Medicine - MGH Foundation

Dr. Ahmed Abou-Sharkh

Helen McCall Hutchison Award in Geriatric Medicine

I am privileged to be part of the McGill University Health Center (MUHC) as a Doctoral candidate in Rehabilitation Science. The MUHC is an international hub of research with a global reputation in health sciences offering a well-structured graduate program that provides me with the opportunity to interact with renowned researchers and mentors in various fields. The mentorship of my supervisor, Dr. Nancy Mayo, a health outcome measurement expert and my co-supervisor Dr. Suzanne Morin, an expert in osteoporosis research and management, is vital for the success of this project and for my success as an aspiring researcher.

Dr. Faiz Ahmad Khan

The Honourable Hartland Molson Fellowship

My research focuses on lung health in two populations: people living in resource-poor settings in low income countries, and the Inuit population of Quebec. Much of my work addresses tuberculosis, an ancient disease which remains the leading cause of death due to infection worldwide. The major foci of my work are: studying whether artificial intelligence can be used to read chest x-rays to detect tuberculosis; training community members who are not health professionals in helping to provide clinical care for tuberculosis in remote places; studying the impact of lung scarring due to tuberculosis on people’s lives.

Dr. Alex Amir

Nesbitt-McMaster Award for Excellence in Medicine and Surgery

Following my training, I have had a passion for introducing technology into the clinical care of our patients to improve patient safety and outcomes. My goal of training clinicians in bedside ultrasound is slowly becoming a reality. Last year, our first iteration of my research and education course took place, and the equipment you have helped to provide is ensuring ever-so-valuable continued learning for my colleagues.

Dr. Amine Benmassaoud

Nesbitt-McMaster Award for Excellence in Medicine and Surgery

I hope to establish a programmatic assessment of portal hypertension using non-invasive tools in individuals with chronic liver disease, such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This approach will foster research development in this field and will be associated with improvement in clinical care. Early identification of portal hypertension will lead to timely risk stratification and initiation of monitoring and therapeutic interventions to decrease liver-related complications.

Dr. Talat Bessissow

Nesbitt-McMaster Award for Excellence in Medicine and Surgery

My current research focuses on the role and outcomes of mucosal healing in inflammatory bowel disease as well as early detection of neoplastic lesions in ulcerative colitis. Many patients with inflammatory bowel disease will have recurrent relapse of their disease and will require escalation of their medical therapy or surgery. Therefore, identifying factors that could prevent such complications will have a significant impact on our patients. I also have special interest in -the identification of potential environmental factors mainly through diet that are responsible for triggering an inflammatory response in the gastrointestinal tract. Since there has been a significant change to our diet in the past few decades, we will try, with a network of collaborators, to identify dietary factors involved in the disease.

Dr. Michael Chetrit

Dr. Chris Lui Parents Award for Cardiology

Cardiac amyloidosis is a disease defined by the deposition of abnormal proteins in the heart. Two types of abnormal proteins account for 95% of all the cases affecting the heart. Traditionally, determining which of the two is present requires a cardiac biopsy. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) remains a non-invasive option to identify the presence of cardiac amyloidosis, however, it lacks the ability to differentiate between the two subtypes, thus requiring additional testing. The focus of my research, in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic, is to marry CMR and artificial intelligence, in an attempt to identify these two disease types, avoid further testing and guide therapies.

Dr. Maziar Divangahi

Strauss Chair in Respiratory Medicine

As an internationally renowned pulmonary immunologist, I have made major contributions to our understanding of both innate and adaptive immunity to pulmonary infectious diseases. My pioneer work on innate immune memory has identified hematopoietic stem cells as a potential target for the development of novel vaccines against pulmonary infections, such as tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis), influenza (H1N1), and coronaviruses (SARS-CoV2).

