The rich program has been developed by the CDTRP Annual Scientific Meeting Planning Committee, co-chaired by Lorraine Hamiwka (Theme 5) and Marat Slessarev (Themes 1 & 2) and with feedback from the CDTRP community and Theme leads. Other members of the Planning Committee include:
- Sabine Ivison (Themes 4 & 5)
- Warren Fingrut (Themes 1, 2 & 3)
- Vanessa Silva e Silva (Themes 1 & 2)
- Nicholas Murphy (Trainee, Theme 2)
- Ke Fan Bei (PFD partner, Themes 1, 3 & 4)
VIEW THE RECORDINGS HERE
Please note these events took place in December 2021
PRE CDTRP ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC MEETING EVENTS
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2021
Deceased Donation Stream
On December 7, the CDTRP has been partnering with the Critical Care Canada Forum, Trillium Gift of Life Network/Ontario Health and Canadian Blood Services to support the Deceased Donation Stream of the 2021 virtual Canadian Critical Care Forum.
We were excited to spotlight major CDTRP initiatives and provide a forum for our members to propose new collaborations and discuss future opportunities for individual projects and the overall CDTRP network.
Click here to see the Deceased Donation Stream Program
Women in Donation – A Women in Transplantation Event
Women in Transplantation (WIT) programming and events have covered many critical issues over the last decade, including a focus on gender in careers in transplantation. This will be the first WIT event related to the careers of women specifically involved in donation. Presentations will highlight their career trajectories (e.g., how they became interested in the field, how it fits into their larger view of their work and essential issues that they think are important.)
This virtual event has included an overview of the Women in Transplantation initiative and several short presentations from Women in Donation (personal stories about experiences, challenges, opportunities), followed by open discussion and Q&A.
- Host: Lori West
- Moderator: Vanessa Silva e Silva
Speakers:
CDTRP ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC MEETING
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2021
Block 1: COVID-19 and Donation and Transplantation: What We Have Learned
COVID-19 has impacted all aspects of transplantation and transplant recipients are at risk of severe disease. Dr. Kumar will provide an overview of what we know about new therapies such as monoclonal antibodies and antivirals for COVID-19 and their use in transplantation. Donors are required to be screened for COVID-19 and the potential for use of organs from COVID-19 donors will be discussed. The immune response and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine in transplant candidates and recipients will also be presented.
Dr. Kumar’s presentation will be followed by three short presentations from individuals with different lived experiences and perspectives in organ donation and transplantation (Organ Procurement Organization, Donation Coordinator, transplant family). A thirty-minute panel discussion will then focus on lessons learned over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moderators: Lorraine Hamiwka & Sam Shemie
Speakers and panelists:
| Time (EST) | Content | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 11:00-11:10 | WELCOME REMARKS | Lorraine Hamiwka & Marat Slessarev |
| 11:10 - 11:15 | Introduction: Block 1 - COVID-19 and Donation and Transplantation: What We Have Learned | Lorraine Hamiwka & Sam Shemie |
| 11:15 - 11:45 | The Art and Science of COVID-19 in Transplantation Details | Deepali Kumar |
| 11:45 - 12:00 | Q&A | Deepali Kumar |
| 12:00 - 12:15 | BREAK | |
| 12:15 - 12:30 | COVID and ODOs – How Canadian ODOs came together to ensure safety in the system | Matthew Weiss |
| 12:30 - 12:40 | Organ Donation in BC - Adapting to a Pandemic Details | Bobbi Paquette |
| 12:40 - 12:50 | Life as a Transplant Family during Covid Details | Lindsey Kemp |
| 12:50 - 13:20 | Panel Discussion: Lessons Learned | Matthew Weiss, Bobbi Paquette, Lindsey Kemp, Andrew Healey & Louis Beaulieu |
Moderator: Kristina Krmpotic
Speakers:
| Time (EST) | Content | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 14:30 - 14:35 | Introduction | Kristina Krmpotic |
| 14:35 - 14:40 | Alterations in muscle fiber types in children with end-stage liver disease undergoing liver transplantation View abstract | Amber Hager |
