JENNINE BARR is a Registered Nurse who graduated with her bachelor of nursing degree from Griffith University, Brisbane Australia in 1999. She came to Canada in 2001 and has worked in the Emergency Department and Intensive Care unit at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Grande Prairie, AB for seven years.

In October 2007 Jennine was provided with an opportunity to become involved with the Peace Country Health Stroke Program Initiative. She was recruited as a full time Regional Stroke Navigator and has been instrumental in the implementation of best practice stroke care across the Region. Jennine will continue to assist in the implementation of the Stroke Program in her new role as the Stroke Service Planner.

DR. KEN BUTCHER is an Assistant Professor in Neurology, at the University of Alberta. His major clinical and research interests are in acute stroke care. He completed his PhD concurrently with his MD, at the University of Western Ontario. His thesis was based on the autonomic effects of stroke. Following completion of his Neurology Residency at the University of Alberta, Dr. Butcher traveled to Australia, where he completed a post-doctoral Fellowship in MRI and advanced CT imaging of acute stroke. In 2006 he returned to Alberta, and took up his current faculty position. His active research projects include a randomized controlled trial of blood pressure reduction in intracerebral hemorrhage and MRI studies aimed at extending the time window for stroke thrombolysis. He is supported by the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. He also holds the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Alberta, NWT and Nunavut Professorship in Stroke Medicine.

DR SHELAGH B. COUTTS completed her medical training at the University of Edinburgh. She graduated with a BSc in pathology, in 2005 and MB.ChB in 1997. She received her MRCP (UK – Internal medicine) in 2000. She moved to Calgary to complete a Fellowship in Stroke Neurology with Professor Alastair Buchan and then completed her Neurology Residency Training and received her (FRCPC(Neurology)) in 2006. During her Stroke Neurology training she completed a postgraduate research degree from the University of Edinburgh. Her thesis was entitled “Modern imaging: its role in prediction of outcome after stroke and TIA” and she received her MD (PhD equivalent) for this in 2005. She has received a number of awards for her work including the “Siekert new investigator award” from the American Stroke Association. She was appointed an Assistant Professor of Neurology in 2006 at the University of Calgary. Her research interests include the use of acute imagining in the triage and treatment of stroke and TIA patients in the Emergency Department. She plans to design therapeutic trials in high risk TIA and minor stroke using imaging to identify patients.

DR. NORM CAMPBELL is a Professor of Medicine, Community Health Sciences and Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of Calgary and is a member of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta. Dr Campbell holds the CIHR Canadian Chair in Hypertension Prevention and Control and is the chair of the Canadian Hypertension Education Program (CHEP) Steering committee and the CHEP Executive committee. CHEP develops implements and evaluates the impact of Canadian hypertension recommendations. Dr Campbell is also the President of Blood Pressure Canada, a coalition of 30 organizations dedicated to the prevention and control of hypertension in Canada.

Dr. Campbell obtained his MD from Memorial University in Newfoundland, where he also did his Internal Medicine residency. He went on to study Clinical Pharmacology at the Mayo Clinic under Dr Richard Weinshilboum, and is a Specialist in Clinical Hypertension (American Society of Hypertension). Dr Campbell has over 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts.



BEV CULHAM has worked in health care in Alberta for over 20 years. She is a graduate of Queen’s University Life Science program and received a Master of Health Service Administration from the University of Alberta. As a health service planner with the Calgary Health Region, she has many years experience in service delivery model development and implementation across the care continuum. She was Project Manager for the Alberta Provincial Stroke Strategy for two and one half years and guided the project through the development stages.


DR. NAEEM DEAN graduated from King Edward Medical College, Lahore Pakistan in 1985. He moved to the United Kingdom for post graduate training in 1987. He received his FRCP in internal medicine in 1992 and CCST (certificate of Specialist Training) in internal medicine in 1998. He joined the Department of Neurology at the University of Alberta as a stroke fellow in 1999. At present he is working as Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and Director of Stroke Program at Royal Alexandra Hospital Edmonton. He presently chairs the prevention pillar for the Alberta Provincial Stroke Strategy. His main research interest is in stroke prevention and global vascular risk reduction.

