PRIMARY TRIAL INVESTIGATORS AND COORDINATING CENTRE
Dr. Zarychanski is a Professor, Critical Care physician, Hematologist, and Clinician-Scientist at the University of Manitoba and CancerCare Manitoba. He’s a senior scientist at the Research Institute of Oncology and Hematology and an affiliate member of the George and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation. His research focuses on the hematologic aspects of critical illness where he leads several national and international randomized trials in the fields of sepsis and transfusion medicine. Dr. Zarychanski leads the COVID-19 clinical trials team in Manitoba and is the Chair or co-Chair of three international trials evaluating anticoagulation strategies and convalescent plasma in COVID-19.
Dr. Houston is an Assistant Professor, Hematologist, and Clinician-Scientist at the University of Manitoba and CancerCare Manitoba. Her PhD thesis focused on the use of tranexamic acid to reduce bleeding in non-cardiac surgeries at high-risk for red blood cell transfusion. Her ongoing research programs focus on supportive care strategies to reduce bleeding in patients at the time of surgery, and in patients with underlying blood cancers.
Robert Balshaw is an assistant professor in the department of community health sciences and a senior biostatistician in the Data Science Platform of the Georgy and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation. He has been a consulting biostatistician for industry, government, and academia for 35 years and has been the lead statistician for dozens of clinical trials and consulted on hundreds of research projects.
Dayna Solvason is a Research Project Manager and has worked in both academic and industry clinical health research for over 13 years. Her experience includes coordination of multi-center national and international clinical trials. She has an extensive background in international clinical trial insurance and clinical trial and service agreements. Her experience also includes drug CTA submissions and responses to Health Canada. Dayna also assists and supports Investigators with peer-reviewed grant applications. The successful applications have been awarded over $10 million of funding.
.
Dr. McIsaac is an anesthesiologist and CIHR-funded scientist who combines expertise in data science and clinical trials to improve the outcomes of older people having surgery. Primary focuses in Dr. McIsaac’s research include improving perioperative care for older people with frailty, assessing health system performance, and utilization of patient reported outcomes. In addition to his role on the TRACTION team, Dr. McIsaac is currently leading or co-leading two national multicenter studies to improve postoperative outcomes using exercise prehabilitation (PREPARE Trial) and to better understand recovery trajectories after surgery in older people (FIT After Surgery Study).
Dr. Fergusson is a Senior Scientist and Director of the Clinical Epidemiology Program at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and a Full Professor in the Department of Medicine. He has contributed scholarship and leadership in two major areas: 1) transfusion medicine and transfusion alternatives; and 2) innovative methodological research into the design and analysis of clinical trials. He has conducted trials in the field of transfusion medicine that have advanced practice in the areas of defining the optimal blood product, establishing when to administer transfusions, and evaluating alternatives to reduce transfusion risk. He has conducted large trials (ARIPI, ABLE, and ABC) to evaluate clinical outcomes in patients receiving “fresh” red cell transfusions. These trials helped reassure international blood systems on current procurement practice and provided evidence that fresh red blood cells confer no additional benefit to their patients. The BART antfibrinolytics trial changed the worldwide practice of blood loss management in cardiac surgery. He has also designed trials to establish optimal transfusion thresholds (TRICSI-III, TRIST, OPTIMAL). He will contribute his methodological experience and expertise in clinical trials in transfusion medicine through both protocol development and execution as well as analysis and interpretation.
Dr. Breau is a Surgical Oncologist, Scientist, and Full Professor of Surgery at The University of Ottawa/Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. Dr. Breau serves on several international guidelines committees for oncology and urology. He is the primary or co-primary investigator of several multicenter trials including the Renal Hypothermia Trial, The Tranexamic Acid During Cystectomy Trial, The Adjuvant ADT Prostate Cancer Trial, PREVENT-GU Trial, TRACTION, and the Surgeon Report Card Study. He is the surgical lead for the Canadian Kidney Cancer Information System, a national prospective cohort of over 18,000 patients with kidney cancer.
Dr. Ramsay has a PhD in biostatistics and is a Senior Scientist with the Clinical Epidemiology Program of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, as well as an Associate Professor with the University of Ottawa’s School of Epidemiology and Public Health. He is Scientific Director of the Ottawa Methods Centre, a group of statisticians, information technology specialists, epidemiologists, and health-care economists that supports clinical research at The Ottawa Hospital and across Ontario through the CIHR-funded Strategy for Patient Oriented Research. Dr. Ramsay has been an author on 229 peer-reviewed publications and has been a co-investigator on 69 peer-reviewed grants totaling over $66 million.
