Evaluative Clinical Sciences

Senior Administrative Assistant, Schulich Heart Research Program: Tasneem Dalal
Phone: 416-480-4975
Email: tasneem.dalal@sri.utoronto.ca

Research Administrative Coordinator, ICES: Fatima Alas
Email: fatima.alas@ices.on.ca

Education:

• MD, 1996, University of Ottawa, Canada
• Fellowship, 1999, internal medicine, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, U.S.
• Fellowship, 2002, cardiology, Yale University School of Medicine, U.S.

Appointments and Affiliations:

• Director, Schulich Heart Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute
• Senior scientist, Evaluative Clinical Sciences, Schulich Heart Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute
• Senior scientist, ICES (formerly the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences)
• Interventional cardiologist, Schulich Heart Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
• Associate professor, department of medicine and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), University of Toronto

Research Foci:

• Cardiovascular outcomes 
• Cardiac catheterization and percutaneous coronary interventions
• Appropriateness of invasive procedures
• Meta-analysis

Research Summary:

Despite the dramatic advances in cardiovascular medicine in the last several decades, there remains uncertainty about the application of these advances, particularly in many subgroups of patients that are not generally enrolled in clinical trials. My research has focused on determining optimal clinical strategies and identifying opportunities for improvement in the prevention, treatment and outcome of cardiovascular disease. These research efforts are intended to provide critical information to improve the quality of health care, monitor changes over time, and guide decisions about the allocation of scarce health care resources.

Selected Publications:

See current publications list at PubMed.

1. Ko DT, Tu JV, Samadashvili Z, Guo H, Alter DA, Cantor WJ, Hannan EL. Temporal Trends in the Use of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention and Coronary artery bypass surgery in New York State and Ontario. Circulation. 2010 Jun; 121(24):2635–2644.
2. Wijeysundera HC, Nallamothu BK, Krumholz HM, Tu JV, Ko DT. Meta-analysis: effects of percutaneous coronary intervention versus medical therapy on angina relief. Ann Intern Med. 2010 Mar; 152(6):370–379. 
3. Tu JV, Donovan LR, Lee DS, Wang JT, Austin PC, Alter DA and Ko DT. Effectiveness of public report cards for improving the quality of cardiac care: the EFFECT Study: a Randomized Trial. JAMA. 2009 Dec; 302(21):2330–2337. 
4. Ko DT, Wang Y, Alter DA, Curtis JP, Rathore SS, Stukel TA, Masoudi FA, Ross JS, Foody JM, Krumholz HM. Regional variation in cardiac catheterization appropriateness and baseline risk after acute myocardial infarction. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2008 Feb; 51(7):716–723. 
5. Wijeysundera HC, Vijaryaraghavan R, Nallamothu BK, Foody JM, Krumholz HM, Phillips CO, Kashani A, You JJ, Tu JV, Ko DT. Rescue angioplasty or repeat fibrinolysis after failed fibrinolytic therapy for ST-segment myocardial infarction. A meta-analysis of randomized trials. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2007 Jan 30; 49(4):422–430.

Related News and Stories:

• Firm foundation: Researchers make it through intense review process to secure stable funding (Aug. 11, 2017)
• Challenging "good" cholesterol's role in heart health (SRI Magazine, 2017)
• SRI scientists top the national average in successful CIHR project grants: Over a dozen projects approved (June 2, 2017)
• Closing the case: SRI scientist adds to mounting evidence challenging "good" cholesterol's role in heart health (Feb. 27, 2017)
• CIHR responds to revolt while releasing results: Peer rebellion brings promise of change to granting agency (July 18, 2016)
• Go east, young researcher: Summer student program an opportunity for University of British Columbia student to explore cardiovascular research and Toronto (July 28, 2015)
• HOT: The Heart Outcomes Team is Steering Prevention, Practice and Policy: New studies show Canadians have a long way to go toward achieving ideal cardiovascular health; chest pain patients do best when seen after leaving emergency room; and better criteria might be needed for selecting who should have coronary angiography (from SRI Magazine, 2015)
• A hearty showcase of cardiac care: Researchers present state-of-the-art cardiovascular interventions at annual research day (Nov. 26, 2014)
• Beyond the numbers: Clinician-scientist recognized for outstanding health services research (May 7, 2014)
• Driving progress: National health research agency funds a dozen SRI scientists (April 25, 2014)
• Strategic intervention: Cardiac researcher aims to know which procedures are right for whom and when (May 14, 2012)
• Researchers to examine rise in cardiac procedures: SRI scientists study increase of angioplasty and bypass surgery procedures in Ontario (May 11, 2010)
• Staying alive: Two Schulich Heart Centre doctors work to keep the beat for cardiac patients (SRI Magazine, 2008)
• Heart Felt: Sunnybrook’s second annual Schulich Heart Program Research Day beats all (Dec. 7, 2007)

Related Links:

• Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences profile