The CIP Trainees

Dr. Brij Karmur (Lead Resident 2024-2025)

Brij is currently pursuing a MSc in Community Health Science Clinical Epidemiology under the supervision of Drs. Jay Riva-Cambrin and Garnette Sutherland. After completing an undergraduate degree in Psychology, Neuroscience, & Behaviour at McMaster University, he went to medical school at the University of Toronto. He then started his neurosurgery residency in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Calgary in 2020. His clinical interest lies in skull-base neuro-oncology (surgically treating tumors of the skull-base) and his research interests are in meningioma and artificial intelligence.

Meningioma is the most common primary brain tumor in adults. Emerging molecular technology is helping us understand which tumors are more concerning, however, these technologies are costly and sometimes unavailable, even at resource-rich centres. His research seeks to identify if artificial intelligence applied to MRI images can reliably predict the molecular underpinnings of meningiomas.

Dr. Cody Dunne (Lead Resident 2023-2024)

Dr. Dunne is an Emergency Medicine resident, currently pursuing his MSc in Community Health Science under the supervision of Drs. Andrew McRae and Khara Sauro. Dr. Dunne obtained his BSc and medical degree from the Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Foreign body airway obstruction (FBAO) or choking represents a life-threatening emergency where the person’s outcome is determined largely by the initial actions taken by bystanders and care providers.  Focusing on long-term care residents, the goal of Dr. Dunn’s study is to evaluate how various factors improve or worsen the outcome of a person who suffers a choking event. Factors that will be examined include age, health status, what the person choked on, and what intervention(s) were used. By improving knowledge in this field and optimizing how first aiders intervene, there is potential to decrease poor outcomes in these individuals.

Dr. Holly Lee

Dr. Lee is a Hematology resident, currently pursuing her MSc in Medical Science under the supervision of Dr. Nizar Bahlis. Dr. Lee obtained her Bsc from McGill and MD from the University of Toronto.

Multiple myeloma is the second most common type of blood cancer. Despite advances in immune therapies, this cancer remains incurable, and patients will unfortunately experience relapse. Dr. Lee’s research is expected to optimize the efficacy of current (CAR) T cell immunotherapy treatments by increasing the ability of the T cells to sustain their anti-tumor effects against myeloma cells. She will do this by assessing the transcriptome and epigenetic pattern of the T cell subsets and introducing or inhibiting transcription factors driving the T cell dysfunction, or manipulating epigenetic markers that either prevent T cell exhaustion or reinstate function in exhausted cells.

Dr. Jenna Mann

Dr. Mann obtained her BSc from the University of Wyoming and Doctor of Medicine from the University of Saskatchewan. She is currently a Neurosurgery resident at the University of Calgary and is pursuing a MSc in Community Health Sciences under the supervision of Drs. Jay Riva-Cambrin and Kirstie Lithgow.

Care for patients with pituitary lesions requires a complex, multidisciplinary team including neurosurgeons, endocrinologists, neuro-opthalmologists, neuro-radiologists, neuro-pathologists and radiation oncologists. Coordinating a large multidisciplinary team such as this can be challenging, particularly for patients who live outside of a city where this team is located. The goal of Dr. Mann's research is to develop an online resource for Alberta physicians to connect their patients with pituitary tumors to the appropriate group of specialists, facilitating follow-up in a way that is most convenient for the patient, regardless of where they live in southern Alberta. As well, the developed treatment pathway will act as a model for other large centers to close care gaps for thousands of patients.

Dr. Gareth Ryan

Dr. Gareth Ryan is an Orthopedic Surgery resident, currently pursuing his MSc in Medical Science under the supervision of Dr. Prism Schneider. Dr. Ryan obtained his BSc from Dalhousie University and medical degree from the University of Toronto.

Patients with head injuries tend to produce more bone compared to those without a head injury. This can result in increased bone formation during fracture healing, or abnormal bone formation around joints or in muscles. Animal studies have suggested this might be due to certain bone-promoting proteins. His research will evaluate the blood levels of various bone-promoting proteins on patients with long bone fractures, with and without traumatic brain injury. The study hopes to aid in understanding the relationship between head injury and bone healing and potentially aid in the development of new therapeutic techniques to improve fracture healing.

Dr. Kirsten Sjonnesen

Dr. Kirsten Sjonnesen recently completed her Pediatric Neurology residency at the University of Calgary, and is currently pursuing her MSc in Community Health Science under the supervision of Drs. Serena Orr and Tamara Pringsheim. Dr. Sjonnesen obtained her BSc from Queen's University and medical degree from the University of Alberta.

