ARCHIVED – Membership
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Biographies of Members
Robin Walker, Chair
Robin Walker is the integrated Vice-President Medical Affairs and Medical Education for London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph's Health Care, London. He previously held the position of Vice-President Medicine at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Professor of Pediatrics at Dalhousie University. His postgraduate work in pediatrics and neonatal-perinatal medicine was at Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS and he received his FRCPC (Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada) in pediatrics in 1977, as well as subsequently the designation FAAP (Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics). With over 25 years experience as a neonatologist, Dr. Walker has worked both within the hospital sector and with non-government organizations. His research has recently included work on artificial intelligence tools in neonatal medicine and evidence-based approaches in the improvement of the practice of neonatal intensive care. In addition, Dr. Walker is a past president of the Canadian Paediatric Society and past Chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Pediatric Education. Dr. Walker is Chair of Health Canada's new Paediatric Expert Advisory Committee.
Nora (Noni) MacDonald, Vice-Chair
Nora (Noni) MacDonald is a professor of paediatrics at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia with a clinical appointment in paediatric infectious diseases at the IWK Health Centre. Dr. MacDonald's paediatric research has included sexually transmitted diseases in adolescents and vaccines for infectious diseases. Dr. MacDonald is the founder and Editor in Chief for Paediatrics and Child Health, the journal of the Canadian Paediatric Society and is the public health section editor for the Canadian Medical Association Journal. She also works as a consultant to the World Health Organization's Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologics. Dr. MacDonald is the alternate chair for the Paediatric Expert Advisory Committee.
Stephanie Atkinson
Stephanie Atkinson is a paediatric nutrition research scientist and professor at McMaster University and a clinical consultant for paediatric nutrition in McMaster Children's Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario. She is also an associate member of the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Atkinson holds a PhD in nutritional biochemistry and her research focus includes early determinants of childhood obesity and cardiovascular disease, and the etiology and treatment of sub-optimal bone health associated with children disorders such as extreme prematurity, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, cystic fibrosis or treatment with drugs like glucocortoids or anti-epileptics. Dr. Atkinson was a member of the inaugural Governing Council of Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (2000-2005) and was recently President of the American Society for Nutrition.
Blair Boudreau
Blair Boudreau is a retired school teacher and principle having been in the profession for 35 years. Mr. Boudreau is fluent in both French and English and has a master's degree in education. He has been president of the Acadian Seniors Association, and serving on the senior Secretariat for the Nova Scotia Government as an advisor to the Minister of Health. At the same time, he became an Ambassador with IMHA, an Institute of CIHR. Mr. Boudreau has written two books on local history and was President of the local museum for 12 years. He is presently involved as a trainer for Health Nova Scotia, French Division. The reason for his interest in Pediatrics is related to his son's struggles with chron's disease.
Max J. Coppes
Max J. Coppes is President of the BC Cancer Agency, bringing over 20 years of experience as a cancer specialist, researchers, teacher, and administrator. Prior to his appointment in BC, Dr. Coppes was Senior Vice President at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC, where he also held several academic and research positions, including at the Georgetown University School of Medicine and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). A paediatric oncologist by training, Dr. Coppes obtained his medical degree at the University of Leiden and a doctorate at the University of Amsterdam both in the Netherlands, and his MBA at the University of Calgary. He has worked with Health Canada's Canadian Childhood Cancer Surveillance and Control Program and served on the Council of Canadian Paediatric Haematology/Oncology Directors as well as on the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control. Dr. Coppes has extensively contributed to both laboratory-based and clinical research and understands the regulatory requirements for clinical studies well, as he served as Canada's first Senior Medical Officer for Canadian Affairs in the Children's Oncology Group. In addition to leading the BC Cancer Agency, Dr. Coppes serves as a Professor of Medicine and Paediatrics at UBC's Faculty of Medicine and continues to practice paediatric oncology at BC Children's Hospital.
