IAB Members - Biographies
(September 2005 - August 2006)
Dr. Lorne A. Babiuk, PhD, DSc, FRSC, FIDSA (Chair)
Director, Veterinary Infectious Disease Organization
Professor, Department of Veterinary Microbiology, University of Saskatchewan
Dr. Babiuk is the Director of the Veterinary Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) and Canada Research Chair in Vaccinology in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Under his direction, VIDO has become internationally recognized for its role in the use of biotechnology to develop veterinary vaccines. The world's first genetically engineered vaccine for animal species was developed at VIDO. He has held prestigious national and international awards for excellence in research and for transferring research into the commercial arena including an NSERC Chair in Biotechnology, Canadian Society of Microbiology Award, Xerox-Canada Forum Award; served as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board or Board of Directors for companies involved in commercializing biological research and as a consultant to Genetech, Molecular Genetics Inc., CIBA-GIEGY, BIOSTAR Inc.; conducted due diligence studies for investors and companies regarding the commercial potential of specific scientific proposals. He has mentored over 50 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows who have obtained positions in industry, academia and government, served as a member of many grant and government committees and a reviewer for various scientific journals, as well as serving on general editorial boards. He has published over 350 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 70 book chapters and reviews, and is holder of 18 issued patents and 14 patents pending. His special areas of research are in molecular virology, vaccinology, immunology, and viral pathogenesis with emphasis on bovine respiratory and enteric viral infections. Recent interest has been in novel vaccine development and in delivery to induce mucosal immunity, as well as helping set science policy in Canada.
Contact Information:
Veterinary Infectious Disease Organization
University of Saskatchewan
120 Veterinary Rd.
Saskatoon SK S7N 5E3
Email: babiuk@sask.usask.ca
Dr. Luis Barreto, MBBS, MD, MHSc
Vice President, Public Affairs, sanofi pasteur Ltd.
Dr. Luis Barreto is Vice President, Public Affairs for sanofi pasteur Limited. He was born and educated in India where he completed his medical degree, and post-graduate degree in community medicine in 1975. After completing his master's degree in health sciences, with a concentration in epidemiology, at the University of Toronto in 1982, he worked as an epidemiologist for the government of the Northwest Territories. At sanofi pasteur, he has held a number of positions including Director Medical and Clinical Affairs, Vice- President Medical, Clinical & Regulatory Affairs, and Director Corporate Public Policy-International Public Health Affairs.
Dr. Barreto has been involved with clinical trials in Canada, the United States and internationally on a variety of health problems: measles, BCG-IT, smallpox, haemophilus type b, polio, acellular pertussis, as well as various combination vaccines, including the acellular pertussis combination Pentavalent vaccine for children (PentacelTM and PediacelTM) and Adolescent and Adult Pertussis and Polio vaccines (AdacelTM ) and (RepevaxTM).
Published extensively in scientific journals, Dr. Barreto has managed biosecurity issues for sanofi pasteur in Canada and helped organize the Canadian Conference on Counter-Terrorism and Public Health. He recently coordinated the production and delivery of smallpox vaccine for the Canadian government. He is part of the sanofi pasteur Pandemic Influenza Vaccine Task Force, and has represented sanofi pasteur in international organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), Children's Vaccine Program (CVP) and the World Bank. Dr. Barreto was part of the Canadian SARS Consortium and is also a member of BIOTECanada's Health Policy and Government Relations Committee.
Contact Information:
sanofi pasteur
Connaught Campus
1755 Steeles Ave. West
Toronto ON M2R 3T4
Email: Luis.Barreto@sanofipasteur.com
Dr. Joseph Cox, MD, MSc, FRCP(C)
Public Health Specialist, Montreal Public Health Department
Assistant Professor, Family Medicine, McGill University
Dr. Joseph Cox is a community medicine specialist with clinical and academic research experience related to blood-borne and sexually transmitted infections and drug dependency. He is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University and an Associate Member, Joint Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Occupational Health.
Dr. Cox completed undergraduate studies in Biology, Psychology and Medicine at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1995 he began post-graduate medical training at McGill University where he obtained certification in Family Medicine and Community Medicine and completed a M.Sc. in Epidemiology. Since 2000, he has worked as a consultant physician for the Montreal Public Health Department. His focus is disease surveillance and prevention through research on hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in affected populations. Also, Dr. Cox has clinical responsibilities at the Immune Deficiency Treatment Centre of the Montreal General Hospital, McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and in the Methadone Maintenance Program of the Herzl Family Practice Centre, Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital.
