Emergency Medicine Physicians Executive Members
Dr. Eddy Lang, Department Head for Emergency Medicine
Dr. Eddy Lang is a Professor and Department Head for Emergency Medicine at Cumming School of Medicine-University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services, Calgary Zone. His areas of interest are knowledge translation, evidence-based medicine and operations research. He is a member of the GRADE working group and has led the development of GRADE-based clinical practice guidelines in pre-hospital care in the US as well as with the International Liaison Committee for Resuscitation. Dr. Lang is also an award-winning educator having received recognition at both the university, national and international levels. He also serves as Senior Editor for the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine, Associate Editor for both ACP Journal Club and the International Journal of Emergency Medicine. In addition, he is a member of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (CTFPHC). Dr. Lang has served as the chair of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians Conference (CAEP) Leadership Committee from 2017 to 2020 and is now the Chair of the CAEP Academic Section and a member of the CAEP Board. He is also appointed as the Scientific Director of the Emergency Strategic Clinical Network ESCN in Alberta. Dr. Lang is co-Chairing the 2022 Preventing Overdiagnosis Conference in Calgary.
Dr. James Andruchow, Deputy Department Head for Emergency
Dr. Andruchow was raised on a mixed family farm northeast of Edmonton, Alberta but did some medical tourism, completing his medical degree at McGill and emergency medicine residency and fellowship at Harvard. His experience in the US created a strong interest in evidence-based practice, reducing unnecessary testing and treatment and pragmatic health policies. His prior research included a randomized controlled trial of electronic decision support for CT imaging, validation of rapid diagnostic protocols for acute myocardial infarction using high-sensitivity troponin, and implementing a multidisciplinary chest pain pathway across the Calgary zone before moving on to administration. When he’s not working, Dr. Andruchow can be found outdoors, enjoying mountain biking, wildlife photography, hiking and spending time in nature with his wife Rachel and daughter Ella.
Dr. Andrea Boone FMC Site Chief
Dr. David Lendrum Acting FMC Assistant Site Chief
Dr. David Lendrum completed his medical degrees at the University of Calgary and Emergency Medicine residency and Masters of Medical Education at the University of Toronto. He has since worked in Calgary since graduating in 2008 and currently split his clinical time between Foothills Medical Centre and Alberta Children’s Hospital. He took the role of Assistant Site Chief of FMC Emergency in early 2018. His extra clinical roles includes working as a transport physician for STARS, as an on-hill medical provider at Sunshine and Lake Louse with an urban search and rescue team known as CANTF2.
Dr. Meira Louis PLC Site Chief
Originally from Toronto, I finished an undergraduate and masters in Ontario before moving to Calgary for my MD and FR residency in emergency medicine. I have worked as a staff physician at the PLC and FMC since graduating in 2014. Soon after starting work, I took over as the coordinator of Elective and Off Service Education. Recently I have also taken over as course chair for electives in the Undergraduate Medical Education program. In my spare time I help my amazing husband juggle our four kids.
Dr. Haley Cochrane PLC Assistant Site Chief
Dr. Haley Cochrane is the assistant site chief at the Peter Lougheed Emergency Department. She completed medical school at the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia. She completed a four year Emergency Medicine residency at the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine residency in Boston, Massachusetts and an extra year of Emergency Medicine Training at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to obtain her FRCPC. Clinically she has an interest in hospital administration, point of care ultrasound and medical education. Outside the hospital you will find her spending time with her husband and daughter, traveling, painting and cooking.
Dr. Nancy Zuzic RGH Site Chief
Dr. Nancy Zuzic continues as the Site Chief at the Rockyview General Hospital. Dr. Zuzic received her MD at the University of Ottawa in 1997 and then completed her CCFP-EM residency in Calgary in 2000, working clinically at the Rockyview ED ever since. Nancy is fortunate to work with a cohesive and supportive administration team at the RGH ED that continues to find innovative ways to improve flow and patient care.
Dr. David Fu RGH Assistant Site Chief
David is from Edmonton and obtained his MD from the University of Alberta. He then ventured to Ontario where he trained in Emergency Medicine at Western University and completed a Masters of Science in medical education at the University of Toronto. David enjoys listening to podcasts, going to the gym and smoking meats on his kamado grill.
