Research Showcase
Select a researcher to learn more
World-class research takes place every day in the Department of Medicine. Learn more about our researchers, their research and our leading-edge discoveries.
Dr. Brian Courtney
Dr. Nick Daneman
Dr. Bill Geerts
Dr. Andrea Gershon
Dr. David Juurlink
Dr. Ayelet Kuper
Dr. Mario Masellis
Dr. Martin Myers
Dr. Matthew Oliver
Dr. James Perry
Dr. Donald Redelmeier
Dr. Baiju Shah
Dr. Kaveh Shojania
Dr. Bradley Strauss
Dr. Sheldon Tobe
Dr. Harindra Wijeysundera
Dr. Sandra Black
Dr. Sandra Black is the director of the Hurvitz Brain Sciences Research Program at Sunnybrook Research Institute and the Brill Chair in neurology in the department of medicine at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the University of Toronto. Dr. Black has published more than 300 peer-reviewed papers.
Her research interests include vascular cognitive impairment, stroke recovery and the use of neuroimaging techniques to understand brain-behaviour relationships in stroke and dementia. Dr. Black was recently named to the Order of Ontario. The award is the province's highest honour.
Read more about Dr. Black's research
Research Papers
Dr. Nick Daneman
Canadians seek health care to improve their wellbeing, yet each year, more than 200,000 acquire an infection during a hospital stay, and more than 8,000 die from these iatrogenic illnesses. Not surprisingly, hospital-acquired infections have become a core focus of the patient safety movement.
Dr. Daneman's research program uses hospital- and provincial-level data to optimize the prediction, prevention and treatment of these dreaded infections, including the following:
- surgical site infections
- Clostridium difficile
- infections of critical care
- antibiotic resistance and stewardship.
Learn more about Dr. Daneman's research.
Research Papers
Dr. Rob Fowler
Dr. Fowler is a clinician, teacher and supervisor for medical students, residents and clinical fellows. He also has an active research program focused upon clinical outcomes of critically ill patients. He has published many research papers and holds a number of peer-reviewed grants in support of his academic work.
Read more about Dr. Fowler's research
Research Papers
Dr. Bill Geerts
Over the past 25 years, Dr. Geerts has developed and participated in clinical research in all aspects of thromboembolism, including epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. His primary interest has been in the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in high-risk patients, especially following trauma. He has performed the most comprehensive, prospective study of the risks of venous thromboembolism in trauma patients and found that they are the highest-risk group for thromboembolism in hospitals.
Subsequently, Dr. Geerts and his group conducted the first large randomized trial of thromboprophylaxis in major trauma patients, by comparing subcutaneous low-dose heparin with low molecular weight heparin in a double-blinded manner. This study demonstrated that the early use of low molecular weight heparin is more efficacious than low-dose heparin in trauma patients without increasing bleeding.
His current research interests extend to the implementation of knowledge about thromboembolism into clinical practice.
Learn more about Dr. Geerts' research.
Research Papers
Dr. Andrea Gershon
The focus of Dr. Gershon’s research is health outcomes, health services, and drug safety and effectiveness in individuals with respiratory disease.
Learn more about Dr. Gershon's research.
Research Papers
Dr. Michelle Hladunewich
Dr. Hladunewich is interested in the renal physiology of normal and abnormal pregnancy as well as gender differences in glomerular-based kidney disease. Her primary research focus to date has been primarily the long-term sequelae of preeclampsia including differences in the renin angiotensin system (RAS) and endothelial function. She has developed specialty clinics in kidney disease, pregnancy and a glomerular-based disease to align with her research interests.
Learn more about Dr. Hladunewich's research.
Research Papers
Dr. David Juurlink
Dr. Ayelet Kuper
Dr. Kuper's current research program addresses the origins and history of the field of medical education research and the effects of that history (e.g., sociohistorical factors and the struggle for legitimacy between disciplines and methods) on the definition of legitimate knowledge production within this field. She is also interested in specific effects of the currently accepted knowledge production modalities on the legitimacy of particular subject areas within mainstream medical education research, as well as in the potential effects of broadening the field's legitimate methodologies on medical education research and medical education practice.
