Our Funded Research Projects

Updated April 2024

Title Principal Investigator / Supervisor Program Project Start Date Project End Date Total $ Awarded
University of Toronto QUEST Research Program Principal Investigator: CALLUM, Jeannie

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: 		Transfusion Medicine Research Program Support Award 1290733.5
Demonstration of genetic blood group transition in patients undergoing ABO-mismatched hematopoietic stem cell transplantation by peripheral blood quantitative polymerase chain reaction targeting the ABO locus Principal Investigator: SHIH, Andrew

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: LAZO-LANGER, Alejandro, D'SOUZA, David, CALLUM, Jeannie, LEUNG, Eric, CHIN-YEE, Ian 		Blood Efficiency Accelerator Program 15990.0
Addressing racial disparity in blood, stem cell, and organ and tissue donor pools Principal Investigator: FINGRUT, Warren

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: OKONOFUA, Sylvia, YAN, Matthew, KHANDELWAL, Aditi, PENDERGRAST, Jacob, LEEIES, Murdoch, TINGA, Biba, HAW, Jennie, JAGELAVICIUTE, Gabriela, ROSENFELD, Aaron, KHANOLKAR, Rutvij, SEGALL, Romy, BELLINI, Jonathan, MORAKINYO, Tobi, AGYEPONG, Revée 		BloodTechNet Award Program 34150.0
McMaster Centre for Transfusion Research Principal Investigator: ARNOLD, Donald

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: 		Transfusion Medicine Research Program Support Award 1303333.5
A machine learning based framework to analyze blood product transactional data for reducing discards Principal Investigator: CHENG, Calvino

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: ABIDI, Syed Sibte Raza, BLAKE, John, LIWSKI, Robert, QUINN, Jason, ABUSHAREKH, Ashraf, ABIDI, Samina, XIANG, Richard 		Blood Efficiency Accelerator Program 29950.0
The Calgary Plasma Study: feasibility of implementing source plasma donation with alternative screening eligibility criteria for men who have sex with men Principal Investigator: PRESSEAU, Justin

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: GOLDMAN, Mindy, O'BRIEN, Sheila, MACPHERSON, Paul, OTIS, Joanne, FOSTER, Terrie, VESNAVER, Elisabeth, GERMAIN, Marc, ROSSER, Andrew, LAPIERRE, Don, HILL, Nolan 		MSM Plasma Program 399875.0
Support of HLA laboratory directors in-training for rotations in specialized laboratories Principal Investigator: WAGNER, Eric

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: KEOWN, Paul, LIWSKI, Robert, CAMPBELL, Patricia, BERKA, Noureddine, WANG, Jinguo, MOSTAFA, Ahmed, CHEE-LOONG, Saw, RICHARD, Lucie, CHARGÉ, Sophie, DHARSEE, Fatima 		BloodTechNet Award Program 8490.0
Development of a drug to replace IVIg, and ADCC as cause for unexplained hemolysis post-transfusion Principal Investigator: BRANCH, Donald

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: ALMIZRAQ, Ruqayyah 		Postdoctoral Fellowship Program 165000.0
Elianna Saidenberg Transfusion Medicine Trainee Principal Investigator: LAU, Wendy

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: VANDERMEULEN, Heather 		Elianna Saidenberg Transfusion Medicine Traineeship Award 210000.0
Applying educational tools of knowledge translation to reduce the inappropriate use of plasma in Ontario: a collaboration between Canadian Blood Services and Ontario hospitals Principal Investigator: SOLH, Ziad

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: SKEATE, Robert, BERTA, Donna, CALLUM, Jeannie, LIMA, Ana, ZELLER, Michelle, ELAHIE, Allahna, HEDDLE, Nancy, THOMPSON, Troy, TINMOUTH, Alan, SHEHATA, Nadine, ILAGAN, Cesario 		BloodTechNet Award Program 7200.0
Pediatric Transfusion Camp Principal Investigator: LIEBERMAN, Lani

