Meet the Researcher
Meet the Researcher
We’re excited to share a new series of videos called the Meet the Researcher Series.
Our community and supporters know that the donations to the CLF help fund important life-saving research into liver disease, helping to advance prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and even cures. With our Meet the Researcher Series, our hope is to showcase this work and introduce you to the people behind it. These are the people who are making the advances and breakthroughs that support our vision of a world without liver disease.
So far, we’ve shared two interviews and have more scheduled for the remainder of 2021. In case you missed them, check them out below.
To keep up with the latest interviews, be sure to follow us on Facebook!
Dr. Lori West – Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program
Dr. Lori West is the Founding Scientific Director of the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program (CDTRP).
The CLF works together with the CDTRP to enhance the survival and quality of life of Canadians who undergo transplantation, through multi-disciplinary, collaborative, and leading-edge research. Under Dr. West’s leadership, the CDTRP connects more scientists, students, collaborators, patient partners and knowledge-users at its sites throughout Canada to carry out research and develop resources to increase access to transplantation and improve survival and quality of life of transplant patients.
With the liver being the second most transplanted organ in Canada and a shortage of organs, it is vital to ensure that every liver transplant has the best possible outcomes, and this kind of research holds the key.
Recently, Dr. West was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada, one of Canada’s highest honours. It is our pleasure to share our discussion with her on her work and the work of the CDTRP.
Dr. Giada Sebastiani – Canadian NASH Network
As we marked International NASH Day on June 10, we spoke with Dr. Giada Sebastiani for our second in our Meet the Researcher series. Dr. Sebastiani is one of the founders and members of the Canadian NASH Network (CanNASH).
CanNASH is a collaborative organization of health care professionals from across Canada with a primary interest in enhancing understanding, care of, education and research in persons with NAFLD with a vision of best practices for this disease state.
Dr. Sebastiani is an Associate Professor of Medicine at McGill University, and Clinician Scientist at the Research Institute of McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, Canada. She provides clinical services in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. She received a medical degree and specialized in internal medicine at the University of Padua, Italy. She had training in clinical and basic research at Harvard Medical School (US), University College of London (UK), University of Bordeaux (France) and Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research (Montreal, Canada).
Her work focuses on fatty liver disease, liver fibrosis and non-invasive diagnostic tools in liver disease, with a current focus on at-risk populations, including people living with HIV, diabetics, patients with inflammatory bowel diseases and women with polycystic ovary syndrome.
Additionally, she was the Chair of the 1st International Workshop of the Canadian NASH Network in 2021, a joint event with the Single Topic Conference of the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver.