Dr. James Douketis is Staff Physician in General Internal Medicine and Clinical Thromboembolism at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, and Professor of Medicine at McMaster University.

He received his M.D. and did his residency in internal medicine at the University of Toronto followed by a thrombosis fellowship at McMaster University.

Dr. Douketis’ research interests include: perioperative anticoagulant and antiplatelet management and guideline development (2008, 2012, 2019 [in preparation] ACCP Guidelines); and prevention, treatment and prognosis of patients with venous thromboembolism.

Dr. Douketis is President of Thrombosis Canada (www.thrombosiscanada.ca), Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of General Internal Medicine, Deputy Editor of Annals of Internal Medicine ACP Journal Club, Associate Editor of the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, and has over 325 peer-reviewed publications.

Jim lives in Hamilton with his wife, Dr. Margaret Nowaczyk, a clinical geneticist, and two sons, Jack and Luke, and is a cellist with the Burlington Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Ameen Patel is a member of the Division of General Internal Medicine and a Professor of Medicine at McMaster University. He completed his medical training at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and his postgraduate training in New York (New York Medical College), Boston (Tuft's University) and Hamilton (McMaster University).

Dr. Patel holds the William J. Walsh Chair in Medical Education and is the Vice Chair of Education for the Department of Medicine. He is the Division Director, Division of Education and Innovation. He practices General Internal and Perioperative Medicine at the Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre in Hamilton.

Dr. Walter Ageno graduated in Medicine from the University of Pavia and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Insubria in Varese.

He was Research Fellow in the Department of Medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada in 1996 and 1997 and returned as a Visiting Scientist in 1998. At McMaster University his major research interests were focused on arterial and venous thrombosis and on anticoagulant therapies.

Walter Ageno is Professor of Medicine and Director of the Research Center for Studies on Thromboembolic Diseases and Antithrombotic Therapies at the University of Insubria in Varese, Italy. He is director of Department of Emergency Medicine at the Azienda Ospedaliera Sette Laghi of Varese, director of the Short-Stay Medical Unit at the Ospedale di Circolo of Varese and director of the Thrombosis Center at the same hospital.

Dr. Ageno current research interests include optimal management of anticoagulant therapies, evaluation of new antithrombotic drugs, new risk factors associated with venous thromboembolism, prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism, thrombosis in unusual sites, and stroke prevention.

He has authored and co-authored more than 550 articles indexed in MEDLINE, as well as several abstracts presented at national and international meetings and more than 25 book chapters in the fields of venous and arterial thrombosis. He is coordinating international trials on the management of unusual site thrombosis and has also been a member of the steering committee or the safety monitoring board in a number of studies on the prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism. H-index Scopus 63. Google Scholar 77.

Dr. Ageno is immediate past-chair of the Italian Society of Hemostasis and Thrombosis (and was chair from 2016 to 2018), immediate past-chair of the Scientific Subcommittee board of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (chaired from 2016 and 2018), current member of the executive committee of the Italian Society of Internal Medicine, and was chair of the Scientific and Standardization Committee on Control of Anticoagulation from 2012 to 2016 and member of the Executive Council of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis from 2016 to 2018. He is deputy editor for Thrombosis and Haemostasis, associate editor for Internal and Emergency Medicine and Transfusion Medicine and member of the Advisory Board of Vascular Medicine, Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Canadian Journal of General Internal Medicine, and Clinical and Experimental Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

He served as a reviewer for many international journals in the field of internal medicine, haematology and thrombosis and vascular medicine and is involved with a number of international guidelines: he was Chapter Editor of the chapter “Oral anticoagulant therapy” for the 9th edition of the Antithrombotic and Thrombolytic therapy ACCP guidelines, author of the American Society of Haematology guidelines on venous thromboembolism, principal author of the guidelines of the Anticoagulation Forum, member of the European Society of Cardiology guidelines on Pulmonary Embolism and member of the SPREAD group (Stroke Prevention and Awareness).

Finally, he was invited speaker at several national and international congresses and gave lectures at grand rounds in a number of major universities worldwide.

Dr. Wojciech Szczeklik received his Doctor of Medicine degree from Jagiellonian University Medical College. After medical school he completed residency in Internal Medicine, followed by Immune diseases and Anesthesia with Critical Care, and received PhD at Jagiellonian University Medical College. His foreign clinical and research experience include University College in London, Harvard University, University of Cambridge and McMaster University. The focus of his research is perioperative medicine with special interest in vascular complications around the time of noncardiac surgery, and critical care. Dr. Szczeklik has published more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, and authored more than 30 book chapters. He received several research awards for his research and as a teacher.