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: LIN, Yulia, CALLUM, Jeannie, WALSH, Catherine, CHARGÉ, Sophie, WILLIAMS, Suzanne, FARONI, David, MEMA, Briseida, LACROIX, Jacque, LAU, Wendy, ROBITAILLE, Nancy, FINAN, Emer, HUME, Heather, HASPEL, Richard, ATKINSON, Adelle, SCOLNIK, Dennis 		BloodTechNet Award Program 10500.0
Perioperative transfusion threshold : A population-based observational study Principal Investigator: FERGUSSON, Dean

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: VERRET, Michael 		Graduate Fellowship Program 52000.0
Deformability based cell sorting enabling quality control of stored red blood cells Principal Investigator: MA, Hongshen

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: ISLAMZADA, Emel 		Graduate Fellowship Program 112333.0
Mechanisms of anti-αIIb mediated miscarriage in fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia Principal Investigator: NI, Heyu

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: CHEN, Zi Yan 		Graduate Fellowship Program 52000.0
Assessing the impact of donor manufacturing characteristics on survival of transfused red blood cells Principal Investigator: TINMOUTH, Alan

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: ACKER, Jason, FERGUSSON, Dean, CHASSÉ, Michaël 		Intramural Research Grant Program 90935.0
Small molecule drug development of phagocytosis inhibitors Principal Investigator: BRANCH, Donald

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: KOTRA, Lakshmi, P. 		Intramural Research Grant Program 428468.4
New cryosolution for stem cell-based therapeutics Principal Investigator: PINEAULT, Nicolas

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: BEN, Robert, HARPER, Marie-Ellen, CHAKRABORTY, Nilay 		Intramural Research Grant Program 180000.0
New solution for cord blood unit preservation Principal Investigator: PINEAULT, Nicolas

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: KAUSHAL, Richa 		Graduate Fellowship Program 116500.0
Anti-GPIb- and anti-GPIIbIIIa- mediated immune thrombocytopenia: Mechanisms and actions of intravenous IgG (IVIG) and alternative therapies Principal Investigator: NI, Heyu

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: LAZARUS, Alan, BRANCH, Donald 		Intramural Research Grant Program 412010.3
Plasma transfusion or plasma protein product infusion in a murine model of trauma Principal Investigator: SHEFFIELD, William

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: PRYZDIAL, Edward 		Intramural Research Grant Program 257414.8
Mechanisms of erythrocyte antibody-mediated immune suppression Principal Investigator: LAZARUS, Alan

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: NI, Heyu, SEMPLE, John 		Intramural Research Grant Program 400000.0
Fc receptors and IVIg in ITP Principal Investigator: LAZARUS, Alan

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: CSERTI-GAZDEWICH, Christine, LIN, Yulia, CALLUM, Jeannie, SHOLZBERG, Michelle, NI, Heyu 		Intramural Research Grant Program 432000.0
PREMISE: Point-of-care hemoglobin accuracy and transfusion outcomes in non-cardiac surgery Principal Investigator: MARTEL, Guillaume

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: TINMOUTH, Alan, FERGUSSON, Dean, MCISAAC, Daniel, SHAW, Julie, RAMSAY, Tim, PRESSEAU, Justin, WHERRETT, Christopher, CARRIER, François-Martin, SEELY, Andrew, BRYSON, Gregory 		Intramural Research Grant Program 392974.0
Establishing national best practices for out-of-hospital blood transfusion: A collaboration of the Canadian Prehospital and Transport Transfusion (CAN-PATT) network Principal Investigator: NOLAN, Brodie

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: TROJANOWSKI, Jan, SHIH, Andrew, GREENE, Adam, EVANS, Rob, MULVEY, Jamin, CHANG, Eddie, NAHIRNIAK, Susan, PEARSON, Dallas, PROKOPCHUK-GAUK, Oksana, MARTIN, Doug, MUSUKA, Charles, SEIDL, Cindy, PEDDLE, Michael, LIN, Yulia, SMITH, Justin, MACDONALD, Scott, RICHARDS, Lindsay, FARRELL, Michael, KHANDELWAL, Aditi, CALLUM, Jeannie 		Blood Efficiency Accelerator Program 30000.0
IN-TRUST: Using a transfusion database to explore the immune-modulatory impacts of blood transfusion and the clinical impacts of blood processing changes Principal Investigator: NING, Shuoyan