DR. ANDREW DEMCHUK MD FRCPC, is the Director of the Calgary Stroke Program located at the Foothills Medical Centre at the University of Calgary/Calgary Health Region and is Chair of Pillar 2 (Acute Care and Emergency Services) of the Alberta Provincial Stroke Strategy.

In addition, Dr. Demchuk is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Alberta, NWT and Nunavut, and member of the Board of Directors, Canadian Stroke Consortium. He holds an Associate Professor position with the Department of Clinical Neurosciences and is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Radiology in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary. He holds an Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Scholar award and is currently a member of the Scientific Committee of the European Stroke Conference.

Dr. Demchuk’s primary research interests are in the area of vascular imaging where he is trying to develop practical clinical applications for CT/CT-angio, multimodal MRI and Transcranial Doppler in acute ischemic stroke/TIA and ICH to establish and refine treatment approaches.

Dr. Demchuk is principal investigator of several vascular imaging based observational cohort studies of stroke and is currently central CT image analysis principal investigator in two NIH funded randomized clinical trials.

DR. IAN GRAHAM is Vice-President of Knowledge Translation, Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Dr. Graham is on leave from his post as Associate Professor in the School of Nursing, University of Ottawa. He obtained a PhD in medical sociology from McGill University. Dr. Graham's research has largely focused on knowledge translation (the process of research use) and conducting applied research on strategies to increase implementation of research findings and evidence-based practice. Specific projects have related to the adaptation, implementation, and quality appraisal of clinical practice guidelines, as well as the uptake of guidelines and decision support tools by practitioners. He has also studied researchers’ and health research funding agencies’ KT activities, the determinants of research use, and theories/models of planned change.


DR. TERI GREEN is an RN, with approximately 30 years of nursing practice under her belt. Most of her nursing career has been spent in the field of neuroscience nursing and stroke patient care. She has spent time as a staff nurse, assistant manager and manager in neurosciences, most recently as manager of the Calgary Stroke Program. While working with this research-based stroke program, the opportunities to enhance patient care and the program through nursing research became apparent. In order to implement a program of research to align with the medical research being conducted in the program, in 2003 Teri decided to return to university to work on her PhD in nursing and successfully defended her thesis in May, 2007. The focus of her research was an examination of the impact of minor stroke on male patients and their wife-caregivers, specifically looking at quality of life, caregiver burden, and depression. Today’s presentation is a summary of that research. She is currently undertaking a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship with the Calgary Stroke Program to further her knowledge and expertise in the conduct of clinical stroke research.


DR. GORD GUBITZ is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He obtained his MD at McMaster University in Hamilton, and completed his neurology training in Dalhousie, before spending two years as the Cochrane Stroke Fellow at the Department of Clinical Neurosciences in Edinburgh, Scotland. The focus of his fellowship training was clinical trial methodology and meta-analysis.

Dr. Gord Gubitz works as an attending physician on the Acute Stroke Unit in Halifax, and is the Director of the Outpatient Neurovascular Clinic. Apart from clinical care, which focuses almost exclusively on cerebrovascular diseases, he is involved in stroke-related research, with an emphasis on stroke outcomes, and database research related to organized stroke care.

Dr. Gubitz volunteers on the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia (HSFNS) Stroke Advisory Committee, and is also a Board member of the HSFNS. He is co-chair of the Capital Health Research Fund (Nova Scotia), a member of the Dalhousie University Research Ethics Board, and is a member of the Canadian Stroke Strategy’s Best Practice and Guidelines Development Group. He dabbles in medical education, and holds a black belt in Powerpoint.


DR. ANTOINE HAKIM, O.C., MD, PHD, FRCPC was first an engineer and at the age of 29 began his medical training at The Albany Medical College in New York. In 1979 he completed his residency in Neurology at the Montreal Neurological Institute at which time his research career in stroke began.

Dr. Hakim's research interests have included: the study of selective cerebral vulnerability in stroke and other conditions, the determination of conditions for neuroprotection against ischemic damage, and investigation of post-stroke plasticity and means of enhancing it.

He has experience in the private, academic and hospital sectors, and has chaired and served as a member of many committees and boards of granting agencies, foundations, hospitals and professional associations. In addition to teaching, research, and administrative duties, he maintains clinical duties as a neurologist at The Ottawa Hospital.