Dr. Wojciech Szczeklik currently holds a position of Professor and Head of Center for Intensive Care and Perioperative Medicine at the Jagiellonian University Medical College and Head of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Department at the Military Hospital in Krakow.

George Ntaios serves as Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Thessaly and practices Medicine at the Department of Medicine at the Larissa University Hospital in central Greece. After obtaining his Master and PhD degrees at the Aristotles University of Thessaloniki, he was stroke-trained during a stroke fellowship in Lausanne and during the European Master in Stroke Medicine in Danube University in Austria.

He served as General Secretary of the Hellenic Stroke Organization between 2015-2021, and currently is honored to serve as its President. He was the leading Editor of the Stroke Textbook of the Hellenic Stroke Organization.

He served as the co-chair of the Guidelines Committee of the European Stroke Organization (ESO) between 2014-2018 and was the leading author of the Standard Operating Procedure for the development of the ESO Guidelines. He contributed to the development of several Guideline Documents published by the European Stroke Organization and the Hellenic Stroke Organization. He organized the 21st ESO Stroke Summer School in Larissa/Greece in 2017, and served at the ESO Executive Committee during 2017-2020.

His main research interest focuses on ischemic stroke etiology, prevention and prognosis. His works were published in a broad range of journals including the NEJM, European Heart Journal, Circulation, JACC, JAMA Neurology, Stroke and others.

Dr. Ranjani Aiyar has completed her core Internal Medicine residency & Fellowship training in General Internal Medicine from the Department of Internal Medicine, University of Calgary. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine. She obtained her medical degree from Topiwala National Medical affiliated to the University of Mumbai, India. She completed her post-graduation in Internal Medicine from Grant Medical College & JJ Group of Hospitals, University of Mumbai.

She is an Editorial board member of the CSIM since 2010. She was the Resident Representative of the CSIM from 200-2012. She is a member of the ACP, CSIM & SGIM.

She is a community General Internist at the Terry Fox Medical Centre, Mississauga, Ontario. She worked as a Lecturer in the Department of Medicine at Topiwala National Medical College & BYL Nair Hospital, University of Mumbai.

Dr. Amal Bessissow completed General Internal Medicine training at McGill University. Then, she completed a fellowship in Perioperative Medicine at McMaster University. She also obtained a master’s degree in health research Methodology at McMaster University. Since 2015, she holds the positions of Assistant Professor of Medicine at McGill University, general internal medicine specialist and clinician-researcher at McGill University Health Centre, and Montreal General Hospital Preoperative Clinic Medical Director. Her main area of research is perioperative medicine including preoperative cardiovascular risk assessment and prehabilitation.

Dr. Flavia Kessler Borges is an Internist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, and in the Perioperative Care Division at McMaster University. She is also an Investigator at the Population Health Research Institute. Dr. Borges undertook her Masters in Health Sciences, and her PhD in Cardiovascular Sciences in Brazil. She undertook a research and clinical Perioperative Vascular fellowship under the direction of Dr. PJ Devereaux at McMaster University. Her research is focused on periperative cardiac biomarkers, and perioperative strategies to improve cardiovascular outcomes in noncardiac surgery.

Dr. Rodrigo Cavalcanti is an Associate Professor in General Internal Medicine at the University of Toronto, Director of the HoPingKong Education Centre and member of the Wilson Centre, University Health Network. He’s also a Clinician Educator at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He completed his MD and MSc at the University of Toronto. His research interests include simulation, assessment of trainee competence, and analytics in medical education. He enjoys being a deputy editor at CJGIM, helping disseminate Canadian and international research.

Dr. Natalie Dayan is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at McGill University, and an Attending Physician in the Division of General Internal Medicine where she specializes in Obstetric Medicine. She is a clinician-scientist at the Research Institute of McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), supported the Fondation de Recherche en Santé au Québec. Dr. Dayan is interested in health outcomes research, including the study of severe maternal morbidity during pregnancy, and the long-term effects of infertility treatment. She is also interested in post-partum vascular risk among women who have had preeclampsia, and has developed a novel targeted post-partum maternal cardiovascular health clinic at her centre. This work is supported by an Early Career Professorship in Women’s Heart and Brain Health by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada – Quebec Chapter, and McGill University. Dr. Dayan is focused on preserving and protecting wellness in her clinical and research work, and is also a champion of physician wellbeing, having recently been appointed Associate Chair, Wellness in the Department of Medicine at McGill University.