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: ARNOLD, Donald, ZELLER, Michelle, ACKER, Jason, LI, Na, HEDDLE, Nancy, HILLIS, Christopher, ROCHWERG, Bram, SYED, Summer 		Intramural Research Grant Program 270352.1
Evaluating unintentional warming of glycerolized red cell concentrates Principal Investigator: ACKER, Jason

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: CLARKE, Gwen, TURNER, Tracy, OLAFSON, Carly, MYKHAILOVA, Olga 		Blood Efficiency Accelerator Program 25000.0
Modulation of biofilm formation, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance by Staphylococcus aureus during platelet storage Principal Investigator: RAMIREZ-ARCOS, Sandra

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: SAD, Subash, MAH, Thien-Fah 		Intramural Research Grant Program 323252.6
IVIG utilization and its impact on platelet count in pregnant women with moderate thrombocytopenia Principal Investigator: KHALIFE, Roy

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: TINMOUTH, Alan, EL-CHAAR, Darine, MACK, Jonathan, KAROVITCH, Alan, FERGUSSON, Dean, WEBERT, Kathryn 		Blood Efficiency Accelerator Program 22217.3
The pan-Canadian immunoglobulin database: Enabling utilization reporting and personalized treatment using data mining techniques for immunoglobulin Principal Investigator: LI, Na

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: DOWN, Douglas, CHIANG, Fei, LEE, Joon, HEDDLE, Nancy, ARNOLD, Donald, CALLUM, Jeannie, SIDHU, Davinder, BARTY, Rebecca 		Kenneth J. Fyke Award Program 100000.0
Anti-RBC monoclonal antibodies as a replacement for IVIg and anti-D in ITP Principal Investigator: LAZARUS, Alan

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: BRANCH, Donald, DUNN, Shannon 		Intramural Research Grant Program 400000.0
Optimizing Pre-Chemotherapy Anemia in Gynecologic Oncology (OPRA-2): A quality improvement initiative Principal Investigator: VICUS, Danielle

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: SPÉNARD, Elisabeth, LIN, Yulia, KHANDELWAL, Aditi, TANO, Ruby, JADUNANDAN, Saudia, KNIGHT, Dawn 		Blood Efficiency Accelerator Program 30000.0
Study of Whole Blood In Frontline Trauma-2 (SWIFT-2) Principal Investigator: BECKETT, Andrew

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: SINGH, Kanwal 		Postdoctoral Fellowship Program 20500.0
Awareness and understanding of apheresis plasma donation and effectiveness of alternative donor screening questions for diverse gbMSM and trans populations Principal Investigator: GAHAGAN, Jacqueline

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: HAW, Jennie, LACHOWSKY, Nathan, DRYDEN, OmiSoore, MANNING, Eli, FOSTER, Terrie, O'BRIEN, Sheila, HACHETTE, Todd, MULLOWNEY, Mike 		MSM Plasma Program 200500.0
Translating novel clotting factor X function to treat thrombosis Principal Investigator: PRYZDIAL, Ed

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: MACVICAR, Brian, SHEFFIELD, William 		Intramural Research Grant Program 369052.0
Transfusion CONsent by a Standardized Evidence-based Novel Tool (Transfusion- CONSENT): Creating and validating novel tools to assess competence in obtaining transfusion consent Principal Investigator: LAUREANO, Marissa

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: KHANDELWAL, Aditi, HASPEL, Richard, FUNG, Mark, LANE, Shannon, ZELLER, Michelle 		BloodTechNet Award Program 8524.0
Assessing the acceptability and feasibility of a plasma donation program for gbMSM in Montréal from the point of view of cis and trans gbMSM, volunteers from Héma-Québec, current donors, and plasma product recipients Principal Investigator: OTIS, Joanne

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: GERMAIN, Marc, HAW, Jennie, MONTEITH, Kenneth, MYHAL, Geneviève, PRESSEAU, Justin, PIRNAT, Bojan, LAPIERRE, Don 		MSM Plasma Program 390970.0
Assessing acceptability, understanding and effectiveness of alternative screening questions for current donors Principal Investigator: FISHER, William