SITE INVESTIGATORS AND RESEARCH COORDINATORS
TRACTION SITES
Trial Sites Map
Dr. Tenenbein is an Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba in the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine. He completed his Medical degree, BSc(Med), Anesthesia residency and Simulation fellowship all at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Tenenbein has held numerous leadership positions in both the academic and clinical domains. He is currently the Anesthesia Site Lead at the Health Sciences in Winnipeg, Manitoba's largest teaching hospital and only trauma centre in the province.
Angela Recio is an internationally trained Medical Doctor specialized in Anesthesia and Pediatric Anesthesia, who joined our research team in June of 2021 and started the enrollment of patients for TRACTION in February of 2022. After almost 20 years of Clinical experience as an anesthesiologist in Latin America, Angela is now devoted to Clinical Research, a field she had previously worked on while supervising Anesthesia Residents and as a Fellow in the United States.
Dina Muhammad is a Medical Doctor specialized in Gynecology and Obstetrics internationally. Dina joined the TRACTION Team in late November 2022 and very rapidly she has become an amazing dynamic, strong, independent, self-teaching, fast learning and reliable key member to the team. Dina had always been interested in Clinical Research and is now enjoying being able to work on it full time.
Dr. Bagry moved to Canada in 2007 after completing FRCA in the UK and since then I have worked as a clinical anesthesiologist at St Boniface hospital and Misericordia eye hospital. My subspecialty interest is in obstetric anesthesia. Currently, I am participating as site investigator for the TRACTION and FIT studies.
My future plans include designing QI projects in women and child health.
Michelle Mola is a Research Associate of the Department of Internal Medicine and Critical Care of University of Manitoba and has been working as the lead Clinical Research coordinator of the TRACTION study in St. Boniface Hospital and is involved in other ICU studies as well. She obtained her M.D. on 1996 from Our Lady of Fatima University, Philippines, followed by Pediatric Residency training and Research studies in Jose Fabella Maternity Hospital where she completed on 2003 and practiced as a general pediatrician. She moved to Canada and continue her passion in health care and research.
Lucas Mosienko obtained a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and a certificate in applied psychology from the University of Winnipeg and is currently a medical student at the University of Manitoba. Prior to entering medical school, he was the lead TRACTION coordinator at St. Boniface Hospital. He has clinical research experience in anesthesia, pediatric endocrinology, palliative care, and neuroscience. Throughout medical school he continues to be involved in clinical research through providing vacation relief for all Winnipeg TRACTION staff.
Oleksandra Stadnyk obtained her medical degree from Ivano-Frankivsk Medical University in Ukraine, in 2003. She trained in Anesthesia and Intensive Care at the same University in Ukraine. Oleksandra worked in the ICU, OR and Emergency Department at Ivano-Frankivsk regional Hospital for 17 years as an Anesthesiologist. She worked in research under the guidance of the Professor of Anesthesia, Heard of the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care. Oleksandra moved to Canada in May 2022 and joined Dr. Zarychanski’s team in October 2022. Currently, she is recruiting on the TRACTION, REMAP-CAP and REVISE clinical trials.
Dr. McIsaac is an anesthesiologist and CIHR-funded scientist who combines expertise in data science and clinical trials to improve the outcomes of older people having surgery. Primary focuses in Dr. McIsaac’s research include improving perioperative care for older people with frailty, assessing health system performance, and utilization of patient reported outcomes. In addition to his role on the TRACTION team, Dr. McIsaac is currently leading or co-leading two national multicenter studies to improve postoperative outcomes using exercise prehabilitation (PREPARE Trial) and to better understand recovery trajectories after surgery in older people (FIT After Surgery Study).
Dr. Breau is a Surgical Oncologist, Scientist, and Associate Professor of Urology at The University of Ottawa/Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. He attended medical school at Dalhousie University and urology residency at the University of Ottawa. He completed his Urologic Oncology and Robotic Surgery Fellowship at Mayo Clinic and received a Master of Science in Clinical and Translational Research from Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education. Dr. Breau serves on numerous American Urological Association, Canadian Urological Association, and Cancer Care Ontario leadership committees. He is the primary investigator of several multicenter surgical trials in urologic oncology.
