UBC Cardiology Executive

Dr. Jasmine Grewal

Head, UBC Division of Cardiology,
Clinical Professor

Dr. Jasmine Grewal MD FRCPC, is a clinical professor at the University of British Columbia and a member of the Divisions of Cardiology at St Paul’s Hospital and Vancouver General Hospital. With fellowship training in Adult Congenital Heart Disease/Pregnancy and Heart Disease (Toronto General Hospital) and Echocardiography (Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN), Dr. Grewal is actively involved in clinical and research activities in these fields. Dr. Grewal focuses her clinical time in the Pacific Adult Congenital Heart Disease and Cardiac Obstetrics Programs at St.Paul’s Hospital. Additionally, Dr. Grewal is an Echocardiographer and also works in the cardiac intensive care unit at St Paul’s Hospital. She is actively engaged in clinical research and currently involved as a primary and co-investigator in numerous single center and multi-center research studies in the areas of congenital heart disease and pregnancy and heart disease. Dr. Grewal is a recipient of the St Paul’s Hospital Physician Scholar Award (2010-2012).

Dr. David Wood

Head, VCH Cardiology,
Clinical Professor

Dr. David Wood is a Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. He is the Head of the Division of Cardiology and the Medical Director for the Cardiac Sciences Program at Vancouver Coastal Health. He is the inaugural Director of the Centre for Cardiovascular Innovation – Centre d’Innovation Cardiovasculaire (CCI-CIC), a clinical research operation centre with 39 affiliated staff and 72 cardiovascular investigators in British Columbia. Dr. Wood is the President of the Canadian Association of Interventional Cardiology (CAIC-ACCI). He received the Luminary Award at the recent C3 Global Submit. He is the Course Director of the CAIC-ACCI Summit, an open Canadian forum to discuss controversies in complex coronary and structural heart disease interventions.

Dr. Wood works as a structural and interventional cardiologist at St. Paul’s and Vancouver General Hospital. He obtained subspecialty training at Lenox Hill Heart and Vascular Institute of New York. His primary research interests include transcatheter management of structural and valvular heart disease, new device development, novel strategies for treating ACS, and advanced cardiac imaging. Dr. Wood has participated in over 50 live-cases and 20 first-in-human cases. He has co-authored over 200 publications with an h-index of 74. He recently published the 3M TAVR Study (JACC CVI), the SAFE MANTA Study (Circ CVI), and was co-principal investigator of the CIHR funded COMPLETE trial (4,041 patients, 140 centres, 31 countries) that was presented as Late Breaking Science at both ESC and TCT with simultaneous publication in NEJM and JACC. He is currently PI of the COMPLETE TAVR trial (n = 4000, 103 centres), the DISCORDANCE TAVR study (n = 50, 11 centres), the ULTRA CLOSURE study (n = 250, 7 centres), and the PROTECT TAVR study (n = 200, 15 centres). In May 2020, in collaboration with 15 North American Cardiovascular Society Leaders representing over 90,000 clinicians, he simultaneously published Safe Reintroduction of Cardiovascular Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic in JACC, CJC, and the ATS.

Office Contact Information:

Office Phone: 604-875-5601

Fax Number: 604-674-0981

Dr. Sean Virani

Head, PHC Cardiology,
Clinical Associate Professor

Dr. Virani is the Head of Cardiology at Providence Health Care and Physician Program Director for the Provincial Heart Centre at St. Paul’s Hospital.

A key opinion leader for heart failure in Canada, Dr. Virani is the Heart Failure Physician Lead and Senior Medical Advisor at Cardiac Services BC, Past-President and Chair of the Canadian Heart Failure Society as well as Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia.

He completed his internal medicine and cardiology training at UBC before embarking on a sub-specialization in heart failure and cardiac transplantation at Stanford University. He also has a Master’s degree in Public Health from Columbia University with a focus on healthcare management. His professional interests include public policy related to health care delivery with specific reference to healthcare systems redesign and quality in the Canadian context.

Dr. Virani has authored a number of papers on chronic and acute decompensated heart failure and is a principal investigator on numerous research trials with extensive grant funding.

He is Co-Chair of the Canadian Cardio-Oncology Guidelines and is a primary panelist on the Canadian Heart Failure Guidelines. He is Co-Chair of the Provincial Advisory Panel on Cardiac Health and past Co-Chair of British Columbia’s Specialist Services Committee – a collaboration between the Doctors of BC and BC’s Ministry of Health. He also serves as Medical Director for HeartLife Foundation, Canada’s first and only patient-led national heart failure organization.