Dr. Kuper also has an interest in the medical humanities, both as an understudied pedagogical resource and as a potential point of intersection with non-traditional avenues (e.g., cultural theory) for exploring research questions that are relevant to educators and clinicians. She is involved in publications and knowledge translation activities designed to enhance clinicians' understanding of qualitative research in health care and related research.
Learn more about Dr. Kuper's research.
Research Papers
Dr. Mario Masellis
Medications used in the treatment of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders, such as Alzheimer's, schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease, often target specific receptors or enzymes in affected brain areas. However, these drugs often interact with different brain targets in various central nervous system regions. As a result, patients suffering from these debilitating conditions have variable response and adverse effect profiles to these drugs. This makes it difficult to predict who will respond well and who will be intolerant to the drug. Genomic variation (polymorphism) in these key drug targets likely contributes to this variability in responsiveness and adverse effects among individuals forming the foundation of the field, neuropsychopharmacogenetics.
Dr. Masellis' research focus is in understanding the neuropsychopharmacogenetics of cholinesterase inhibitors and other psychotropic agents. Other research interests include genetic and epigenetic factors contributing to the complex etiology of neurodegenerative disease including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and frontotemporal dementia. Ultimately, this research has the potential to get the "right drug" to the "right individual," that is, personalized medicine, to optimize efficacy and minimize adverse events as quickly as possible, thereby improving the quality of life for individuals with these devastating disorders.
Learn more about Dr. Masellis' research.
Research Papers
Dr. Martin Myers
During the past few years, Dr. Myers has been involved in several areas of research in cardiovascular diseases. He was on the international steering committee for the VALIANT study, which examined the use of valsartan and captopril in patients who had experienced a myocardial infarction. He also served on the executive of IMAGINE, another international multicentre study that evaluated the possible benefits of the ACE-inhibitor quinapril in patients who have undergone aorta coronary bypass surgery.
His other main area of research is hypertension, with a special interest in automated blood pressure measurement. The hypertension unit at Sunnybrook was the first in Canada to institute 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and has continued to be a leader in research in this area.
Learn more about Dr. Myers' research.
Research Papers
Dr. David Naimark
Dr. David Naimark's main research interests include the interaction between primary care physicians and nephrologists; strategies for the promotion of screening for diabetic renal disease in the primary care population; and developing a systematic referral, triage and co-management system for chronic kidney disease in primary care. In addition to his research interests, he maintains and active clinical practice and teaches both under- and post-graduate medical trainees as well as graduate students within the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.
Learn more about Dr. Naimark's research
Research Papers
Dr. Matthew Oliver
Dr. Oliver's primary research area is health services research related to vascular access for hemodialysis and optimizing use of peritoneal dialysis in the home. A secondary interest includes the epidemiology of end-stage renal disease.
Learn more about Dr. Oliver's research
Research Papers
Dr. James Perry
Dr. Perry is a clinician-investigator interested in the design, conduct and analysis of clinical trials testing innovative therapies for primary brain tumours. His research unit is focused on outcomes research. He chairs the Canadian Brain Tumour Consortium, a national not-for-profit investigator network. Dr. Perry currently leads or co-leads several international collaborative clinical trials.
Learn more about Dr. Perry's research.
Research Papers
Dr. Anita Rachlis
Dr. Don Redelmeier
Dr. Redelmeier's research spans a variety of areas, emphasizing the psychology of medical decision making and the epidemiology of motor vehicle trauma.
He serves as Canada Research Chair in Medical Decision Sciences; Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto; Director of Clinical Epidemiology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; staff physician in the Division of General Internal Medicine at Sunnybrook Hospital; and a Senior Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Studies in Ontario.
Research Papers
Dr. Baiju Shah
Dr. Baiju Shah is an endocrinologist who studies people with diabetes in Ontario, including their level of care and their health outcomes.
He examines differences in how care is delivered to vulnerable populations and the quality of care they experience. His goal is to improve the care of those vulnerable populations, which includes immigrants, visible minorities, indigenous peoples, low-income individuals and people without drug insurance. Dr. Shah also studies how diabetes in pregnancy affects the long-term health of mothers and their babies.
Dr. Shah is the Head of the Division of Endocrinology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto and a Senior Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.
