Executive

Duncan is a pioneering Canadian cardiovascular researcher who is recognized for his many important discoveries in blood vessel biology, as well as his dedication to translating these discoveries into benefits for patients and society.

After beginning his career in academic cardiology at McGill University in Montreal, he moved to Toronto as Head of Cardiology at St. Michael’s Hospital and later became Director of the Division of Cardiology and Executive Director of the McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine at the University of Toronto. He was recruited to lead the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute in 2007.Duncan has made a number of seminal discoveries elucidating the importance of endothelial factors in health and disease, notably the role of the nitric oxide system in angiogenesis and of endothelin-1 in pulmonary hypertension.

Duncan is also a leader in developing cell and gene based therapies for cardiovascular disease. He led the first Canadian clinical trial to test an angiogenic gene therapy – using VEGF to try to stimulate heart repair in people who had suffered heart attacks. He also led the world’s first clinical trial of a gene-enhanced cell therapy for pulmonary hypertension, using endothelial progenitor cells engineered to over-express the endothelial nitric oxide synthase. He also leads the world’s first clinical trial of a similar therapy for post heart-attack repair, and he has played a key role in initiating the world’s first trial of mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of septic shock.

Duncan has published more than 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts and has received a number of distinctions and prizes, including the Dexter Man Chair of Cardiology and Research Achievement Award of the University of Toronto, and the Research Achievement Award of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.

Throughout his career, Dr. Stewart has demonstrated leadership in bringing diverse groups of clinicians and scientists together to put Canada on the world stage for translational cardiovascular and regenerative medicine research.

As well as serving as President and Scientific Director of the Ontario Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Duncan is Executive Vice-President of Research at The Ottawa Hospital and CEO and Scientific Director of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, an active senior scientist in The Ottawa Hospital’s Regenerative Medicine Program and holds the Evelyne and Rowell Laishley Chair. He is also a Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, Scientific Director of the Canadian Vascular Network and a practicing cardiologist.

Sandra has over 25 years of experience in network development and scientific research and has fulfilled several roles at OIRM including, Vice President, Strategy & Partnerships and Associate Director.

Prior to working with OIRM, she was the Program Manager for the Ontario Stem Cell Initiative where she expanded a Toronto-based initiative into a virtual network of 145+ stem cell research programs across the province, leading to the establishment of the OIRM. She also managed a clinical research program in spinal deformity, benign bone tumors and club foot deformity in Orthopaedic Surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children. During this time, she collaborated to develop a North American Clinical Trials Network in paediatric orthopaedic surgery and managed its first international, multi-centre clinical trial across 50 institutions, overseeing all scientific, ethical and regulatory approval processes (A RCT comparing intralesional bone marrow and steroids for simple bone cysts).

Previously, Sandra worked in orthopaedic research programs at several Ontario hospitals including Women’s College, Mount Sinai, Princess Margaret and London Health Sciences Centre. She has published clinical research in a variety of orthopaedic journals and was also a freelance health columnist for CBC News Online. Sandra has a B.A. from the University of Western Ontario and most recently, obtained her certification as a meditation and mindfulness instructor  from the McLean Meditation Institute in Santa Barbara, California and credits these skills with keeping the ‘monkey mind’ at bay.