Management Team | Clinical Team | Industry Team | Regional Theme Leaders
Management Team
Dr. James Drake, BSE, MB, PhD, BCh, MSc, FRCSC
Lead
Dr. James Drake is the Chief of Neurosurgery at the Hospital for Sick Children will a full time clinical practice...More »
Dr. James Drake is the Chief of Neurosurgery at the Hospital for Sick Children will a full time clinical practice. He is a professor of surgery at the University of Toronto and an senior associate scientist with Neuroscience & Mental Health group at The Hospital for Sick Children's Research Insitute. As the lead of CIGITI, his goal is to revolutionize how surgery is accomplished and taught through real-time multi-modality imaging, smart dextrous tools and virtual reality based patient specific simulation. « Hide
Thomas Looi, BASc, MASc, PhD cand., MBA, PEng
Program Director
Thomas Looi is an accomplished robotics engineer with knowledge in real-time control, image processing and dynamics simulation... More »
Thomas Looi is an accomplished robotics engineer with knowledge in real-time control, image processing and dynamics simulation. He has participated in historic Return to Flight mission where astronauts removed debris from the shuttle underbelly and completed a MBA from the Rotman School of Management with an emphasis on finance and technology transfer. His role at CIGITI is to ensure the vision is accomplished through collaborative corporate partnerships, strategic research objectives and efficient operations while developing a high intensity focused ultrasound program (HiFU). The focus of his PhD research is the use of noninvasive HiFU for treating paediatric neurovascular and bone applications. « Hide
Dr. Sharifa Himidan, MD
Medical Director
Dr. Sharifa Himidan is a general, thoracic, neonatal and pediatric surgeon with a full-time clinical practice at the Hospital for Sick Children and North York General Hospital... More »
Dr. Sharifa Himidan is a general, thoracic, neonatal and pediatric surgeon with a full-time clinical practice at the Hospital for Sick Children and North York General Hospital. She is also an assistant clinical professor at the University of Toronto. She is interested in clinical aspects of academic and community surgery and applying innovative tools and techniques to clinical settings. « Hide
Anne Apong
Administrative Support
Anne is a seasoned veteran of the Hospital for Sick Children's administrative structure... More »
Anne is a seasoned veteran of the Hospital for Sick Children's administrative structure and helps the research members navigate various institutional processes. « Hide
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Clinical Team
Dr. Ben Alman MD, FRCSC
Orthopaedics Theme Leader
Dr. Ben Alman is the A.J. Latner Professor and Chairman of Orthopaedics at the Hospital for Sick Children... More »
Dr. Ben Alman is the A.J. Latner Professor and Chairman of Orthopaedics at the Hospital for Sick Children and vice chair of research in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto. In addition to his clinical duties, he is a senior scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute where he runs an active basic science program role of signaling pathways and stem cells in embryonic development, tissue regeneration, as well as neoplasia in the musculoskeletal system. Through this work, he has over 80 peer reviewed publications in Journals such as the PNAS, PLoS Medicine, Nature Genetics, and Lancet. « Hide
Dr. Joao Amaral
Medical Imaging Theme Leader
Dr. Joao Amaral is an interventional radiologist at the Hospital for Sick Children... More »
Dr. Joao Amaral is an interventional radiologist at the Hospital for Sick Children and an assistant professor in the Department of Medical Imaging at the University of Toronto. « Hide
Dr. Paul S. Babyn, MD, FRCPC
Medical Imaging Theme Leader
Dr. Babyn is an associate professor with the Department of Medical Imaging at the University of Toronto... More »
Dr. Babyn is an associate professor with the Department of Medical Imaging at the University of Toronto and is currently the Radiologist-in-Chief where he has an active role in resident and fellow teaching. He has published over 100 publications to date and is involved in a variety of funded research projects. He is a member of Radiological Society of North America, Canadian Association of Radiology and the Society of Pediatric Radiology. Dr. Babyn's main research interests are in Musculoskeletal Radiology and Cross-Sectional Imaging. « Hide
Dr. Brigitte Brisson, DMV, DVSc, Diplomate ACVS
Veterinary Medicine Theme Leader
Dr. Brigitte Brisson is an associate professor of veterinary medicine... More »
Dr. Brigitte Brisson is an associate professor of veterinary medicine. Her research interests are in the areas of neurosurgery, minimally invasive surgery, cardiovascular surgery and reperfusion injury. « Hide
Dr. Peter Burns, PhD
Medical Imaging Theme Leader
Dr. Peter Burns is a senior scientist, imaging - cardiac program, at Sunnybrook Research... More »
Dr. Peter Burns is a senior scientist, imaging - cardiac program, at Sunnybrook Research and a professor of medical physics within the Department of Medical Biophysics and Medical Imaging at the University of Toronto. He has more 20 years experience in research in medical ultrasound imaging and blood flow measurement and holds three patents in diagnostic ultrasound imaging; has published 4 books, more than 70 refereed papers and 25 book chapters. His research interests are in noninvasive imaging of the microcirculation using ultrasound and microbubbles. « Hide
