People · Learners

Clinician-investigators shaping what comes next.

Meet members of the Clinical Trials Leadership Program cohort and explore the expertise they bring to clinical research.

The Cohort

17 learner profiles

Cardiovascular Medicine

Rodrigo Bagur

Dr. Rodrigo Bagur is an interventional cardiologist, clinician-scientist, and cardiovascular epidemiologist. He is a Professor with the Departments of Medicine and of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry and is co-director of Western’s Heart & Brain Trials Unit. His research focuses on improving outcomes for patients with coronary artery and structural heart disease, from diagnosis to long-term management. He leads the OPTICS (Optimizing Patient Trajectories to Improve Cardiovascular outcomes through Science) program, which identifies steps in cardiovascular care pathways that can be simplified without compromising safety. Among others, his most recent works include the DAYLIGHT trial; the largest individual-patient-data meta-analysis of sex-specific outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (481,353 patients); the OPTICS-CAD study of a CT-first coronary assessment strategy before valve implantation; and the provincial OPTICS-STEMI study of early-discharge pathways after STEMI. A dedicated practitioner, researcher, and educator, Dr. Bagur has authored nearly 300 peer-reviewed publications and has supervised more than 40 trainees, all of whom have published peer-reviewed work. Dr. Bagur comes to this Clinical Trials Leadership Program as an experienced investigator who leads a stablished research program. Pursuing this program reflects his commitment to becoming a trial leader who contributes to the broader capacity for high-quality randomized evidence.

Neuroanesthesiology

Sujoy Banik

Dr. Sujoy Banik is a Clinical Assistant Professor and Neuroanesthesia Fellowship Lead in Western University's Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine. His research interests include awake craniotomy; the effects of anesthesia on brain cancer, epilepsy, and Parkinson's disease; dexmedetomidine in neuroanesthesia; and anesthesia for complex intracranial vascular neurosurgery.

Hematology

Benjamin Chin-Yee

Benjamin Chin-Yee, MD, PhD, FRCPC, is a hematologist and clinician-researcher at Western University and London Health Sciences Centre. His interdisciplinary research spans laboratory medicine, clinical hematology, medical communication, and philosophy, with a focus on improving laboratory utilization and patient care. He aims to develop pragmatic clinical trials embedded within laboratory and health-system settings to improve diagnostic communication, decision-making, and clinical outcomes.

Nephrology

Andrea Cowan

Dr. Andrea Cowan is an Assistant Professor at Western University in the Division of Nephrology. After completing her clinical training in nephrology and home dialysis modalities, she completed a master's degree in clinical epidemiology and biostatistics at Western. Her research focuses on mineral and bone disorders associated with chronic kidney disease using routinely collected data.

Medical Oncology

Ricardo Fernandes

Dr. Ricardo Fernandes is a medical oncologist at the Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre, London Health Sciences Centre, and an Associate Professor in Western University's Department of Oncology. His clinical practice focuses on genitourinary malignancies. His research includes immunotherapy, novel therapeutics, microbiome modulation, biomarker development, real-world outcomes, and optimization of systemic cancer therapy.

Nephrology

Shih-Han Susan Huang

Dr. Shih-Han Susan Huang is a nephrologist and Associate Professor in Medicine, Paediatrics, and Medical Biophysics at Western University. She directs the Glomerulonephritis and Apheresis Programs at London Health Sciences Centre and holds the Dr. Robert Lindsay Endowment Chair. Her translational research spans non-invasive imaging, optimization of renal replacement therapy, and glomerulonephritis management.

Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Mohammad Qasim Khan

Dr. Mohammad Qasim Khan is a clinician-researcher, clinical trialist, and Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, cross-appointed to Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Western University. He specializes in advanced and transplant hepatology. His research focuses on cardiometabolic conditions before and after liver transplantation and steatotic liver disease.

Thoracic Surgery

Biniam Kidane

Dr. Biniam Kidane is a thoracic and foregut surgeon and Professor of Surgery at Western University. His clinical work emphasizes minimally invasive and endoscopic approaches to benign and malignant thoracic and foregut disease. His research focuses on optimizing care and quality-of-life outcomes, understanding intraoperative inflammation, and using multimodal therapies and system design to improve patient outcomes.

Medical Oncology

John Lenehan

Dr. John Lenehan is a medical oncologist at the Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre at London Health Sciences Centre and an Associate Professor in Western University's Department of Oncology. He treats melanoma, skin cancers, and gastrointestinal cancers, including pancreatic cancer. His research includes translational clinical trials focused on manipulating the gut microbiome for people receiving systemic cancer therapy.