Dr. Geneviève Genest

Anita Garbarino Girard/Anna Maria Solinas/Dr. Phil Gold Award of Distinction

The Dr. Phil Gold Fellowship

I established Canada’s first Reproductive Immunology Clinic at the Montreal General Hospital. My main clinical and research interest lies in women with unexplained reproductive failure, manifesting as recurrent pregnancy losses or recurrent implantation failure. We suspect that a subset of such women likely suffers from a dysfunctional immune adaptation to pregnancy and we have been administering intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) in such women with a 60% live birth rate. While our success rates are high, we need to be better able to understand how IVIg works and which patients are most likely to benefit from it. We currently have two different research projects to do so. Firstly, we are performing the analysis of subtypes of immune cells present in the uterus of women with reproductive failure versus women with normal fertility. We hope to find a marker to diagnose women with immune-mediated reproductive failure. Secondly, we are performing the analysis of blood immune cells before and after IVIg infusion and correlating these results with success or failure from treatment.

Amani Hassan, PhD

The Thelma L. Adams Fellowship (Oncology)

I am conducting a research project at the Montreal General Hospital under the supervision of Dr. Anie Philip. This award will help cover the expenses of my research on oral squamous cell carcinoma, a high risk cancer with a 50% recurrence rate.

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Dr. Meagan-Helen Henderson Berg

The Bob Lavoie Research Award

Cutaneous melanoma is the most lethal form of skin cancer. The aim of my research is to better understand the role of the innate immune system, specifically innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), in patients with melanoma. My study is the first of its kind in humans and will predict which patients will respond to treatment and/or develop adverse events, by correlating relative level and functional properties of ILCs with response rates and toxicities. Ultimately, my research will provide evidence for novel melanoma therapies that may offer greater efficacy and overcome concerns associated with current treatments.

Dr. Sabah Hussain

Helen McCall Hutchison Award in Geriatric Medicine

Sepsis causes approximately 10,000 deaths in Canada each year. Nearly 60% of sepsis cases occur in patients aged over 65 years. These patients frequently develop skeletal muscle dysfunction, which manifests as weakness, atrophy, and prolonged functional impairment. Despite the high incidence of sepsis in elderly subjects, the effect of age on the severity of sepsis-induced muscle dysfunction has never been investigated. We believe that elderly septic patients develop more severe forms of muscle dysfunction than younger patients because of pre-existing muscle pathologies, including sarcopenia and oxidative stress. Our first objective is to establish how age affects the development of sepsis-induced skeletal muscle dysfunction. Our second objective is to identify the role of a newly discovered gene, DEPP1, in the development of sepsis-induced muscle dysfunction and to determine whether its action on the skeletal muscles is affected by age. The ultimate aim of our work is to identify possible therapeutic targets that will improve skeletal muscle function in the elderly.

Dr. Hiroaki Ito

The Shibata-Ingram Japanese Master’s in Ocular Pathology

I have been working as a Graduate Research Trainee (Fellow) at the MUHC-McGill University Ocular Pathology & Translational Research Laboratory under the supervision of Prof. Miguel N. Burnier, Jr. As a pathologist, I have engaged in daily clinical practice of ocular pathology, cutting specimens, looking at glass slides, and making a diagnosis. In addition, I have conducted research to investigate novel imaging and diagnostic techniques in the field of ocular pathology.

Dr. Thomas Kitzler

The Charles Scriver Research Award

The Honourable Hartland Molson Fellowship

Deane Nesbitt Award

Chronic kidney disease affects one in ten Canadians. In children, around 20% of cases are due to a genetic disorder, and in adults it is around 10%. Genetic kidney disease in children is a particularly devastating disease that often presents itself with an unremitting course towards complete loss of kidney function. Treatment is either hemodialysis or kidney transplant. Both carry significant health risks and are very costly to the healthcare system. My research program at the MUHC aims to improve the diagnosis of genetic kidney disease and to understand the mechanisms behind this disease. This knowledge will enable the development of novel personalized treatment strategies.

Dr. Peter Lakatos

Kimberly Sue McCall Memorial Award in IBD Research

My research at the MUHC primarily covers optimization of the quality of care, patient management, patient access, as well as treatment and monitoring of strategies in patients suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases, including identification of predictors (clinical or laboratory factors) of disease severity, response to therapy and outcomes. My current research focuses on optimizing patient care pathways; assessing the accuracy of patient reported outcomes in determining endoscopic and global disease severity; evaluating the selected quality of care indicator sets; and determining the adherence to objective patient monitoring and patient’s feedback in the everyday practice during the management of inflammatory bowel diseases.

