SPECIALTY AND TITLE

Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
Staff Physician

HOSPITAL AFFILIATIONS

Staff Physician, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
McMaster Children’s Hospital
Medical Lead, Complex Pediatric Nutrition Service
Medical Lead, Intestinal Rehabilitation Program

UNIVERSITY AFFILIATIONS

Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics; McMaster University
Member, Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute (FFDHRI)
Member, Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research Institute (MODR)

AREA OF RESEARCH

FOCUS: Microbial therapeutics, and host-microbiome interactions in children with chronic disease 
RESEARCH APPROACH: Clinical trials, translational research, animal-models
INTERVENTIONS: Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT), prebiotics, diet-based interventions
POPULATION: Pediatrics (neonates, infants, adolescents), ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, intestinal failure, short-bowel syndrome, NAFLD, obesity, bacterial overgrowth, anorexia nervosa, recurrent C. difficile colitis






S

MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCIENCE AND/OR HEALTH CARE DELIVERY

My research focuses on the role of microbial therapeutics and nutrition science in pediatric gastroenterology. Our lab (www.pailab.ca) conducts clinical-translational work involving fecal microbiota transplant (FMT), prebiotic and diet-based therapies. We receive funding support from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and other agencies (>$4.08M). In 2023 I was awarded the ASPEN Stanley J. Dudrick Mid-Career Research Award for my work and have received an Ontario Innovation Award. I serve as an Associate Editor for JPGN, am active with NASPGHAN and AGA, and I helped develop the first dedicated Canadian pediatric FMT stool bank at McMaster Children’s Hospital in 2022.