Dr. Ashan Alam

 Clara Schott is a PhD candidate in the Department of Biochemistry at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario. She works under the supervision of Dr. Dervla Connaughton in the Genetic Nephrology Lab investigating the monogenic cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD). One of her main roles in the lab is to analyze exome sequencing results to diagnose patients with genetic CKD. Her research aims to determine the utility of genetic testing in Canadians with CKD, and in living kidney donor-recipient pairs. To support her research, Clara has received the Canada Graduate Scholars Master’s grant funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), and the Lawson Health Research Institute Internal Research Fund for new investigators.

Dr. Justin Chun

Dr. Elliott joined the University of British Columbia Division of Nephrology in 2023 and is a Clinical Assistant Professor based at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. He serves as the lead for the provincial Kidney Genetics Clinic. He completed his internal medicine training at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, followed by Nephrology training at the University of Calgary. He then completed a three-year fellowship in precision medicine and genetics in nephrology at Columbia University in New York City. His research focuses on clinical outcomes of patients with genetic kidney disorders and the integration of genetic data into clinical care.

Dr. Mathieu Lemaire finished his medical training at McGill University in 2004 and then moved to Toronto to learn Paediatrics at SickKids. After completing his fellowship in Paediatric Nephrology in Toronto, he went to Yale University (New Haven, CT) to pursue a Ph.D. in Investigative Medicine focused on the genetics of rare pediatric kidney diseases. While there, he discovered two novel forms of atypical hemolytic-uremic syndrome using exome sequencing. Dr. Lemaire returned to the University of Toronto in 2014 as an Assistant Professor of Paediatrics. He joined the Division of Nephrology at SickKids as a Staff Physician and the Cell Biology program at the SickKids Research Institute as a Scientist. The overall goal of his research program is to use genetic/genomics tools to improve clinical outcomes for genetic kidney diseases, and also, to enhance kidney health. While most projects focus on rare genetic kidney diseases, the research findings will likely eventually apply to more common kidney conditions. these projects are funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), the Kidney Foundation of Canada (KFOC) and the US National Health Institute (NIH). In the clinic, much of his work is focused on rare genetic diseases affecting the kidneys of children, including glomerular, cystic, metabolic and tubular conditions.

After completing his undergraduate studies in bioinformatics at University of Waterloo, Dr. Lanktree obtained a combined MD/PhD from Western University. He then completed clinical training in internal medicine and nephrology at McMaster University, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship studying genomics and heritable kidney disease at University of Toronto. Dr. Lanktree is currently a clinician-scientist in nephrogenetics at McMaster. Over the past 15 years, Dr. Lanktree has published over 70 articles in influential medical and genetics journals. His goal is to translate genetics research findings to the clinical setting for improved care of kidney disease patients. Dr. Lanktree was recently awarded the 2023 Carl W. Gottschalk Research Scholar Grant from KidneyCure/American Society of Nephrology (ASN).

Dr. West is currently Professor, Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, past President Canadian Society of Nephrology, Director Nova Scotia Fabry Disease Program and Chair of the Scientific Committee of Canadian Fabry Disease Initiative Registry, a multicentre outcomes study of Fabry disease. He received his MD in 1979 from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario and did post graduate training at Dalhousie University and the University of Toronto. He has published 104 papers, 5 book chapters and 136 abstracts. He has been an investigator in numerous therapeutic trials in Fabry disease with a variety of agents, including Lentivirus mediated gene therapy.

Dr. Pierre Antoine Brown

Dr. Priya Bhola

Samantha Colaiacovo

Dr. Thomas Kitzler

Dr. Alexander is a Pediatric Nephrologist at the Stollery Children’s Hospital, Professor and Interim Chair of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta. He is the Canada Research Chair in epithelial transport physiology, processes that are abnormal in children with kidney disease. Integrating his research program with his clinical practice, he seeks to advance care for children with disorders of renal tubular transport such as kidney stone formers and those with metabolic bone disease. This work is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI). Dr. Alexander was a Distinguished Researcher of the Stollery Science Laboratory and is departing his role as the Associate Director of the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute on February 1^st  2024 to be the interim Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta. Beyond his research and clinical commitments, Dr. Alexander is heavily involved in the training of future researchers and clinician scientists, leading the National Kidney Research Scientist Core Education and Training Program (KRESCENT).

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