He has received many honours during his career, including the Jonathan Ballon Award in 1985, Researcher of the Year in Ottawa Award in 1995, Award of Excellence by the Canadian Stroke Consortium in 2000, and the Ottawa Life Sciences Council Career Achievement Award in 2004. In 2005 the Canadian Stroke Network was renewed by the Networks of Centres of Excellence Program
for another four years with funding of $25.6 Million. In February 2007, he was honoured to receive the Thomas Willis Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Stroke Associated and delivered the Thomas Willis Lecture at the International Stroke Conference in San Francisco. He was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada in 2007 and received the MEDEC Award for Medical Achievement from Canada's Medical Device Technology Companies.

Dr. Hakim continues to support scientific discovery in stroke and its application to improve stroke prevention, care and rehabilitation. This is all only possible because of the commitment, dedication and support he obtains from many individuals and organizations at the University of Ottawa, at the Canadian Stroke Network, the Centre for Stroke Recovery, and during the many initiatives of the Canadian Stroke Strategy.


DR. MICHAEL D. HILL’s research interests include clinical trials in stroke and the use of administrative data for stroke research and surveillance. He has participated in multiple clinical trials, leads the Calgary Stroke Program Clinical Trials Group and is leading four large clinical trials as the PI, co-PI or Steering Committee member. He has made contributions to the understanding of acute stroke thrombolytic treatment that has helped patients worldwide heal from the devastation of stroke-related brain injury.

He has begun fundamental work on stroke surveillance using administrative data to monitor stroke rates and stroke outcomes.

Michael Hill was born in Toronto, ON and received undergraduate training in Biochemistry at McGill University (BSc 1989). He completed medical school and an internal medicine residency at the University of Ottawa (MD 1993 and FRCPC 1997). He undertook further residency training in neurology at the University of Toronto (FRCPC 1999) and moved to Calgary in July 1999. There he completed fellowship training in Stroke Neurology and received a Master’s degree in Clinical Epidemiology (MSc 2003). He joined the faculty of medicine in 2001. He is currently primarily appointed as Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences with cross-appointments to Medicine and Community Health Sciences.

He currently holds the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Alberta/NWT/NU Professorship in Stroke Research and is the Director of the Stroke Unit.

KINDA KELLOWAY,  is a Registered Nurse, with a developed interest and expertise in adult education and stroke. She holds a Masters in Nursing and a Certification in Neuroscience Nursing from the Canadian Nurses Association. She has functioned in the role of clinician and Clinical Educator within Neurosciences acute care and Rehabilitation settings.

 

Linda is currently the Regional Stroke Educator and Research Coordinator for the Central South Regional Stroke Program. In this role she is responsible for the identification of professional development needs for health care clinicians caring for stroke patients across the continuum and the development of strategies to address those needs. She has been involved in the development of numerous stroke management resources as part of Professional Development in the Ontario Stroke System and is currently a member of the Canadian Stroke Strategy Professional Development and Training Group and one of Ontario representatives on the National Stroke Nurses Council.

DR. KENNETH LAM is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Calgary and Physiatrist at the Calgary Health Region. His main clinical interests include Stroke Rehabilitation, Spasticity Management and Amputee Rehabilitation.

DR. DANIEL LEBLOND is a Graduate of the U. of O in 83, received a CCFP in 85 from McGill and a FRCP in PMR from U of Manitoba in 90. Dr. LeBlond is presently Medical Director of Rehabilitation Services for the Chinook Health Region and Director of Rehabilitation at St. Michael's Health Center in Lethbridge and of the Post Acute Rehabilitation Unit


DIANE MACKENZIE is an occupational therapist who is currently an assistant professor in the School of Occupational Therapy – Faculty of Health Professions, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. She has practiced as a occupational therapist in neurorehabilitation in both Canada and the united States since graduating from the University of Alberta in 1989. Diane is a member of the Canadian Stroke Strategy – Professional Development and Training working group and has presented at numerous neurorehabilitation conferences and continuing education workshops in Canada and the United States.

