Expert Advisory Committee on Cells, Tisues, and Organs (EAC-CTO) - Membership List (updated June 2^nd, 2011)

Contact: Director's General Office

• Ms. Corinne Weernink (Chair)
  Donor Coordinator, Cardiopulmonary Physiotherapy
  London Health Sciences Centre
  London, Ontario
• Dr. Martin A. Champagne
  Public Cord Blood Banks, Stem Cell Donor Registry
  Hôpital de Verdun; Hôpital LaSalle; Lakeshore General Hospital; Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal
  Verdun, Québec
• Dr. Noel Gibney
  Pulmonary/Respiratory Medicine, Critical Care
  University of Alberta Hospital; Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Division of Critical Care Medicine, University of Alberta
  Edmonton, Alberta
• Dr. Jolanta Karpinski
  Nephrology, Renal Transplant
  Ottawa Hospital (Riverside Campus); Faculty of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, University of Ottawa
  Ottawa, Ontario
• Dr. Mel Krajden
  Medical Microbiology, Immunology, Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases
  British Columbia Hepatitis Services; British Columbia Centre for Disease Control; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia
  Vancouver, British Columbia
• Dr. Bruce Light
  Infectious Diseases, Critical Care Medicine
  St. Boniface General Hospital; Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Manitoba
  Winnipeg, Manitoba
• Mr. Sean Margueratt
  Safe practices in tissue procurement, processing, and storage
  Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service
  Halifax, Nova Scotia
• Ms. Penny Marrett
  Community Representative
  Toronto, Ontario
• Mr. Tumelo Mokoena
  Tissue Specialist
  Comprehensive Tissue Centre, University of Alberta Hospital Transplant Services
  Edmonton, Alberta
• Dr. Peter Nickerson
  Immunology, Internal Medicine, Nephrology, Transplantation
  Faculty of Medicine, Research, University of Manitoba; Transplant Manitoba - Gift of Life Program
  Winnipeg, Manitoba
• Mr. Ian Robb
  Transplant Recipient; Patient Advocate
  Ontario East Transplant Support Group
  Milford, Ontario
• Ms. Sandra Ann White
  Donor Coordinator
  Organ Procurement and Exchange of Newfoundland, Eastern Health
  St. John's, Newfoundland
• Ms. Linda Wright
  Bioethics
  University Health Network
  Toronto, Ontario

Expert Advisory Committee on Cells, Tissues, and Organs (EAC-CTO) Members' Biographies (updated June 2nd 2011)

Ms. Corinne Weernink, BSc (PT), MSc (PT) (Chair)

Ms. Weernink is a transplant donor coordinator at the London Health Sciences Centre, a position she has held since 1996. She holds a Master's degree in Physiotherapy from the University of Western Ontario. She has worked as the staff physiotherapist and clinical specialist in physiotherapy at the University Hospital in London. She also worked as a physiotherapist in Australia while on a work exchange program.

Ms. Weernink is an associate member of the Canadian Transplant Society and has served in various capacities on the Canadian Association of Transplantation. She is also the founder and co-chair of the Donor Management Committee at the London Health Sciences Centre. She has participated in many forums on organ donation held by the Canadian Council for Donation and Transplantation and also sat on the National Organ Donation Committee of the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

Ms. Corinne Weernink has served as Chair of Health Canada's Expert Advisory Committee on the Cells, Tissues and Organs since 2005.

Dr. Martin A. Champagne, MD, FRCPC

Dr. Champagne specializes in hematology and oncology with a special interest in cord blood and stem cell transplantation. He serves as Head of Division, Hematology-Oncology at Hôpital de Verdun, Québec. He is the director of the public umbilical cord blood bank and stem cell donor registry at Héma-Québec. He works as an associate member of the Department of Hematology at Hôpital LaSalle, Ville de LaSalle, Québec and associate member of the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Lakeshore General Hospital, Pointe Claire, Québec. He is the medical director at Immuni T. Rimouskilab Inc., and medical director and consultant at Warnex Medical Laboratoires. He also serves as a clinical professor at the Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal and is a member of the board at Héma-Québec.

Dr Champagne's recent clinical research interests include transplantation, immunology and cryopreservation of cord blood. He has published numerous articles regarding his research in peer reviewed journals.

Dr. Champagne serves as a core member of Health Canada's Expert Advisory Committee on Cells, Tissues and Organs. He brings expertise in public cord blood banks and stem cell donor registry to the committee.

Dr. R. T. Noel Gibney, MB, FRCPI, FRCPC

Dr. Noel Gibney is a professor and director of the Division of Critical Care Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton. Since 1995, Dr. Gibney has worked as attending critical care physician at the University of Alberta Hospital, Royal Alexandra Hospital and Grey Nuns Hospital, Edmonton. He worked as the regional program clinical director, Critical Care Program, Alberta Health Services. He trained in Ireland and acquired further training at the University of Alberta and the Harvard School of Medicine. His research interests include acute kidney injury, critical care outreach and clinical informatics. His main clinical work is in critical care and he is a practicing intensive care specialist at the University of Alberta Hospital.

Dr. Gibney is also a member of the Acute Kidney Injury Network and the Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative. He is also a member of the Board of Directors, Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society. In the past, he was a member of the executive committee and Board of Directors of the Alberta Medical Association.

Dr. Gibney is a core member of Health Canada's Expert Advisory Committee on Cells, Tissues and Organs. He brings expertise in acute kidney injury, renal replacement therapy, critical care outreach and healthcare informatics to the committee.

Dr. Jolanta Karpinski, MD, FRCPC

Dr. Jolanta Karpinski is a nephrologist at the Riverside Campus of the Ottawa Hospital, Ontario, working mostly with renal transplant patients. Dr. Karpinski graduated from medical school at the University of Saskatchewan and completed internal medicine training at Queen's University. She did her nephrology fellowship at McGill University and supplementary training in clinical transplantation at the University of Toronto. She joined the Division of Nephrology at the University of Ottawa as an assistant professor. She is currently the director of the Faculty Development Office at the Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Karpinski has served as the program director of the Adult Nephrology Training Program at the University of Ottawa and the specialty chair for nephrology at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Dr. Karpinski serves as a core member on Health Canada's Expert Advisory Committee on Cells, Tissues and Organs. She brings expertise in nephrology and renal transplantation to the committee.

Dr. Mel Krajden, BSc, MD, FRCPC

Dr. Mel Krajden is the director of British Columbia (BC) Hepatitis Services, British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC); associate director, Laboratory Services; medical director, Public Health Serology and program head of virology at Provincial Health Services Authority Laboratory located at the BCCDC. He is also a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of British Columbia and an adjunct scientist with Canadian Blood Services.

Dr. Krajden's recent clinical research involves integration of hepatitis prevention and care services. The Hepatitis Division integrates diagnostic virology services within a comprehensive framework of consumer and professional education. The division also funds five regional integrated hepatitis prevention and care demonstration projects within each of BC's Health Authorities. His laboratory research involves the application of molecular techniques to: diagnose viruses; assess correlates between infection and clinical disease; use of molecular techniques to monitor antiviral efficacy; and tracking of microbial infections for epidemiological purposes. He also has extensive clinical trials expertise and serves as a laboratory coordinator for a number of national industry sponsored clinical trials.

Dr. Krajden serves as a core member of Health Canada's Expert Advisory Committee on Blood Regulations and Expert Advisory Committee on Cells, Tissues, and Organs. He brings expertise in medical microbiology, immunology, internal medicine and infectious diseases to both committees.

Dr. R. Bruce Light, MD, FRCPC

Dr. Robert Bruce Light serves as a professor of medicine and medical microbiology at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Light completed his bachelor's degree at the University of Saskatchewan in 1972 and Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Calgary in 1975. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Manitoba, where he later took sub-specialty training in infectious diseases and critical care medicine. He joined the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Manitoba in 1981 and practiced both sub-specialties primarily at the St. Boniface General Hospital. He continued to teach and pursue research interests at the university, mainly in the areas of the pathophysiology and clinical management of septic shock and pneumonia. He became a section head in 1987 and later medical director of the Critical Care Medicine Program of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority in 2001. He also served as a member of the Public Health Agency of Canada's working group that developed the Infection Control Guideline for the Prevention of Healthcare-associated Pneumonia.

Dr. Light is a core member on Health Canada's Expert Advisory Committee on Cells, Tissues and Organs. He brings expertise in medical microbiology and critical care medicine to the committee.

Mr. Sean Margueratt, MASc, PEng, CTBS

Mr. Sean Margueratt is the director of the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service, Department of Justice. He serves as a committee member on the Canadian Blood Services Tissue Expert Committee; American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB) Scientific & Technical Advisory Committee; and a steering committee member on the Nova Scotia Organ and Tissue Donation Program. He is an active participant in both provincial and federal donation and transplantation initiatives.

Mr. Margueratt received his Bachelor of Engineering from the Technical University of Nova Scotia in 1997. He received his Masters of Applied Science in Biomedical Engineering in 2002. He became a certified tissue banking specialist (CTBS) in 2004. Mr. Margueratt worked at the Regional Tissue Bank from 2004 - 2007, first as a quality leader then as a manager.

Mr. Margueratt serves as a core member of Health Canada's Expert Advisory Committee on Cells, Tissues, and Organs. He brings expertise in safe practices in tissue procurement, processing, and storage to the committee.

Ms. Penny Marrett, BA, MPA

Ms. Penny Marrett was the president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Health Food Association (CHFA) until November 2009. She served as a member of Health Canada's Expert Advisory Committee on Blood Regulations for eight years. Ms. Marrett holds a Bachelor's in Music and a Master's degree in Public Administration. She has held a variety of leadership positions within the voluntary sector including: chief executive officer at the national office of the Canadian Mental Health Association; chief operating officer of the Arthritis Society; executive director of the Health Charities Council of Canada; director of the Health Issues Division at the Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations; and executive director of the Schizophrenia Society of Canada. She also actively volunteers within the community as the vice-president of the Trillium Chapter of the Canadian Society of Association Executives. She is a member of the Toronto Board of Health's Local Health Committee for Toronto-East York and the School Council of John Fisher Public School. She is also a board member of the French Connection, a child care centre in Toronto, and her church.

Ms. Marrett is a core member serving as a community representative on Health Canada's Expert Advisory Committee on Cells, Tissues and Organs.

Mr. Tumelo Mokoena, BSc, CTBS

Mr. Tumelo Mokoena currently works as the senior tissue specialist at the Comprehensive Tissue Centre at the University of Alberta Hospital Transplant Services. His responsibilities include screening and evaluating potential donors for eligibility to donate tissues. He serves as a lead specialist in surgical recovery of tissues in the operating room. He is also experienced in tissue processing for preservation, including cryopreservation and distribution. He is currently completing his research in cryobiology for his Master's degree in Experimental Surgery at University of Alberta. The focus of his research is on tissue cryopreservation. He is a member of the American Association of Tissue Banks, the Canadian Association of Transplantation, the Canadian Tissue Bank Interest Group and the Human Organ Procurement and Exchange (HOPE) Advisory Committee.

Mr. Mokoena is a core member of Health Canada's Expert Advisory Committee on Cells, Tissues and Organs. He brings expertise in tissue processing, including cryopreservation and distribution to the committee.

Dr. Peter Nickerson, BSc, MD, FRCPC

Dr. Peter Nickerson currently serves as Associate Dean of Research in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba. He is also a clinical nephrologist and professor of internal medicine and immunology at the University of Manitoba. He is the executive medical director, Organs and Tissue Office, Canadian Blood Services (CBS); medical director, Transplant Manitoba - Gift of Life Program; and medical director, Platelet Immunology Laboratory, CBS.

Dr. Nickerson obtained his Doctor of Medicine degree, internal medicine, and nephrology training at the University of Manitoba. He completed a transplant research fellowship at the Harvard Medical School from 1991 to 1995. He is currently the Flynn Family Research Chair in Renal Transplantation at the University of Manitoba.

Dr. Nickerson's clinical research focuses on developing non-invasive techniques for diagnosis of renal allograft rejection; mechanisms underlying acute and chronic rejection; and health care system design to enhance access to transplant. In addition, his research focuses on the role of genetic polymorphisms in promoting host resistance or susceptibility to environmental pathogens.

Dr. Nickerson serves as a core member of Health Canada's Expert Advisory Committee on Cells, Tissues, and Organs. He brings expertise in immunology, internal medicine, nephrology, and transplantation to the committee.

Mr. Ian F. Robb

Mr. Ian Robb is a transplant recipient, past president and founder of the Ontario East Transplant Support Group (OETSG), and minister in the United Church of Canada. The OETSG's mission is to provide support, knowledge and encouragement to those who are donor family members and patients who are at the pre- or post-organ or tissue transplant stages. Under Mr. Robb's leadership, the OETSG has expanded to four chapters (Peterborough, Kingston, Quinte and Ottawa). Mr. Robb serves as a public speaker on the subject of organ transplantation and donation, and contributes regularly to publications for the OETSG.

Mr. Robb is a former director of the Quinte Healthcare Corporation and member of the Pastoral Relations Committee in the Belleville Presbytery.

Mr. Robb serves as a transplant recipient representative on Health Canada's Expert Advisory on Cells, Tissues, and Organs. He brings expertise in medical ethics and the patients' perspectives on transplantation to the committee.

Ms. Sandra Ann White, RN

Ms. White serves as the program coordinator of Organ Procurement and Exchange of Newfoundland of Eastern Health, St. John's. Ms. White is a registered nurse; she trained in nursing at the General Hospital School of Nursing in St. John's. She is currently completing her Bachelor of Nursing degree at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. She has completed hyperbauric medical technical training as well, which is required to facilitate the treatment of elective outpatient and emergency inpatients requiring hyperbauric therapy. Ms. Sandra White has worked as the staff nurse at the critical care unit of the General Hospital - Health Science Centre. She also worked as an organ donor nurse at Organ Procurement and Exchange of Newfoundland in Eastern Health.

Ms. White serves as a core member on Health Canada's Expert Advisory Committee on Cells, Tissues and Organs. She brings expertise in organ procurement for transplant to the committee.

Ms. Linda Wright, BA, MHSc, MSW, RSW

Ms. Linda Wright is the director of bioethics at the University Health Network (UHN), Toronto. She is a member of the UHN Research Ethics Board and the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto. She has a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from the University of Liverpool and a Master's degree in Social Work from McGill University. She also received a Master's degree and a clinical fellowship in Bioethics from the University of Toronto and has worked as a bioethicist since 2003.

Ms. Wright has more than twenty years of experience as a registered social worker, in hospitals in Montreal and Toronto. She has worked on many ethical health issues including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and pandemic flu planning. She writes and teaches on ethical issues in organ transplantation and healthcare ethics and is frequently invited to present at national and international conferences. Ms Wright served as Chair of the National Organ Donation Committee of the Kidney Foundation of Canada from 2003-2007 and is the ethics section editor of the Progress in Transplantation journal.

Ms. Wright serves as a core member on Health Canada's Expert Advisory Committee on Cells, Tissues and Organs. She brings expertise in bioethics to the committee.