Dr. Dunn received his medical degree at the New York University School of Medicine, and completed his internship and residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center. He is currently Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine for the Mount Sinai Health System, which is an 8 hospital system located in New York City. His primary research area has been in anticoagulation and thrombosis, most specifically in venous thromboembolism, atrial fibrillation, and the peri-operative management of patients on oral anticoagulants. Dr. Dunn has collaborated and led national studies in this field, including being a Steering Committee member of an NIH-funded trial of peri-operative management of warfarin. Dr. Dunn lectures nationally on topics in anticoagulation, has written numerous journal articles in this area, and is a co-author of the American College of Chest Physician (ACCP) guidelines on anticoagulation and thrombosis. He is lead editor of the textbook “Essentials of Hospital Medicine” and an Associate Editor of the ACP Journal Club.

Dr. Dunn is a Master of the American College of Physicians (ACP), Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and Senior Fellow of the Society of Hospital Medicine. He is past-Governor of the New York Chapter of the ACP, prior Chair of the ACP Board of Governors, and is the Immediate-past Chair of the ACP Board of Regents.

Dr. Donald Echenberg is currently an Associate Professor of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sherbrooke. He completed his undergraduate studies at McGill University and did his residency training in internal medicine at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal from 1976 to 1980. He has been a certified specialist in internal medicine since 1980. In September 2014 he wrote and passed the first Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons’ examination for the newly recognized subspecialty of GIM.

He has extensive experience in community-oriented general internal medicine having spent 15 years as a general internist and clinical professor at a community hospital, Sherbrooke Hospital, where he held several administrative positions. He underwent a major career transformation into academic medicine in 1996 when he was appointed as full-time faculty member and associate professor. His experience in community and then academic medicine spans over 4 decades.

He has been an ACP member since 1980 and was promoted to Fellowship in 1992 and Mastership in 2019. He served as Governor for the Quebec Chapter from 2011 until 2015. During his four-year term he undertook several major changes to the ACP Quebec Chapter. He created the first truly bilingual council, began communication with members in French as well as English and in so doing increased the relevance and visibility of the ACP for the majority French-speaking members.

He was Program Director for the subspecialty of General Internal Medicine from 1998 to 2006. He is current division head of the General Internal Medicine (GIM) division of the faculty of medicine at the University of Sherbrooke.

Dr. Echenberg served as president of the CSIM from 2006 until 2008.

His professional interests include thromboembolic disease, cardiovascular disease including the management of atrial fibrillation, clinical examination, disease prevention, medical education, and the teaching and promotion of communication and collaboration. He is currently the Chair of the Anticoagulation Committee and Medical Director of the Anticoagulation Clinic at the CHUS.

He has been happily married for over 39 years and has three grown-up children.

His passions outside of medicine include bicycling in the most difficult conditions, cross-country skiing, languages and alternative transportation including the philosophy of the transportation “cocktail”.

Bert Govig completed a joint degree in Zoology and Religion at Duke University before completing medical school and 5 years of IM training at McGill University. He has practiced community GIM in a remote rural setting 600 km NW of Montreal for the past 27 years.

He is an associate professor of medicine at McGill University, and has been active in the CSIM (past president and current VP in charge of Health Promotion), the Royal College (Chair of the GIM exam board 2013-2018), and the ACP (current Governor for the province of Québec).

His clinical work involves ICU and hospital based consultancy, management of pacemakers and ICDs, perioperative medicine, bronchoscopy and POCUS. Research interests include social and behavioural determinants of health, community organization for wellness, and the intersection of behaviour, stress, body composition and salutogenesis.

Mathew Hannouche – Mathew Hannouche is a General Internal Medicine physician and Neurointensivist at McGill University. He currently serves as the Director of the Division of Neurocritical Care at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, as well as Director of the Organ and Tissue Donation Program for the McGill University Health Centre.

Dr. Hannouche is committed to the advancement of the field of neurocritical care through research by serving as Principal Investigator on various industry-sponsored and grant-funded studies in the Clinical Research Unit at the Montreal Neurological Institute. He has recently developed his own program of research for the Division of Neurocritical Care.

Dr. Hannouche is thoughtful teacher, dedicated to education of residents, medical students, and patients alike. For the last two years, he has sat on the McGill University World Restart a Heart Campaign Steering Committee. A campaign that aims to increase community education of bystander CPR. In July 2020, He was named a Canadian Federation of Medical Students Champion for his contribution to promoting positive change within medical education.