 

DR. STEPHEN MCNEIL received his BSc. From the University of Guelph in 1994, his medical degree from McMaster in 1997 and his FRCPC in physical medicine and rehab from McMaster in 2002. He has been an assistant clinical professor in Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Calgary since 2002. He is the medical director of the spasticity and stroke rehabilitation programs. His clinical practice focuses on stroke, spacticity and emg/neuromuscular disorders. He was the recent chair of the spasticity section of the Canadian Botulinum Toxin Conference and is the Chair of the 2009 Canadian Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Conference.

FRANK and LOU NIEBOER have been involved with the stroke re-integration world for the past 31 years, ever since Lou had a stroke. Starting as volunteers with the formative group of the Stroke Recovery Association of Calgary and then branching out as volunteers to spearhead the Stroke Recovery Association of Alberta by facilitating the start up of 16 stroke support groups around Alberta. In the interim they have been involved in almost every Alberta and national stroke initiative from Boards, committees, advisory panels and patient information sessions.

TRINA NOSKEY, RN, BSCN is the Program Leader for the Chronic Disease Management Program with Alberta Health Services - Peace Country Health. She is responsible for the leadership of the regional Chronic Disease Management Program across the continuum of health for the region. Trina has been working in healthcare for the past 15 years in a variety of rural acute and community settings. Trina is a mother of two girls and is a Registered Nurse Background with an undergraduate degree- Science in Nursing. She has been involved with the Chronic Disease Management program for the past four years and has been providing leadership to the Regional Stroke Program for the past two years. Trina participates in APSS Pillar One activities.


DR. ASHFAQ SHUAIB, MD, FRCPC, FAHA received his undergraduate medical education at Khyber Medical College in Pakistan, obtaining his MBBS degree in 1980. Thereafter, he did post-graduate training in Internal Medicine and Neurology at the University of Calgary between 1983 and 1988, followed by specialized training in cerebrovascular research at the University of Western Ontario and Duke University Medical School in Durham, North Carolina.

He returned to Canada as an assistant professor in Medicine and Neurology at the University of Saskatoon in 1989 and rose rapidly through the academic ranks to be appointed full professor in July 1995. In addition, he held the position of program director in the Division of Neurology between 1990 and 1995, supervised numerous research fellows and graduate students and was the Director of the Saskatchewan Stroke Research Centre and Director of the WHO Centre.

He joined the University of Alberta as Professor of Medicine and Director of the Division of Neurology effective September 1, 1997. In July 2007 he stepped down as Divisional Director and remains Director of the Stroke Program. His major interest is in the understanding of the basic mechanisms of cerebral ischemia and clinical trials in cerebrovascular diseases. He has published over 220 articles in peer-reviewed journals and his research is funded by the CIHR, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Alberta, NIH, AHFMR and the industry. He is on the editorial board of 'Heart.Org’ and ‘Stroke’. He started a Stroke Prevention Clinic in 1999 and established a Stroke Investigative Unit at the University of Alberta Hospital. His clinical stroke program currently has 9 neurologists with specialist stroke training and eight fellows in training, making it one of the largest such training programs in the country.


DR. TONI R. WINDER, M.D., F.R.C.P., completed his Medical Degree at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario followed by his residency in neurology at the University of Calgary. He was awarded an Alberta Heritage Foundation Medical Fellowship, which he completed at the University of California, Los Angeles to research the area of Neuro-otology, which is the study of the various causes and cures of vertigo and dizziness.

Dr. Winder has practiced Neurology and Neuro-otology in Lethbridge for 19 years. He is currently the Medical Director of the Chinook Health Region Secondary Stroke Prevention Clinic and Co-Chair for the Region’s Stroke Steering Committee. Dr. Winder’s main research interests presently are in the areas of Stroke and Vascular Diseases


ALANE WITT-LAJEUNESSE is the Dysphagia Educator/Coordinator in the Chinook Health Region. She has 30 years of clinical experience as a speech-language pathologist, and recently acquired another MS degree in Psychology/Neurosciences at the University of Lethbridge. Past accomplishments include developing and implementing a staff/volunteer swallowing/feeding program at St. Michael’s Health Centre in Lethbridge. This year, she spoke at the national conference for speech-language pathologists regarding the implementation of the TOR-BSST© swallow screening tool in the Chinook Health Region.

