IAB Members (as of September 1, 2012) - Biographies
Stephanie A. Atkinson, PhD (Chair)
Professor and Associate Chair (Research) the Department of Pediatrics
Associate Member in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences Faculty of Health Sciences
McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario
Dr. Atkinson is Professor and Associate Chair (Research) in the Department of Pediatrics, and Associate Member in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. She is also a Special Professional Staff member in McMaster Children's Hospital and founding partner of the McMaster Child Health Research Institute. As a nutrition clinician-scientist her research program explores the concept that nutritional and disease (or drug) exposures during fetal, neonatal and early childhood life program metabolic regulation that can alter growth and development and risk of adult-onset disease. Her current research focuses on early determinants of obesity, diabetes, and risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis in children through a prospective, longitudinal birth cohort study. This research has evolved into a national leadership role in developing the Canadian Birth Cohort Research Network through the Maternal, Infant, Child and Youth Research Network (MICYRN). Research training activities include co-leadership of the Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program (CCHCSP), a 17-centre collaboration that is part of the CIHR Strategic Training Initiative in Health Research. She has recently served on the inaugural Governing Council of CIHR and as elected President of the American Society for Nutrition. Currently, she provides volunteer service to many national and international scientific panels and professional societies. Dr. Atkinson has received several prestigious awards recognizing her distinguished services and success in the field of nutrition in North America, most recently the Danone Institute Distinguished Nutrition Leadership Award (2008).
Deirdre Freiheit
Executive Director
Health Charities Coalition of Canada (HCCC)
Deirdre Freiheit is currently the Executive Director of the Health Charities Coalition of Canada (HCCC), which she joined in 2006. Her priorities at HCCC include advocacy on issues related to health research and health policy, facilitating networking opportunities for CEO's and senior employees in the charitable health sector and representing the coalition at national meetings, events and conferences.
Deirdre has been involved in the not-for-profit and charitable health sector since 1994. Prior to joining HCCC, Deirdre spent ten years at the Canadian Lung Association where she held a variety of management positions which led to her tenure as President and CEO. Previously, she worked for the Canadian Council for Tobacco Control and served as Constituency and Parliamentary Assistants to Members of Parliament. Internationally, Deirdre belonged to the Alliance of Lung Associations and the Global Lung Cancer Coalition. She is a recipient of the Heather Crowe Award for her contributions to tobacco control.
Deirdre is recognized as a leader in the charitable health sector. She frequently speaks to organizations, Boards of Directors, governments and groups about the role of national health charities in relation to research, health policy, and the enormous impact of the contributions of health charities to society. Welcome Dierdre!
Amit X. Garg, MD, MA (Education), FRCPC, PhD
Professor
Departments of Medicine, Epidemiology & Biostatistics
University of Western Ontario
Dr. Garg received a Medical Degree and Masters Degree in Education from the University of Toronto (1995, 1998), and a PhD in Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics from McMaster University (2005). He has practiced nephrology at the London Health Sciences Centre since 2003. He is the current Scientific Director of ICES@Western, Director of the London Kidney Clinical Research Unit, and Program Lead for the new ICES Kidney, Dialysis and Transplantation Program. He completed a four year term on the Canadian Society of Nephrology (CSN) Executive Committee and is a current member of the CSN Scientific Committee. He is an Editorial Board member of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology and American Journal of Kidney Diseases, and is an Associate Editor for Kidney Diseases, American College of Physicians (ACP) Journal Club.
Working in multi-disciplinary teams, Dr. Garg's research aims to improve health outcomes for patients with kidney diseases included those receiving dialysis or a kidney transplant. The research also aims to improve the efficiency by which renal care is delivered.
Dr. Garg currently holds a Clinician Scientist Award from the CIHR. As principal investigator he has completed projects funded by various CIHR committees: Clinical Investigation (Cardiac Disease, Kidney Disease), Health Services and Policy Research, Knowledge Translation, Chronic Disease Prevention, Research Synthesis, Food and Nutrition, Maternal and Child Health, and Population and Public Health. He has participated in a number of CIHR Peer Review Panels including Randomized Controlled Trials, Health Services Research, and Advancing Theory and Measurement. He also completed a 4 year term on the Biomedical Scientific Committee of the Kidney Foundation of Canada.
Loren D. Grossman, MD, FRCPC, FACP
Vice President, Research and Development
Eli Lilly, Canada
Dr. Loren Grossman is Vice President of Research and Development at Eli Lilly Canada. In this role he is responsible for overseeing basic and clinical research, medical education, medical information, regulatory affairs, product safety, and quality assurance and control in Lilly's four therapeutic areas of focus: oncology, endocrinology, neuroscience, and cardiovascular/critical care. He is also a member of the Senior Management Team of Eli Lilly Canada.
Dr. Grossman, an endocrinologist, joined Eli Lilly Canada in 1997 as a Clinical Research Physician supporting the areas of endocrinology and cardiovascular research. In 2002, Dr. Grossman was promoted to Medical Advisor with his role evolving to support the areas of endocrinology and men's health.
Dr. Grossman is currently a member of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto and is a lecturer in the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.
Prior to joining Eli Lilly Canada, Dr. Grossman was a Staff Endocrinologist and Chief, Department of Internal Medicine at Scarborough Grace Hospital in Scarborough, Ontario.
Dr. Grossman earned a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in 1978 and a Medical Degree in 1982, both at the University of Toronto. He has specialist certificates in Internal Medicine, and Endocrinology and Metabolism from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.
Stephen James, MD
Director, Division of Digestive Diseases, NIDDK
National Institute of Health (Rockville)
Bethesda, Maryland USA
Dr. Stephen James is currently the Director of the Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition in the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the NIH, a position he has held since 2004.
Dr. James received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and M.D. degree from the Johns Hopkins University. Following post doctoral training in Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, he was an intramural scientist in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). From 1991 to 2001 he was Professor of Medicine and Head of Gastroenterology at the University of Maryland before returning to the NIH.
Marie-France Langlois, MD
Professor
Departments of Medicine, Biochemistry and Physiology
Université de Sherbrooke
Dr. Langlois trained at the Université de Sherbrooke where she obtained her MD in 1990 and then specialized in Internal Medicine (1994) and Endocrinology (1995). She completed a research fellowship at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard University (1995-1997). Dr. Langlois currently practices as an endocrinologist and Director of the Ambulatory Metabolic Unit, which includes diabetes, obesity and lipid disorders clinics, at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke. She is also Professor of Medicine, Biochemistry and Physiology at the Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé of the Université de Sherbrooke. She received the young investigator award of the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism in 2007 and currently holds a National-Scientist award of the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec.
Her research interests include the mechanisms of action of nuclear receptors and the regulation of adipogenesis, the treatment and prevention of obesity and diabetes, and health system organization in the area of cardio-metabolic disease prevention and management. She has developed a strong interdisciplinary research team and partnerships with health system decision makers locally, and at the provincial and national levels. Her research projects are currently funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), FRSQ, Ministry of Health of Quebec, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Lawson Foundation and Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA). She is author or co-author of more than 150 articles and abstracts and regularly sits on per-review Committees. She is in charge of the Canadian Obesity Network Clinical Obesity Preceptorship Program.
Doug Manuel, MD, MSc, FRCPC
Senior Scientist, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
PHAC/CIHR Chair in Applied Public Health Sciences
Senior Medical Advisor, Statistics Canada
Associate Professor, Departments of Family Medicine and Epidemiology & Community Medicine, University of Ottawa
Adjunct Scientist, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences
Doug Manuel is a Senior Scientist of Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and a Senior Medical Advisor for Statistics Canada. He holds a Research Chair in Applied Public Health from Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Public Health Agency of Canada. He is a Clinical Scientist, C.T. Lamont Primary Health Care Research Centre and Elizabeth Bruyere Research Institute and an Associate Professor in the Departments of Family Medicine and Epidemiology and Community Medicine at the University of Ottawa. Doug is a Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, where he worked for 10 years prior to moving to Ottawa in 2008. He is a physician with a Masters in Epidemiology and Royal College specialization in Public Health and Preventive Medicine. For over 20 years, he has been a primary care clinician in rural, remote and underserved Canadian communities.
Dr. Manuel's research interest is the population health impact assessment of health interventions and the assessment of population health status. He has developed performance measures and planning tools for health planning and has written on how societies with the best population health have achieved their success.
William G. Paterson, B.Sc., MD, FRCPC
Professor of Medicine, Biology and Physiology
Queen's University
Dr. Paterson is a clinician-scientist whose research focuses primarily on the physiology and pathophysiology of the esophagus. His CIHR-funded laboratory explores the neuromuscular mechanisms that control esophageal peristalsis and lower esophageal sphincter tone and relaxation. He also studies the mechanisms whereby inflammatory mediators released during acid-induced esophagitis alter neuromuscular function of the esophagus.
Dr. Paterson is Chair of the Division of Gastroenterology at Queen's University and holds a Queen's University Research Chair. He is also currently the President of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology. Through this latter position he has taken an active role in developing evidence-based benchmarks for wait times and in projects designed to improve access to high quality digestive healthcare for Canadians.
Keith A. Sharkey, PhD
Professor of Physiology and Biophysics
Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada Chair in IBD Research
AHFMR Medical Scientist
University of Calgary
Keith Sharkey was educated at the University of London (B.Sc. Hons.) and the University of Liverpool (PhD). After postdoctoral training in Hungary, the UK and Canada, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary (1990). He is currently Professor of Physiology and Biophysics, the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada Chair in IBD Research and an AHFMR Medical Scientist. Dr. Sharkey's research has contributed to a greater understanding of the physiology and pathophysiology of nerves in the gastrointestinal tract. His research has been focussed on understanding the physiology and pathophysiology of the enteric nervous system in intestinal inflammation and on aspects of brain-gut interactions in health and disease. In this context he studies the neural control of energy balance, as well as control of gut motor and secretory functions. He is Editor of Neurogastroenterology and Motility and an Editorial Board member of the American Journal of Physiology, GI and Liver. Dr Sharkey has over 150 peer-reviewed publications and receives support from CIHR, the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada and the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research.
Guang Sun
Associate Professor
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Dr. Guang Sun is an associate professor in discipline of medicine, faculty of medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland. He is the chair of Nutrigenomics Research Interest Group in Memorial University. Dr. Sun and his team have focused on the study of genetic (genomic) and nutritional factors and the interactions between these two on the development of human obesity and diabetes. Dr. Sun has been well funded by national funding agencies including 4 CIHR operating grants and 1 CFI new opportunity fund and many local grants. Three major studies covering gene expression, genetic association in both children and adults have been established since 2003. Dr. Sun has been productive in publishing research findings.
Bruce Verchere, PhD
Professor, Departments of Surgery and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
University of British Columbia
Head of the Diabetes Research Program, Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI), BC Children's Hospital
Irving K. Barber Chair in Diabetes Research
Bruce Verchere is a Professor in the Departments of Surgery and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC), head of the Diabetes Research Program at the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI) at BC Children's Hospital, and the Irving K. Barber Chair in Diabetes Research. His research aims to understand how pancreatic islet beta cells function and why they are killed or are dysfunctional in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes and in transplanted islets, with the goal of developing therapeutic approaches for enhancing beta cell survival and function. Bruce has published close to 100 manuscripts in the field of islet biology and diabetes and has been invited to give presentations of his work worldwide.
Dr. Verchere was a Senior Scholar of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) from 2006 to 2011 and was awarded the UBC Outstanding Young Alumnus award in 2000 and the Canadian Diabetes Association Young Scientist award in 2006. His research is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA), and Stem Cell Network.
Until recently, Dr. Verchere served as Chair of the CIHR Diabetes Obesity Lipid and Lipoprotein Disorders (DOL) panel, Chair of the National Research Council of the CDA, and Chair of the MSFHR Research Advisory Council. He was co-chair of the Canadian Diabetes Association Clinical & Scientific Session National Conference in 2007 and 2008. He currently sits on the Editorial Board of the Canadian Journal of Diabetes as well as the Scientific Advisory Board of Sirona Biochem Corp.
Tanya Verrall, PhD, RD
Researcher
Health Quality Council, Saskatchewan
Dr. Tanya Verrall is a Senior Researcher with Health Quality Council - an independent, provincially-funded organization with a mandate to measure and report on healthcare system quality as well as to promote and support quality improvement initiatives in Saskatchewan. She is also an adjunct faculty member with the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan. Prior to her current position, Dr. Verrall was a research associate with the College of Kinesiology (In motion program) at the University of Saskatchewan.
Dr. Verrall obtained her PhD in nutrition from McGill University (2004) and her Master of Science degree in nutrition from the University of Saskatchewan (1996). She also obtained her professional dietetics degree (BSc) from the University of Saskatchewan (1992) and the Kingston General Hospital Dietetic Internship program (1993). She is currently a member of the Saskatchewan Dietitians Association (SDA).
Dr. Verrall has extensive research and work experience planning and evaluating health promotion initiatives and she has worked with a variety of population groups, in both community and clinical settings. Her current research activities involve the design and evaluation of quality improvement initiatives. In particular, she is examining the implementation and outcomes of the Saskatchewan Chronic Disease Management Collaborative, a quality improvement initiative aimed at improving the care of people with diabetes and coronary artery disease.
Rickey Yada
Professor and Tier 1 CRC
University of Guelph
Dr. Rickey Yada received his PhD from the Department of Food Science at the University of British Columbia in 1984. He has served as Chair of the Department of Food Science and as the Assistant Vice President Research, Agri-Food Programs, both at the University of Guelph. He is presently a Professor in the Department of Food Science, a Canada Research Chair in Food Protein Structure, and the Scientific Director of the Advanced Foods and Materials Network, Networks of Centres of Excellence. He has participated on numerous research awards panels and committees, both at the national and international levels. Among other activities, he currently chairs the Scientific Council, International Union of Food Science and Technology, is the North American Editor for Trends in Food Science and Technology and is on editorial boards for several journals. He is the author of over 140 refereed journal publications and several book chapters. Dr. Yada is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology and of the International Academy, International Union of Food Science and Technology.