Dr. Stephen Hwang is the Director of the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital, where he holds the University of Toronto and St. Michael’s Hospital Chair in Homelessness, Housing, and Health. He is known internationally for his research on interventions to improve the health of people experiencing homelessness and to interrupt chronic homelessness itself. Dr. Hwang is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and a practicing physician in general internal medicine.

Dr. Scott Kaatz is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at Wayne State University and a Hospitalist at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit where he serves as the Medical Director for Professional Development and Research in the Division of Hospital Medicine. He attended medical school at Michigan State University and completed his residency in internal medicine at Henry Ford Hospital. Later in his career, he earned his Master’s degree in Evidence-Based Health Care from Oxford University.

He has a long standing research interest in anticoagulation and thromboembolic disease and was the Medical Director of the Anticoagulation Clinics for the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, MI for15 years.

Dr. Kaatz is a Fellow of American College of Physicians and a Senior Fellow Society of Hospital Medicine. He is President of the Anticoagulation Forum and past President of the Thrombosis and Hemostasis Societies of North America and the Michigan Chapter of the Society of Hospital Medicine.

He also has serves on the Medical Scientific Advisory Board of the National Blood Clot Alliance and has served on the National Certification Board of Anticoagulation Providers.

He has participated in many research studies with an emphasis on anticoagulation, atrial fibrillation, peri-procedural anticoagulation and venous thromboembolism prevention, diagnosis and treatment; and has published over 250, articles, book chapters and abstracts in this field.

Dr. Maral Koolian is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and the Director of the Area of Focused Competence in Adult Thrombosis Medicine at McGill University. She is an attending physician in the Division of General Internal Medicine and at the Centre of Excellence in Thrombosis and Anticoagulation Care (CETAC) at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, Quebec. She earned her medical degree at McGill University, where she subsequently completed post-graduate subspecialty training in General Internal Medicine. She also completed a 1-year clinical thrombosis fellowship at the University of Ottawa and an MSc in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Koolian’s main research focus is on quality improvement principles as they apply to venous thromboembolic disease and anticoagulation. Her scholarly activities are centred on identifying important care-gaps related to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of thrombotic disorders as well as developing and spearheading antithrombotic stewardship initiatives.

Dr. Marcucci is an internationally trained internist (Italy). She completed an MSc in Health Research Methodology and a clinical fellowship in Hematology/Internal Medicine at McMaster University. In 2013-2016 she was an Assistant Professor at the University of Milan. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the Departments of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI), and Medicine at McMaster University. She is an attending physician in the Division of General Internal Medicine (GIM) and Division of Perioperative Medicine. She is an investigator in the Anesthesiology, Perioperative Medicine, and Surgical Research Group at the Population Health Research Institute. She is the Research Director for the Division of GIM.

Dr. Panju is the Site Chief of Medicine at the Hamilton General Hospital. He is the co-chair of the Internal Medicine Competency Committee and the Ambulatory Clinical Teaching Unit director for the Internal Medicine Program at McMaster.

Linda Snell MD MHPE FRCPC MACP FRCP (London) FCAHS is a professor of Medicine & Health Sciences Education at McGill University in Montreal Canada, and Senior Clinician Educator at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. She is active in teaching, education leadership and education research at all levels of medical training. She has served in numerous educational and clinical leadership roles at McGill, the RCPSC, nationally and internationally. She co-authored the CanMEDS 2015 Professional Role and co-edited the most recent CanMEDS competency framework. She co-produces the weekly KeyLIME podcast (Key Literature in Medical Education), a medical education journal club. Her current interests include: faculty development for competency-based education, advanced training for clinician-educators and medical education scholars; learning, teaching & assessing the CanMEDS competencies, in particular the Roles of Professional, Leader and Scholar (teacher); leadership in medical education; and education scholarship. Clinically, Dr. Snell is a consultant in general internal medicine.

Dr Touchette graduated in Internal Medicine from the Université de Sherbrooke and since received his diploma in General Internal Medicine from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He also did a fellowship in perioperative medicine at the Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière in Paris. He then joined the faculty at the Faculté de Médecine et des Sciences de la Santé at the University de Sherbrooke, where he is now a full professor. He practices general internal medicine at the CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS. He is active in teaching and since 2016 he has been appointed as Associate Dean for Postgraduate Medical Education. He is also active with the Collège des Médecins du Québec