JENNINE BARR is a Registered Nurse who graduated with her bachelor of nursing degree from Griffith University, Brisbane Australia in 1999. She came to Canada in 2001 and has worked in the Emergency Department and Intensive Care unit at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Grande Prairie, AB for seven years.

In October 2007 Jennine was provided with an opportunity to become involved with the Peace Country Health Stroke Program Initiative. She was recruited as a full time Regional Stroke Navigator and has been instrumental in the implementation of best practice stroke care across the Region. Jennine will continue to assist in the implementation of the Stroke Program in her new role as the Stroke Service Planner.

DR. KEN BUTCHER is an Assistant Professor in Neurology, at the University of Alberta. His major clinical and research interests are in acute stroke care. He completed his PhD concurrently with his MD, at the University of Western Ontario. His thesis was based on the autonomic effects of stroke. Following completion of his Neurology Residency at the University of Alberta, Dr. Butcher traveled to Australia, where he completed a post-doctoral Fellowship in MRI and advanced CT imaging of acute stroke. In 2006 he returned to Alberta, and took up his current faculty position. His active research projects include a randomized controlled trial of blood pressure reduction in intracerebral hemorrhage and MRI studies aimed at extending the time window for stroke thrombolysis. He is supported by the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. He also holds the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Alberta, NWT and Nunavut Professorship in Stroke Medicine.

DR SHELAGH B. COUTTS completed her medical training at the University of Edinburgh. She graduated with a BSc in pathology, in 2005 and MB.ChB in 1997. She received her MRCP (UK – Internal medicine) in 2000. She moved to Calgary to complete a Fellowship in Stroke Neurology with Professor Alastair Buchan and then completed her Neurology Residency Training and received her (FRCPC(Neurology)) in 2006. During her Stroke Neurology training she completed a postgraduate research degree from the University of Edinburgh. Her thesis was entitled “Modern imaging: its role in prediction of outcome after stroke and TIA” and she received her MD (PhD equivalent) for this in 2005. She has received a number of awards for her work including the “Siekert new investigator award” from the American Stroke Association. She was appointed an Assistant Professor of Neurology in 2006 at the University of Calgary. Her research interests include the use of acute imagining in the triage and treatment of stroke and TIA patients in the Emergency Department. She plans to design therapeutic trials in high risk TIA and minor stroke using imaging to identify patients.

DR. NORM CAMPBELL is a Professor of Medicine, Community Health Sciences and Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of Calgary and is a member of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta. Dr Campbell holds the CIHR Canadian Chair in Hypertension Prevention and Control and is the chair of the Canadian Hypertension Education Program (CHEP) Steering committee and the CHEP Executive committee. CHEP develops implements and evaluates the impact of Canadian hypertension recommendations. Dr Campbell is also the President of Blood Pressure Canada, a coalition of 30 organizations dedicated to the prevention and control of hypertension in Canada.

Dr. Campbell obtained his MD from Memorial University in Newfoundland, where he also did his Internal Medicine residency. He went on to study Clinical Pharmacology at the Mayo Clinic under Dr Richard Weinshilboum, and is a Specialist in Clinical Hypertension (American Society of Hypertension). Dr Campbell has over 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts.



BEV CULHAM has worked in health care in Alberta for over 20 years. She is a graduate of Queen’s University Life Science program and received a Master of Health Service Administration from the University of Alberta. As a health service planner with the Calgary Health Region, she has many years experience in service delivery model development and implementation across the care continuum. She was Project Manager for the Alberta Provincial Stroke Strategy for two and one half years and guided the project through the development stages.


DR. NAEEM DEAN graduated from King Edward Medical College, Lahore Pakistan in 1985. He moved to the United Kingdom for post graduate training in 1987. He received his FRCP in internal medicine in 1992 and CCST (certificate of Specialist Training) in internal medicine in 1998. He joined the Department of Neurology at the University of Alberta as a stroke fellow in 1999. At present he is working as Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and Director of Stroke Program at Royal Alexandra Hospital Edmonton. He presently chairs the prevention pillar for the Alberta Provincial Stroke Strategy. His main research interest is in stroke prevention and global vascular risk reduction.