L. Lee Dupuis
L. Lee Dupuis is a clinical pharmacy manager with the Department of Pharmacy and Division of Haematology/Oncology at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario. Her experience there has included paediatric therapeutics, the development of clinical practice guidelines and the safe use of medications in paediatrics from pre-term neonates to adolescents. Her research interests focus on the optimization of supportive care of children with cancer and undergoing bone marrow transplantation. She is currently a co-chair of the Supportive Care Committee with the Paediatric Oncology Group of Ontario, co-chair of the C17 Standards & Guidelines Committee, and a member of the Steering Committee of the Cancer Control Committee of the Children's Oncology Group. Ms. Dupuis is also an associate professor with the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto.
Lorella Garofalo
Lorella Garofalo is the Director of Medical Affairs - Therapeutic Areas for Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals at Pfizer-Canada in Montreal, Quebec. She holds a PhD in pharmacology and has experience in the conduct of clinical trials in paediatric patients, their ethical aspects and the clinical, operational, and regulatory requirements related to paediatric clinical research. Dr. Garofalo is also a member of the Advisory Council to Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D) Health Research Foundation, the Board of Directors for Canadians for Health Research and the Board of Directors for the Douglas Hospital University Institute in Mental Health. In addition, she has served on the International Scientific Advisory Committee for the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists.
Sheila Innis
Sheila Innis is a Professor in the Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, and the Director of the Nutrition and Metabolism Program at the Child and Family Research Institute. She also holds a scientific and professional staff appointment at the Children's and Women's Hospital in Vancouver, where she is in the Division of Neonatology. She also co-chairs the nutrition committees for intensive newborn care nursery, and the BC Children's and Women's Hospital. Dr. Innis completed her PhD at the University of Toronto in nutrition and joined the University of British Columbia initially in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and then moved to Paediatrics. Dr. Innis has a long-standing research and academic career in infant and child nutrition, growth and development. Her expertise relates largely to lipids and essential fatty acids. She has over 200 peer-reviewed publications and has been continuously funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
Gideon Koren
Gideon Koren is the founder and director of the Motherisk Program and a professor of Pediatrics, pharmacology, pharmacy and medicine. He is a staff pediatrician at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and the author/co-author of hundreds of scientific articles, book chapters and abstracts. He is a member of numerous professional societies. In 1999 he received the Irving Sunshine Award (awarded by the International Association of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring & Clinical Toxicology), and in 1997 he received the prestigious Rawls-Palmer Award. Both awards were for outstanding contributions to clinical toxicology. In March 2000 Dr. Koren received the Medical Research Council of Canada's Senior Scientist award for his work in Population Health Sciences, and in September 2003 he was awarded the Pippenger Award for outstanding achievement by the International Association for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and Clinical Toxicology. Dr. Koren is founder of the FACE (Fetal Alcohol Canadian Expertise) Network and the peer reviewed Journal of FAS International. In 2004 Dr. Koren was appointed as the Ivey Chair in Molecular Toxicology at the University of Western Ontario. He is creating a Canadian Network of Human Toxicology.
Catherine Litalien
Catherine Litalien is a pediatric intensivist in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine in Montreal, Quebec. She is also the medical director of the Clinical Pharmacology Unit at that institution, which primary goal is to assist clinicians in the personalization of drug treatment by providing pharmacological data in a "real-time" fashion ("real-time pharmacology"). Her research interest focus on the use of a population pharmacokinetic approach to better identify factors responsible for the important variability observed in the disposition of drugs in the pediatric population. She is also interested in the impact of inflammation on drug metabolism in critically ill children. Dr. Litalien is an associate professor with the Faculty of Medicine at the Université de Montreal.
Stuart M. MacLeod
Stuart M. MacLeod is a paediatric pharmacologist whose academic activities have always been centred on clinical settings with a commitment to the optimization of drug therapy. He is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia. His research has been particularly related to paediatric drug safety and adverse drug reactions. Dr. MacLeod developed the world's first major paediatric clinical pharmacology research program, based out of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario. Presently, he is a senior scientist at the Child & Family Research Institute in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he is engaged in research in pharmacology, therapeutics and toxicology with additional interests in international health and policy studies.