| 14:40 - 14:45 | A Qualitative Descriptive Study of Kidney Transplant Recipients Who Experience Graft Loss: A Forgotten Cohort View abstract | Anna Horton |
| 14:45 - 14:50 | Regulatory T cell biomarkers identify patients at risk of developing acute cellular rejection in the first year following heart transplantation View abstract | Ji-Young Kim |
| 14:50 - 14:55 | Impact of ApoExo vesicules and Anti-LG3 autoantibodies derived from vascular damage on microvascular depletion, fibrosis and renal dysfunction in the context of lupus nephretis View abstract | Marie-Hélène Normand |
| 14:55 - 15:00 | Donor-Recipient Weight Mismatch as a Risk Factor for Delayed Graft Function in Renal Transplantation View abstract | Faisal Jarrar |
| 15:00 - 15:05 | AutoKV-Net: Calculating Single Kidney Volume in Two-Dimensional Ultrasound Automatically by Mimicking Sonographers View abstract | Rohit Singla |
| 15:05 - 15:30 | Q&A | Amber Hager, Anna Horton, Ji-Young Kim, Marie-Hélène Normand, Faisal Jarrar & Rohit Singla |
Block 2: International Research and Training in Donation and Transplantation: Barriers and Opportunities
This block will feature two presentations from CDTRP Members, one who has completed a large international study in a donation and one planning a large international study in transplantation. Further presentations from international trainees will focus on the challenges and opportunities they have experienced. These presentations will be followed by a panel discussion about barriers and opportunities for international collaborations.
Moderators: Vanessa Silva e Silva & Lori West
Speakers and panelists:
| Time (EST) | Content | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 15:40 - 15:45 | Introduction Block 2 - International Research and Training in Donation and Transplantation: Barriers and Opportunities | Vanessa Silva e Silva & Lori West |
| 15:45 - 15:55 | Home-based exercise for solid organ transplant patients and people with chronic disease: A shift from Brazil to Canada Details | Manoela Ferreira |
| 15:55 - 16:05 | Increase International Research Collaborations through international mobility of interns: Mitacs GRA Program | Étienne Pineault |
| 16:05 - 16:25 | Panel discussion | Manoela Ferreira, Étienne Pineault & Jennifer Raven |
| 16:25 - 16:35 | BREAK | |
| 16:35 - 16:40 | Introduction | Vanessa Silva e Silva & Lori West |
| 16:40 - 16:50 | How to organize multi-national initiatives barriers and facilitators? | John Gill |
| 16:50 - 17:00 | Multi-National Research: Lessons Learned | Sonny Dhanani |
| 17:00 - 17:10 | International Clinical Trials: Perspectives from a funder Details | Brian Rowe |
| 17:10 - 17:50 | Panel Discussion | John Gill, Arthur J. Matas, Sonny Dhanani & Brian Rowe |
CDTRP Trainees and Planning Committee Members Dr. Nicholas Murphy and Dr. Vanessa Silva e Silva are organizing trainee working sessions. The purpose of these sessions is to discuss and plan for a trainee-led publication focused on an important and underexplored research topic.
Day one: Orientation session. Trainees will introduce themselves, their main research areas, expertise, and research experience.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2021
Block 3: Point and Counterpoint: Normothermic Regional Perfusion
The use of normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) in controlled donation after circulatory determination of death (cDCDD) is an established practice in several European countries. NRP is thought to improve organ viability and function by reversing ischemic injury sustained during the dying process in cDCDD donors. However, numerous ethical questions and empirical uncertainties suggest a cautious approach to NRP’s implementation in Canada. Policymakers are now considering whether the use of NRP is appropriate for the Canadian context, with a program of research aiming to assess its safety, efficacy, and feasibility underway. This point-counterpoint discussion will familiarize attendees with the logistical, empirical, and ethical challenges of implementing NRP in Canada, and assess the pros and cons of moving ahead with the technology’s use. The subsequent panel discussion will probe these issues in more detail, and feature the perspectives of stakeholders from Canada and the UK.