Dr. Nat Hawkins

Head, UBC Cardiology Research,
Clinical Associate Professor

Dr Hawkins is Clinical Associate Professor at UBC and holder of the Dr. Charles Kerr Distinguished Scholar in Heart Rhythm Management. He holds dual certification in Heart Function and Heart Rhythm management, providing an innovative perspective on integration of technology with chronic disease management. He is the Physician Lead for the Vancouver Coastal Health Regional Heart Failure Program, and Director of the Heart Function Clinic at St. Paul’s Hospital, the Inherited Cardiomyopathy Clinic at Vancouver General Hospital, and the Regional Heart Failure Audit. He is Co-Chair at the Centre for Cardiovascular Innovation for Investigator Initiated Studies (https://cci-cic.org/).

His research examines cardiovascular outcomes, health services, and comorbidities in patients with heart failure and arrhythmia, and investigates patient management using cardiac implantable devices, remote monitoring, and digital health solutions. He has published in leading journals including Circulation, Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), and European Heart Journal. He has 97 peer-reviewed publications, h-index 30.

Education

• Medical degree: MBChB, University of Edinburgh
• Research degree: MD, Doctorate of Medicine, University of Glasgow
• Research degree: MPH, University of Liverpool
• Residency: University of Edinburgh
• Fellowship: Heart Failure and Devices, University of Liverpool
• Fellowship: Heart Failure and Devices, University of British Columbia

Dr. Parvathy Nair

Head, UBC Cardiology Education,
Clinical Professor

DHCC, 2775 Laurel St
Level 9, Cardiology
Vancouver, BC V5Z1M9

Dr. Carolyn Taylor

Director, Finance,
Clinical Associate Professor

Dr. Carolyn M Taylor, MD, MPH is a clinical assistant professor at the University of British Columbia and a member of the Divisions of Cardiology at St Paul’s Hospital and Vancouver General Hospital. With fellowship training in Cardiac Disease Prevention (Harvard University) and Coronary CT Angiography (Massachusett’s General Hospital), Dr. Taylor is actively involved in clinical and research activities in these fields. Dr. Taylor focuses her clinical time in the Healthy Heart cardiac rehabilitation program at St Paul’s and Vancouver General Hospital and in the Prevention/Lipid Clinic at St Paul’s Hospital. Additionally, Dr. Taylor works in the advanced cardiac imaging department and the cardiac intensive care unit at St Paul’s Hospital. Prior research training includes a Masters of Public Health (2008) from Harvard University and completion of the UBC Clinical Investigator’s Program (2009). She is currently involved as a primary and co-investigator of numerous single center and multi-center research studies in the areas of non-invasive imaging, cardiac prevention, and risk factor modification. Dr. Taylor is the recent recipient of the St Paul’s Hospital Physician Scholar Award (2011-2014).

Dr. Zachary Laksman

Director, Systems Innovation & Improvement,
Assistant Professor

Dr. Zachary Laksman is the Director of the St. Paul’s Hospital Atrial Fibrillation Clinic and the Director of the St. Paul’s Hospital Inherited Arrhythmia Clinic. Dr. Laksman specializes in the management of cardiac arrhythmias, and simple and complex ablation and device implantation.

Dr. Laksman is a clinician-scientist with a specific focus on cardiogenetics, stem cell disease modeling, and personalized medicine. His research has been published in scientific journals such as JACC, Heart Rhythm, Circulation Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, American Journal of Cardiology, Canadian Journal of Cardiology, Journal of Cardiac Electrophysiology, Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, and Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews. Dr. Laksman’s research is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health and Research, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.

Dr. Laksman holds Dr. Charles Kerr distinguished Scholar in Cardiovascular Genetics.

Dr. Shanta Chakrabarti

Member-at-Large, Division Health & Wellness,
Clinical Associate Professor

After graduating from the University of Calcutta, Dr. Chakrabarti obtained his training in Congenital Cardiology in the United Kingdom (Southampton and Bristol) with further Electrophysiology training at the University of British Columbia.

His focus of interest includes arrhythmia management of Congenital Heart Disease, complex ablations with 3D mapping and advanced device therapy (ICD and cardiac resynchronization therapy).

Research interests include arrhythmias with Congenital Heart Disease, Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy, and Genetic Arrhythmias.

Dr. Chakrabarti is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh, and the American College of Cardiology and Heart Rhythm Society.

He is the Director of the Electrophysiology Fellowship Program of the University of British Columbia and the Lead Physician for Device Services and Congenital Heart Disease Arrhythmia Services at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver.

Dr. Margot Davis

Member-at-Large, EDI,
Clinical Associate Professor

Margot Davis is a cardiologist at VGH and SPH and the Director of the UBC Cardiology-Oncology Program. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Physiology at McGill University before attending medical school at the University of British Columbia. She stayed at UBC for her Internal Medicine residency and Cardiology fellowship and served as Chief Resident for both Medicine and Cardiology. She then completed fellowships in Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology and Cardio-Oncology & Cardiac Amyloidosis at Stanford University School of Medicine. She is also a candidate for a Masters of Science in clinical epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Her research interests are focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and management of cardiotoxicity related to cancer therapy and the epidemiology of heart disease in cancer survivors. She also has interests in cardiac amyloidosis and advanced heart failure. She is a co-PI on the Canadian Cancer Society-funded ELEVATE trial of eplerenone for the prevention of anthracycline cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients.

