ROLE: UBC Medical Undergraduate FLEX (Flexible and Enhanced Learning) Block Opportunity

That Cardiovascular Translational Laboratory is seeking students interested in participating in the UBC Medi UBC Medical Undergraduate FLEX (Flexible and Enhanced Learning) Block Opportunity within in the lab’s research program.

OPPORTUNITY SUMMARY

The Cardiovascular Translational Laboratory is located at the UBC Centre for Heart Lung Innovation (HLI) at St. Paul’s Hospital. The lab is co-lead by Dr. Stephanie Sellers (vascular biologist) and Dr. Janar Sathananthan (interventional cardiologist) and actively partners with HLI, the Centre for Cardiovascular Innovation, the Centre for Heart Valve Innovation, industry, and international academic labs to bring together a multi-disciplinary group of investigators.

The lab’s research program includes on-going projects in the areas of cardiovascular imaging, coronary artery disease, heart failure, aneurysm, and microvascular disease. However, the primary focus of the lab is valvular heart disease and bioprosthetic heart valves. Investigations in the lab span from cellular/molecular work, ex-vivo / in-vitro / in-silico modeling, and clinical investigation.

Students interested in the lab should contact ssellers@providencehealth.bc.ca and
jsathananthan@providencehealth.bc.ca

The Cardiac CT Core Laboratory at St. Paul’s Hospital is looking for a Master of Science student to join our team and conduct research in the field of Cardiac Computed Tomography (CT) for Transcatheter Heart Valve Therapies.

The successful candidate will work full-time under the supervision of Dr. Philipp Blanke, Cardiac Radiologist at St. Paul’s Hospital and Assistant Professor at the UBC Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine and affiliated with the UBC Experimental Medicine Program (ExMED).

The Cardiac CT Core Laboratory’s research is focused on cardiac CT imaging for procedural planning and optimization of transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement, post-procedural imaging and valve thrombosis as well as artificial intelligence for structural heart CT imaging. The laboratory supports external clinical trials as well as patient centered research on the local patient population at St. Paul’s Hospital. Clinical trials range from First-in-Human and Early Feasibility Studies to large, multicenter, randomized clinical trials, while employing in-house developed imaging and analysis concepts.

The successful candidate will receive intensive training in cardiac CT analysis and will have the opportunity to employ and further develop state-of-the-art imaging concepts on local patient cohorts as well as multi-center trials.

The candidate should

• hold an undergraduate degree in Health/Lifesciences, Biomedical Engineering or a related field
• have strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• be proficient in English with excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• be self-motivated, independent, and organized worker

Site: St Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada
Duration: 2 years

This is a 2 year fellowship that will focus on advanced echocardiography in structural intervention, in conjunction with advanced cardiac CT and MRI assessment of structural intervention. The echocardiography component will include preprocedural assessment, intraprocedural guidance of structural intervention and post procedural assessment following transcatheter intervention. Extensive experience in cardiac CT and MRI in the evaluation of structural intervention will also be included in this fellowship. St Paul’s Hospital is a large tertiary hospital where a number of transcatheter interventions are performed routinely including MitraClip, TriClip and novel transcatheter valve interventions (Edwards M3, Evoque). Other procedures routinely performed at our centre include paravalvular leak closure and ASD closures. Clinical responsibilities during the fellowship will also involve engagement in multidisciplinary transcatheter heart rounds and the structural heart clinic. The successful candidate will be expected to be involved in structural research and will be expected to publish at least one original work as well contribute to other research during the two year fellowship.

Fellowship start date: July 1, 2023.
Application deadline: July 30, 2021.

Applications should include an updated CV, cover letter detailing intent and career goals, and 2 letters of recommendation. Contact details of the 2 referees should also be provided. Applications should be directed to gsathananthan@providencehealth.bc.ca.