Moderators: Kimia Honarmand & John Basmaji
Speakers and panelists:
| Time (EST) | Content | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 11:00 - 11:05 | Welcome Remarks | Lorraine Hamiwka & Marat Slessarev |
| 11:05 - 11:15 | Introduction: Block 3: Point and Counterpoint: Normothermic Regional Perfusion | Kimia Honarmand & John Basmaji |
| 11:15 - 11:45 | Point - Counterpoint | Point: Anton Skaro; Counterpoint: Andrew Healey |
| 11:45 - 12:15 | Panel Discussion | Andrew Healy, Anton Skaro, Alex Manara, Laurie Blackstock & Sam Shemie |
| 12:15 - 12:25 | BREAK | |
Block 4: Antemortem Interventions
Antemortem interventions in controlled donation after circulatory determination of death (cDCDD) are commonly used in cDCDD donors to improve organ viability and to enhance the likelihood of successful donation. Despite their widespread use, robust empirical evidence on safety and efficacy is lacking for several interventions. Calls for well-designed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess antemortem interventions are beginning to appear in the literature. However, because cDCDD donors will still be alive at the time of the intervention, these trials pose ethical and logistical challenges which eclipse those faced in the context of deceased donor intervention research. This discussion will familiarize attendees with the ethical and logistical challenges of cDCDD RCTs, and discuss possible approaches to tackling them. The subsequent panel discussion will feature local and international perspectives, and assess the best approaches to moving towards this next frontier of donor intervention research.
Moderator: Nicholas Murphy
Speakers and panelists:
| Time (EST) | Content | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 12:25 - 12:30 | Introduction: Block 4 - Antemortem Interventions | Nicholas Murphy |
| 12:30 - 12:40 | Randomized controlled trials in donation after circulatory death: Understanding the obstacles and moving forward Details | Frédérick D'Aragon |
| 12:40 - 12:55 | Ethico-legal challenges of antemortem interventions Details | Henrietta Consolo |
| 12:55 - 13:10 | Ethical challenges in RCTs of antemortem interventions Details | Charles Weijer |
| 13:10 - 13:40 | Panel Discussion | Frédérick D'Aragon, Charles Weijer, Henrietta Consolo & Heather Talbot |
Block 5: Donor – Recipient Meeting: Ethics, Law, Systems, and Human Stories
This block will contain four ten-minute presentations followed by a thirty-minute panel discussion.
The presentations will include:
- Story of a donor and recipients who found each other
- Ethical issues and legal considerations, risks and benefits
- Perspectives from an organ procurement organization
Moderator: Aviva Goldberg
Speakers and panelists:
| Time (EST) | Content | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 14:10 - 14:20 | WELCOME AND AFTERNOON INTRODUCTIONS | Lorraine Hamiwka & Marat Slessarev |
| 14:20 - 14:25 | Introduction: Block 5 - Donor - Recipient Meeting: Ethics, law, systems, and human stories | Aviva Goldberg |
| 14:25 - 14:35 | A Shared Heart Details | Kim LeBlanc & Dave Allingham |
| 14:35 - 14:45 | Surviving HLH: inclusion saves lives Details | Susan Doherty |
| 14:45 - 14:55 | When the donor met the recipient: the ethical issues Details | Marie-Chantal Fortin |
| 14:55 - 15:05 | Exploring the legal and policy frameworks governing information disclosure between donor families and transplant recipients Details | Vanessa Gruben |
| 15:05 - 15:15 | Patient & Family-centred care: A New focus? The four V’s & the donor family-recipient relationship Details | Michael Ward |
| 15:15 - 15:45 | Panel Discussion | Kim LeBlanc, Dave Allingham, Susan Doherty, Marie-Chantal Fortin, Vanessa Gruben & Michael Ward |
| 15:45 - 15:55 | BREAK | |
Block 6: Focus on Donation and Transplantation in Underserved Populations
This block will include six short presentations from trainees whose work focuses on donation and transplantation in underserved populations, followed by a presentation from CDTRP member Dr. Istvan Mucsi entitled “Barriers to Accessing Kidney Transplantation Among Populations Marginalized by Race and Ethnicity in Canada”.