Emily Hladkowicz is the PREPARE Trial Coordinator. Emily has been working at the OHRI since she completed her Psychology degree in 2011. Emily completed her Masters in Counselling Psychology at the University of Ottawa and is currently a PhD student in the Aging & Health program at Queen’s University. With the AIMS research team, Emily helps to coordinate several clinical trials and is involved in various knowledge synthesis projects as well. Her PhD research will focus on synthesizing how successful postoperative transitions have been defined in the literature and to understand whether these definitions align with the needs and values of older adults with frailty and their caregivers.
Noha Khalil joined the AIMS Research Team as a research assistant in January, 2022. Since then, she has been playing a lead role on the TRACTION Trial that is being conducted at The Ottawa Hospital’s Civic and General campuses.
Noha obtained her medical degree from Ain Shams university in Egypt, in 2011. She has also completed her formal training in Anesthesia, Intensive care, and pain management where she was deeply involved in anesthesia research.
With her extensive training in anesthesia, Noha is a great asset to Dr. McIsaac’s research program. The AIMS team is fortunate to have Noha’s expertise on our regulated drug trials and in the OR setting.
Karine Brousseau is a research coordinator for the liver and pancreas surgical unit at the OHRI and has also joined the AIMS team in August 2022 to work on the TRACTION trial. She has been working on various international and multicenter trials and developed great interest and experience in research related to perioperative medicine and transfusion medicine. Alongside her work experience, Karine is currently completing her Master's degree in Epidemiology at the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Saha MB, BS, FRCPC is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine, Queen’s University. Within the department, he is both the Director of Cardiac Anesthesia and Director of Anesthesiology Research. He is an investigator in several CIHR and Industry funded Cardiac Anesthesia and Surgery multicenter clinical trials. His primary research interests include blood conservation & chronic pain after cardiac surgery.
Aftab Malik is a Research Associate/Project Coordinator in the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine, Queen’s University. He completed his Masters in Physical Therapy from Jamia Hamdard University, New Delhi, India is 2009 and practiced for 6 years. Upon moving to Canada he worked as Resident Physical Therapist for some time and became interested in Clinical Research. He completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Research from Oxford College in Mississauga. He then joined St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, as Research Assistant where he worked on multiple industry sponsored research projects.
Shagun Jain, BSc(H), is a Research Assistant in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC)/Queen’s University. She completed her undergraduate education at Queen’s University, with a Specialization in Kinesiology and a Certificate in Disability and Physical Activity. Since joining the department in September 2022, Shagun has been actively involved in several trials at KHSC, including the TRACTION trial.
Bethany Smethurst, BHSc, has been working as a Research Assistant in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) since July 2021. She completed her undergraduate degree at Queen’s University in Health Sciences with an Applied Research Methods learning track. TRACTION is one of many trials Bethany supports in her role at KHSC.
Reegan Tod just graduated from McMaster University with an Honours Bachelor of Science degree specialized in Physiology Research. I've worked on and off as a research assistant with the Department of Anesthesia at KHSC since 2018 but since I graduated, I'm now here full time. The TRACTION trial is now one of the many trials that I am involved in.
Dr. McIsaac is an Anesthesiologist and Intensivist. She is the current Medical Director of Faculty Development and an Assistant Professor at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. She is passionate about resuscitation, wellness, medical education and organizational change management. She is the very proud co-founder of Northern City of Heroes, a community initiative to teach hands-only CPR for free to the general public. She recently helped create and develop the first CPR exhibit in the world at Science North in Sudbury, Ontario. In her spare time you will find her exploring Northern Ontario with her husband, two amazing children and two dogs
Dr. Duncan is an Assistant Professor and Staff Anesthesiologist in the Department of Anesthesia at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in Sudbury. Following her medical degree at the University of British Columbia, Dr. Duncan completed her anesthesiology residency at the University of Ottawa. She went on to complete fellowship training at the University of Manitoba, obtaining fellowships in both Cardiac Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine. Dr. Duncan is a Diplomate of the American Board of Echocardiography (advanced perioperative transesophageal echocardiography). Her interests include perioperative optimization of the high-risk surgical patient and perioperative care in cardiac surgery.
Katie Runions is the lead Health Sciences North Clinical Research Coordinator at the site in Sudbury, Ontario. Katie has her Master of Science Communication and has previously worked as a research and evaluation assistant at a science centre. In addition to her research experience, Katie also has several years of project management experience and has held multiple coordinator and leadership roles.