Dr. Daniel Joo SHC Site Chief
Dr. Daniel Joo took on the role of Site Chief in June of 2021, proceeding three years as Assistant Site Chief. Dan is a graduate of the University of Calgary (MD 2008, CCFP-EM 2011), and after spending a few years working in Vancouver and Ottawa, returned to Calgary in 2014. He enjoys teaching residents, particularly in the areas of ultrasound and simulation. Dan maintains balance by enjoying the outdoors, playing sports, reading, and spending time with his wife and kids. He laments the loss of his beard - a casualty of the COVID-19 induced requirement to frequently don a N95 respirator.
Dr. Carly Hagel SHC Assistant Site Chief
Dr. Carly Hagel graduated from University of Calgary Medical School in 2012. She completed her residency in Emergency Medicine at Queen’s University in Kingston. Following completion of her Royal College certification she embarked in a 15 month locum working in New Zealand. She returned to Calgary in 2019 and stared working at the South Health Campus. She now works a split line with SHC and PLC. She took over the position of Deputy Site Lead in September of 2021. Her other interests include medical education and simulation. When she’s not at work she can be found reading, bike riding, walking with friends or hiking in the mountains.
Dr. Adam Oster Quality Improvement and Safety Lead
Dr. Adam Oster graduated from the RCPS EM Program via University of Calgary in 2006, through the FRCPC program. He enjoys cross-country skiing and biking in his spare time.
Dr. Charles Wong CCFP-EM Residency Program Director
Charles did his medical schooling at McMaster University and came to Calgary for both the CCFP and CCFP(EM) training, at the time under the Program Directorship of Aaron Johnston. He has been active in the EM Department, working mainly out of the Rockyview General Hospital. His wife is a GP who also works as a hospitalist at RGH, and they have two children together (Emma 7, and Oliver 4). This is Charles’ first year as CCFP-EM Program Director. His outside interests include CrossFit, reading (non-fiction), and French wines from Burgundy.
Dr. Catherine Patocka FRCPC Medical Education Program Director
Born and raised in Edmonton, Catherine came to Calgary in 2013 after completing medical school and FRCP residency training at McGill University. She works clinically at the FMC and PLC and has a special interest in medical education. She became the FRCPC residency program director in April 2019 and continues to have a strong interest in medical education scholarship and research. Outside of medicine she likes to hike, ski and spend time in the mountains with her husband Stephane and three children Juliette, Samuel and Dominic.
Dr. Anjli Pandya Assistant FRCP Director
After completing her undergraduate degree at Queen’s University, Anjli returned to Calgary for medical school and residency training. She received her FRCPC in Emergency Medicine in 2017 and has since been working as a full time staff physician at the PLC and FMC. Prior to becoming Assistant Program Director, Anjli worked on helping the program transition to Competency-by-Design by designing an introductory curriculum for incoming residents and acting first as Competency-by-Design Assessment Lead and subsequently stepping into the role of Competency-by-Design Lead. She has also pursued further training in Global Health Policy and obtained her Diploma in Global Health Policy from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 2018. Anjli is passionate about constantly improving the quality of residency training and education in Calgary, and is grateful to be part of such an innovative and dedicated team of educators, who are privileged to work with an excellent group of residents.
Dr. Claire Acton Off-Service and Undergraduate Resident Coordinator
Claire Acton completed her FRCP residency training at the UofT in 2018, and worked in Toronto as a staff physician for two years before moving to Calgary. As a resident, she travelled to Ethiopia as part of the Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration - EM branch, where she recognized an immediate need for point-of care ultrasound training. After this elective, she founded the POCUS curriculum for TAAAC-EM, of which is the still a co-director. Claire also co-founded the Equity, Diversity, Advocacy and Cultural Safety (EDACS) curriculum for emergency medicine residents at UofT, with the goal to help residents gain knowledge and experience to act on health inequities and advocate for their patients in vulnerable populations. With the help of Dr Kelsey Ragan, they have brought the EDACS curriculum to UofC emergency medicine, of which they have just completed their first academic cycle. Claire received a Master Teacher Certificate from the UofT in 2020, and is looking forward to improving curriculum design and postgraduate education in her new role.