Moderator: Warren Fingrut & Gabriele Jagelaviciute
Speakers:
| Time (EST) | Content | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 15:55 - 16:00 | Introduction: Block 6 - Focus on Donation and Transplantation in Underserved Populations | Warren Fingrut & Gabriele Jagelaviciute |
| 16:00 - 16:05 | Black Donors Save Lives: Multimedia resources developed in collaboration with Black People to engage their communities as potential stem cell donors View abstract | Sylvia Okonofua |
| 16:05 - 16:10 | Saving Lives with Pride: Development and Evaluation of Multimedia Resources to Engage Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Men in Canada as Stem Cell Donors View abstract | Rupal Hatkar |
| 16:10 - 16:15 | Development and Evaluation of a Library of TikToks to Support the Recruitment of Committed Hematopoietic Stem Cell Donors from Needed Demographic Groups View abstract | Brady Park |
| 16:15 - 16:20 | Development of multimedia tools to engage East Asian Peoples in Canada as hematopoietic stem cell donors View abstract | Lauren Sano |
| 16:20 - 16:25 | Understanding the barriers to accessing Living Donor Kidney Transplantation in the African, Caribbean, and Black community View abstract | Princess Okoh |
| 16:25 - 16:50 | Q&A | Sylvia Okonofua, Rupal Hatkar, Brady Park, Lauren Sano & Princess Okoh |
| 16:50 - 16:55 | Introduction | Warren Fingrut & Gabriele Jagelaviciute |
| 16:55 - 17:25 | Barriers to Accessing Kidney Transplantation/Living Donor Kidney Transplant Among Populations Marginalized by Race and Ethnicity in Canada + Q&A Details | Istvan Mucsi |
| 17:25 - 17:35 | CLOSING REMARKS | Lorraine Hamiwka & Marat Slessarev |
CDTRP Trainees and Planning Committee Members Dr. Nicholas Murphy and Dr. Vanessa Silva e Silva are organizing trainee working sessions. The purpose of these sessions is to discuss and plan for a trainee-led publication focused on an important and underexplored research topic.
Day two: An overview of potential topics to be explored, identification of interest, planning next steps and timeline.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021
Moderators: Marie-Josée Hébert & Patricia Gongal
Speakers
| Time (EST) | Content | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 11:00 - 11:10 | WELCOME REMARKS | Lorraine Hamiwka & Marat Slessarev |
| 11:10 - 11:20 | Mapping the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research and Innovation Ecosystem | Andriy Strogan |
| 11:20 - 11:30 | Canadian Research Networks: Emerging National and International Funding Opportunities | Stephen M. Robbins |
| 11:30 - 11:55 | Discussion | Andriy Strogan & Stephen M. Robbins |
Block 7: Advances in Immunology and Cell Therapy
This block will highlight advances in Immunology and Cell Therapy. It will feature two fifteen-minute presentations followed by a question-and-answer session.
Moderators: Sabine Ivison & Ke Fan Bei
Speakers:
| Time (EST) | Content | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 11:55- 12:00 | Introduction: Block 7 - Advances in Immunology and Cell Therapy | Sabine Ivison & Ke Fan Bei |
| 12:00 - 12:15 | CAR-T Development in Canada: The CLIC Experience | Kevin Hay |
| 12:15 - 12:30 | Cell surface engineering of the endothelial glycocalyx for prevention of transplant rejection Details | Jonathan Choy |
| 12:30 - 12:45 | Q&A | Kevin Hay & Jonathan Choy |
Block 8: Mental Health in Donation and Transplantation
This block will contain three ten-minute presentations followed by a thirty-minute panel discussion.
Two presentations will be from Theme 5 CDTRP Mental Health and Wellness Hub members, and one will come from Theme 1 focused on donor coordinator burnout. The panel discussion will include perspectives from adult recipients and caregivers.