DR. ANDREW DEMCHUK MD FRCPC, is the Director of the Calgary Stroke Program located at the Foothills Medical Centre at the University of Calgary/Calgary Health Region and is Chair of Pillar 2 (Acute Care and Emergency Services) of the Alberta Provincial Stroke Strategy.

In addition, Dr. Demchuk is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Alberta, NWT and Nunavut, and member of the Board of Directors, Canadian Stroke Consortium. He holds an Associate Professor position with the Department of Clinical Neurosciences and is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Radiology in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary. He holds an Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Scholar award and is currently a member of the Scientific Committee of the European Stroke Conference.

Dr. Demchuk’s primary research interests are in the area of vascular imaging where he is trying to develop practical clinical applications for CT/CT-angio, multimodal MRI and Transcranial Doppler in acute ischemic stroke/TIA and ICH to establish and refine treatment approaches.

Dr. Demchuk is principal investigator of several vascular imaging based observational cohort studies of stroke and is currently central CT image analysis principal investigator in two NIH funded randomized clinical trials.

DR. IAN GRAHAM is Vice-President of Knowledge Translation, Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Dr. Graham is on leave from his post as Associate Professor in the School of Nursing, University of Ottawa. He obtained a PhD in medical sociology from McGill University. Dr. Graham's research has largely focused on knowledge translation (the process of research use) and conducting applied research on strategies to increase implementation of research findings and evidence-based practice. Specific projects have related to the adaptation, implementation, and quality appraisal of clinical practice guidelines, as well as the uptake of guidelines and decision support tools by practitioners. He has also studied researchers’ and health research funding agencies’ KT activities, the determinants of research use, and theories/models of planned change.


DR. TERI GREEN is an RN, with approximately 30 years of nursing practice under her belt. Most of her nursing career has been spent in the field of neuroscience nursing and stroke patient care. She has spent time as a staff nurse, assistant manager and manager in neurosciences, most recently as manager of the Calgary Stroke Program. While working with this research-based stroke program, the opportunities to enhance patient care and the program through nursing research became apparent. In order to implement a program of research to align with the medical research being conducted in the program, in 2003 Teri decided to return to university to work on her PhD in nursing and successfully defended her thesis in May, 2007. The focus of her research was an examination of the impact of minor stroke on male patients and their wife-caregivers, specifically looking at quality of life, caregiver burden, and depression. Today’s presentation is a summary of that research. She is currently undertaking a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship with the Calgary Stroke Program to further her knowledge and expertise in the conduct of clinical stroke research.


DR. GORD GUBITZ is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He obtained his MD at McMaster University in Hamilton, and completed his neurology training in Dalhousie, before spending two years as the Cochrane Stroke Fellow at the Department of Clinical Neurosciences in Edinburgh, Scotland. The focus of his fellowship training was clinical trial methodology and meta-analysis.

Dr. Gord Gubitz works as an attending physician on the Acute Stroke Unit in Halifax, and is the Director of the Outpatient Neurovascular Clinic. Apart from clinical care, which focuses almost exclusively on cerebrovascular diseases, he is involved in stroke-related research, with an emphasis on stroke outcomes, and database research related to organized stroke care.

Dr. Gubitz volunteers on the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia (HSFNS) Stroke Advisory Committee, and is also a Board member of the HSFNS. He is co-chair of the Capital Health Research Fund (Nova Scotia), a member of the Dalhousie University Research Ethics Board, and is a member of the Canadian Stroke Strategy’s Best Practice and Guidelines Development Group. He dabbles in medical education, and holds a black belt in Powerpoint.


DR. ANTOINE HAKIM, O.C., MD, PHD, FRCPC was first an engineer and at the age of 29 began his medical training at The Albany Medical College in New York. In 1979 he completed his residency in Neurology at the Montreal Neurological Institute at which time his research career in stroke began.

Dr. Hakim's research interests have included: the study of selective cerebral vulnerability in stroke and other conditions, the determination of conditions for neuroprotection against ischemic damage, and investigation of post-stroke plasticity and means of enhancing it.

He has experience in the private, academic and hospital sectors, and has chaired and served as a member of many committees and boards of granting agencies, foundations, hospitals and professional associations. In addition to teaching, research, and administrative duties, he maintains clinical duties as a neurologist at The Ottawa Hospital.