He is a lead investigator/co-investigator on several research initiatives incorporating a variety of research methods and axes: best practices in HCV surveillance; profiling HCV and HIV-related transmission behaviours in the injection drug using population and HIV seropositive men who have sex with men; quality of life, prevention and treatment adherence for HIV positive people; the experience of HCV infection in young injectors; and evaluation of the medical education needs of primary care physicians concerning HCV care practices.
Contact Information:
Maladies Infectieuses
Direction de santé publique de Montréal
1301, rue Sherbrooke est
Montréal QC H2L 1M3
Email: jcox@santepub-mtl.qc.ca
Dr. Warren Hill, PhD
Executive Director, Canadian Viral Hepatitis Network
Senior Research Analyst, BC Centre for Disease Control
Dr. Hill is a Senior Research Analyst with the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC). He is also the Executive Director of the Canadian Viral Hepatitis Network (CVHN), a national non-profit organization which pursues excellence in hepatitis research and care through the coordination of initiatives involving the scientific and public health communities, treating physicians and patient organizations.
At the BCCDC, Dr. Hill specializes in the development of integrated hepatitis prevention and care programs and the development of disease surveillance systems. With a background in Anthropology, Dr. Hill's research interests centre on the evolution of human societies and infectious diseases. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia and a Master's degree from the University of Calgary. Dr. Hill is working closely with BC Hepatitis Services on a number of hepatitis research initiatives, including the use of Geographic Information Systems for molecular epidemiology. He has conducted research on the social, geographic and economic determinants of health and is involved in global health initiatives in Mexico. His current research projects include studies on the incidence and prevalence of viral hepatitis in Aboriginal people, population-based risk factors for disease, and the application of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to map the movements of people and pathogens.
Contact Information:
Canadian Viral Hepatitis Network
655 West 12th Avenue
Vancouver BC V5Z 4R4
Email: warren.hill@bccdc.ca
Dr. Jim Lavery, MSc, PhD
Research Scientist, St. Michael's Hospital
Assistant Professor, University of Toronto
Jim Lavery is a research scientist in the Centre for Research on Inner City Health and Centre for Global Health Research, St. Michael's Hospital, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences and Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto. Jim received M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the Institute of Medical Science and Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto and subsequently received a post-doctoral fellowship in applied ethics and health policy from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Canadian Health Services Research Foundation, during which he studied priority-setting in home care in Canada at the Queen's University Health Policy Research Unit.
Most recently, Jim spent 3 years at the Fogarty International Center, and Warren G. Magnuson Clinical Center Department of Clinical Bioethics, both at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. While at the NIH he worked on ethical and regulatory issues in international research. He is a member of the Canadian Interagency Advisory Panel on Research Ethics, the Advisory Board of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Infection and Immunity, and a member of the Board of Directors of Public Responsibility in Medicine in Research.
Jim is currently the co-principal investigator of a project entitled: Addressing ethical, social and cultural issues in the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He currently is the team leader for the International M.H.Sc. in Bioethics program at the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto. He is also developing a project entitled: A brokered dialogue between the rich and poor, which aims to develop innovative strategies for encouraging dialogue about health disparities between the rich and poor. He has recently completed the editing, with colleagues at the NIH, of a book of case studies in international research ethics that will be published in 2006 by Oxford University Press.
Contact information:
St. Michael's Hospital
70 Richmond St. E., Suite 400
Toronto ON M5C 1N8
Email: jim.lavery@utoronto.ca
Dr. Mark Loeb, MD, FRCP(C)
Associate Professor, Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University
Dr. Mark Loeb is Associate Professor in the Departments of Pathology and Molecular Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at McMaster University. He graduated from McGill Medical School in 1990, then completed fellowships in Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology at the University of Toronto and McMaster University, and an MSc in Clinical Epidemiology at McMaster in 1997.
Dr. Loeb's research interests include respiratory infections in seniors, antimicrobial resistance, emerging infectious diseases, and hospital epidemiology. He was Principal Investigator of the first Canadian trial in the Translating Research into Practise program funded by the U.S. Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality. Dr. Loeb leads a CIHR funded Interdisciplinary Health Research Team on respiratory infections that include 20 investigators across Canada. He is the Scientific Director of the Canadian SARS Research Network, and is Principal Investigator of a CIHR New Emerging Team on antibiotic use and resistance in seniors. He is leading the first Canadian cohort study of patients with severe West Nile Virus.
