Core Study Team
Sonny Dhanani, MD, FRCPC - Principal InvestigatorSonny Dhanani is the chief of the paediatric intensive care unit at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa, and is also an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Ottawa. He has recently been the chief medical officer of donation for Trillium Gift of Life, Ontario's organ procurement organization. Sonny is Chair of the Canadian Donation Physician Network, and is Vice-Chair of Canadian Blood Services' Deceased Donation Advisory Committee. He co-leads projects for the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program and is the primary investigator for the DePPaRT study. Sonny's major research interests are related to determination of death, improving practices of deceased organ donation, and improving pediatric critical care.
Contact: sdhanani[at]cheo.on.ca |
Laura Hornby, MSc - Research ManagerLaura Hornby has worked extensively as a medical research consultant and research manager for clinical studies involving both pediatric and adult participants. She has managed projects in organ donation research for the last 10 years and is currently the research manager for the DePPaRT study. Laura also works as a consultant for Canadian Blood Services (CBS) in the area of deceased donation. Her work in organ donation policy development for CBS includes membership on several guideline development committees, including death determination, pediatric organ donation after circulatory determined death, and medical management of deceased organ donors.
Contact: lhornby[at]uottawa.ca |
Nathan Scales, MSc, PhD - Biomedical EngineerNathan Scales has a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from Carleton University and a PhD in Quantitative Physiology from McGill. His research has encompassed mathematical modelling and simulation, single module fluorescence data analysis, nano-fabrication techniques, and machine learning. Nathan is a research associate in the Dynamical Analysis Laboratory at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute where he uses vital signs variability analysis and machine learning in the development of prototype clinical decision support systems. Nathan is responsible for the acquisition and analysis of the vital signs waveform data for DePPaRT, and is the creator of custom software used for waveform review and analysis.
Contact: nscales[at]ohri.ca |
Amanda van Beinum, MSc, PhD(candidate) - Research AssociateAmanda van Beinum has been working with the DDePICt group since 2012 when she wrote her MSc (Epidemiology) thesis using data on processes of withdrawal of life support therapies collected as part of the pilot study. With almost 10 years of experience in various roles in clinical research from data collection to co-principal investigator, Amanda continues to engage in various projects related to end of life practices in the intensive care unit. Amanda is currently finishing a PhD in Sociology at Carleton University where she is studying processes of death and dying from a more qualitative and theoretical perspective. Amanda's research interests include research ethics, social understandings of death and dying, qualitative and mixed-methods analysis, and the role of science and medicine in society.
Contact: avanbeinum[at]cheo.on.ca |
Mélanie Hogue, RN, MSc (Nursing) - Research CoordinatorMélanie Hogue is a clinical nurse with 16 years of experience in a neonatal intensive care unit at the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal. She is currently working as a research coordinator for the DePPaRT study at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), and also continues to work part time as a nurse. Mélanie's clinical background in an intensive care setting allows her to support many ongoing processes of the DePPaRT study including data management and review.
Contact: mhogue[at]cheo.on.ca |