The Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine strives to foster excellence in not only anesthesia delivery and education but also in the research it conducts. Our department members are conducting research projects and initiatives on an ongoing basis. The Research section is intended to provide insight into such projects. Dialogue with our researchers is encouraged and email contacts are included.

Current Research

Dr. Daniel Bainbridge is currently researching:

Optimal port placement in Robotic Cardiac Surgery

Virtual Reality Needle tracking for interventions

Evidence based Perioperative Outcomes Research

Robotic/Minimally invasive Cardiac Surgery, Optimal Strategies

Ultrasound imaging in cardiac surgery

Ultrasound/Virtual reality guidance during beating heart endocardial procedures

Dr. Davy Cheng is currently researching:

Evidence-Based Outcomes & Decision Making In Anesthesia & Perioperative Medicine

Outcome, Resource Utilization and Cardiac Risk Score in Fast Track Cardiac Surgery

Minimally Invasive Surgery, Off-Pump & Robotic Cardiac Surgery: Anesthesia Management

Blood Conservation and Management In Cardiac Surgery

Dr. Philip Jones is currently researching:

Current research is focused on airway devices, TEE (right heart function and tissue Doppler), and outcomes following cardiac surgery (with particular attention to the role of anesthetic agents/interventions as a determinant of outcome).

Dr. Ronit Lavi is currently researching:

The first project is to investigate the role of Remote Ischemic Preconditioning before Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting surgery and the prevalence of perioperative co morbidities.

The second project involves a randomized trial conceived to evaluate the affect of Sevuflorane Sedation During Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Dr. John Murkin is currently researching:

Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario funded 'Genetic Determinants of Neurocognitive Dysfunction following Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery'

If it can be identified that a patient's genetic makeup increases the risk of post-operative neurocognitive dysfunction there exists potential to alter the risk management of patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Dr. Michael Sharpe is currently researching:

Intravenous versus Oral Thyroid Relacement in Organ Donors

Efficacy of Milrinone in the treatment of vasospasm following aneurismal sub-arachnoid hemorrhage

Utility of somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP's) for prognostication in hepatic encephalopathy

Development of an automated, bedside EEG Classification System

Efficacy of linear prediction coefficients computed from continous EEG for early detection of vasospasm in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage

Assessment of Physiological Variables in Predicting Successful Weaning from Mechanical Ventilation

Using functional MRI to assess cortical function in comatose survivors of cardiac arrest

DCD organ donation - perspectives and opinions of health care workers

Oxygen Supply Dependency in Sepsis: Mechanisms and modulation

Dr. Valerie Schulz is currently researching:

[Research information will be posted shortly.]

Dr. Shalini Dhir is currently researching:

Local anesthetic dilution for peripheral nerve blocks: comparative evaluation of saline vs. 5% dextrose: randomized double blind clinical trial.

Inflammatory and stress response to major upper limb arthroplasty: role of opioid free regional anesthesia

Success rate of infraclavicular blocks: comparison of ultrasound vs. neurostimulation guided catheter placement (PSI grant)

Cervical epidural vs. continuous interscalene block for shoulder arthroplasty: a randomized study.

Randomized controlled trial examining the effects of 19g vs. 18g Tuohy-type epidural needles on the incidence and severity of postdural puncture headaches.

Paravertebral block and breast cancer recurrence.

Dr. Sugantha Ganapathy is currently researching:

Dr. Ganapathy is one of the lead investigators currently looking at the
role of a paravertebral block for breast cancer surgery on Cancer
spread.

Dr. Ngozi Imasogie is currently researching:

[Research information will be posted shortly.]

Dr. Maxim Rachinsky is currently researching:

[Research information will be posted shortly.]

Dr. Neal Badner is currently researching:

Areas of research interests include: perioperative cardiac outcomes, intraoperative monitoring in vascular anesthesia, and management of one-lung anesthesia during thoracic surgery.