Dr. James M. Drake, BSE, MBBCh, MSc, FRCSC, FACS
Neurosurgery Theme Leader
Dr. James Drake is the Neurosurgeon-in-Chief and Harold J. Hoffman/Shopper's Drug Mart Chair in Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Hospital for Sick Children... More »
Dr. James Drake is the Neurosurgeon-in-Chief and Harold J. Hoffman/Shopper's Drug Mart Chair in Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Hospital for Sick Children where he maintains a clinical focus on hydrocephalus, spasticity, neuroendoscopic procedures, the pediatric spine, and peripheral nerve surgery. He is also a Full Professor in the Department of Surgery and authored more then 150 peer reviewed publications including the definitive textbook on cerebrospinal fluid shunts, The Shunt Book, which he coauthored with Professor Christian Sainte-Rose of Paris. His research is devoted to engineering applications to neurosurgery including image guided surgery including robotics, designing a better cerebrospinal fluid shunt design system and mathematical models of hydrocephalus. « Hide
Dr. Walid Farhat, MD
Urology Theme Leader
Dr. Walid Farhat is a Pediatric Urologist at the Hospital for Sick Children, Associate Professor with the Department of Surgery at University of Toronto... More »
Dr. Walid Farhat is a Pediatric Urologist at the Hospital for Sick Children, Associate Professor with the Department of Surgery at University of Toronto, and an associate scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children's Research Institute. Dr. Farhat directs his attention toward minimal invasive surgery (MIS) and pediatric urologic laparoscopy. This has afforded him the opportunity to focus on minimal invasive surgery as a surgical tool, and to introduce, disseminate and train others on performing laparoscopy. He further developed MIS procedures for major bladder and urinary diversion reconstruction. « Hide
Dr. Kullervo Hynynen, PhD
Medical Imaging Theme Leader
Dr. Kullervo Hynynen is an internationally renowned researcher in MR-guided focused ultrasound technology including innovative microbubble technology... More »
Dr. Kullervo Hynynen is an internationally renowned researcher in MR-guided focused ultrasound technology including innovative microbubble technology. He is a senior scientist and imaging director - cancer program at the Sunnybrook Research Institute while also being a full Professor within the Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto. He also holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Imaging Systems and Image-Guided Therapy. Dr. Hynynen will work closely with the foetal intervention team to develop novel non-invasive foetal intervention technology and techniques, and with Drs. van Vaals, Elgort and Babyn to develop trans-modality image fusion technology. « Hide
Professor Paul Milgram
Human Factors Theme Leader
Professor Paul Milgram is the director of the Egronomics in Teleoperation and Control Laboratory... More »
Professor Paul Milgram is the director of the Egronomics in Teleoperation and Control Laboratory and a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto. He is recognized world expert in human factors where he has published over 100 papers and supervised numerous graduate students. His research interests are in the areas of human-machine interfaces and interactions in 3D and augment reality environments, human performance modeling and human factors in medicine and eHealth. « Hide
Dr. Richard Reznick, MD
Education Theme Leader
Dr. Richard Reznick is an internationally recognized pioneer in the field of surgical education and evaluation... More »
Dr. Richard Reznick is an internationally recognized pioneer in the field of surgical education and evaluation. He is the Chair of the department of Surgery at the University of Toronto, and is a Canadian leader in surgical education today. Dr. Reznick clearly recognizes the need for new paradigm in surgical education and procedural training, and also the critical need for computational models in current and future surgical education and procedural training. This project will develop and apply a number of evaluative methods that he has created in critically evaluating the application of simulated surgical environments in training surgeons. « Hide
Dr. James G. Wright, MD, MPH, FRCSC
Orthopaedics Theme Leader
Dr. James G. Wright is Chief of Perioperative Services, and Surgeon-in-Chief, Department of Surgery at The Hospital for Sick Children... More »
Dr. James G. Wright is Chief of Perioperative Services, and Surgeon-in-Chief, Department of Surgery at The Hospital for Sick Children. In addition, he is A Senior Scientist in the Child Health Evaluative Sciences Program and holder of the Robert B. Salter Chair of Pediatric Surgical Research at the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, where his program focuses on the systematic study of characteristics of health and disease and outcomes of treatment modalities in children. Dr. Wright's research focuses on the development of measures to evaluate surgical therapy, randomized clinical trials, and evaluating unmet needs and disparity in the use of orthopaedic procedures. « Hide
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Industry Team
Dr. Xavier Cyril
L-3 Communications MAPPS Inc.
