Doctors' Program

Iain Murray, MD CM, FRCP(C)
President, Ontario Association of
Gastroenterology
Section Chair, OMA Section
of Gastroenterology

 

Dr. Iain Murray's family immigrated from far overseas in 1972. He attended school and CEGEP on the island of Montreal. His Bachelor of Science was obtained at the University of Toronto and Master's degree at the Anatomy Department of McGill University. He graduated from McGill Medical School in 1990. Dr. Murray did his post-graduate training in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology at the University of Western Ontario. He first set up practice at Markham-Stouffville hospital in 1995. In 2003 he became co-found of the current Intestinal Health Institute where he continues his gastroenterology practice. Dr. Murray is the current President of the Ontario Association of Gastroenterology. He is also the Chair of the Section on Gastroenterology at the Ontario Medical Association. Dr. Murray is married with three children.

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Imran Rasul, MD, FRCP(C)
Chair of the Endoscopy Unit
Credit Valley Hospital
Secretary, OAG

 

Dr. Imran Rasul completed his undergraduate training at the University of Toronto in 1992. He went on to complete his Medical Degree, Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology training at the University of Toronto. Further training in Advanced Therapeutic Endoscopy was completed at University of Toronto. He has been practicing in Mississauga at the Credit Valley Hospital for the past seven years. Dr. Rasul has an interest in Advanced Endoscopy and is Chair of the Endoscopy Unit at Credit Valley Hospital.

David Armstrong, MA, MB BChir, FRCP (UK), FRCPC, FACG, AGAF
Professor, Department of Medicine, McMaster University;
Consultant Gastroenterologist, Division of Gastroenterology, Hamilton Health Sciences,
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

 

David Armstrong is Professor of Medicine at McMaster University.

He graduated from Cambridge University and King's College Hospital, London, UK. After 2 years as a family physician in Labrador, he completed his medicine and gastroenterology training in the UK, Switzerland and Canada in 1995.

His clinical interests include upper GI disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, nutrition, cystic fibrosis, endoscopy, electronic health records, education and quality. He is an active researcher with over 250 full publications.

He is Medical Director of the Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) Home Parenteral Nutrition Program and he co-chairs the HHS Nutrition Committee & HHS Endoscopy Committee.

He is President of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology, Regional Governor for the American College of Gastroenterology, Chair of the Canadian National Colon Cancer Screening Network and a Board Member of the Canadian Digestive Health Foundation. He lives with his wife and a diminishing proportion of his 5 sons in Hamilton, Ontario.

Premysl Bercik, MD
Associate Professor
Division of Gastroenterology
Department of Medicine
McMaster University

 

Dr. Bercik graduated as a MD from Charles University, Prague, Czechoslovakia. He obtained his doctorate degree from University of Lausanne, Switzerland, where he studied neural control of gastrointestinal motility. He did his postdoctoral fellowship at McMaster University focusing on animal models of functional gastrointestinal diseases. Currently, he is Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, and director of Clinical Motility Laboratory and Celiac Clinic at McMaster University. His basic and clinical research, funded by CIHR and NIH, investigates the role of intestinal bacteria in gut-brain axis signaling, and its pathogenic importance in functional gastrointestinal diseases and gluten-related disorders. He has published over 70 peer-reviewed papers, with current h-index of 33.

Stephen Vanner, MSc., MD, FRCP(C)
Department of Medicine
Queen's University
Professor and Director, Gastrointestinal Diseases Research Unit (GIDRU)

 

After completing a combined MSc, MD degree in Neurophysiology and a Residency in Gastroenterology at Queen's University, Dr. Vanner undertook a postdoctoral fellowship studying the enteric nervous system with Annemarie Surprenant at the Vollum Institute in Portland Oregon. Currently he is Director of the Gastrointestinal Diseases Research Unit (GIDRU) at Queen's University in Kingston. Dr. Vanner has a basic and clinical research program examining pain signalling in Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. His clinical research has included studies of the role of breath testing for diagnosing small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in IBS patients and the benefits of the low FODMAP diet in reducing the symptoms of IBS.

Presentation Overview
Patients suffering from a functional bowel disorder, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), commonly report the symptom of abdominal bloating. Recent controversial reports suggest that small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) may underlie IBS symptoms, including bloating, and recommend that they should be treated with antibiotics. This presentation will examine:

• the current understanding of the pathophysiology of bloating and SIBO
• what diagnostic tests are useful in IBS patients with bloating
• what treatments may be effective

Angela C. Cheung MD, FRCPC
Carlos Research Fellow for Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Masters Candidate in Health Research Methodology Specialization in Clinical Epidemiology

 

 

Dr. Angela Cheung is currently completing an advanced research fellowship in PSC at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Prior to pursuing further training in the United States, she was a hepatologist at the Toronto Centre for Liver Disease at the Toronto General and Toronto Western Hospitals in Toronto. She completed her medical school training at the University of Alberta in Edmonton and her Internal Medicine training in Kingston, Ontario. She underwent Gastroenterology training at the University of Toronto before she trained with Dr. Jenny Heathcote, a seminal leader in hepatology, particularly in PBC and HCV. Dr. Cheung has worked with the Global PBC and the International PSC Study Groups to better delineate the epidemiology of cholestatic liver disease. She is currently completing a Masters in Clinical Epidemiology at McMaster University.

Nikila C. Ravindran, MD, MSc (QIPS), FRCPC
Gastroenterologist Hospitalist,
Grand River Hospital and St. Mary's General Hospital,
Kitchener, Ontario

 

Dr. Nikila C. Ravindran completed her MD, Internal Medicine residency and Gastroenterology training at the University of Toronto, finishing her GI residency in 2010. In her final year of training, she was the recipient of the prestigious Lou Cole Award for Excellence in GI Teaching. She then took on a Clinical Scholar (Junior Staff) position in General Gastroenterology at the University of Calgary (2010-2012). Her clinical practice included more than 2000 patients and she performed more than 1800 procedures. She returned to Toronto and joined the GI Division at St. Michael's Hospital in the very busy and demanding role of GI Hospitalist (2013-2015). While working full time as GI Hospitalist, she completed a Master's degree in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety at the University of Toronto. She then worked as a Clinical Associate in General Gastroenterology at Women's College Hospital (2015-2016). She is an Adjunct Clinical Lecturer at the University of Toronto, and will be starting a new role as GI Hospitalist at Grand River Hospital and St. Mary's General Hospital in Kitchener, Ontario in November 2016.

Natasha Chandok, MD, MPH
William Osler Health System
Associate Director, Osler Multidisciplinary Hepatitis Clinic
Adjunct Professor of Medicine, University of Western Ontario

 

Dr. Natasha Chandok completed her Medical Degree at the University of Ottawa and residency training in Medicine and Gastroenterology at McMaster University. Thereafter, she completed a Hepatology fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, followed by a Master's degree in Public Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Chandok's clinical career started as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Western Ontario until 2013 when she established a Hepatology practice at William Osler Health System. Now an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Western, Dr. Chandok continues activities in research and education, having established a successful e-learning app, LearnTheLiver. She has published over 45 peer-reviewed articles to date and supervises and lectures medical students and residents of McMaster University. She has been instrumental in establishing a Hepatology Program at Osler, and is Associate Director of the Osler Multidisciplinary Hepatitis Clinic.

Vipul Jairath, BSc, MBChB, PhD, MRCP (UK)
Associate Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Division of Gastroenterology
University of Western Ontario
London Health Sciences Centre
London, ON

 

Dr. Vipul Jairath is Associate Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Western University and his clinical practice is based at University Hospital, London Ontario. His research interests are in clinical trials, endpoint development and methodology. Prior to moving to Canada, he was a consultant gastroenterologist at Oxford University hospitals and a lecturer at Oxford University, with career funding from the National Institute for Health Research. He is a principal or co-investigator for several randomized trials.

