@UOHS.CSUO
UOHS 2024 is going to be an amazing conference! Learn about our keynote speakers below
UOHS 2019 Speakers
UOHS 2019 will feature many speakers who will speak to the truth about many topics that impact our world today. Learn more below!
DR. SIMON HATCHER
PSYCHIATRIST
BSc, MBBS, MMedSc, MD, FRCPC, FRANZCP, MRCPsych, Vice Chair for the Department of Psychiatry in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Simon Hatcher completed his medical training in the UK and worked in New Zealand for 18 years until moving to Ottawa in 2012. He works in the homeless population in Ottawa and at The Ottawa Hospital. His current research is aimed at improving mental health of vulnerable people in non-psychiatric settings by using novel and innovative technological interventions. Dr. Hatcher’s extensive knowledge and experience have allowed him to be a prolific and esteemed published researcher and author. In early 2019, Dr. Hatcher and his team will open Canada’s first research-based mental health clinic for First Responders.
DR. AHMED HAIDAR
TYPE 1 DIABETES EXPERT
BSc, MScA, PhD
The development of the artificial pancreas is the focus of Dr Haidar’s lab. The artificial pancreas is a medical device that automatically regulates glucose levels for patients with type 1 diabetes. The artificial pancreas is composed of a glucose sensor, an infusion portable pump, and an advanced mathematical dosing algorithm that controls hormonal delivery based on the sensor readings.
Dr Haidar’s lab uses commercial pumps and sensors, but develop and clinical test novel control algorithms that lie at the heart of the artificial pancreas. Dr Haidar’s lab also conducts clinical trials to assess different configurations of the artificial pancreas, the performance of the artificial pancreas during exercise and meals, and the performance of the artificial pancreas in special patient populations and during long term use.
The artificial pancreas is considered the most promising therapy for type 1 diabetes. The work of Dr Haidar has a great potential to improve patients’ quality of life.
Dr. Haidar has been working on developing this technology at McGill since 2011. Dr. Haidar’s device is an insulin pump paired with a digital app on a mobile phone that measures blood sugar every 10 minutes. Based on the reading, an algorithm will calculate the amount of insulin needed to ensure a person’s blood glucose levels are in the appropriate range, and the insulin will be automatically released into the bloodstream.
ANDRÉE MOREL
'MAID' (medical assistance in dying) PANELIST
DWDC volunteer, independent witness, personal experience with MAID
Andrée Morel began volunteering as an Independent Witness for Dying with Dignity Canada (DWDC) in the fall of 2018. After her family’s experience with MAID in May 2017, she has shared her daughter’s journey at two information sessions hosted by DWDC. She currently works full time for the federal government but hopes to retire in 2019 and devote more time to DWDC. In her own words: “I am not a healthcare professional. Simply a mother who accompanied her daughter through a long painful cancer journey that ended with MAID.”
VANESSA GRUBEN
'MAID' (medical assistance in dying) PANELIST
JD
Professor Vanessa Gruben is an associate professor at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law as well as a member of the University of Ottawa's Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics. She teaches courses in health law, family law and property law and her research focuses on health law issues. She is also a member of the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board and the Health Services Appeal and Review Board.
DR. KEVIN POTTIE
FAMILY PHYSICIAN, CONDUCTS RESEARCH ON HOMELESSNESS
MD, MClSc, CCFP, FCFP. Clinician Scientist at the Bruyère Research Institute and an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa
Dr. Kevin Pottie practices as a family physician alongside conducting research centered on homelessness. Dr. Pottie is also a member of the WHO Guideline Review Committee and the Canadian Task Force focused on Preventive healthcare. He is passionate about global migrant health and leads the European Union Evidence Based Guidelines for Newly Arriving Migrants and the Canadian Collaboration for Immigrant and Refugee Health.
DR. MELISSA LANGEVIN
PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY DOCTOR
MD
Dr. Melissa Langevin is a graduate from the University of Ottawa and completed her pediatric emergency medicine fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), with additional training in Global Health and Tropical Medicine, joining CHEO’s Emergency Department in 2013. Her research interests include clinical epidemiology and emergency department use by under-serviced populations as well as medical education using simulation as a tool for teaching and practicing high stakes clinical scenarios.
Dr. Sarah Funnell
COCHAIR of CFPC’s INDIGENOUS HEALTH WORKING GROUP
MD
Dr. Sarah Funnell is the cochair of the College of Family Physicians of Canada’s (CFPC’s) Indigenous health working group. As an advocate for indigenous populations rights and their healthcare, she has delivered many informative sessions on Indigenous health for family medicine residents at the University of Ottawa. Her tremendous work and representation have and continue to heavily influence and inspire health care professionals in Canada.
STAFF ANESTHESIOLOGIST AT THE OTTAWA HOSPITAL
'MAID' (medical assistance in dying) PANELIST
MD
This doctor has been a Staff Anesthesiologist at The Ottawa Hospital since 1995, after completing her Anesthesia Residency at McMaster University and Doctor of Medicine at Queen’s University. The married, mother of two teenagers is also an Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Medicine and has been a MAID Assessor and Provider since November 2016.