Dr. Loeb serves on numerous national and international advisory committees. He is Associate Editor, ACP Journal Club and Evidence-Based Medicine and is Co-editor of the first textbook on Evidence-Based Infectious Diseases. Recent honours include a Premier's Research Excellence Award and the Nicholas and Hedy Monk Geriatrics Award. Dr. Loeb holds a CIHR New Investigator Award.
Contact Information:
Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine
Henderson Hospital, McMaster University
711 Concession St
Hamilton ON L8C 1C3
Email: loebm@mcmaster.ca
Dr. Joaquin Madrenas, MD, MSc, PhD
Director, FOCIS Centre for Clinical Immunology and Immunotherapeutics
Research Scientist, Robarts Research Institute
Dr. Joaquin Madrenas is Director of the FOCIS Centre for Clinical Immunology and Immunotherapeutics in London, Ontario and is also a Canada Research Chair in Transplantation and Immunobiology.
Dr. Madrenas received his medical degree from Spain’s Universitat de Barcelona in 1982, along with his M. Sc. in 1988, and a Ph.D. in immunology both from the University of Alberta in 1992.
Dr. Madrenas studies the regulation of T cell activation through the antigen receptor, having made significant contributions to this field with the development of new drug treatments. As Director of the FOCIS Centre, Dr. Madrenas leads a group of 25 clinicians and scientists who integrate the research operations in basic and clinical Immunology, in order to foster educational programs for professionals and the general public that will help prevent immunological diseases. Dr. Madrenas is currently chairman of review panels for CIHR and Chair of Biomedical Scientific Committee for the Kidney Foundation of Canada.
Contact information:
Robarts Research Institute
100 Perth Drive, P.O. Box 5015
London ON N6A 5K8
Email: madrenas@robarts.ca
Ms. Mary Catharine McDonnell, MSW, RSW
Mental Health Services, South Shore Health
Ms. Mary Catharine McDonnell currently works in Mental Health Services at South Shore Health in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. She is a Past President of The Kidney Foundation of Canada and has served as Co-Chair of their Medical Advisory Board, Chair of their National Patient Services Committee and Chair of their National Organ Donation Committee.
In 1977, Ms. McDonnell received a Master of Social Work degree from Wilfred Laurier University.
Ms. McDonnell has worked extensively in pediatric health care. She has also served, in a voluntary capacity, as both chair and a member of Health Canada’s External Grants Committee for National Voluntary Health organizations. As a member of the Change Challenge, Ms. McDonnell was part of the Steering Committee and coach in a program that developed capacities for national voluntary health organizations. In recognition of her volunteer commitments, she was awarded the Canada 125 medal, the Queen’s Jubilee Medal -- and has received a volunteer award in 2001 from the Government of Canada.
Contact Information:
South Shore Health
319 First Peninsula Road, RR 3
Lunenburg NS B0J 2C0
Email: mmcdonnell@ssdha.nshealth.ca
Dr. Allison McGeer, PhD
Director, Infection Control, Mount Sinai Hospital
Professor, University of Toronto
Dr. Allison McGeer is the Director of Infection Control at the Mount Sinai Hospital, and Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology and Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto.
Dr. McGeer’s completed her BSc (Honours), MSc in Biochemistry and MD at the University of Toronto. Her research interests include the prevention of serious bacterial and viral infections in adults, as well as the use of surveillance to answer research questions and change practice. She is a lead investigator/co-investigator on CIHR and NIH funded initiatives linking laboratory research, epidemiology and health services research.
Dr. McGeer serves on numerous national and international advisory committees for academia, government and industry, and is a member of several editorial boards, including the Canadian Medical Association Journal. She is a Fellow of the Society of Healthcare Epidemiologists of America, and in 2002 received an Award of Merit from the Ontario Health Care Health and Safety Association.
Contact information:
University of Toronto
Room 1460, 600 University Avenue
Toronto ON M5G 1X5
Email: amcgeer@mtsinai.on.ca
Dr. Marc Ouellette, PhD
Canada Research Chair in Antimicrobial Resistance
Professor, Microbiology, Université Laval
Dr. Ouellette obtained his Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Biochemistry at Ottawa University and received his PhD at Laval University on antibiotic resistance in bacteria. His postdoctoral studies were done under the mentorship of Pr. Piet Borst of the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam, where he further developed his expertise in antimicrobial resistance studying protozoan parasites.
