 2001 to leading Canadian researchers. Dr. Rosenbaum has been president of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine1996-98 (the first Canadian so honoured). He was also the first Canadian to be invited to Sweden as the Folke Bernadotte Stipendiate, in 1995. Dr. Rosenbaum has held more than 50 peer-reviewed research grants and is a contributing author to over 160 peer-reviewed scientific papers and book chapters on a variety of topics concerning childhood disability. In June 2000 Dr. Rosenbaum received the Ross Award from the Canadian Paediatric Society, the Society's most prestigious peer recognition. He has also been awarded the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Educational Foundation Weinstein-Goldenson Scientific Award. Dr Rosenbaum currently works with graduate students in Canada (McMaster University and the University of Toronto), England (University of Oxford), South Africa (Witwatersrand University), and the Netherlands (University of Utrecht).
Peter Szatmari, MD, MSc.Professor, Vice-Chair of Research
Head of Division of Child Psychiatry
Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences
Dr. Peter Szatmari is Professor and Vice-Chair of Research and Head of the Division of Child Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University. He is also Director of the Offord Centre for Child Studies and holds the Chedoke Health Chair in Child Psychiatry at McMaster University.
Dr. Szatmari obtained both his medical degree (1976) and Master of Science degree, with a concentration in design, measurement and evaluation (1986), at McMaster University. He conducted his child psychiatry training at McMaster, as well as the University of Manchester in England.
Previously, Dr. Szatmari studied the diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome. He also conducted a follow-up study of high functioning pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) children with autism and other types of PDD, and a family study of autism/PDD.
Dr. Szatmari is currently trying to identify genes that cause autism and affect severity of expression. He is also conducting a Canada-wide study of how children with autism develop from the initial diagnosis until grade one. He is Director of the Canadian Autism Intervention Research Network (CAIRN), a group made up of parents, clinicians and scientists who are attempting to construct a research agenda for early intervention in autism.
Dr. Szatmari was instrumental in developing the Pervasive Developmental Disorder Team at the Chedoke site of McMaster Children's Hospital. He has written over 100 publications, including a book entitled A Mind Apart: Understanding Autism and Asperger Syndrome.