Moderators: Samantha Anthony & Tatsuma Hind
Speakers and panelists:
| Time (EST) | Content | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 13:15 - 13:20 | Introduction: Block 8 - Mental Health in Donation and Transplantation | Samantha Anthony & Tatsuma Hind |
| 13:20 - 13:30 | Frictions in the Transplant Clinic: Using Ethnography and Arts to Understand Challenges Across the Span of Solid Organ Transplantation Details | Suze Berkhout |
| 13:30 - 13:40 | Does having a pet impact mental health and lifestyles habits? Details | Isabelle Doré |
| 13:40 - 13:50 | The BRiC Program: Understanding work-related issues among organ donation coordinators Details | Vanessa Silva e Silva |
| 13:50 - 14:20 | Panel Discussion | Suze Berkhout, Isabelle Doré, Vanessa Silva e Silva, Sandra Holdsworth & Mary Smith |
| 14:20 - 14:30 | CLOSING REMARKS | Lori West, Lorraine Hamiwka & Marat Slessarev |
ity of Alberta and has received training in patient-oriented research through the University of Calgary’s PACER (Patient and Community Engagement Research) Program. He is the Patient, Family, and Donor Partnerships & Education Manager with the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program. In this role, Manuel builds relationships patient partners with investigators and strengthens capacity among CDTRP patient partners.
Anders Billström 
Gareth Wiltshire
K
Sherrie Logan 
born and raised in Edmonton, AB. With a degree in Music Performance (saxophone performance) and Education, Lindsey has taught for over a decade in the Edmonton Public School system. When she is not teaching, she is very involved in the music community, performing in the Edmonton Winds, conducting her own community ensemble (The Beer League Band) and on numerous musical boards across the province. For the past 5 years, Lindsey has had to take a break from teaching after having her amazing son, George. Maternity leave did not goes as expected as George was diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy at 5 months old and required 2 heart transplants before the age of 4. During this time, Lindsey has also began to dedicate her time building and expanding her charity: Big Gifts for Little Lives, where they raise money to fund Pediatric Heart Transplant research at the Stollery.
Dr. Caigan Du is a scientist at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and an assistant professor in the Department of Urologic Sciences at the University of British Columbia. He received a Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry in UK and postdoctoral training in Immunology in USA. He is interested in the pathogenesis of kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury and transplant rejection, and molecular control of urinary malignancies. He has been studying the impact of kidney donor-derived factors on renal allograft rejection, and the molecular pathways of kidney injury and regeneration in experimental models. He is also interested in developing medical solution including drugs made from natural compounds for all kinds of health problems, including immune disorders, organ preservation, kidney failure and urinary cancer. He is the PI of many grant supports from the Kidney Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Heather Badenoch is a non-directed living liver donor and communications strategist. As the president of Village PR, she provides strategic communications direction and training to not-for-profit clients in community and health. An active transplant volunteer, Heather helps transplant candidates find living donors by running their public appeals, small and large, pro-bono. She also mentors potential living donors on the path to living donation. Heather is a volunteer with the UHN Centre for Living Organ Donation and the Canadian Donation and Transplant Research Program. She and her spouse adopt rescue dogs and volunteer together with Community Veterinary Outreach, a group providing free veterinary care to the pets of people who are homeless.
Sean Dicks is a clinical psychologist who has 20 years’ experience supporting both families of organ donors and transplant recipients. While it is rare for him to have contact with a donor family and recipient linked to the same organ donation-transplantation event, his contact with families who have lived experience with organ donation on the one hand, and patients who have received transplants on the other hand has provided opportunities to explore how their journeys become linked when they attempt to make sense of and find meaning in their respective crises.
Terri Hansen-Gardiner is a Cree speaking Metis woman from Northern Saskatchewan as well as a 10 year Breast Cancer Survivor. Her tireless spirit and dedication to her community is undeniable. Terri is a cancer survivor who travels around the province to provide assistance, information, and support to Indigenous patients who are trying to access and navigate the cancer care system.
Dr. Golnaz Karoubi is Assistant Scientist at the Toronto General HospitalResearch Institute and principal investigator in the Latner Thoracic Research Labs. She currently holds an Assistant Professor appointment in the department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology and a cross-appointment in the department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto. Dr. Karoubi received her PhD in Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto and joined the Lung Regenerative Medicine Program in the Department of Clinical Research in Berne University, Switzerland for a post-doctoral research fellowship. She stayed on as a Group Leader in 2008 to direct the basic and transitional science as related to Cancer Stem Cell and Lung Regenerative Medicine in the Department of Biomedical Research at the University of Berne until 2012. In early 2012, she joined the team of Dr. Tom Waddell at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute as a Senior Scientific Associate and was appointed to Assistant Scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute (University Health Network) in November 2019 and to Assistant Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology in July 2020.
