CommiSurLab Team – CommiSurLab

CommiSurLab Staff

Investigators and Collaborators

Dan Poenaru MA, MHPE, MD, PhD

CommiSurLab Scientific Director, Pediatric Surgeon

I’m a pediatric surgeon who discovered recently that research is my true love and maybe even raison d’être… I am passionate about good communication in surgery, putting the child and the family in the center, and equity in surgical care globally.

And I believe that augmented intelligence and extended reality will revolutionize surgical care and education, and am committed to do all I can to see that happen!

My bio can be found here.

My publications are shown here.

Pramod Puligandla MSc, MD

Pediatric Surgeon, Associate Investigator (RI-MUHC)

My research focuses on health outcomes regarding surgically correctable anomalies, particularly those affecting newborns and infants (e.g., congenital diaphragmatic hernia [CDH] and gastroschisis [GS]). My major research directive seeks to determine relationships between prenatal risk factors, in-hospital treatments and the long-term disability experienced by these patients. As director of the CDH Long-Term Follow-Up Clinic at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, I lead a multdisciplinary team that looks at the risks and complications in CDH infants. Specific areas of inquiry include long-term lung function, feeding and growth, as well as neurodevelopment.

My other major research directives include my involvement as co-director of the Canadian Pediatric Surgery Network (CAPSNet), a population-based warehouse of in-hospital outcomes for CDH and GS, as well as my involvement as a steering committee member of the Canadian Consortium for Pediatric Surgical Research (CanCORPS), a national research effort involving 15 pediatric institutions.

My bio can be found here.

My publications are shown here.

Maeve Trudeau MD, CM, MPH

Pediatric Surgeon

Dr. Trudeau is passionate about working with underserved populations, in Canada and abroad. She has worked in Inukjuak, sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, India, and the Middle East.

Her clinical interests include the surgical management of solid tumors and pediatric colorectal surgery and contribute to multiple missions within the Division and the Department.

My bio can be found here

My publications can be found here

Etienne St-Louis MDCM, PhD

Pediatric Surgeon

I am passionate about leveraging research to improve access and quality of care for my patients. I hope to apply my experience in global surgery to study and address health care gaps that persist among remote and underserved communities here in Canada, particularly relating to access to safe and timely pediatric surgical and trauma care.

My clinical interests are varied, and include the surgical management of congenital malformations, chest wall anomalies, pediatric cancers, and a variety of acute surgical conditions including trauma. I have a special clinical interest in the surgical management of adolescent obesity. My aim is to conduct clinical and outcomes research in collaboration with partners in allied health disciplines to improve the lives of these vulnerable patients.

My bio can be found here

My publications can be found here

Robert Baird MSc, MDCM

Pediatric Surgeon

I am a Clinical Professor of Pediatric Surgery at the University of British Columbia and a proud graduate and past faculty member of the Pediatric Surgery Team at McGill. I engage in systematic reviews of available evidence and perform high impact single or multi-institutional clinical trials concerning congenital or acquired surgical conditions in children, particularly as a steering committee member of the Canadian Consortium for Pediatric Surgical Research (CanCORPS). I have been involved in several standard-setting initiatives as chair of the Outcomes Committee of the American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA). Finally, I am an enthusiastic supporter of family-centered as well as worldwide equitable access to surgical care and education.

My bio can be found here

My publications can be found here

Esli Osmanlliu MSc, MD

Pediatric Emergency Medicine

My research program focuses on telemedicine innovation for pediatric acute care delivery. Through diverse family-partnered research, this program will contribute to the development of socially acceptable and accessible technological innovation for improved pediatric telemedicine.

With my research team, I will adapt and test novel digital technologies to improve the remote care of children with infectious symptoms. I am particularly interested in digital otoscopy and throat examination supported by artificial intelligence-based clinical decision support tools.

Ultimately, I envision that this work will help reduce ED visits for low-acuity conditions, improve family care experiences, and increase access to expert pediatric knowledge.

My bio can be found here

My publications can be found here

Tino Kreutzer, PhD

Affiliate Member

My research explores new methodologies and practical approaches for large-scale qualitative data collection and analysis through natural language processing (NLP), especially in the context of responding to humanitarian emergencies. In particular, I am also focused on constructing a pragmatic ethical framework to address AI-related ethical issues in health and humanitarian responses. Through this work, I aim to contribute to more efficient, data-driven responses in crises and emergencies.

This research is shaped by my experience working in humanitarian response and global health emergencies, including my current role at Kobo, the organization behind KoboToolbox, as well as in previous roles with the UN Development Programme, the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. My background in managing large-scale perception surveys and information management systems, informs my approach to addressing the complex technical and ethical challenges inherent in leveraging AI for humanitarian action.

My bio can be found here.

My publications are shown here.

Peter Savadjiev, M.ENG., PhD

Collaborator

A computer scientist by training, Dr. Savadjiev specializes in developing computational methods for medical image analysis, based on Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence (AI). After working in brain image analysis for several years at the Harvard Medical School, he joined the department of Diagnostic Radiology at McGill University in 2016. At McGill, he built a research group consisting of graduate students, academic and clinical collaborators, with the goal of developing novel machine learning and computer vision algorithms for medical image analysis and applying them to clinical research. Application domains include (but are not limited to) abdominal, thoracic, cardiac, head and neck imaging. After joining the department of Pathology at McGill in 2020, he was also involved in projects applying AI methods to the analysis of histopathology image data. After leaving McGill in 2021, he currently holds an appointment as an Assistant Professor in the department of Radiology at the University of Vermont, and also works as an independent consultant in medical AI, with both imaging and non-image data.

My bio can be found here.

My publications are shown here.

Katya Loban, MA, LLM, PhD

Affiliate Member

I am a health services researcher, with a multidisciplinary background in social sciences, management and primary health care. I have 15 years of professional experience in the areas of international project management and research administration. My areas of research interest include multi-stakeholder partnerships, inter-professional collaboration, health care organization, equity, and medical law and ethics. Most of my research has been dedicated to identifying gaps in the provision of care to those who are on the periphery of the healthcare system and on improving their care through collaborative and inter-disciplinary approaches. I love methods and I’m always eager to apply new approaches in qualitative, participative and mixed methods research.

My bio can be found here.

My publications are shown here.

Elena Guadagno MLIS

Research Director

I’m a Research Director working with the pediatric surgery team at the Montreal Children’s Hospital and the CommiSur lab, National Coordinator for CanCORPS & CBAR as well as Program Manager for the Children’s Journey. Prior to this, I worked as a senior librarian at the MUHC medical library. My career started in managing and designing Library Software.

My main interests lie in supporting improvement in patient & family centered patient care both in research and as a patient partner, pediatric surgery including Pediatric Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS), artificial intelligence in communication, global health and more. Nationally supporting outstanding multicentre research efforts through the Canadian Consortium of Pediatric Surgery (CanCORPS) and the Canadian Biliary Atresia registry (CBAR).

My bio can be found here.

My publications can be found here.

Manoja Chandralingam BSc, RN

Clinical Research Coordinator, Nurse

I’m a Registered Nurse with a background in Obstetrics and Gynecology, specialized in fertility. Over the course of my practice, I’ve become passionate about improving the quality of care for patients, through patient and family centered research and education. As a result, I’ve worked as a Research Assistant on different projects. Currently, I’m the Clinical Research Coordinator for the Children’s Journey App study, which aims to help caregivers of young patients better navigate different health trajectories in the hospital and consequently decrease health service utilization.

Laurena Deligny

Research Administrative Assistant (CRC)

I am an administrative professional with extensive experience supporting academic, research, and corporate environments. I have contributed to McGill University departments such as the Clinical Research Program and the School of Computer Science, and more recently at Samsung’s Montreal AI Centre. I’ve managed operations, events, and communications for international research initiatives with a focus on collaboration and efficiency. I thrive in a strong, team oriented setting with a focus on creating a supportive and well-coordinated environment for colleagues and partners.

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