Thoracic Surgery

Rahul Nayak

Dr. Rahul Nayak is a Thoracic Surgeon and Surgical Oncologist at London Health Sciences Centre and Assistant Professor of Surgery and Oncology at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University. He serves as the Director of Research and Quality Improvement for the Division of Thoracic Surgery. He is Vice Chair of the Canadian Association of Thoracic Surgeons Database Steering Committee, an editor for Shanghai Chest, and holds an MSc in Clinical Trials from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. His research focuses on prospective trials to enhance perioperative care with thoracic surgery. His work has helped transform traditional inpatient surgical models into same day discharge models. He currently leads the PROTECTR Study, a prospective patient-reported outcomes-based trial to guide early chest tube removal funded through an AMOSO Innovation grant. He has co-authored 20 peer-reviewed publications and three book chapters and has been awarded national and provincial research grants for his work.

Neurorehabilitation

Sue Peters

Dr. Sue Peters, PT, PhD, is an Associate Professor in Western University's Faculty of Health Sciences and directs the Neurorehabilitation Physiology Lab at Parkwood Institute. A registered physical therapist, she investigates the neural aspects of motor control, recovery, and rehabilitation after stroke. She is a Principal Investigator with the national CanStroke and CanStim initiatives.

Gastroenterology

Adam Rahman

Dr. Adam Rahman is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology. He is trained in gastroenterology, clinical nutrition and critical care medicine. Recently, he has pursued advanced training in intestinal ultrasound which is an emerging technique in the monitoring of inflammatory bowel disease. He is focusing on research and education in intestinal ultrasound.

Surgical Oncology

Catherine Sarre

Dr. Catherine Sarre, MD, MSc, MHA, is a surgical oncologist and clinical researcher specializing in melanoma and soft tissue sarcoma. She is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Surgery and Oncology at Western University and a member of the Division of Surgical Oncology at London Health Sciences Centre. Her work advances collaborative, data-driven, and patient-centred cancer care through precision and multimodal treatment strategies.

Gastroenterology

Rocio Sedano

Dr. Rocio Sedano is a gastroenterologist and Assistant Professor in Western University's Division of Gastroenterology. Her clinical and research work focuses on inflammatory bowel disease, clinical trial design and conduct, outcome assessment, real-world evidence, and patient-reported outcome measures. Her work integrates clinical practice with collaborative, patient-centred research in gastroenterology.

Medical Oncology

Saurav Verma

Dr. Saurav Verma is a Medical Oncologist at the Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre, London Health Sciences Centre, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Oncology at Western University. His clinical practice focuses primarily on thoracic and breast malignancies. Dr. Verma’s research interests center on improving treatment selection and outcomes through prospective clinical and translational research. He leads and collaborates on investigator-initiated studies and clinical trials evaluating circulating tumor DNA, imaging biomarkers, and novel systemic therapies, with a particular interest in resectable non-small cell lung cancer. His ongoing Pre-PLaN study investigates clinical, molecular, imaging, and tumor-based biomarkers of response to neoadjuvant therapy. He has a particular interest in developing biomarker-informed strategies and investigator-initiated clinical trials aimed at personalizing treatment and improving outcomes for patients with cancer.

Gastroenterology

Sudheer Vuyyuru

Dr. Sudheer Kumar Vuyyuru, MD, DM, is a clinician-researcher and Assistant Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, at Western University in London, Ontario. He completed his training in internal medicine at PGIMER Chandigarh and gastroenterology at AIIMS New Delhi, followed by advanced fellowships in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) at Western University and Nottingham University Hospitals. His research focuses on IBD clinical trial methodology, including placebo response rates, trial design, and the development and validation of outcome instruments. He is also trained in intestinal ultrasound for the assessment of IBD disease activity. Dr. Vuyyuru has peer-reviewed more than 90 manuscripts for international medical journals. He co-authored the 2025 British Society of Gastroenterology IBD guidelines, co-led a RAND/UCLA consensus initiative on clinical trials in perianal fistulizing Crohn’s disease, and led evidence synthesis contributing to upcoming STRIDE III consensus guidelines.

Paediatric Endocrinology

Marina Ybarra

Dr. Marina Ybarra is a Paediatric Endocrinologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Paediatrics and the School of Health Studies at Western University. She directs the Paediatric HEAL Program at Children's Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre. Her research focuses on childhood obesity, metabolic comorbidities, pharmacotherapy, genetic and syndromic obesity, and the psychosocial determinants of health.