Learn more about Dr. Shah's research.
Research Papers
Dr. Neil Shear
Dr. Shear has conducted numerous clinical trials in dermatology, from first in human early pharmacology studies to large randomized trials of novel therapeutics, and he is Vice President of Research and Development (Dermatology) at Ventana Clinical Research. His research has been funded by numerous peer-reviewed agencies and the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Shear's main interest is in idiosyncratic drug reactions that involve the skin. He has published 200 peer reviewed papers and numerous chapters and abstracts. His clinical interests are diverse, from rosacea and camouflage makeup to autoimmune blistering diseases.
Learn more about Dr. Shear's research
Research Papers
Dr. Kaveh Shojania
Dr. Shojania's research focuses on identifying evidence-based patient safety interventions and effective strategies for translating evidence into practice. In 2001, while at the University of California, Dr. Shojania led a team from 10 academic institutions across the United States to produce 'Making Healthcare Safer', a comprehensive evidence report for the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality synthesizing the evidence supporting over 75 practices aimed at improving patient safety. Highlights of the report appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association and over 140,000 copies of the full report have been obtained since its release.
Though most focused on patient safety and health care quality, Dr. Shojania's research has also included substantial work in the field of evidence synthesis, such as systematic reviews and meta-analysis. In addition to publishing a number of systematic reviews on a wide variety of topics, Dr. Shojania developed an effective electronic strategy for identifying systematic reviews that the U.S. National Library of Medicine adopted as the search filter for systematic reviews built into PubMed.
Learn more about Dr. Shojania's research.
Research Papers
Dr. Bradley Strauss
Dr. Jill Tinmouth
Dr. Sheldon Tobe
Dr. Tobe's research is focused on improving the lives of people with or at risk of developing kidney disease by focusing on the diagnosis and control of hypertension. Current projects include the relationship of stress and its management and hypertension, microalbuminuria and hypertension, and renal vascular disease.
Learn more about Dr. Tobe's research.
Research Papers
Dr. Harindra Wijeysundera
Dr. Wijeysundera's research program focuses on health technology assessments in cardiac disease. He is interested in the development of decision analytic models for health technology assessments, which are populated and validated using real-world administrative data. This work is based at Sunnybrook, the Toronto Health Economics and Technology Assessment collaborative and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.
In addition, his research program focuses on estimating accurate longitudinal costs associated with episodes of illness and changes in quality in life.
Learn more about Dr. Wijeysundera's research.
Research Papers
Dr. Amy Yu
Dr. Amy Yu is a stroke neurologist who studies cerebrovascular diseases, assessing peoples’ health outcomes and developing new ways to measure them.
She researches minor strokes and transient ischemic attacks, atrial fi brillation related cerebrovascular outcomes and evaluation of health systems interventions. Her goal is to improve access to acute stroke therapies and in turn, help patients experience better outcomes.
Dr. Yu is a Clinician-Investigator in the division of Neurology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto, Associate Scientist at the Sunnybrook Research Institute and Adjunct Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.
Dr. Julie Lovshin
Dr. Julie Lovshin is an endocrinologist who cares for patients with diabetes and related complications. Julie directs the Diabetes Complications Research Laboratory and is also a scientist at the Sunnybrook Research Institute.
With a collaborative team from the University of Toronto and across the globe, Julie has demonstrated the “non-glycemic” effects of many medications that treat high blood sugar; this research elucidates mechanisms within the medications that can prevent hypertension, heart and kidney disease, and cognitive decline in patients with diabetes.
Dr. Lovshin is a clinician scientist in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Brian Courtney
Dr. Brian Courtney is an interventional cardiologist and electrical engineer who unblocks coronary arteries today and innovates new tools to do it better tomorrow.
Brian’s background as a computer and electrical engineer provides unique insight into how to design and build unique medical devices, including lifesaving catheters that can “see in 3D” the complex plaques that plug coronary arteries and cause heart attacks. This unique vision helps navigate difficult coronary anatomy and opens up blood vessels in patients who would otherwise have no treatment options.
Dr. Courtney is a clinician-scientist in the Schulich Heart Program and Center for Research in Image Guided Therapy (CeRIGT) at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto
