2017 PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship – Dr. Kerstin de Wit

“The PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Foundation grant will allow me to dedicate 3 years of research on how to improve the way pulmonary embolism is diagnosed in Canadian emergency departments. Currently, many emergency patients who are tested for pulmonary embolism undergo CT imaging. The CT scan has a small risk of kidney damage and cancer in later life. There are well validated pathways to test patients for pulmonary embolism without doing a CT scan. This research program will identify and address the barriers to using these other tests in the emergency department.”

The PSI Foundation is pleased to announce Dr. Kerstin de Wit of McMaster University as the 2017 PSI Graham Farquharson KT Fellow. This Fellowship — valued at $100,000 per year for three years — is intended to protect a new, promising clinician’s research time, allowing the Fellow to undertake high-impact translational research.

Dr. de Wit trained in Emergency Medicine and Acute Internal Medicine in the UK. She graduated from Edinburgh University Medical School, has a BSc in Pharmacology and a research doctorate (MD) from the University of Manchester. She moved to Canada in 2010, to take up a Thrombosis Research Fellowship in Ottawa, where she obtained a Master of Epidemiology. She is now an Assistant Professor in McMaster University, and works clinically as both a Thrombosis and Emergency physician in Hamilton Health Sciences.

2017 PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship – Dr. Angel Arnaout

“Understanding how to effectively reduce non-evidence based practices reflects a commitment to evidence-based medicine that will help optimize outcomes and contain healthcare spending. The PSI Graham Farquharson Fellowship Award will provide me with the support I need to be a successful lifetime KT scientist and help me elevate the standard of care across Canada through reduction of harmful non-evidence based practices, benefitting Ontarians, Canadians and the global community.”

The PSI Foundation is pleased to announce Dr. Angel Arnaout of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute as the 2017 PSI Graham Farquharson KT Fellow. This Fellowship — valued at $150,000 per year for two years — is intended to protect a new, promising clinician’s research time, allowing the Fellow to undertake high impact translational research.

The Ontario government’s 2016 Patient’s First: Action Plan for Health Care, identified the need to protect, prolong and sustain our universal healthcare system by ensuring the best value for healthcare resources; thereby also improving access and health care resource availability for patients that need them. A major cause of waste of healthcare resources is low-value care, a treatment or procedure for which there is no evidence of benefit or there is an indication of more harm than benefit. It is estimated that low value care represents up to 30% of the costs of healthcare. The PSI Graham Farquharson Fellowship Award allows Dr. Arnaout to undertake a substantial research program informed by state-of-the-art approaches from implementation science to develop and evaluate major initiatives to reduce low-value care in Ontario. Specifically, she will be focusing on the Choosing Wisely surgical initiative of reducing unnecessary advanced preoperative imaging in surgical patients (the Diagnostic Imaging Safety in Ontario – Leading Value and Effectiveness (DISSOLVE) Project). A direct result of this fellowship project will be a better understanding of the extent, drivers, and testing of effective methods to eliminate low value care, which will then serve as a framework for implementation of other Choosing Wisely initiatives; and will have immediate direct benefits for the Ontario healthcare system and the patients it serves through the reduction of low-value care.

Dr. Arnaout is a Breast Surgical Oncologist at the Ottawa Hospital and Associate Scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. Dr. Arnaout has won numerous national awards for her work including the “Best Innovation in Cancer Care Delivery Award” at the Canadian Ontario Provincial Showcase, the Canadian Association of General Surgeon’s Research Award, and the Order of Ottawa. As a member of the Ottawa Center for Implementation Research, her passion is to set the standard for best practices in breast care delivery in Canada, through efforts of greater use of evidence-based guidance. She intends to use her research and leadership to raise the standard of breast care delivered in Canada, improve the quality of life of women with breast disease, and promote the responsible use of healthcare resources.

2016 PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellow – Dr. Nav Persaud

“The PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship will allow me to conduct translational research focused on addressing health inequities. The research will promote excellent primary care for everyone, including disadvantaged and marginalized people.

It is fitting that the PSI Foundation would support my aim to improve access to care because the Foundation was established using funds from a pre-paid medical plan that improved access to care for Ontarians. We already know that access to primary care improves health and reduces inequities; the PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship will help me translate that knowledge into improvements in health.”

The PSI Foundation is pleased to announce Dr. Nav Persaud of St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto as the 2016 PSI Graham Farquharson KT Fellow. This Fellowship — valued at $150,000 per year for two years — is intended to protect a new, promising clinician’s research time, allowing the Fellow to undertake high-impact translational research.

Millions of Canadians cannot afford medications. At the same time millions are harmed by medications that are inappropriately prescribed or not prescribed. The Fellowship will allow Dr. Persaud to conduct translational research promoting access to appropriately prescribed essential medications. We will conduct a trial of providing people with free access to a carefully selected set of essential medications and measure the effects on health and the quality of prescribing.