He has received many honours during his career, including the Jonathan Ballon Award in 1985, Researcher of the Year in Ottawa Award in 1995, Award of Excellence by the Canadian Stroke Consortium in 2000, and the Ottawa Life Sciences Council Career Achievement Award in 2004. In 2005 the Canadian Stroke Network was renewed by the Networks of Centres of Excellence Program
for another four years with funding of $25.6 Million. In February 2007, he was honoured to receive the Thomas Willis Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Stroke Associated and delivered the Thomas Willis Lecture at the International Stroke Conference in San Francisco. He was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada in 2007 and received the MEDEC Award for Medical Achievement from Canada's Medical Device Technology Companies.

Dr. Hakim continues to support scientific discovery in stroke and its application to improve stroke prevention, care and rehabilitation. This is all only possible because of the commitment, dedication and support he obtains from many individuals and organizations at the University of Ottawa, at the Canadian Stroke Network, the Centre for Stroke Recovery, and during the many initiatives of the Canadian Stroke Strategy.


DR. MICHAEL D. HILL’s research interests include clinical trials in stroke and the use of administrative data for stroke research and surveillance. He has participated in multiple clinical trials, leads the Calgary Stroke Program Clinical Trials Group and is leading four large clinical trials as the PI, co-PI or Steering Committee member. He has made contributions to the understanding of acute stroke thrombolytic treatment that has helped patients worldwide heal from the devastation of stroke-related brain injury.

He has begun fundamental work on stroke surveillance using administrative data to monitor stroke rates and stroke outcomes.

Michael Hill was born in Toronto, ON and received undergraduate training in Biochemistry at McGill University (BSc 1989). He completed medical school and an internal medicine residency at the University of Ottawa (MD 1993 and FRCPC 1997). He undertook further residency training in neurology at the University of Toronto (FRCPC 1999) and moved to Calgary in July 1999. There he completed fellowship training in Stroke Neurology and received a Master’s degree in Clinical Epidemiology (MSc 2003). He joined the faculty of medicine in 2001. He is currently primarily appointed as Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences with cross-appointments to Medicine and Community Health Sciences.

He currently holds the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Alberta/NWT/NU Professorship in Stroke Research and is the Director of the Stroke Unit.

KINDA KELLOWAY,  is a Registered Nurse, with a developed interest and expertise in adult education and stroke. She holds a Masters in Nursing and a Certification in Neuroscience Nursing from the Canadian Nurses Association. She has functioned in the role of clinician and Clinical Educator within Neurosciences acute care and Rehabilitation settings.

 

Linda is currently the Regional Stroke Educator and Research Coordinator for the Central South Regional Stroke Program. In this role she is responsible for the identification of professional development needs for health care clinicians caring for stroke patients across the continuum and the development of strategies to address those needs. She has been involved in the development of numerous stroke management resources as part of Professional Development in the Ontario Stroke System and is currently a member of the Canadian Stroke Strategy Professional Development and Training Group and one of Ontario representatives on the National Stroke Nurses Council.

DR. KENNETH LAM is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Calgary and Physiatrist at the Calgary Health Region. His main clinical interests include Stroke Rehabilitation, Spasticity Management and Amputee Rehabilitation.

DR. DANIEL LEBLOND is a Graduate of the U. of O in 83, received a CCFP in 85 from McGill and a FRCP in PMR from U of Manitoba in 90. Dr. LeBlond is presently Medical Director of Rehabilitation Services for the Chinook Health Region and Director of Rehabilitation at St. Michael's Health Center in Lethbridge and of the Post Acute Rehabilitation Unit


DIANE MACKENZIE is an occupational therapist who is currently an assistant professor in the School of Occupational Therapy – Faculty of Health Professions, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. She has practiced as a occupational therapist in neurorehabilitation in both Canada and the united States since graduating from the University of Alberta in 1989. Diane is a member of the Canadian Stroke Strategy – Professional Development and Training working group and has presented at numerous neurorehabilitation conferences and continuing education workshops in Canada and the United States.

