I grew up in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and completed my medical school, pediatrics residency, and pediatric rheumatology fellowship at the University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children. I also completed graduate training both before and after my medical career. Prior to medical school, I completed a Masters of Science in cardiovascular physiology studying ischemic preconditioning in rabbit cardiomyocytes. Following my fellowship training, I completed a Masters of Science in Health Services Research examining the role of Organizational Learning in the Morbidity and Mortality Rounds. I am currently a pediatric rheumatologist at McMaster Children’s Hospital and associate professor of pediatrics at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Thanks to my training, I had the opportunity to be involved in the care of a vast number of patients with Kawasaki Disease (KD). In my current practice, I continue to be consulted on numerous patients admitted to hospital with KD. Families are often concerned about the outcomes of this illness, and I was motivated to improve the identification of both short- and long-term complications of KD. With my research team, we were able to determine the incidence of KD as well as describe the rate of acute complications using health administrative data. We continue to examine the long-term cardiovascular complications of this illness.

I have been fortunate to have worked with many outstanding mentors throughout my training and early in my career. These include both pediatric rheumatologists and researchers in other fields who have supported my ongoing goal of becoming a successful independent researcher. They have always been available to mentor me along my career journey and have been excellent sponsors, connecting me with the right people and putting my name forward for career-advancing opportunities.

A few final words of advice: (1) Take advantage of opportunities when they are offered, especially early in your career. You never know where they may lead. (2) Surround yourself with a team of experts, both within and outside of your speciality. Include non-physician researchers who have expertise in areas that you may not have. (3) Connect with patient advocacy groups. There are a lot of rewards that come from contributing to community groups (I have had a wonderful experience working with Kawasaki Disease Canada). (4) Involve patients and families at any and every stage of your research. We have a lot to learn from them!