Hien Huynh  MBBS  FRACP  FRCPC

Gastroenterologist, Associate Professor and Divisional Director Gastroenterology - Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta

Dr. Huynh is an Associate Professor of pediatrics and has performed both basic and clinical studies in gastrointestinal disease such as IBD, Helicobacter pylori infection and eosinophilic esophagitis.  He founded the pediatric IBD program at the Stollery Children’s hospital and developed the Pediatric IBD registry.  He has over 10 years experience in pharmaceutical trials.  He established the Western pediatric IBD network and is on the executive committee for the Canadian Children IBD network. Dr. Huynh is the site investigators for multiple cohort studies and has led investigator-initiated studies in such as IDEAL trial looking at Remicade levels in children with CD.

Eytan Wine  MD  PhD  FRCPC

Gastroenterologist, Associate Professor - Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta

Dr. Wine is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Physiology, Clinician Scientist, and Pediatric Gastroenterologist at the University of Alberta. After his Medical and Pediatric training in Israel, he completed a Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and earned his PhD in Cellular Microbiology at the University of Toronto in Philip Sherman’s laboratory. Dr. Wine’s clinical expertise is managing children with IBD. This interest fits well with his laboratory research focus on involvement of intestinal bacteria in development of intestinal inflammation, enabling translational bench-to-bedside research. The Wine lab has diverse expertise in basic aspects of IBD, especially in children, using patient samples and disease models to investigate the roles of microbes, the epithelial lining and barrier function, mucus defence, and inflammation in pathogenesis.

Dr. Wine is also involved in training at various levels and is the co-lead for the Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program (CCHCSP) at the University of Alberta. He is a co-principal applicant on the CIHR-CHILD Foundation Canadian Children IBD Network and chair of the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) Porto IBD Group research committee.

Matthew Carroll  BSc  BMed(Hons)  MHSc  FRACP

Gastroenterologist, Associate Professor - Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta

Dr. Carroll is an Associate Professor in Pediatrics and a Clinician Educator at the University of Alberta. Dr. Carroll completed his medical training in Australia specializing in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. He did further clinical and research training in complex pediatric IBD at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, BC, earning his Masters in Health Science (Clinical Epidemiology) from the University of British Columbia. Dr. Carroll brings expertise in clinical epidemiology, quality improvement and health services research methodology and the use of administrative databases. He is a founding member of the Canadian Gastro-Intestinal Epidemiology Consortium (CanGEIC) research group, which is currently conducting a national study examining the impact IBD has on Canadian children, their families and the health system.

Dr.Carroll has an ongoing research interest in amongst Canadians of South Asian ethnic descent and has described a unique clinical IBD phenotype in this population. Within the Canadian Children IBD Network, Dr. Carroll is the Edmonton site lead for the national Pediatric IBD Quality Improvement project. He is also the Quality Improvement physician lead for the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology.

Daniela Migliarese Isaac  MD, FRCPC

Gastroenterologist, Assistant Professor - Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta

Dr. Isaac is a Pediatric Gastroenterologist and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta. After completing her Medical Degree, General Pediatric Residency and Pediatric Gastroenterology Subspecialty Training at the University of Alberta, she began the Stollery – Shriners Clinical Research Fellowship focussing on the use of gastroenterologist performed bowel ultrasound in monitoring pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This exciting new area of pediatric IBD management remains her primary research focus. Dr. Isaac has undergone formal training and is internationally certified in performing bowel ultrasonography through the International Bowel Ultrasound Group.

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Dr. Isaac joined the University of Alberta Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition with a clinical focus on the management of pediatric IBD. In addition, she has clinical and research experience aimed at improving care for children with celiac disease through promoting a multidisciplinary clinic model and innovations in the endoscopic referral process. In addition, she has a strong interest in Global Health and Social Pediatrics, including experience in developing patient advocacy projects targeted at improving the social determinants of health for children and their families both locally and internationally. She is completing a Master of Science in Public Health with a focus on Health Services Management through the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.

Cheryl Kluthe  RN

Registered Nurse

Cheryl is a pediatric GI nurse with a strong interest in IBD. She is part of the Canadian IBD nursing network.  She has shown leadership and dedication in EPIC quality by studying patient adherence to treatment, her result will be presented at Crohns and Colitis Foundation of America Orlando Dec 2014.

She is the main organizer of all our patient related events throughout the year including our IBD day. Her major role in studying Patient and parents Perception of Treatments and Disease will develop our nursing research capacity and will lead our qualitative research in EPIC with the support of WCHRI (Women and Children’s Health Research Institute) qualitative  platform and the remaining EPIC team members.

Leanne Shirton  RN

Registered Nurse

Leanne Shirton is a pediatric GI nurse with a strong interest in IBD. She has been a nurse with Alberta Health Services for 30 years and has spent the last 10 years in the Stollery Pediatric Gastroenterology clinic.

Min Chen  RD

Registered Dietitian

Min is one of the registered dietitians in IBD clinic. Her main focus is to provide advice and support for IBD patients regarding their dietary concerns and nutritional needs.  She works with family to make sure our children follow the right diet, grow to their potential, and work towards preventing relapses. 

Jessica Wu  RD

Registered Dietitian

Jessica has been a Dietitian with the GI program for 5 years. She likes meeting patients and their families and helping them improve their health through food. When she’s not in clinic, she loves to travel and try new foods from around the world.

Patricia Almeida  MD  MSc

Lead Research Coordinator

Patricia joined the EPIC team in May 2017. She studied Medicine in Brazil, specializing in Pediatric Gastroenterology, and completed a Masters in Health Sciences with a focus on Celiac Disease. Patricia was an Assistant Professor at the University of Brasilia, Brazil. After moving to Canada with her family, she has turned to research, happy to be able to apply her previous knowledge to her work with the IBD team. Outside the clinic, Patricia loves spending time with her husband and four children, doing outdoors activities with her dog, and traveling.

Denise Parsons  BSc

Research Assistant

Denise joined the EPIC team in Aug of 2018, after 5 years as a research assistant in Stollery Emergency. Her undergraduate and graduate training are in cultural Anthropology and Psychology. She previously worked in community based research, but changed to clinical research after her cousin’s son was born with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (his heart was 7 times too big for him at birth). After a few months wait, a donor heart was available for him, and Stollery performed the successful surgery. Denise was inspired by the potentially life changing possibilities of clinical research at that time. Without the excellent care at Stollery and the research that made it possible to do heart transplants on neonates, her cousin’s son would not be with us today, enjoying a great life!

Alexandra Petrova  BSc

Research Coordinator

Alexandra has joined the EPIC team in 2016 after completing her Immunology and Infectious Disease Program. She first started off as a research assistant and later had become a lead coordinator. She enjoys managing EPIC initiatives and studies, as well as connecting with study participants and other people making clinical research at the Stollery possible. Outside of work, Alexandra enjoys hiking, weightlifting and creating paintings for her friends.

Anna Kuc  BSc Student

Research Assistant

Anna is currently studying in her second year of the Bilingual Bachelor of Science Program at the University of Alberta. She loves working with kids and has a specific interest in pediatrics, especially IBD, following her younger brother’s diagnosis of Crohn Disease in 2013. Anna is motivated to help the team with their research so that they may come to new discoveries regarding trends, treatments and improved lifestyles of kids with IBD. Outside of the clinic, Anna Ukrainian dances and loves to spend time with her family.