Dr. Corinne Maurice

Owen Catchpaugh Grant for Innovative IBD Research

My research project explores if phages can modulate the immune response in mouse models of colitis. This past year, we have been able to complete the last round of experiments in our mouse models, which demonstrates that certain phage communities alter mouse phenotype in a consistent way. These phage communities isolated from UC patients, and their interactions with their bacterial hosts, increase the inflammatory responses of the mice and their presence in the gut leads to a shortened colon.

Dr. Roxana Mititelu

The Bob Lavoie Research Award

Basal cell carcinomas are the most common skin cancers in Canada. Despite being so common, very few recent studies exist that look at how often they occur. This is because many provinces do not record this data. Previous research has shown that the number of basal cell carcinomas is increasing in Canada. Our research aims to use provincial data from Newfoundland and Labrador to understand the trend of basal cell carcinomas. We can then use this information to better understand how this cancer is affecting all Canadians.

Dr. Véronique Naessens

Catherine & Stuart Townsend Fellowship in Haematology Award

My clinical practice, with an expertise focused on benign red blood cell disorders, has allowed me to develop a dedicated clinic where we receive and treat one of the largest number of Quebec patients affected with thalassemia syndromes and sickle cell disease. My current research comprises a review of how COVID-19 has impacted our patient population, including numbers affected and complications, if any; as well as whether confinement has affected the incidence of pain crisis in patients with sickle cell disease in particular. Indeed, this common, severe complication can happen in conjunction with exposure to cold weather, various viral illness or personal stressors. Additional research will be about thrombotic disorders – prevention and treatment.

Dr. Sofia Nene

Helen McCall Hutchison Award in Geriatric Medicine

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered outpatient visits and eHealth practises – creating challenges in the management of chronic illnesses, especially for vulnerable populations such as patients over 65 years of age. The aim of my project is to better understand the perceptions, barriers and facilitators to telehealth and technology use in the geriatric population. With this, we hope to develop tools and clinical protocols that will provide support for televisit clinical consultations, personalized for older patients and their caregivers. These tools will be evaluated and implemented in the outpatient care of a target geriatric population, in partnership with their healthcare teams.

Dr. Chantal Séguin

The Ian and Helgi Soutar Research Award

Catherine & Stuart Townsend Fellowship in Haematology Award

My specific area of research involves the study of bone death called osteonecrosis. We are looking at the effect of certain drugs such as corticosteroids, which are used extensively in cancer patients as part of their chemotherapy treatment. It is known that 10-25% of cancer patients taking corticosteroids will develop bone death following their exposure to the drug, which has a huge impact on their quality of life. We are studying the mechanism of action and the negative impact of corticosteroids on bone tissue and its blood vessels, with the intention of preventing the disease and/or finding a cure.

Dr. Abinhav Sharma

Inez and Willena Beaton Award in Cardiology

Marjorie Cadham Award in Cardiology Research

Sara Louise King Award in Cardiology Research

As the leading cause of hospitalization, heart failure is a deadly disease. This funding will help us improve the lives of patients with heart failure by looking for strategies to identify when patients are clinically worsening and thereby enable us to intervene sooner. As many people with cardiovascular disease live far away, we will be evaluating new technologies, such as voice-based assistants, to determine if we can increase the ability of individuals living far away to gain access to specialist care. We will also be looking at how mobile health technologies can prompt, nudge, and motivate us to be more active. Award funding will the be first step in enabling us to conduct large scale projects of physical activity through mobile applications.

Dr. Jennifer Wright

John Churchill-Smith Education Fund for Emergency Medicine

In July 2020, I began subspecialty training in General Internal Medicine at McGill. This two-year fellowship program consists of core and elective clinical rotations, as well as a multitude of additional training experiences designed to equip me with the breadth of knowledge and expertise of a General Internist. I have a particular interest in thrombosis medicine and will be conducting research with world-renowned experts in this field. I also have a passion for medical education and will be involved in both formal and informal teaching to the medical trainees, all while pursuing a Master’s in Health Professions Education.

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