Dr. Melanie Sohn Clerkship Director, UME
Dr. Melanie Sohn completed her medical school at the University of Alberta, her family practice residency at Dalhousie University, and her CCFP(EM) residency at the University of Ottawa. She then did her Masters in Medical Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Melanie is the Course Chair for Procedural Skills and the Clerkship Director for Emergency Medicine at the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. She enjoys reading, running and trying to find the best almond croissant in Calgary.
Dr. Tania Principi Section Chief Pediatric
While at SickKids, Tania was the Director for Strategic Operations as well as the Director of Quality Improvement for the Pediatric Emergency Department. She is a Pediatric Emergency Physician who enjoys working with others to problem solve and leverage data to improve care delivery and the patient experience within the hospital through continuous improvement. She has implemented several strategies to improve operations including the use of artificial intelligence to improve ED flow and optimize inpatient and ED capacity planning. Tania received her MD and Pediatric training at the University of Western Ontario and pursued her subspecialty training in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at SickKids. In addition to completing her Masters in Health Research Methodology at McMaster University and a fellowship in Quality Improvement, she has recently completed her MBA at Rotman.
Dr. Kathryn Crowder Research Director
Kathryn Crowder is the Department of Emergency Medicine Research Director at the University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine. She is an Emergency Physician in the Calgary Zone and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Calgary. Her research interests include ED overcrowding, access and flow interventions, multi-disciplinary collaboration in ED patient care, and care of ED patients with opiate use disorder. She also participates in ED-level quality improvement projects and believes that ED knowledge and practice is advanced by collaboration in research.
Dr. Stephanie Vandenberg Associate Research Director
Dr. Stephanie Vandenberg is an emergency physician in the Calgary Zone, Research Director for the Department of Emergency Medicine (@uofcemresearch) and Clinical Lecturer at the Cumming School of Medicine. She received her MD from the University of Toronto and holds a Bachelor of Arts & Science from McMaster University with a Minor in Biochemistry and a thesis in Paediatric HIV. She completed a Master’s of Science in Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and performed a subgroup analysis of the WOMAN trial data (tranexamic acid in postpartum hemorrhage) for her graduate project.
Stephanie uses a “research for advocacy” framework to engage discussions on health systems, harm reduction, and ways to improve vulnerable populations’ health outcomes using principles of social entrepreneurship and information design/visualization.
Dr. Eric McGillis Program Director
Eric McGillis is a Clinical Assistant Professor and works as an Emergency physician with AHS-Calgary Zone and as a Medical Toxicologist with PADIS. He is the Program Director of the RCPSC Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology subspecialty program. He obtained his FRCPC in Emergency Medicine from the University of Calgary, followed by a Medical Toxicology fellowship at the Minnesota Poison Control System.
Dr. Ayesha Khory Mental Health Liaison Lead
Originally an engineer in the oil and gas industry Ayesha eventually found her way to medicine. She completed her medical degree at the University of Alberta and then the CCFP EM program in Calgary where she has worked as a staff physician since. Ayesha is interested in working to find improved care for vulnerable populations with mental health and addictions issues.
Dr. Marge McGillivray Geriatric Care Lead
Dr. Margaret McGillivray graduated with her MD from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 2002. She subsequently completed her family practice residency at the UBC Prince George site and her EM fellowship at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver graduating in 2005. Since then she has worked in various Emergency Departments and Urgent Care Centres across Canada including Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, Thunder Bay Health Sciences Centre and Sheldon Chumir Urgent Care. Dr. McGillivray has worked at the SHC ED since 2018 where she has been involved with various geriatric initiatives including the development and implementation of the SUPER (SUPporting seniors in the ER) volunteers.