Dr. Haykal graduated from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine in2007 as class valedictorian and silver medalist, and subsequently completed her residency training in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Toronto in 2016. During her residency, she completed a four-year Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and immunology with a focus on tracheal reconstruction. She obtained numerous grants and awards including a CIHR Vanier Scholarship. Dr. Haykal then pursued fellowship training in microsurgical reconstruction at the Albany Medical Centre in New York. Dr. Haykal joined the University Health Network and the Toronto General Hospital in 2018. Her clinical focus is on complex oncological reconstruction and microsurgical reconstruction of the breast, head and neck and extremity. She started a lymphedema program in 2019 where she offers microsurgical techniques for the treatment of lymphedema.
Dr. Ahmed is a Professor in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. The recipient of the 2022 Hypertension Canada Senior Investigator Award, she is a nephrologist and clinician-scientist with a focus on sex and gender differences in human cardiovascular/kidney physiology and clinical outcomes. Dr. Ahmed is the Vice Chair (Research) for the Department of Medicine, Lead of the Libin Institute Women’s Cardiovascular Health Research Initiative at the University of Calgary and Lead of the Alberta Strategy for Patient Oriented Research Capacity Development Platform. Dr. Ahmed is an Advisory Board member for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Gender and Health, a member of the Canadian Medical Association Journal Governing Council and the President-Elect for the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences.
r. Christopher Nguan is an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Urological Sciences, Surgical Head of Kidney Transplantation at Vancouver General Hospital and the Director of the Surgical Technologies Experimental Laboratory & Advanced Robotics (STELLAR) facility at Vancouver General Hospital.
r Caroline Lamarche is a clinician scientist and transplant nephrologist at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital. She is an assistant clinical professor at the Université de Montréal. After her nephrology training at the Université de Montréal (2015), she completed a Master degree on the use of adoptive immunotherapy to treat/prevent BK nephropathy in kidney transplant recipients. She then pursued a post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Megan Levings at the University of British Columbia on the use of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) regulatory T cells (Tregs) to induce transplant tolerance. Her lab is working on the development of adoptive immunotherapy in nephrology and understanding Treg dysfunction.
Dr. Tandon is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Co-Director of the Cirrhosis Care Clinic, Transplant Hepatologist and lead of the Cirrhosis Care Alberta quality improvement program. She obtained her training at the University of Alberta, the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona and Yale University. Her clinical practice and research are focused on cirrhosis with research interests including cirrhosis related complications, malnutrition, frailty, exercise therapy, palliative care, integrative health approaches such as meditation and knowledge translation. It is her career goal to provide wholistic, interdisciplinary, evidence based, patient-centered care through education, empowerment, engagement and team-work.
Emily is a PhD student at the University of Alberta, where she completed her Master of Science (MSc) degree in medicine. With a passion for patient-oriented research and a commitment to improving health outcomes, Emily’s doctoral project focuses on EMPOWER, a 12-week online mind-body wellness program designed for adults living with chronic health conditions.
Dr Basil S. Nasir, M.B.B.Ch
Dr. Victor Ferreira is an Assistant Scientist in the Ajmera Transplant Centre at the University Health Network (UHN) and the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute (TGHRI). He is also an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology (LMP). He completed his PhD in Medical Sciences – Infection and Immunity Specialization at McMaster University in 2014 and post-doctoral training at UHN. His research program is focused on three pillars: I) using systems vaccinology to reveal insights into vaccine responses in immunocompromised individuals like transplant recipients; II) characterizing the impact of chronic viral infection on host immune responses; and III) developing novel methods for eliminating latent viruses in human organs. His work has been cited >2,500 times and is published in journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Immunology, the Lancet Infectious Diseases, Clinical Infectious Diseases, the American Journal of Transplantation and Journal of Infectious Diseases.