ORI Team
Staff
Dr. Wayne Matthews - Executive Director
Dr. Wayne Matthews is an Otolaryngologist – Head and Neck Surgeon (FRCS, University of Ottawa). After 12 years in practice at Western University, Dr. Matthews moved to the University of Calgary in 2003. Dr. Matthews has assumed many roles in medical education and research, including the following: Program Director of two resident training programs, initiating the UofC Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery resident training program, serving as the Section Chief of Otolaryngology (2008 – 2018), and Vice-Chair and Chair of the RCPS Oto-HNS Specialty Committee (2008 – 2014/2014-2021). He is currently the President of the AMA Section of Oto-HNS (2021 – 2023).
In September of 2021, upon the retirement of Dr. Joseph Dort, Dr. Matthews was appointed the Executive Director and interim Ohlson Professor of Head and Neck Surgery of the Ohlson Research Initiative (ORI). His mission as Executive Director of the ORI is to continue to grow the research enterprise, support the faculty and staff, lead the team through periods of transition and transform the current Professorship to a new Ohlson Professor of Head and Neck Health Services Research. Dr. Matthews considers the opportunity to work with such dedicated and talented faculty, staff, and students as well as Ms. Chanel Avarello and the Ohlson Board of Directors a rewarding privilege.
Contact Information:
HRIC 2A02
3280 Hospital Drive NW
Calgary AB T2N 4Z6
Email: wmatthew@ucalgary.ca
Tel: (403) 220-7168
Fax: (403) 270-3145
Dr. Khara Sauro - Director of Clinical Outcomes and Health Services Research & Ohlson Professor of Head and Neck Health Services Research
Dr. Sauro is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Community Health Sciences, Surgery, and Oncology. As a Health Services Researcher, her research focuses on improving the quality and safety of care for patients to optimize the health of these patients.
Dr. Sauro has a particular interest in leveraging routinely collected administrative data to evaluate the quality of healthcare and the application of knowledge translation and quality improvement methodologies for improving healthcare delivery. She uses diverse methodologies (qualitative and quantitative) in order to ask and appropriately answer clinically relevant research questions.
Contact Information:
TRW 3D41
3280 Hospital Dr NW
Calgary AB T2N 4Z6
Email: kmsauro@ucalgary.ca
Tel: (403) 210-5463
Dr. Joseph Dort - Director of Research and Program Strategy
Dr. Dort is a retired head and neck surgeon and Professor Emeritus in the Departments of Surgery, Oncology and Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine. Dr. Dort served as the Executive Director of the Ohlson Research Initiative (2009 – 2021), and was the Ohlson Family Professor of Head and Neck Surgery. He was also the Senior Medical Director of the Alberta Cancer Strategic Clinical Network, and served as the Director of the Office of Surgical Research. During his tenure with the OSR, Dr. Dort led the establishment of the Surgeon Scientist Program which continues to support bright young surgeons in their pursuit of research training. He also held a variety of senior executive positions with the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery and served as its President from 2009 – 2010.
Dr. Dort trained in family medicine and practiced in Manitouwadge, Ontario before training in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery at the University of Manitoba. He completed a clinical fellowship in Skull Base Surgery at the University of Zurich, holds an MSc in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health, and is a graduate of the Intermountain Healthcare Advanced Training Program in Healthcare Delivery Improvement.
Dr. Dort's passion and primary academic focus is clinical effectiveness research that improves the design and delivery of healthcare for patients and families dealing with head and neck cancer. Although retired from clinical practice, he continues to develop and lead innovative research in close collaboration with the ORI team and its network of co-investigators.
Contact Information:
Email: jdort@ucalgary.ca
Dr. Pinaki Bose - Director of Tumour Biology and Translational Research
Dr. Bose is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Oncology, and Surgery. Dr. Bose is also the Scientific Lead for the Precision Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics (POET) program and the Director of Tumour Biology and Translational Research for the Ohlson Research Initiative. His research goals are in the development of tailored therapies for head and neck cancer patients and improving prognosis and disease free survival.
Contact Information:
HMRB 328
3330 Hospital Drive NW
Calgary AB T2N 4N1
Email: pbose@ucalgary.ca
Tel: (403) 220-8507
Dr. Justin Lui - Director of Surgical Innovation
Dr. Lui is an Otologist/Neurotologist within the Department of surgery at the University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine. Upon completing his Otolaryngology–Head & Neck residency in Calgary, he pursued an Otology–Skull base fellowship at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. In addition to his clinical work, he leads a multidisciplinary virtual reality research group in developing applications for surgical education and simulation planning. With his role in educating the next generation of surgical trainees, he has helped established the University of Calgary as national leaders in surgical simulation training. His research partnerships include collaborators from Western University and Stanford University.
Contact Information:
Email: jaimi.workun@ahs.ca
Tel: (403) 764-4755
Michelle Cavanaugh - Research Administrative Coordinator
Michelle has worked for the University of Calgary for over 30 years and she and Dr. Dort have worked together for over 25 years. Michelle is respected and valued not only for her knowledge and skill but also for her warm personality and ability to deal with a variety of sensitive and challenging clinical problems. She brings these skills to serve the Ohlson Research Initiative as our Research Administrative Coordinator.
Contact Information:
HRIC 2A02
3280 Hospital Drive NW
Calgary AB T2N 4Z6
Email: cavanaug@ucalgary.ca
Tel: (403) 220-7168
Fax: (403) 270-3145
Steve Nakoneshny - Research Program Coordinator
Steve has worked for the Ohlson Research Initiative since 2009, initially as a Research Assistant and as a Project Coordinator since 2012. While studying overseas at the University of Canberra, Steve helped teach research methods, methodologies and statistics at the undergraduate level. He brings these skills, amongst others, to serve the Ohlson Research Initiative.
Contact Information:
HRIC 2A02
3280 Hospital Drive NW
Calgary AB T2N 4Z6
Email: scnakone@ucalgary.ca
Tel: (403) 220-4347
Fax: (403) 270-3145
Megan Peterson - Research Assistant
Megan joined the Ohlson Research Initiative team in 2019 as a Research Assistant. She is also a Licensed Practical Nurse on the Head and Neck Surgery unit at Foothills Medical Centre, working directly at the point of care with our patients. She brings a much-needed nursing perspective to the team.
Contact Information:
HRIC 2A02
3280 Hospital Drive NW
Calgary AB T2N 4Z6
Email: megan.peterson@ucalgary.ca
Tel: (403) 220-7672
Fax: (403) 270-3145
Arthur Volpato - Simulation Software Designer
Arthur is a Simulation Software Designer in the Department of Surgery at the Cumming School of Medicine. While completing his MSc in the Computational Media Design program at the University of Calgary, his research focused on Virtual Reality environments for medical education and training while exploring Photorealism as a way to accurately represent human anatomy in a digital environment. He is currently working as a UX/UI designer and 3D generalist, building virtual experiences, user interfaces, and providing 3D digital models to be used in virtual simulations.
Contact Information:
University of Calgary
Mathematical Sciences
2500 University Drive NW
Calgary AB T2N 1N4
Email: arthur.volpatobatist@ucalgary.ca
Collaborators
Dr. Shamir Chandarana
Dr. Chandarana is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Departments of Surgery and Surgical Oncology. He maintains a busy practice treating cancers of the head and neck. He also treats conditions of the salivary gland and thyroid/parathyroid. His research interests include optimizing care for patients affected by head and neck cancer, and exploring practice pattern variation in the management of thyroid cancer.
Contact Information:
1012 North Tower
Foothills Medical Centre
1403 29th Street NW
Calgary AB T2N 2T9
Email: shamir.chandarana@ucalgary.ca
Tel: (403) 944-3954
Fax: (404) 210-9828
Dr. Nicole Culos-Reed
Dr. Culos-Reed is a Professor in Health and Exercise Psychology and the Associate Dean Graduate in the Faculty of Kinesiology; Adjunct Professor in the Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. She also holds a Research Associate appointment with the Department of Psychosocial Resources, Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Cancer Care, Alberta Health Services.
As the Director of the Health & Wellness Lab, her research group primarily examines the role of physical activity on the quality of life of cancer survivors. Putting research into practice, she is also the Director of the Thrive Centre, a free fitness facility for cancer survivors at the University of Calgary. The Thrive Centre is 100% supported by a group of passionate, trained, student volunteers to serve the local cancer survivor community and bring wellness into the cancer journey.
Contact Information:
KNB 140
2500 University Drive NW
Calgary AB T2N 1N4
Email: nculosre@ucalgary.ca
Tel: (403) 220-7540
Fax: (403) 284-3553
Dr. Sana Ghaznavi
Dr. Ghaznavi is an academic endocrinologist at the University of Calgary, Canada. She graduated from the University of Alberta medical school, completed internal medicine and endocrinology residency at the University of Calgary, and completed an interdisciplinary thyroid cancer fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, USA. Her practice focuses on the management of thyroid cancer. Her research interests include active surveillance of low-risk thyroid cancers, thyroid cancer survivorship, and the care pathway for anaplastic thyroid cancer patients.
Contact Information:
Office 1886
1820 Richmond Rd SW
Calgary AB T2T 5C7
Email: sghaznav@ucalgary.ca
Dr. Robert Hart
Dr. Hart is a Professor in the Department of Surgery. His research interests include head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treatment, reconstruction and oncogenesis. He is also interested in biomarkers and treatment of well differentiated thyroid cancer.
Contact Information:
1007 North Tower
Foothills Medical Centre
1403 29th Street NW
Calgary AB T2N 2T9
Email: robert.hart@albertahealthservices.ca
Tel: (403) 944-3162
Fax: (404) 991-7070
Dr. Ashley Hinther
Dr. Ashley Hinther completed her medical school training and Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery residency training at the University of Calgary. She then went on to complete subspecialty fellowship training in Advanced Head and Neck Oncology and Microvascular Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Alberta. She completed additional training at Advent Health (Celebration, FL) focused on surgical approaches to the oropharynx. Her clinical practice includes the treatment of cancers of the head and neck, with a special interest in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Her research interests include optimizing post-operative recovery following major head and neck surgery as well as optimizing the treatment for patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.
Contact Information:
Email: avhinthe@ucalgary.ca
Dr. Martin Hyrcza
Dr Hyrcza is a molecular biologist and an anatomical pathologist. He completed the MD/PhD program at the University of Toronto with the PhD thesis focusing on the transcriptional regulation of the type I interferon responses in HIV infection. He then completed anatomical pathology training at the University of British Columbia and a fellowship in Head & Neck and Endocrine Pathology at UofT. He is currently the consultant pathologist in Head and Neck, Ophthalmic & Endocrine Pathology at the Foothills Medical Centre and Rockyview General Hospital.
Contact Information:
Rm #7566 McCaig Tower
3260 Hospital Drive NW
Calgary AB T2N 4Z6
Email: martin.hyrcza@cls.ab.ca
Tel: (403) 944-4757
Dr. John Lysack
In addition to a medical degree, Dr. John Lysack holds graduate degrees in engineering and law, having studied at Queen’s University, Harvard Medical School, and Osgoode Hall Law School. Currently, he holds the rank of Clinical Professor and is a Vice Chair of the Department of Radiology at the University of Calgary, where he is also the Director of Head and Neck Imaging with cross-appointments to the Departments of Clinical Neurosciences, Surgery, and Oncology.
Dr. Lysack has published on a broad array of topics – including spinal biomechanics, artificial intelligence algorithms in clinical MRI, and the legal implications of distorted economic incentives within regional and national health care systems.
His focus at the Ohlson Research Initiative is on the development of advanced medical imaging techniques and processes to improve diagnostic accuracy in patients with head and neck cancer.
Contact Information:
Email: john.lysack@ucalgary.ca
Tel: (403) 944-1969
Dr. Jennifer Matthews
Dr. Jennifer Matthews completed medical school in 2007 and completed her plastic surgery residency at the University of Calgary in 2013. Subsequently, she completed her fellowship training in microsurgery at McMaster University focusing on complex reconstruction for trauma, head & neck cancer, and breast cancer patients. Her research interests include improvement of outcomes and quality of life for patients following head and neck reconstruction as well as breast reconstruction.
Contact Information:
200 - 2004 14th St NW
Calgary AB T2M 3N3
Email: jennifer.matthews@albertahealthservices.ca
Tel: (403) 474-0113
Dr. David McKenzie
Dr. McKenzie completed his residency in Plastic Surgery at the University of Calgary in 2002. He went on to further fellowship training in adult craniofacial reconstruction and Head and Neck cancer reconstruction at Sunnybrook Hospital and Toronto General Hospital. He is currently the Program Director for the Plastic Surgery Residency Training Program at the University of Calgary.
His areas of clinical interest include microsurgical reconstruction, craniofacial reconstruction, and reconstruction of defects following removal of skin cancer.
Contact Information:
200 - 2004 14th St NW
Calgary AB T2M 3N3
Email: charles.mckenzie@albertahealthservices.ca
Tel: (403) 571-3131
Dr. Christiaan Schrag
Dr. Schrag completed his residency in plastic surgery at the University of Calgary. He completed a fellowship in Head and Neck Reconstruction at the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taipei working with Dr. Fu Chan Wei. Areas of special clinical interest include reconstruction of the jaw, facial reanimation and brachial plexus surgery. Every year Dr. Schrag volunteers his time in Zimbabwe with Operation of Hope performing cleft lip and palate repairs and burn reconstruction for children needing these life saving surgeries.
His research interests include improvement in post-operative outcomes for patients undergoing head and neck reconstruction, vascularized composite tissue allotransplantation and microsurgery.
Contact Information:
200 - 2004 14th St NW
Calgary AB T2M 3N3
Email: christiaan.schrag@albertahealthservices.ca
Tel: (403) 215-5155
Dr. Emilija Todorovic
Dr. Emilija Todorovic is a clinical assistant professor in anatomical pathology and consultant head and neck pathologist at Foothills Medical Centre. She obtained her MD from the University of Belgrade Medical School, followed by anatomical pathology residency training at the University of British Columbia and fellowship in Head and Neck Pathology at the University of Toronto.
Contact Information:
Email: Emilija.Todorovic@albertaprecisionlabs.ca
Tel: (403) 944-4763 Ext: 44763