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: HAW, Jennie, GOLDMAN, Mindy, FOSTER, Terrie, O'BRIEN, Sheila, HOFKIRCHNER, Alexander 		MSM Plasma Program 129400.0
Assessing the relationship between red blood cell deformability and transfusion lifetime Principal Investigator: MA, Hongshen

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: LAMOUREUX, Erik 		Graduate Fellowship Program 52000.0
Synthesis and live cell imaging of ice recrystallization inhibitors in red blood cells Principal Investigator: BEN, Robert

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: MCMUNN, Leah 		Graduate Fellowship Program 112333.0
Replacement of IVIg by small molecule inhibitors of phagocytosis Principal Investigator: BRANCH, Donald

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: LORIAMINI, Melika 		Graduate Fellowship Program 112333.0
Defining the stem cell regulatory functions of GAS6 and FTO Principal Investigator: MAGANTI, Harinad

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: PASALA, Ajay 		Graduate Fellowship Program 52000.0
COVID-19 vaccination refusal and access to transplantation: an ethical conundrum. A legal analysis and a qualitative study with key stakeholders Principal Investigator: FORTIN, Marie-Chantal

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: CHANDLER, Jennifer, GILL, Justin, GOLDBERG, Aviva, GRUBEN, Vanessa 		James Kreppner Award Program 49952.0
Options for increasing plasma supply in Canada: A health economic preference and modelling study Principal Investigator: HOLLOWAY, Kelly

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: KENNEDY, Kevin 		CIHR Health System Impact Fellowship 108500.0
Evaluating transfusion medicine patterns of practice across GEMINI sites Principal Investigator: CALLUM, Jeannie

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: ARNOLD, Donald, VERMA, Amol, SRIVASTAVA, Siddhartha, CHENG, Calvino, ESMAIL, Tariq, DESVEAUX, Laura, TYRYSHKIN, Kathrin, KARKOUTI, Keyvan, LADHA, Karim, LI, Na, PAVENSKI, Katerina, PENDERGRAST, Jacob, PRESSEAU, Justin, SCHNEIDER, Henry, SHEHATA, Nadine, SHIH, Andrew, THIRUMURTHY, Harsha, BREHAUT, Jamie, RAZAK, Fahad, MCLCEARY, Nicola, ZUCKERMAN, Jesse 		Kenneth J. Fyke Award Program 98822.0
Modified platelet storage containers to improve quality during storage Principal Investigator: KIZHAKKEDATHU, Jayachandran

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: PEREYRA DOS SANTOS, Nicolas 		Graduate Fellowship Program 52000.0
Leveraging equity-focused implementation science to evaluate and support the re-integration of men who have sex with men into the blood donation system Principal Investigator: GOLDMAN, Mindy

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: VESNAVER, Elisabeth 		CIHR Health System Impact Fellowship 108500.0
Generation of a coagulation factor-based thrombotic agent Principal Investigator: PRYZDIAL, Ed

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: WITT, Alexandra 		Graduate Fellowship Program 52000.0
Biomarkers in patients with anemia-induced thrombocytopenic bleeding (BAIT): A pilot study Principal Investigator: ARNOLD, Donald

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: WEBERT, Kathryn, LIAW, Patricia, BERG, Tobias, HEDDLE, Nancy 		Intramural Research Grant Program 200000.0
A clinical comparison of cold-stored and room temperature-stored allogeneic platelet transfusions in bleeding adult cardiac surgery patients - A randomized multicentre pilot study (PLTS-1 study) Principal Investigator: BARTOSZKO, Justyna

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: CALLUM, Jeannie, DEVINE, Dana, KARKOUTI, Keyvan, KAHR, Walter, MCVEY, Mark, PEER, Miki, RAO, Vivek, ABRAHAMYAN, Lusine, LIEBERMAN, Lani, MEWHORT, Holly 		Intramural Research Grant Program 242617.0
Enabling next generation hematopoietic-based therapeutics and manufacturing Principal Investigator: PINEAULT, Nicolas

Co-Investigator(s) / Trainee: MCCOMB, Scott, JEZIERSKI, Anna, MAGALHAES, Ana, IQBAL, Umer 		Intramural Research Grant Program 300000.0