Dr. Victor Huckell

Member-at-Large,
Clinical Professor

Dr. Victor F. Huckell earned his degree in Medicine from the University of British Columbia, Canada and is certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in both Internal Medicine and Cardiology (FRCPC).

During the 1960’s as a student at the University of British Columbia, Dr. Huckell was the recipient of numerous undergraduate awards ranging from Government of British Columbia Scholarships to the Yates Memorial Award, the Mosby Scholarship Award, the Florence Heighway Medical Award, the Dr. A. E. Trites Memorial Prize in Obstetrics and Cardiology, The H. Rock Robinson Prize in Surgery, The Dr. A. B. Schinbein Memorial Scholarship, The Hamber Scholarship in Medicine, and the Dean MM Weaver Gold Medal.

As a postgraduate trainee his achievements were no less impressive, having received the PARI-BC Award for Teaching and Excellence and various other service and teaching awards.

Having been a general practitioner on Vancouver Island from 1970 to 1972 he returned to the University of British Columbia where he held various positions at the Vancouver General Hospital in association with the University of British Columbia including Chief Medical Resident. He then moved to Toronto where he served as Senior and then Chief Resident in Cardiology at the Toronto Hospital in association with the University of Toronto.

In 1978, Dr. Huckell returned to Vancouver. He currently serves as a Clinical Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at the University of British Columbia; Invasive Cardiologist, on Staff at the Vancouver General Hospital. He has continued to receive numerous awards for teaching endeavors; including the University of British Columbia Excellence in Teaching Award (Killam Award), the St. Paul’s Hospital Bruce Shallard Lecturer award (Distinguished Teaching), the Canadian Cardiovascular Society Distinguished Teacher Award, the UBC Division of Cardiology Clinical Mentor Award, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society Visionary Award twice, the UBC Department of Medicine Master Teacher Award, the UBC Clinical Faculty Award for Career Excellence in Clinical Teaching, and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Since 1978, Dr. Huckell has held numerous teaching positions and served on numerous committees. For example, in 1981 he founded and served as Director of the British Columbia Cardiac Society and in 1985 he served as Regional Governor of the American Heart Association Council on Clinical Cardiology. In 1978, he became the first Postgraduate Training Program Director for Cardiology at the University of British Columbia and was responsible for creating a new Subspecialty Training Program.

In 1988, Dr. Huckell co-founded and directed the Congenital Heart Advisory Team subsequently renamed as the Pacific Adult Congenital Heart (PACH) Group – an interdisciplinary group for adults with congenital heart disease. As a follow-up 3 years later, he co-founded the Canadian Adult Congenital cardiac Heart Disease Network (CACH Network) a similar group with a national scope. He founded an annual national cardiology resident review course (National Consensus Conference or NATICON) which developed into the Canadian Cardiovascular Society Annual Resident Training Day.

Other commitments to national and international teaching positions, professional societies and committees including being a previous director of the Heart and Stroke Foundations of both British Columbia and Canada, Counselor of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, past Chair of the Royal College Specialty Committee on Cardiology, previous member of the UBC Medical School of Admission Committee, previous member of the UBC Clinical Faculty Committee, and past regional Governor for the American College of Cardiology.

He is currently a member of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society Continuing Professional Development Committee, its External Relations Committee and its Membership Committee as well as being President-Elect of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society Academy.

In addition to his Fellowships with the Royal College of Canada he is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, Fellow of the American Heart Association, Fellow of the Society for Cardiac Angiography and Intervention, Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology, a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine (Cardiology) and an American Society of Hypertension Clinical Hypertension Specialist.

He is as noted above a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. In this role he runs a busy teaching office Cardiology practice and has had the privilege of mentoring over 520 Residents and 310 4th year Medical Students to date. He is the Director of Education and is on the executive committee for the UBC Division of Cardiology.

In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Dr. Huckell has delivered more than 2005 presentations on Cardiology and patterns of practice. He has co-authored 4 National Practice Guidelines (Adult Congenital Heart disease, Women and Cardiovascular Health, Peripheral Arterial Disease, Stable Ischemic Heart Disease), 53 peer-reviewed articles, 66 abstracts, 2 textbook chapters and 41 non-peers reviewed papers. He has also created 59 special education projects including enduring materials such as teaching DVD’s, CDs and educational facilitation guides.

He has expertise in developing effective teaching techniques for enhancing the patterns of practice for busy clinical practitioners. He also has established particular expertise in adult congenital heart disease, valvular heart disease and obstetrical cardiology.