Migraine is a common headache disorder experienced by approximately 10% of Canadian children and adolescents. Those with migraine experience related disability, and a greater burden of psychological symptoms such as depression and anxiety, when compared to their peers. Her research seeks to improve the understanding of the interaction between longitudinal maternal and child mental health and migraine incidence in the peri-adolescent period. She also aims to explore the day-to-day experience of children and adolescents with migraine and psychological risk factors for migraine-related disability. The results may influence the use of efficient clinical screening tools, may allow for the prediction of those at higher risk of incident migraine and related disability and may motivate the development of tailored interventions. The ultimate aim of the project is to decrease disability and improve outcomes for this vulnerable population.

Dr. Richard Yu

Dr. Richard Yu is a Neurosurgery resident, currently pursuing his PhD in Biomedical Engineering under the supervision of Drs. Aaron Phillips and Steven Casha. Dr. Yu obtained his MSc and medical degree from the University of British Columbia.

Traumatic spinal cord injury is associated with significant mortality and impaired quality of life. Previous research has suggested that improving blood flow to the injured spinal cord may decrease the injury severity and potentially improve function. The goal of his research is to investigate whether inhaling carbon dioxide can improve the outcomes in an animal model of spinal cord injury and using specialized sensors, whether it can modulate spinal cord blood flow in human patients.

Dr. Amelia Srajer

Dr. Amelia Srajer is an Obstetrics and Gynecology resident, currently pursuing her MSc in the Community Health Sciences Epidemiology program under the supervision of Dr. Amy Metcalfe. Dr. Srajer completed 3 years of a BSc in Neuroscience at the University of Toronto, after which she obtained her medical degree from the University of Calgary.

Over 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable and occur due to unexpected complications during the perinatal period. These complications, defined as severe maternal morbidity (SMM), and their associated costs have been increasing with higher rates observed in patients of lower socioeconomic status and racial minority groups. Dr. Srajer’s research will evaluate the most recent rates and cost of SMM and how the intersection of socioeconomic status and race may be impacting these trends. These results will highlight specific deficits in care and points of intervention to improve obstetrical outcomes and healthcare spending.

Dr. Catherine Veilleux

Dr. Catherine Veilleux is pursuing an MSc in Biomedical Engineering under the supervision of Drs. Alim Mitha and Jay Riva-Cambrin. She attended medical school at the University of Sherbrooke, where she completed an infolded MSc in Biomedical Imaging and Radiation Sciences between her second and third years, focusing on cortical thinning signatures in Alzheimer’s disease. Her interest in surgery developed during her clerkship, leading her to begin a neurosurgery residency at the University of Calgary in 2020. Starting in 2027, she will undertake a dual vascular and endovascular fellowship in Seattle.

Dr. Veilleux’s research centers on improving endothelialization following the implantation of intracranial flow-diverting stents. While these stents have revolutionized aneurysm treatment, complications related to poor endothelialization persist. Her work aims to determine whether intra-arterial stem cell injection can accelerate endothelialization. She is also working to launch a clinical trial during her research period, exploring the role of surgery in improving outcomes for patients with intracranial hemorrhage.

Dr. Ali Fatehi Hassanabad (Lead Resident 2019-2021)

Dr. Fatehi is a cardiac surgery resident, currently pursuing his doctoral studies in Dr Paul Fedak's basic and translational sciences laboratory. Having completed his undergraduate degree in math and physics at the University of Prince Edward Island, Ali carried out his Master's of Science studies at the University of Toronto, where he investigated the role of statins as anticancer therapeutics in lung cancer. Subsequently, he finished his medical degree at the University of Toronto, where his interest in Cardiac Surgery was reignited.

Ali is very proud to have moved to Calgary for his residency training in cardiac surgery: he is able to learn from a group of excellent surgeons and mentors, and is afforded the opportunity to conduct exciting research under Dr Fedak's tutelage. For his PhD studies, Ali is interested in identifying and characterizing key substances that could aid in preventing post surgical scarring. His future goal is to become an adept cardiac surgeon-scientist.

Dr. Vishnu Vasanthan

Dr. Vasanthan obtained his BSc and medical degrees from the University of Alberta. He is currently a Cardiac Surgery resident  at the UofC and is pursuing his doctoral studies in Dr. Paul Fedak's lab.
 
His research examines the pathways involved in the remodeling of heart tissue after a heart attack. With this unhealthy remodeling, cardiac muscle is replaced with fibrotic scar tissue and the patient's heart progressively loses its ability to pump. By isolating different mechanisms he hopes to help define therapeutic targets on which therapies can be focused to improve heart function after a heart attack. Patients with end-stage cardiac disease require surgery to restore blood blow to ischemic heart muscle; and ECM (extracellular matrix) biomaterial will serve as a patch that can be sewn onto injured heart muscle and promote healthy remodeling to maintain heart function. He hopes the research will add to the growing body of knowledge regarding developing therapies for heart failure, and provide surgeons with options to optimize their ability to restore proper heart function to their patients.