Mini Medical School 2023-2024

Dr. Cathy Lu

Dr. Cathy Lu, MD, MSc, FRCPC, is a practising clinician and Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine. She is also a full member of the Snyder Institute and a member of the Stenosis, Therapy, and Anti-Fibrotic Research Consortium executive/operational committee. She currently co-chairs the scientific committee of iUS-CAN, the United States and Canada consortium for intestinal ultrasound.

Dr. Lu’s primary research interests are in fibrostenotic Crohn’s disease, intestinal ultrasound, and -omic biomarkers in the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment response in IBD. Additional interests include how diet and nutrition play a role in strictures, whether as a risk or treatment. 

Dr. Karen Madsen

Dr. Karen Madsen, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Alberta, a lead investigator in the GEM project and national IMAGINE Chronic Disease Network, and the University of Alberta’s lead for the national Microbiome Research Core, IMPACTT. She is also a member of the Women’s & Children’s Health Research Institute in Edmonton and AHS’s Digestive Health Strategic Clinical Network. 

The primary focus of Dr. Madsen’s research is the relationship between the host and its resident microbiota, with particular interest in the role of microbes in inflammatory bowel diseases and metabolic disorders and how environmental factors and diet can modulate these interactions. The overarching goal of her research program is to gain mechanistic knowledge of these interactions to design effective therapeutic interventions aimed at the manipulation of the gut microbiota to improve human health. 

Dr. Carol Huang

Dr. Carol Huang, MD, PhD, FRCPC is the Head of the Division of Endocrinology at Alberta Children’s Hospital and Associate Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine. She is a full member of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute and an associate member of the Snyder Institute.

Dr. Huang’s research program focuses on molecular mechanisms that regulate pancreatic beta cell function under conditions of metabolic stress, and how microbiome and metabolic stress links to the progression of type 1 diabetes in children.

Dr. Hanan Bassyouni

Dr. Hanan Bassyouni, MD, is a practicing endocrinologist and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine. In addition to her clinical and academic work, Dr. Bassyouni provides outreach endocrinology consultant services to several clinics serving underprivileged and marginalized populations.

Dr. Quentin Pittman

Dr. Quentin Pittman, PhD, FRSC, is a Professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine, a full member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, and the Mathison Centre, and an associate member of the Snyder Institute. Additionally, Dr. Pittman is the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology’s Deputy Chair, Director of Education and Training at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, and One Child, Every Child Transdisciplinary Training Lead. 

Dr. Pittman’s research program focuses on three major areas: innate immunity, inflammation, and the brain, cellular actions of peptides, mediators and neurotransmitters, and early life programming of the brain by inflammation and febrile seizures. 

Dr. Mark Swain

Dr. Mark Swain, MD, MSc, FRCP, is a hepatologist and Professor of Medicine at the University of Calgary. He holds the Cal Wenzel Family Foundation Chair in Hepatology and is a full member of the Snyder Institute. Dr. Swain has longstanding research and clinical interests in improving the management and treatment of people with metabolic, viral and autoimmune liver disease - with a specific focus on liver disease-associated symptoms. He is President of the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver (CASL) and was inducted as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2019 for his accomplishments as a clinician and researcher in helping to improve our understanding and management of liver disease.

Dr. Tim Shutt

Dr. Tim Shutt, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Medical Genetics and a full member of UCalgary's Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, and Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute.

Dr. Shutt’s work focuses on investigating interplay between mitochondrial dynamics, cellular stress, and the regulation of mitochondrial DNA and the genetic causes of mitochondrial disease.

Dr. Derek McKay

Dr. Derek McKay, PhD, is the Director of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, a professor with the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology with UCalgary’s Cumming School of Medicine, and a former president of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology. Dr. McKay is highly regarded for his research on unravelling communication pathways in the gut that control normal physiology and disease, both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. He is a visionary leader who plans to maintain and build upon the established reputation of the Snyder Institute, while fostering innovative chronic disease research, connecting with the university community and leading education endeavours.

Dr. Susan Kutz

Dr. Susan Kutz, DVM, PhD, is a wildlife veterinarian, Professor at the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, a Canada Research Chair in Arctic One Health, a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and a full member of the Snyder Institute. Susan works in partnership with Indigenous communities in the Canadian Arctic and Subarctic to promote the health of animals, people and the environment. Her research aims to bring local, Indigenous and scientific knowledge together to understand the impacts of a warming Arctic on the health of muskoxen and caribou and the consequent effects on food security in the Arctic. Dr. Kutz has also pioneered the Northern Community Health rotation in the Sahtu Settlement area in the Northwest Territories where she and her team have delivered annual veterinary services to five Dene communities since 2009.  This program provides essential animal health services, unique cross-cultural experiential learning opportunities for veterinary students, and mentorship in the health sciences for Indigenous youth. 

Ms. Amanda Dumond

Ms. Amanda Dumond is a traditional knowledge keeper and manager of the Kugluktuk Hunters and Trappers Organization, a community organization that, amongst other initiatives, runs a Country Food Program that harvests and distributes local country food, such as ptarmigan, geese, seal, fish, and muskox, to community members. The Country Food Program is accessed by roughly 100 to 150 families per year and helps ensure that the needs of the community are met, particularly in cases where food costs pose a significant challenge.

In addition to her work with the Country Food Program, Amanda advocates for the inclusion of traditional or community knowledge in Arctic research and collaborates on various scientific research projects.

Dr. Joe Harrison

Dr. Joe Harrison, PhD, is a microbiologist, biochemist and molecular geneticist at UCalgary who holds a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Biofilm Microbiology and Genomics from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. He is also a member of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases. Dr. Harrison’s research aims to better understand chronic infectious diseases and to devise new ways to defeat them. Harrison chairs the Biofilm Research Group (BRG) and has helped to define institutional strategic research policy as part of the “Infections, Inflammation and Chronic Diseases” and “One Health” thought leaders’ groups. Harrison is a co-lead for Integrated Microbiome Platforms for Advancing Causation Testing and Translation (IMPACTT), which is the CIHR-funded Canadian Microbiome Core.

Dr. Ranjani Somayaji

Dr. Ranjani Somayaji, MD, MPH, FRCPC, is an infectious disease specialist, an Associate Professor at the University of Calgary and a member of the Snyder Institute. Dr. Somayaji has advanced expertise in the care of persons living with cystic fibrosis and persons living with a chronic wound. Dr. Somayaji runs a large clinical research program with international collaborations focused on improving care and outcomes from acute and chronic infections.

Dr. John Gill

Dr. John Gill, MD, MSc, is a Clinician and Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine. Dr. Gill is also the Medical Director of the Southern Alberta HIV Clinic, and a full member of the Snyder Institute.

Dr. Gill’s work centres on HIV infection and encompasses multiple areas, including antiretroviral therapy, antiviral resistance, viral phylogenetics, opportunistic infections, and the epidemiology and costs of care delivery for HIV in Southern Alberta.