Dr. Christine East Treatment Plans Physician Lead
Christine East is an Emergency Physician at Rockyview General Hospital, having completed the CCFP(EM) program in Calgary in 2017. She has led the Calgary Zone ED Frequent Visitors Program (ED Treatment Plans) alongside Ken Mont (Nurse Clinician, RGH) since 2017. In this role, Christine leads a multidisciplinary team including EMS, social work, nursing leadership, physicians and others to identify frequent ED visitors and develop individualized care plans to improve safety and redirect care into the community whenever possible. In 2022, Christine and her team were awarded the RGH Medical Staff Association Innovation Award for this important work. Outside of work, Christine loves getting outdoors with her husband Scott and her two boys, Cooper and Gus.
Dr. Chris Hall Connect Care and Physician Builder Lead & Medical Informatics Lead
Chris is a 13 year member of the Calgary Zone Emergency Medicine team. Since moving here after completing his residency in Hamilton, he has dabbled in a number of roles over the years, including contributions to the Royal College residency training committee, various hospital and zonal quality improvement initiatives, and the Clinical Knowledge and Content Management division of AHS. This year he took over the Medical Informatics Lead role for emergency medicine in the Calgary Zone. In his spare time he enjoys skiing, mountain/road biking, and spending time with his wife and three kids.
Dr. Sarah McPherson MD Wellness Lead
Sarah is a born and raised Calgarian. She completed medical school at the University of Calgary in 1999 and graduated from the FRCP EM program in Calgary in 2004. From 2007-2019 she was the Assistant PD and then PD of the FRCP EM residency program. Currently, Sarah works clinically at both FMC and ACH and she is the Wellness Director for the Department of Emergency Medicine. She is also a collaborator with WellDoc Alberta where she partners with like-minded colleagues to advance a co-operative, pan-provincial approach to physician wellness. Currently she is also a student at Royal Roads University studying to obtain her Certification in Executive Coaching. She is passionate about partnering with others to create opportunity, spaces, and educational initiatives to help others realize and achieve their full potential and experience both professional and personal fulfillment. Core values of challenge, contribution, creativity, learning, and fairness are her north star. Outside of medicine you can find her cross-country skiing, hiking, backpacking, reading, mixing cocktails, travelling (hopefully) and learning new things.
Dr. Fareen Zaver Deputy Head - Education and Clinical Associate Professor for Emergency Medicine Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary
Fareen Zaver is a Clinical Associate Professor for Emergency Medicine (EM) at the University of Calgary. She is the Deputy Head of Education as well as the Grand Rounds Coordinator for the Department of Emergency Medicine. Fareen has completed her Masters in Medical Education - focusing on the challenging transition of the first two years of independent practice across multiple specialties. Fareen continues to publish in medical education journals as well as on the CanadiEM and AliEM Emergency Medicine blogs as well as speak at national and international conferences. She was awarded Top 40 under 40 in Calgary in 2019 for her work in medical education. While not at work, you may find Fareen following her taste buds travelling to exotic destinations around the world.
Scott Banks, Emergency Medicine Zone Department Manager
Scott is the Calgary Zone Department Manager for Emergency Medicine, Critical Care Medicine & Obstetrics & Gynecology. Scott assumed the Critical Care portfolio in Sept 2017, Obstetrics & Gynecology in July 2018 and has continued to serve as the Zone Manager in Emergency Medicine since 2008. Scott completed his Master of Business Administration degree (MBA) at the University of Calgary in 1993 specializing in Human Resources and International Management, and his Bachelor of Arts Honors degree in 1989 from the University of Regina. Scott is a 23 year Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) in Alberta, and holds a Certified International Trade Professional Designation (CITP) in Canada. Previously Scott served as the Vice President of Operations & Human Resources at The Brenda Strafford Foundation, and as Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer at a for profit healthcare college in Oahu, Hawaii. He has also served as an International Development Consultant with the Canadian International Development Agency in Guyana, Manager of the Mount Royal University Small Business Training Centre, and as a Market Intelligence Research Officer for the Canadian Federal Government at the Canadian High Commission in Trinidad. In addition, he served as the Manager of Business Training & Commercial Accounts with the Business Development Bank of Canada. Scott has lived and/or worked in Hawaii, Canada, Trinidad, Guyana, Haiti, and Dominica. Scott is married and has very active six and nine year old boys. He enjoys spending quality time with his family, his French bulldog, jogging, travelling, and volunteering with World Vision.