Patricia Ann Malloy
Patricia Ann Malloy is a clinical nurse specialist and nurse practitioner at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario. She has worked in northern rural communities with Aboriginal children of all age groups and their families. She has also worked on the international level. Patricia has worked with paediatric populations in a variety of environments, ranging from street and poverty-stricken youth, under-housed youth, children suffering the aftermath of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake, and children living with infectious diseases (i.e. tuberculosis).
Penelope Marrett
Penelope Marrett is the Chief Executive Officer of United Way / Centraide Windsor-Essex County. Ms. Marrett is a seasoned not-for-profit executive with over thirty years' experience in leading organizations, elevating their profile and enhancing the quality of life in their communities. Most recently, Ms. Marrett was the President and CEO of the Canadian Health Food Association. Previous to that she held the positions of CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association and COO of The Arthritis Society. She has also served as Director of both the Health Services Division and Health Charities Council of Canada when employed with the Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations in Ottawa. Previous to these positions, she served as the Executive Director of the Schizophrenia Society of Canada as well as held other positions in the not-for-profit and charitable sectors. Ms. Marrett has been an active member of the communities in which she has lived and is currently the Treasurer of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, among other volunteer positions. Originally from Montreal, Ms. Marrett, who is bilingual, holds a Bachelor of Music from McGill University and a Masters in Public Administration from Queen's University.
Deborah L. O'Connor
Deborah (Debbie) O'Connor is currently the Associate Chief Academic and Professional Practice and a Senior Associate Scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario. She is also a Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto. Dr. O'Connor, a registered dietitian, obtained her BASc from the University of Guelph and her MSc and PhD degrees in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Illinois. Her research focuses on the folate status of Canadians post-folic acid fortification of the food supply, the role of dietary supplements and the contribution of bacterial biosynthesis of folate in the colon. Her group is also actively investigating strategies to increase human milk intake among sick and vulnerable infants including the use of donor human milk for very low birth weight infants when mothers' own milk is in short supply. Her team is also examining the relationships between maternal metabolic status (normoglycemia, gestational diabetes), breast milk composition and infant growth and body composition. Dr. O'Connor recently served on the Expert Advisory Group for revision of Health Canada's National Nutrition Pregnancy Guidelines. Dr. O'Connor's research is currently supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Diabetes Association.
Gary Pekeles
Gary Pekeles is a pediatrician at the Montreal Children's Hospital and Associate Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Epidemiology at McGill. He has longstanding experience in aboriginal child health, child health in the developing world, and the care of children requiring hospitalization. He is currently Director of the Native and Northern Child Health Program at the MCH. He has been Director of the Postgraduate Education Program in Pediatrics at McGill and Director of the Medical Inpatient Services at the MCH. He has taught and practiced in Tanzania, Ethiopia and Uganda. He has served on advisory committees and as a consultant to the governments of Canada, Quebec, Ontario and the Northwest Territories. He has served as President of the Canadian Paediatric Society and in leadership positions in the Canadian Society for Circumpolar Health and the International Union for Circumpolar Health. His research interests have been in the epidemiology of infectious diseases, the organization of health care services and the translation from research to policy and practice.
Laurie Proulx
Laurie Proulx is a member of the Steering Committee of the Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance (CAPA) and lives in Ottawa, Ontario. Having lived with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis since adolescence, Laurie has extensive first-hand experience with paediatric illness and treatment. Ms. Proulx is involved in a variety of networks which focus on the needs of the childhood arthritis community, such as the Bone and Joint decade, Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group and Childhood Arthritis Rheumatology Research Association. She currently chairs CAPA's Childhood Arthritis Committee and advocates for children and adults living with arthritis. Ms. Proulx holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and is a human resources project manager with the Canada Revenue Agency.
Sunita Vohra
Sunita Vohra is a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and School of Public Health at the University of Alberta, and founding Director of both the Complementary and Alternative Research and Education (CARE) Program, Canada's first academic pediatric integrative medicine program, and the PedCAM network, a national pediatric CAM research and education network. Dr. Vohra has training in pediatrics, clinical pharmacology, and clinical epidemiology with expertise in systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, N-of-1 trials, active surveillance and safety research. She is currently serving as Vice-Chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Complementary and Integrative Medicine and a Co-Convenor for Cochrane Collaboration Adverse Events Methods Group (AEMG).
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