In 1990 he joined the Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie, of Laval University as an Assistant professor and is now full professor. Dr. Ouellette's research is focused on antimicrobial resistance where he has made seminal discoveries on resistance mechanism in protozoan parasites. More recently he has implemented proteomic and DNA microarray strategies to study antimicrobial resistance in the parasite Leishmania and the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Dr. Ouellette has received numerous awards for his work including a New Investigator Award in Molecular Parasitology from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, a MRC Scientist Award, a Scholar Award in Molecular Parasitology of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Antimicrobial Resistance. He has served on numerous panels of national and international granting agencies and is a strong supporter of scientific exchanges with developing countries.
Contact Information:
Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie, Université Laval
CHUQ, pavillon CHUL
2705 boul. Laurier
Québec QC G1V 4G2
Email: Marc.Ouellette@crchul.ulaval.ca
Dr. Kevork Peltekian, MD, FRCPC
Chairman & CEO, Canadian Liver Foundation
Associate Professor, Medicine (Gastroenterology), Dalhousie University
Medical Director, Atlantic Multi-Organ Transplantation Program (Liver Team)
Co-chair, Research Ethics Board, Capital District Health Authority
Dr. Peltekian received his medical degree from the American University of Beirut, later pursuing postgraduate training in internal medicine and gastroenterology at Dalhousie University. In July 1995, after two years of training in hepatology and liver transplantation at the Toronto Hospital, he returned to Dalhousie University as a member of the Division of Gastroenterology. He is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine. In June 2004, he succeeded Dr. Eve Roberts, world-renowned pediatric hepatologist, as the chairman and CEO of the Canadian Liver Foundation.
Through Hepatology Services, Dr. Peltekian provides multidisciplinary health care service in a collaborative fashion involving nurse practitioner in hepatology, liver transplant recipient coordinator, liver transplant case managers, psychologists, dietitians, social worker, and hepatology research coordinators. This collaborative practice has allowed the development of a centralized database and also a practical day-to-day linkages with public health personnel, laboratory staff, nurses, family physicians, plus specialists in internal medicine, infectious diseases, gastroenterology, radiology, pathology and surgery. Through linkages with local, regional, and national health organizations, he is prime advocate for all Atlantic Canadians affected by liver disease. One of his many networking initiatives has lead to the creation of Atlantic Interdisciplinary Research Network bringing together researchers from Atlantic Universities with expertise in epidemiology, socio-behavioural sciences, policy, pharmacy and psychology.
Dr. Peltekian is the recipient of Department of Medicine undergraduate and postgraduate education and also research awards. In 2001, he was awarded the Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine Dr. Lea C. Steeves Award for outstanding contributions to continuing medical education. Most of all, he enjoys public speaking in the field of hepatology and liver transplantation. His research focuses on the impact of hepatitis C viral infection in Atlantic Canada.
Contact Information:
Department of Medicine, Dalhousie University
Hepatology Services, QEII-HSC, VG Site Room 911
1278 Tower Road
Halifax NS B3H 2Y9
Email: Kevork.Peltekian@dal.ca
Dr. Francis Plummer, MD, FRCPC
Scientific Director, National Microbiology Laboratory (Winnipeg)
Director General, Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control
Dr. Frank Plummer is the Senior Scientific Advisor of the Public Health Agency of Canada, Director General of the Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control in Ottawa, and Scientific Director General of the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.
Dr. Plummer is recognized in Canada and abroad for his work in public health and science, having received numerous honours, including most recently a grant from the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiatives of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for his HIV research. Other awards include the Rh Institute Award; an Achievement Award from the American Venereal Disease Association; Fellowship, Scholarship, Scientist and Senior Scientist awards from the Medical Research Council of Canada; the I.S. Ravidin Award in the Basic Sciences from the American College of Surgeons; and the St. Boniface Hospital Research Foundation International Award for work on HIV/AIDS in Africa.
In 2001, he was named Canada Research Chair of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. He has also been elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians, has served as an advisor to the National Academy of Sciences in the US, and as a consultant to the World Bank, the World Health Organization, and the Governments of Kenya, India and Lesotho.
Dr. Plummer received his medical degree from the University of Manitoba in 1976 and trained in internal medicine and infectious diseases at the University of Southern California, the University of Manitoba, the University of Nairobi, and the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. He joined the University of Manitoba faculty in 1984 and is currently Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Medical Microbiology, as well as Associate Professor of Community Health Sciences.
Contact Information:
National Microbiology Laboratory
1015 Arlington St
Winnipeg MB R3E 3R2
Email: Frank_Plummer@phac-aspc.gc.ca
Dr. Christopher Power, MD, FRCPC
Professor, Departments of Medicine and Medical Microbiology & Immunology, University of Alberta
Dr. Chris Power is currently a Professor in the Departments of Clinical Neurosciences and Microbiology & Infectious Diseases at the University of Calgary. He moved there in 1998, where he has continued to work on the neuropathogenesis of HIV infection together with studies of neuroinflammatory mechanisms underlying multiple sclerosis.