Dr. Xavier Cyril is the chief engineer and internationally recognized leader in space simulation... More »
Dr. Xavier Cyril is the chief engineer and internationally recognized leader in space simulation. His team built the Canadian Space Station Robotics Simulator which allows NASA astronauts to train on high-fidelity visualization models of the Space Station and its environment to perform intricate tasks. Dr. Cyril's team will build case- and/or specialty-specific simulated surgical environments in close collaboration with Dr. Richard Reznick's team. The concept and the end product of simulated, surgical environments in the paediatric and foetal arenas will be breakthrough pioneering work. Drs. Cyril and Reznick will work closely with on-site computer scientist to develop both hardware and software for surgical simulation. « Hide
John Lymer
MDA Space Systems
John Lymer was the chief engineer on the Canadarm, Hubble Robotic Repair Mission, Orbital Express Program, Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator Program, Canadian Space Station Program, and neuroArm program... More »
John Lymer was the chief engineer on the Canadarm, Hubble Robotic Repair Mission, Orbital Express Program, Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator Program, Canadian Space Station Program, and neuroArm program. John Lymer and his engineering team represent the finest engineers in MDA Robotics, a company selected by NASA as the best in the world in space robotics. Their expertise in mission-critical engineering is a pre-requisite for satisfying required technologic innovations and safety constraints for a paediatric robotic application. He and his team will work with two onsite engineers supported by ORF to develop the "KidsArm" robot. « Hide
Drs. Joop van Vaals, Daniel Elgort, Chris Hall, and Karen Travato
Philips
Drs. Joop van Vaals, Daniel Elgort, and Paul Babyn are the world leaders in MRI research and development... More »
Drs. Joop van Vaals, Daniel Elgort, and Paul Babyn are the world leaders in MRI research and development. Dr. van Vaals's team has developed the open interventional MR with the largest operative field advantage without sacrificing the clinical requirement for high resolution fidelity. Moreover, Dr. van Vaals's team has developed as before-market technology, K-T Blast and K-T Sense (parallel imaging) to utilize real-time MR images for procedures. The combination of these two technologies in the paediatric setting will establish the stage for pioneering work. Dr. Babyn has been the world leader in the clinical application of MRI and image-guided, interventional therapy in paediatric field.
Drs. Daniel Elgort and Karen Trovato from the Philips Research center are the key scientists in image-guided computer-assisted kinematics, ergonomics and motion planning. Karen holds the intellectual patent behind the Lexus automobile automated parking program, which is based on computational model that calculates the maximal efficiency with the best safety for the vehicle based on distance and spatial configuration. They will interact with on-site imaging scientist supported by ORF on image-guidance, motion planning and interventional navigation. « Hide
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Regional Theme Leaders
Dr. Juan Bass, MD (Central Canada Leader)
Dr. Juan Bass is the Chief of pediatric surgery at Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario... More »
Dr. Juan Bass is the Chief of pediatric surgery at Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. He completed his residency at the University of Ottawa followed by a fellowship at Ste. Justine Hospital with the University of Montreal. His areas of interest are in minimally invasive surgery and medical education. « Hide
Dr. Geoff Blair, MD, FRCSC (Western Canada Leader)
Dr. Geoff Blair is the Surgeon in Chief at the British Columbia Children's hospital... More »
Dr. Geoff Blair is the Surgeon in Chief at the British Columbia Children's hospital and a Clinical Professor of Surgery in the UBC Faculty of Medicine. Blair has a broad range of roles in many clinical areas of pediatric surgery including cancer care and the repair of congenital anomalies, especially of the gastrointestinal system. His interests are in resident education & assessment and gastroesophageal reflux in children. « Hide
Dr. Peter Fitzgerald, Hon BA, MA, MD, FRCSC (Central Canada Leader)
Dr. Peter Fitzgerald is president of McMaster Children's Hospital... More »
Dr. Peter Fitzgerald is president of McMaster Children's Hospital and a distinguished surgeon with a national and international reputation for his innovative work and leadership in minimal access (keyhole) surgery and reconstructive chest wall surgery. Dr. Fitzgerald is also a professor of pediatric surgery at McMaster University's Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine and has made significant contributions to undergraduate surgical education, particularly in the development of evaluation standards. « Hide
Dr. Michael Giancomantonio, MD, FRCSC (Atlantic Canada Leader)
Dr. Michael Giancomantonio is the chief of pediatric surgery... More »
Dr. Michael Giancomantonio is the chief of pediatric surgery at IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is interested in the applications of CIGITI to various areas of pediatric medicine.« Hide
Dr. Douglas Hedden, MD, FRCSC (Western Canada Leader)
Dr. Douglas M. Hedden is the Surgeon in Chief at Stollery Children's Hospital... More »
Dr. Douglas M. Hedden is the Surgeon in Chief at Stollery Children's Hospital and Chair of Department of Surgery at the University of Alberta. His clinical interests include all aspects of pediatric spinal problems while his research interests are in scoliosis, neuromonitoring, other spinal diseases and image guided intervention. « Hide
Dr. Jean-Marting Laberge (Central Canada Leader)
Dr. Jean-Marting Laberge is the director of pediatric surgery at the Montreal Children's Hospital... More »
Dr. Jean-Marting Laberge is the director of pediatric surgery at the Montreal Children's Hospital where he is also leading efforts in an basic science program related to prenatal treatment of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) in the fetal lamb model. « Hide
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