Dr. Persaud received his BSc in Physiology from the University of Toronto, his BA from the University of Oxford in Philosophy and Psychology, his MSc from the University of Oxford in Neuroscience, and his MD from the University of Toronto. Dr. Persaud completed his Family Medicine residency and postdoctoral research training at the University of Toronto and St. Michael’s Hospital. He is a staff physician at St. Michael’s Hospital, an associate scientist the hospital’s Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute and an assistant professor at the University of Toronto.

2015 PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellow – Dr. John L Sievenpiper

“Effective knowledge translation is integral to the practice of medicine and public health. Traditional “bench-to-bedside” translational research has involved taking discoveries from the basic sciences and translating them into clinical applications. Another equally important type of knowledge translation takes these applications from the bedside to best practices, synthesizing the evidence on important clinical questions and translating the knowledge into clinical practice guidelines and public health policy. The PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship will allow me to apply this model to the big questions in clinical nutrition and chronic disease prevention.”

The PSI Foundation is pleased to announce Dr. John L Sievenpiper of the University of Toronto and St. Michael’s Hospital as the 2015 PSI Graham Farquharson KT Fellow. This Fellowship — valued at $150,000 per year for two years — is intended to protect a new, promising clinician’s research time, allowing the Fellow to undertake high impact translational research.

The Fellowship will allow Dr. Sievenpiper to conduct translational research to address the important questions confronting nutrition guidelines committees. There has been a recent move away from the more traditional nutrient-centric approaches (“low-fat”, “low-carb”, “high protein”) to more food and dietary pattern-based approaches, a change Dr. Sievenpiper helped to initiate and steer in the Canadian Diabetes Association 2013 Clinical Practice Guidelines for Nutrition Therapy. Coming out of this process, his work will use systematic reviews and meta-analyses to synthesize and translate the role of various food and dietary pattern-based approaches in cardiometabolic health. This work will improve health outcomes by informing clinical practice guidelines and public health policy, stimulating industry innovation and identifying gaps for future clinical investigation.

Dr. Sievenpiper completed his MSc, PhD and Postdoctoral Fellowship training in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. He completed his MD at St. Matthew’s University, School of Medicine followed by Residency training in Medical Biochemistry at McMaster University. Dr. Sievenpiper is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. He is also a Scientist in the La Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Knowledge Synthesis Lead of the Toronto 3D Knowledge Synthesis and Clinical Trials Unit, and Consultant Physician in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at St. Michael’s Hospital. He has authored over 100 scientific papers and 12 book chapters. He remains directly involved in knowledge translation with appointments to various nutrition guidelines committees including those of the Canadian Diabetes Association, European Association for the Study of Diabetes, and the American Society of Nutrition.

Papers Published on Foundation Funded Projects:

Sugars and obesity: is it the sugars or the calories?

Effect of replacing animal protein with plant protein on glycemic control in diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and incident hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohorts

Effect of fructose on established lipid targets: a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled feeding trials

Fructose as a driver of diabetes: an incomplete view of the evidence

The ecologic validity of fructose feeding trials: supraphysiological feeding of fructose in human trials requires careful consideration when drawing conclusions on cardiometabolic risk

2014 PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellow – Dr. Naana Jumah

“The PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellowship has given me a tremendous opportunity to develop a research program in the non-invasive treatment of uterine fibroids. I want to thank the PSI foundation for supporting translational research and early career clinician scientists.

Taking this technology from bench to beside has the potential to positively impact the lives of women suffering from symptomatic fibroids and it also has the potential to decrease health care costs associated with the treatment of fibroids.”

The PSI Foundation is pleased to announce Dr. Naana Afua Jumah of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre as the 2014 PSI Graham Farquharson KT Fellow. This Fellowship — valued at $150,000 per year for two years — is intended to protect a new, promising clinician’s research time, allowing the Fellow to undertake high impact translational research.

The Fellowship will allow Dr. Jumah to conduct translational research in the treatment of uterine fibroids with magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS). In Canada, menorrhagia and fibroids are the leading indication for hysterectomy. MRgFUS is a non-invasive method that could decrease the need for surgery. The Fellowship will allow Dr. Jumah to take this technology from a research platform into clinical practice where it can improve the quality of life of women with symptomatic fibroids, particularly those who live in rural and remote settings.

Dr. Jumah received her B.A.Sc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto, her D.Phil. in Medical Engineering from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, her M.D. from Harvard University and completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Toronto. She is an Assistant Professor at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and a clinician researcher at the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute. In addition, she has sat on numerous boards and committees including serving as an advisory board member for the CIHR Institute of Nutrition Metabolism and Diabetes and serving as a Governor on the University of Toronto Governing Council.

2013 PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellow – Dr. Andrea Gershon

“I am honoured and excited to receive a PSI Fellowship in Translational Health Research. Thank you for this incredible opportunity to focus on and develop my respiratory disease research program. I look forward to conducting relevant, practical research that will improve the lives of patients with respiratory disease, their families and their communities.”

The PSI Foundation is pleased to announce Dr. Andrea Gershon of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre as the 2013 PSI Fellow in Translational Health Research. This Fellowship- valued at $150,000 per year for two years- is intended to protect a new, promising clinician’s research time, allowing the Fellow to undertake high impact translational research.

The Fellowship will allow Dr. Gershon to conduct translational research to develop methods to measure quality of care for people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This will be the first step in a program designed to improve the care and health of the hundreds of thousands of people with COPD living in Ontario. Helping these people will also reduce their need for health services thus relieving strain on our already overburdened health care system.

Dr. Gershon received both her M.D. and her M.Sc. in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research from the University of Toronto. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto and the Research Director of the Division of Respiratory at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. She is also a scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute and Respiratory Program Lead at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.

Dr. Gershon has more than 27 first author publications including many in high impact journals such as Lancet and Annals of Internal Medicine. She has secured more than $1 million in funding from agencies, such as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, to support her research and is a former Ontario Career Scientist. Her respiratory disease research and knowledge translation program established at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the Institute of Clinical Evaluative Sciences, which conducts respiratory disease health services research, is one of the only of its kind in Canada, and likely the world.

Publications:

Socioeconomic status, sex, age and access to medications for COPD in Ontario, Canada

Trends in pulmonary function testing before noncardiothoracic surgery

Mortality trends in women and men with COPD in Ontario, Canada, 1996-2012

Quality of asthma care under different primary care models in Canada: a population-based study

Combination long-acting β-agonists and inhaled corticosteroids compared with long-acting β-agonists alone in older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Obstructive sleep apnea and the prevalence and incidence of cancer

  • CMAJ. 2014 Sep 16;186(13):985-92

Quantifying comorbidity in individuals with COPD: a population study

  • Eur Respir J. 2015 Jan;45(1):51-9

Obstructive sleep apnea and incident diabetes. A historical cohort study

  • Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2014 Jul 15;190(2):218-25

2012 PSI Graham Farquharson Knowledge Translation Fellow – Dr. Damon Scales

“I am excited at being awarded the Physician Services Incorporated first Fellowship in Translational Health Research. This grant provides me with much-needed support to ensure my time is wholly dedicated to conducting research.

I am seeking to improve the outcomes of patients that have suffered anoxic brain injury. The Fellowship will greatly help me to continue along my chosen career path of becoming a successful Clinician Scientist and Translational Health Researcher.”

We are pleased to announce Dr. Damon Scales as the 2012 Physician Services Incorporated (PSI) Fellow in Translational Health Research. The goal of this prestigious Fellowship (valued at $150,000 per year for two years) is to guarantee protected research time for a new promising clinician. His field of interest is anoxic brain injury.

This unique Fellowship, one of the most valuable in Canada, is also supported by the University of Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre with matched funding.

The Fellowship will allow Dr. Scales to conduct a stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial (RTC) to improve the application of evidence-based predictions about neurological prognosis for patients that have suffered from anoxic brain injury. This award will also allow Dr. Scales to dedicate time to his existing operating grants from the Canadian Institute of Health Research and Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada.

Dr. Scales is a graduate of the University of Toronto (1997). Residencies earned Dr. Scales his Royal College Fellowship in Internal Medicine and Critical Care Medicine. He completed his PhD. in Clinical epidemiology and Health Care Research in 2007 at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Scales’ current professional appointments include: Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto, Staff Intensivist at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Scientist at the Sunnybrook Research Institute, and Adjunct Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences. He is also the Program Director of the University of Toronto Adult Critical Care Medicine Residency program.

Dr. Scales’ translational health research seeks to improve outcomes for the critically ill. He has conducted and published several large cluster RCT of translational health research interventions, including the ‘ICU Clinical Best Practices Project’. This work seeks to improve six evidence bases care practices.

Dr. Scales also conducted a stepped-wedge cluster RCT to improve the use of therapeutic hypothermia in cardiac arrest survivors (The Strategies for Post Arrest Care trial, funded by CIHR and HSFC).

Papers Published on Foundation Funded Projects:

Association of prior β-blocker use and the outcomes of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

Economic evaluations in the diagnosis and management of traumatic brain injury: a systematic review and analysis of quality

Improving use of targeted temperature management after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a stepped wedge cluster randomized controlled trial

Trends in short- and long-term survival among out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients alive at hospital arrival

A qualitative study of the variable effects of audit and feedback in the ICU

Maternal organ donation and acute injuries in surviving children

  • J Crit Care. 2014 Dec;29(6):923-9

Association between arterial catheter use and hospital mortality in intensive care units

  • JAMA Intern Med. 2014 Nov 1;174(11):1746-54

Organ donation after death in Ontario: a population-based cohort study

  • CMAJ, 2013 May 14;185(8):E337-44

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