Dr. Power completed his undergraduate and medical degrees at the Universities of Toronto (1981) and Ottawa (1985), respectively. He subsequently trained in Internal Medicine and Neurology at McMaster University and the University of Western Ontario. During residence training, Dr. Power published several papers describing the pathogenesis of viral infections of the nervous system including CMV and HTLV-1 infections. Thereafter, he trained as a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University in the Department of Neurology in the Neurovirology group. During this time, his interests were focused on HIV infection of the nervous system causing dementia. He also spent two years at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory of the National Institutes of Health extending his work on HIV infection of the nervous system.
His first faculty position in Canada was at the University of Manitoba. He currently holds CIHR Investigator and AHFMR Scholar awards and the Strafford Foundation Chair in Alzheimer Research and is a member of the CIHR Virology and Viral Pathogenesis Committee and the CIHR HIV/AIDS Research Advisory Committee.
Contact Information:
University of Alberta
611 Heritage Medical Research Centre
Edmonton AB T6G 2S2
Email: chris.power@ualberta.ca
Dr. Noel R. Rose M.D., Ph.D.
Director, Immune Disorders Laboratory /
Director, Autoimmune Disease Research Centre /
Professor, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
An immunologist, pathologist and molecular microbiologist, Dr. Noel Rose has been associated with Johns Hopkins University where he is professor in four departments: Pathology, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Medicine and Environmental Health Sciences and is Director of the Autoimmune Disease Research Center. He has also served as professor and Chair of the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases.
He received his B.Sc. (1945) from Yale University; his A.M. and PhD in 1949 and 1951 respectively, from the University of Pennsylvania; and his M.D. from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo in 1964.
Dr. Rose's pioneering research helped immunologists understand, for the first time, that the immune system was capable of directing a response to healthy tissues and organs of the body, as well as invading foreign viruses and bacteria.
He has written over 600 articles in peer-reviewed journals, edited or co-edited some 21 books, and served as an editorial board member of more than 12 journals. Dr. Rose has served as an autoimmunity expert for the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the College of American Pathologists, the American Academy of Microbiology, and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
Contact information:
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
720 Rutland Avenue Ross Research Building 659
Baltimore MD 21205-2195
Email: nrrose@jhmi.edu
Dr. David Speert, MD
Professor, Pediatrics, University of British Columbia
Dr. David Speert is currently professor of Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia (UBC), a position he has held since 1990. He is head of the division of Infectious and Immunological Diseases in the Department of Pediatrics, Associate Head (Research) Department of Pediatrics, Associate Head Centre for Microbial Diseases and Immunology Research (UBC) and Head of the Centre for Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases at the Child and Family Research Institute.
Dr. Speert obtained his bachelor of arts degree, with a concentration in psychology, from Middlebury College in Vermont (1969) and his medical degree from Columbia University (1973). He received pediatrics training at the University of Michigan and his infectious diseases and research training at the University of Minnesota. He has been at UBC since 1980.
Dr. Speert's research is directed at gaining a clearer understanding of innate host defenses and of microbial determinants of pulmonary pathogenesis, particularly with regards to lung infections in patients with cystic fibrosis. His work has been funded by CIHR, the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Canadian Bacterial Diseases Network (Network of Centres of Excellence). He is currently Chair of the CIHR Microbiology and Infectious Diseases peer review committee.
Contact information:
BC Children's Hospital
Room 377 Research Centre
950 West 28th Avenue
Vancouver BC V5Z 4H4
Email: dspeert@cw.bc.ca
Dr. Tania Watts, PhD
Professor, Department of Immunology, University of Toronto
Dr. Watts received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of Alberta in 1983. Following post-doctoral studies in the Department of Physical Chemistry at Stanford University from 1983-1986, Dr. Watts was appointed Assistant professor in the Department of Immunology at the University of Toronto. Currently a Full Professor of Immunology at the University of Toronto, Dr. Watts' research is focused on immune stimulatory molecules that can help activate T lymphocytes to fight infection. Dr. Watts is a theme leader and member of the research management committee of the Canadian Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics Network (CANVAC) of the Networks of Centers of Excellence Program.
Contact Information:
Department of Immunology
Room 5263 Medical Sciences Bldg.
1 King's College Circle
Toronto ON M5S 1A8
Email: tania.watts@utoronto.ca