Louis Liu, BEng, MEng, PhD, MD, FRCPC
Division Head of Gastroenterology
Sinai Health System and University Health Network
Director, Clinical Motility Unit, UHN

 

Dr. Louis Liu completed his Bachelor, Masters and PhD in Engineering, followed by Doctor of Medicine at McMaster University. He is the Head of Gastroenterology in University Health Network and Sinai Health System, and the Director of the Clinical Motility Unit in University Health Network. Dr. Liu has been actively involved in medical education. He established the University of Toronto Neurogastroenterology and Motility Fellowship Program in 2009. He served as the course co-director of the Metabolism and Nutrition Unit in the University of Toronto undergraduate MD Program between 2011-2015. Internationally, he is the University of Toronto Lead of the GI Residency Training Program at Addis Ababa University of Ethiopia and inaugurated their Endoscopy Training Center in the Tikur Anbessa Hospital in 2015. He is a dedicated and accomplished educator and researcher who has received multiple education and research awards, and authored nearly 100 peer-review publications and book chapters.

Presentation Overview
In patients with IBS-C, abdominal pain, rather than infrequent bowel movements, has been reported as the most distress symptoms by patients. The recently published Rome IV IBS diagnostic criteria reflectively identify abdominal pain as the sole functional abdominal symptom that distinguishes IBS-C from chronic constipation. Hence, to achieve satisfactory patient outcome, effective therapeutic agents need to target to improve both bowel movement frequency and abdominal pain. This presentation discusses the evidence of treatment options for IBS focusing on clinical outcomes of bowel movement frequency and abdominal pain. At the end of this session, the attendants will be able to develop individualized treatment programs for their IBS-C patients.

Jason Pennington, MD, MSc., FRCSC
Division of General Surgery
Scarborough General Hospital

 

Jason J. Pennington is a community General Surgeon at The Scarborough Hospital and Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery, University of Toronto.  He left Quebec City in 1990 to pursue post-secondary studies at the University of Toronto.  He completed Honours Bachelor and Master of Science Degrees prior to undertaking his MD studies and residency training in General Surgery. 

After completion of a Clinical Associate term at The Toronto Western Hospital (UHN) he went into community General Surgery at The Scarborough Hospital where he has a busy practice with an emphasis on colorectal surgery and proctology.  He also teaches Family Practice and General Surgery Residents and is the Site Coordinator for General Surgery Residents. 

With a commitment to excellence and education Dr. Pennington has also completed a term on the General Surgery Specialty Committee at The Royal College and participated on various projects pertaining to Colon Cancer Check at Cancer Care Ontario.

Emily Ching, MD, FRCPC
GI Health Centre

 

 

Dr. Emily Chingreceived her medical degree at McMaster University. She then completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is a recent gastroenterology training graduate from McMaster University in 2010, where she also served as a chief gastroenterology resident.

Upon completing her gastroenterology training, Dr. Ching has done gastroenterology locum at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. She also worked at various outpatient clinics while being a part-time gastroenterology consultant at Baycrest Geriatric Centre in the Greater Toronto area. With the recent change in job climate in gastroenterology, she embraced the challenge to the new paradigm shift and co-found an outpatient-based gastroenterology clinic, GI Health Centre, along with Dr. Sapna Makhija and Dr. Avantika Marwaha in Burlington, Ontario, in the summer of 2012. Dr. Ching and her partners strive to shorten healthcare wait time while maintaining patient follow up and continuity of care.

Imran Rasul, MD, FRCP(C)
Chair of the Endoscopy Unit
Credit Valley Hospital
Secretary, OAG

 

Dr. Imran Rasul completed his undergraduate training at the University of Toronto in 1992. He went on to complete his Medical Degree, Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology training at the University of Toronto. Further training in Advanced Therapeutic Endoscopy was completed at University of Toronto. He has been practicing in Mississauga at the Credit Valley Hospital for the past seven years. Dr. Rasul has an interest in Advanced Endoscopy and is Chair of the Endoscopy Unit at Credit Valley Hospital.

Jeff Mosko MD, MSc, FRCPC
Therapeutic Endoscopy, St. Michael's Hospital
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Division of Gastroenterology, University of Toronto

 

Dr. Jeffrey Mosko graduated with a BSc and then MD from the University of Western Ontario. He completed his internal medicine and general gastroenterology training at the University of Toronto. He completed his fellowship training in advanced endoscopy at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts (2013-­‐2014) and has been on staff at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto since that time. He completed an MSc in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. His clinical interests are in advanced endoscopy including ERCP, EUS and endoscopic oncology. His research interests are in quality improvement in endoscopy.

Presentation Overview
This presentation will show highlights of the 29th Annual Course in Therapeutic Endoscopy. This will include videos of POEMS, ESD, ERCP, EUS, polypectomy and management of Barrett's.

Catherine Dubé, MD, MSc, FRCPC
Clinical Lead, ColonCancerCheck
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology,
University of Ottawa
The Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus

 

Dr. Dubé is a gastroenterologist who obtained her Medical Degree from the University of Montréal in 1989, where she also completed a Master’s degree in pharmacology (1990). She completed her fellowships in Internal Medicine (1993) and Gastroenterology (1995) as well as a Master’s degree in Clinical Epidemiology (1999) at the University of Ottawa.

She is currently a staff physician at The Ottawa Hospital and an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Ottawa and is also the Clinical Lead for ColonCancerCheck, Ontario’s colorectal cancer screening program. Her main areas of research and administrative interests are colorectal cancer screening, population based screening, clinical pathways and quality assurance and quality improvement in endoscopy.

Presentation Overview
This presentation will describe the fecal immunochemical test (FIT) and its use in colorectal cancer screening, with particular attention to the evidence that supports the use of FIT over colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening test in their average risk patients. The session will also describe the anticipated outcomes of a FIT-positive colonoscopy, including resource implications and expected clinically-significant outcomes, informed by the experience of the Colon Cancer Screening Centre in Calgary. Lastly, the presentation will conclude with what the transition to FIT will mean for clinicians practicing in Ontario.

Iain Murray, MD CM, FRCP(C)
President, Ontario Association of
Gastroenterology
Section Chair, OMA Section
of Gastroenterology

 

Dr. Iain Murray's family immigrated from far overseas in 1972. He attended school and CEGEP on the island of Montreal. His Bachelor of Science was obtained at the University of Toronto and Master's degree at the Anatomy Department of McGill University. He graduated from McGill Medical School in 1990. Dr. Murray did his post-graduate training in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology at the University of Western Ontario. He first set up practice at Markham-Stouffville hospital in 1995. In 2003 he became co-found of the current Intestinal Health Institute where he continues his gastroenterology practice. Dr. Murray is the current President of the Ontario Association of Gastroenterology. He is also the Chair of the Section on Gastroenterology at the Ontario Medical Association. Dr. Murray is married with three children.

Iain Murray, MD CM, FRCP(C)
President, Ontario Association of
Gastroenterology
Section Chair, OMA Section
of Gastroenterology

 

Dr. Iain Murray's family immigrated from far overseas in 1972. He attended school and CEGEP on the island of Montreal. His Bachelor of Science was obtained at the University of Toronto and Master's degree at the Anatomy Department of McGill University. He graduated from McGill Medical School in 1990. Dr. Murray did his post-graduate training in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology at the University of Western Ontario. He first set up practice at Markham-Stouffville hospital in 1995. In 2003 he became co-found of the current Intestinal Health Institute where he continues his gastroenterology practice. Dr. Murray is the current President of the Ontario Association of Gastroenterology. He is also the Chair of the Section on Gastroenterology at the Ontario Medical Association. Dr. Murray is married with three children.