SEPSIS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor
- Member of the Steering Committee
Dr. Amy Lee received her Ph.D. in Cell and Systems Biology from University of Toronto, and was a postdoctoral fellow at University of British Columbia. Her research focuses on understanding the dynamic interactions between host and pathogens, using both experimental and bioinformatic approaches. Her work ranges from understanding the molecular virulence and antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in pathogens, to looking at host immune responses during development or infection such as sepsis or COVID-19.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Steering Committee
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology
- Professor
Dr. Hancock is a leading microbiologist in Canada and has researched and taught at the University of British Columbia for nearly 40 years.
The fundamental interest of Hancock and his laboratory is in designing new therapeutic strategies to treat infections in the light of increasing antibiotic resistance coupled with a dearth of new antibiotic discovery.
His research interests include cationic host defence (antimicrobial) peptides as novel antimicrobials, anti-biofilm agents and modulators of innate immunity, the development of alternatives to antibiotics for resistant infections, the systems biology of innate immunity, inflammatory diseases and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and antibiotic resistance, particularly multidrug adaptive resistance. He has published more than 670 papers and reviews, is an ISI highly cited author in Microbiology with more than 63,000 citations and an h-index of 134, and has 55 patents awarded.
Hancock has trained to date 140 Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows and won the Killam Prize for excellence in Mentoring in 2010. Those trainees who graduated are currently employed in a variety of positions covering the gamut from academia to industry to government laboratories.
In recognition of his work, Dr. Hancock has received numerous awards and honours including: the Prix Galien (Highest Award for Canadian Pharmaceutical Research and Innovation), the Killam Prize (Canada Council's prize for Health Research), Michael Smith CIHR Researcher of the Year, the ICAAC Aventis Antimicrobial Research Award (Leading award worldwide for antimicrobial research) and in 2001 he was inducted as an Officer of the Order of Canada (Canada's second highest honour).
He is the co-founder of Migenix, Inimex Pharmaceuticals, ABT Innovations, Sepset and the Centre for Drug Research and Development.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Associate Professor
Job Titles:
- Clinical Associate Professor / Department of Emergency Medicine
Dr. David Sweet holds attending positions in Emergency Medicine and Critical Care Medicine and is the education director for the ICU at Vancouver General Hospital. David completed fellowship positions in Emergency Medicine, Critical Care Medicine and did extra training in transesophagelal echocardiography at the University of British Columbia. With his interests in Emergency Department management of Sepsis, he designed the VGH sepsis protocol and had it implemented in 2006. David has been the lead sepsis consultant for the Evidence to Excellence collaborative which has implemented sepsis protocols in emergency rooms throughout British Columbia. Additionally, David is the clinical lead (sepsis) for Clinical Care Management (CCM) initiated by the Ministry of Health. He continues to be a local educator and expert in the field of sepsis and septic shock management.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor
- Member of the Steering Committee
Job Titles:
- Professor
- Tier 1 Canada Research Chair
Dr. Ogilvie is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Global Control of HPV related diseases and prevention. She is also Senior Public Health Scientist at BC Centre for Disease Control and Senior Research Advisor at the BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre. Dr. Ogilvie is principal investigator on over 5 million dollars in research grants and has received funding from PHAC, CIHR, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, Canadian Foundation for Innovation and private foundations.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Steering Committee
- Professor
Dr. Russell was recruited to Vancouver, BC as Director of the Medical Surgical ICU at St. Paul's Hospital, where he built a world-class team of basic science, translational, and clinical researchers in Critical Care focused on molecular mechanisms and treatment of sepsis. Now ,Dr Russell is a Professor of Medicine at UBC, a Principal Investigator at the SPH-based Centre for Heart Lung Innovation (HLI) and a member of the Board of Molecular You and of the Personalized Medicine Initiative. Dr. Russell was also a co-founder and founding CEO of Sirius Genomics Inc., a spin off company of UBC and SPH. Sirius raised $16M to attempt to identify and validate genomic markers (i.e. predictive biomarkers) of improved response to what was the only approved drug for sepsis, activated protein C (Xigris). Dr. Russell is also co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Cyon Therapeutics, another spin-off of UBC and SPH. Through their groundbreaking scientific discoveries the team is developing the means to boost the body's natural ability to clear infectious toxins from the bloodstream. Bacterial toxins are found in cholesterol, so Cyon's technology will focus on increasing the clearance of cholesterol bound toxins. The major discovery is that genetic variants of PCSK9 - loss of function variants - have improved survival from septic shock and that in murine models, PCSK9 knock-outs and antibodies to PCSK9 also have improved survival from septic shock. This important discovery has potentially important therapeutic implications in septic shock; we are now investigating the potential efficacy and safety of PCSK9 inhibitor(s) in septic shock.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor
- Member of the Steering Committee
Dr. Boyd received his MD from the University of Western Ontario in 1998, trained in Internal Medicine at the University of Western Ontario, and subsequently trained in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at McGill University from 2001-2004. His Postdoctoral Fellowship was at the Meakins Laboratory in Montreal 2004-2005. He is an Intensivist at St. Paul's Hospital ICU and an investigator at the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation (HLI).
Dr. Boyd's research program studies the sudden organ failure which occurs as a result of infection. Centered around patients, the research and training includes three main areas of concentration: 1) Clinical, 2) Translational and 3) Mechanistic/cellular.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director for the ICU at St. Paul 's Hospital
- Professor
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor
- Member of the Steering Committee
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor
- Member of the Steering Committee
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Job Titles:
- Member of the Steering Committee
- Professor
Job Titles:
- Member of the Steering Committee
- Department of Pediatrics
- Professor
Job Titles:
- Department of Pediatrics
- Professor
Dr. Richard Lester completed his research fellowship in HIV in Kenya at the University of Manitoba and University of Nairobi collaborative, where he initiated development of an innovative mobile phone health (mHealth) service that was demonstrated in a landmark trial, WelTel Kenya1 (Lancet 2010 ), to improve HIV outcomes funded by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
Job Titles:
- Clinical Associate Professor
Job Titles:
- Member of the Steering Committee
- Patient Partner
- Registered Dietitian and Member of the Ordre
Marie-Maxime is a registered dietitian and member of the Ordre des diététistes nutritionnistes du Québec (ODNQ). She graduated from the University of Montreal with a BSc (Nutrition) in 2004. Nutrition counseling and patient education through webinars, cooking demonstrations and blogging are the main activities of her practice. She is currently studying at the Institute of Functional Medicine towards an IFM practitioner certification and a patient partner at Sepsis Canada. Her sepsis story can be found here.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Steering Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Steering Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Steering Committee
- Cluster Coordinator
- Cluster Coordinator / BC Children 's Hospital Research Institute
Varun (he/him) is a recent graduate from UBC's Integrated Sciences program, where he integrated Genetics & Global Health. He has been an active member of the C&W campus, having been a member of various research teams with BCCHR and WHRI. He is passionate about the intersection between clinical practice, healthcare policy, and global-minded research. Outside of work, Varun is an avid fan of sports (mainly football/soccer and hockey), enjoys reading books and listening to music from a variety of genres, and spends time with his friends and family.