 

DR. STEPHEN MCNEIL received his BSc. From the University of Guelph in 1994, his medical degree from McMaster in 1997 and his FRCPC in physical medicine and rehab from McMaster in 2002. He has been an assistant clinical professor in Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Calgary since 2002. He is the medical director of the spasticity and stroke rehabilitation programs. His clinical practice focuses on stroke, spacticity and emg/neuromuscular disorders. He was the recent chair of the spasticity section of the Canadian Botulinum Toxin Conference and is the Chair of the 2009 Canadian Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Conference.

FRANK and LOU NIEBOER have been involved with the stroke re-integration world for the past 31 years, ever since Lou had a stroke. Starting as volunteers with the formative group of the Stroke Recovery Association of Calgary and then branching out as volunteers to spearhead the Stroke Recovery Association of Alberta by facilitating the start up of 16 stroke support groups around Alberta. In the interim they have been involved in almost every Alberta and national stroke initiative from Boards, committees, advisory panels and patient information sessions.

TRINA NOSKEY, RN, BSCN is the Program Leader for the Chronic Disease Management Program with Alberta Health Services - Peace Country Health. She is responsible for the leadership of the regional Chronic Disease Management Program across the continuum of health for the region. Trina has been working in healthcare for the past 15 years in a variety of rural acute and community settings. Trina is a mother of two girls and is a Registered Nurse Background with an undergraduate degree- Science in Nursing. She has been involved with the Chronic Disease Management program for the past four years and has been providing leadership to the Regional Stroke Program for the past two years. Trina participates in APSS Pillar One activities.


DR. ASHFAQ SHUAIB, MD, FRCPC, FAHA received his undergraduate medical education at Khyber Medical College in Pakistan, obtaining his MBBS degree in 1980. Thereafter, he did post-graduate training in Internal Medicine and Neurology at the University of Calgary between 1983 and 1988, followed by specialized training in cerebrovascular research at the University of Western Ontario and Duke University Medical School in Durham, North Carolina.

He returned to Canada as an assistant professor in Medicine and Neurology at the University of Saskatoon in 1989 and rose rapidly through the academic ranks to be appointed full professor in July 1995. In addition, he held the position of program director in the Division of Neurology between 1990 and 1995, supervised numerous research fellows and graduate students and was the Director of the Saskatchewan Stroke Research Centre and Director of the WHO Centre.

He joined the University of Alberta as Professor of Medicine and Director of the Division of Neurology effective September 1, 1997. In July 2007 he stepped down as Divisional Director and remains Director of the Stroke Program. His major interest is in the understanding of the basic mechanisms of cerebral ischemia and clinical trials in cerebrovascular diseases. He has published over 220 articles in peer-reviewed journals and his research is funded by the CIHR, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Alberta, NIH, AHFMR and the industry. He is on the editorial board of 'Heart.Org’ and ‘Stroke’. He started a Stroke Prevention Clinic in 1999 and established a Stroke Investigative Unit at the University of Alberta Hospital. His clinical stroke program currently has 9 neurologists with specialist stroke training and eight fellows in training, making it one of the largest such training programs in the country.


DR. TONI R. WINDER, M.D., F.R.C.P., completed his Medical Degree at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario followed by his residency in neurology at the University of Calgary. He was awarded an Alberta Heritage Foundation Medical Fellowship, which he completed at the University of California, Los Angeles to research the area of Neuro-otology, which is the study of the various causes and cures of vertigo and dizziness.

Dr. Winder has practiced Neurology and Neuro-otology in Lethbridge for 19 years. He is currently the Medical Director of the Chinook Health Region Secondary Stroke Prevention Clinic and Co-Chair for the Region’s Stroke Steering Committee. Dr. Winder’s main research interests presently are in the areas of Stroke and Vascular Diseases


ALANE WITT-LAJEUNESSE is the Dysphagia Educator/Coordinator in the Chinook Health Region. She has 30 years of clinical experience as a speech-language pathologist, and recently acquired another MS degree in Psychology/Neurosciences at the University of Lethbridge. Past accomplishments include developing and implementing a staff/volunteer swallowing/feeding program at St. Michael’s Health Centre in Lethbridge. This year, she spoke at the national conference for speech-language pathologists regarding the implementation of the TOR-BSST© swallow screening tool in the Chinook Health Region.