Academic Promotions
Promotions to Associate Professor
Dr. Darren Lau joined the Department of Medicine’s Division of General Internal Medicine as a clinician investigator in October 2019, shortly after completing his IM & GIM residencies with us.
Dr. Lau’s research focuses on understanding and improving outcomes for adults with diabetes and translating research findings into care. His three principal areas of investigation are understanding real-world effectiveness and cost-effectiveness for evidence-based, underused medications and technologies with heart and kidney benefits; examining the ability to scale and spread the use of evidence-based diabetes medications and technologies to meet care targets; and efforts to bridge identified care gaps.
This research has translated into such initiatives as a new care pathway for people with diabetes and chronic kidney disease, as well as the development of the Okaki Virtual Diabetes Care Clinic which offers comprehensive diabetes services for Indigenous people.
Photo: Dr. Darren Lau and Dr. Narmin Kassam
Dr. Toru Tateno is a clinician scientist whose research focus is pituitary diseases, one of the most complex areas of endocrinology. His research, which complements his clinical and teaching activities, has identified mechanisms that drive pituitary tumour development and hold potential for new targeted therapies. He is recognized nationally and internationally for his research and his clinical expertise.
He conducts his research in collaboration with other disciplines such as Neurosurgery, and with industry partners to develop molecular therapies and direct clinical trials.
In 2024, he began a research collaboration with the department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology to determine optimal conditions for handling of pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). The findings led to an expansion of ACTH collection in hospitals and laboratories in Alberta, resulting in more timely diagnosis and management of endocrine conditions.
Photo: Dr. Toru Tateno and Dr. Narmin Kassam
Promotions to Professor
Dr. Lana Bistritz is an accomplished clinician, educator and leader who has undertaken numerous innovations in many areas of learner education.
From 2009 to 2019, she was the course coordinator of the Gastroenterology and Nutrition block in the U of A MD program. In that role, she aligned learning objectives with the Medical Council of Canada and introduced several innovations and was recognized by medical students through the “Block of the Year award” for five years.
Since 2021, Dr. Bistritz has been working as assistant dean, curriculum, with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, where she leads all aspects of the curriculum for the MD Program, including pre-clerkship, clerkship, and longitudinal themes.
Dr. Bistritz also spearheaded the multidisciplinary WellnessRx teaching module to enhance nutrition and physical activity teaching for medical professionals, which was incorporated into the Gastroenterology and Nutrition block. The WellnessRx modules have been implemented in Medicine, Dentistry, and Nursing at the U of A and used for continuous professional learning by the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta.
Photo: Dr. Lana Bistritz and Dr. Narmin Kassam
Dr. Sheri Koshman joined the Division of Cardiology in 2007 after completing a Doctor of Pharmacy and Postdoctoral Clinical Fellowship in Ambulatory Cardiology. She has a unique clinical practice in ambulatory cardiology care.
One of her clinical innovations was the creation of heart failure medication algorithms. These have been used locally and nationally in heart failure clinics across Canada. The algorithms were developed into a Canadian Cardiovascular Society-endorsed and distributed app that has had more than 180,000 downloads.
Dr. Koshman co-developed the first and only Advanced Cardiology Year-2 Pharmacy Residency program in Canada, to train advanced level pharmacists to work alongside cardiology residents. The residency program was nationally accredited in 2021 under her co-leadership.
Her long-standing research program has led to several award-winning publications, including Best Article of 2020 by the Canadian Pharmacist Journal and the 2022 DoM Best Clinical Investigation Publication Award.
Photo: Dr. Sheri Koshman and Dr. Narmin Kassam
Dr. Karen Lee is internationally recognized for her translational research that has changed public health policy. She has earned widespread media attention for her innovative approaches to bringing research into the public health sphere. Prior to her appointment at the University of Alberta, one of Dr. Lee’s research translation initiatives led to a reversal in the rate of childhood obesity within one decade in New York City, and subsequently in 15 other American cities.
In 2018, she joined the Department of Medicine, as director of the Public Health and Preventive Medicine (PHPM) Residency Training Program. Since she has taken on the role, the program has successfully graduated Canadian and international medical graduates with a 100% pass rate on the Royal College examinations.
Dr. Lee has received several awards including the International Women’s Day Wall of Wonder at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the PROSE Award for authorship of a chapter of Urban Health, and an Honourary Doctorate Nomination at the Ontario College of Art & Design University in Toronto.
Photo: Dr. Karen Lee and Dr. Narmin Kassam
Dr. Bernadette Quemerais joined the Department of Medicine as a PhD Scientist in 2012 after 20 years working as an industrial scientist. Her research is in occupational hygiene, with a focus on particulate exposure in industrial and other settings.
In 2016, she established an Occupational Hygiene Research Laboratory at the University of Alberta. Since then she has created an international research network. The range of her research includes welding fumes, dental aerosols, nanomaterials, airborne viruses, efficiency of masks, and metabolomics.
Dr. Gopinath Sutendra is a PhD Scientist whose research is in the area of cardio-oncology, specifically chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity. He started with the University of Alberta in 2015 and immediately secured a $2.1 million Translational Health Chair in Cardio-Oncology from Alberta Innovates. Since then, he has established a comprehensive translational research program in cardio-oncology examining how several common and standard chemotherapeutics can promote cardiac dysfunction.
He is the recipient of multiple research and translational research awards including the Department of Medicine Translational Research Award, Basic Science Publication Award, and the Darin McDonald Team Award in Basic Oncology Research from the Cancer Research Institute of Northern Alberta.
He has been an invited speaker at numerous international conferences.
Dr. Sutendra served as co-director of our Graduate Education program, is a co-director of our Translational Medicine graduate program and is currently a co-associate chair, Research in the Department of Medicine.
Photo: Dr. Gopinath Sutendra and Dr. Narmin Kassam