Taylor Karn is a clinical research coordinator based in Sudbury, Ontario, working at Health Sciences North. He holds an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Biology and has previously demonstrated his leadership skills in the biotechnology and microbiology research fields. Taylor's dedicated to enhancing the overall health and safety of individuals within his community.
Dr. Andrews is a staff anesthesiologist at the Montfort Hospital and a lecturer in the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine. After completing her residency training at McMaster University, she completed a fellowship in Medical Education and Simulation with the University of Ottawa’s Department of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. She currently serves as the Director of Research for the Department of Anesthesiology at the Montfort Hospital.
Mélodie Potvin holds an Honours Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Ottawa obtained in 2010. She began working as a clinical research coordinator at the Institut du Savoir Montfort in 2019. Since, she has worked in various research therapeutic areas such as in thrombosis, in cardiology, in gastroenterology and COVID-19 disease. Her combined professional experiences as a nurse, clinical care coordinator, clinical manager and in research have permitted to leverage her clinical trials management and coordination skills.
Christine-Nadia Compas is a Clinical Research Coordinator at Institut du Savoir Montfort. After completing her Registered Practical Nurse studies, she pursues her undergraduate studies in Social Sciences/Psychology and completed her Graduate studies in Clinical Research. She also has a training in Clinical Research Project/Program Management. She is currently a Master candidate in Mental health, health and social services management. Passionate about clinical research for years, she keeps herself on top of the regulatory requirements by reading, taking part of diverse clinical research conferences in Canada and in the USA. Christine-Nadia is Network of networks (N2) designated representative for Hôpital Montfort and the administrator of the CITI program platform at the hospital.
Dr. Avramescu is an anesthesiologist at Humber River Hospital and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. After finishing medical school in Romania, she moved to Canada and completed a PhD in Neurobiology at Laval University in Quebec, followed by Anesthesia residency training at the University of Toronto. She joined the Department of Anesthesia at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and undertook postdoctoral studies in Translational Medicine and a certificate in Knowledge Translation. She developed a research program in the area of perioperative brain health, spanning from bench research to clinical trials and patient education. Over the years, her research findings and scientific opinions have been published in top medical journals and her work has been recognized by grants and awards at national and international levels. Dr. Avramescu moved to a community practice at Humber River Hospital in 2018 and she developed an interest in medical leadership. She completed a Master Certificate in Healthcare Leadership at York University, and she currently serves as the Executive Director and Director of Research in the Anesthesia Department at Humber River Hospital. She built on her passion for scientific research, and she set up the first perioperative research program at Humber River Hospital. Dr. Avramescu and her team are collaborating with academic centres and are running several clinical trials and quality improvement projects.
Dr. Kerelska is a community anesthesiologist at Humber River Hospital (HRH). After obtaining her medical degree from Micheal G DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University in 2009, she completed her anesthesiology residency at the University of Toronto in 2014. During her training she always sought opportunities to improve patient care by optimizing workflow and streamlining pathways. This led her to complete a Masters of Science in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety at the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Information at the University of Toronto. She joined the Humber River Hospital Anesthesia department in 2015. Since then, she has been involved in quality improvement initiatives at HRH and has helped to create the first peri-operative research program at the hospital. Dr Kerelska is currently the site co-investigator for several multi-centre clinical trials running at HRH.
Seema Charummoottil is a Clinical Research Coordinator at Humber River Hospital. She currently supports various studies conducted in the surgical space. She holds a BSc (Hons) with a specialization in Mental Health and Human Biology from the University of Toronto. In her spare time, she enjoys travelling, baking and spending time with family and friends.
Gurnoor Kaur is a skilled professional currently serving as a Clinical Research Coordinator. With a strong background in Clinical trials recruitment and quality assurance she brings valuable expertise to the field of healthcare research. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in pharmacy with a postgraduate diploma in healthcare management and, is currently working on different studies in oncology and surgical space. She likes to remain up-to-date with the latest advancements and regulatory guidelines in the field of clinical research.
.
Dr. Harle is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesia & Perioperative Medicine at Western University. He is a cardiac and liver transplant Anesthesiologist with an interest in Patient Blood Management and collaborative research. Dr. Harle is Chair of the London Health Sciences Centre City Wide Blood Transfusion Committee, and Medical Director of the Patient Blood Management Program and a past Chair of Ontario's Anesthesiologists.
Lee-Anne Fochesato is the Research Coordinator for the Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine at Western University. Lee-Anne has a Master's of Science degree in Biochemistry and has close to 10 years of experience working in the field of clinical trials organization.