About The Committee
The major purpose of the Education Committee of the CSN is to plan all educational and related activities for the membership.
These events and activities will be ongoing throughout the year and not limited to the annual meeting.
This committee will be advisory to the CSN President and Executive who will make final decisions about all educational events. On behalf of the Education Committee, the Chair will be in close communication with the CSN President and other Executive members throughout the year.
The Chair will present an annual report from the Education Committee to the President at the annual CSN Board of Directors and annual general meeting.
Committee Members
Ainslie
Eberhart
Chair, Education Committee
Dr. Ainslie M. Eberhart
Dr. Eberhart completed her Nephrology Fellowship at Western University in 2012, followed by a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Western University and additional training in Glomerulonephritis and Renal Diseases of Pregnancy at the University of Toronto. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Division of Nephrology at the University of Alberta with a focus on clinical innovation in glomerular disease. She is also program director for the adult nephrology subspecialty residency program.
Emilie
Trinh
Vice-Chair, Education Committee
Dr. Emilie Trinh
Dr. Emilie Trinh is a nephrologist and Associate Professor at McGill University. Her area of clinical expertise is in hemodialysis and home dialysis therapies. She completed a MSc degree in clinical epidemiology and a certificate in quality improvement. Her research focuses on indigenous health and quality improvement initiatives to improve clinical outcomes for dialysis patients. She is also involved in medical education and serves as CSN Vice-Chair of the Education Committee.
Amit
Kaushal
Past Chair, Education Committee
Amit Kaushal
Chair, Education Committee
Dr. Kaushal completed his medical school and Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Manitoba, followed by Nephrology and Hypertension Subspecialty training at the University of Toronto. He was the Eliot Phillipson Clinician Educator Training Program fellow at the University of Toronto from 2015-2017. During this time, he completed a fellowship at the Wilson Centre for Research in Education, and M.Sc. in Health Practitioner Teacher Education. He is a Clinician Teacher, Education Site Coordinator for Nephrology, and Associate Program Director – Nephrology Fellowships at University of Toronto. His clinical interests include hypertension, dialysis, and living kidney donation. His educational interests include developing new curricular innovations including simulation, with a focus on how to tackles situations of uncertainty.
Sumaiya
Ahmed
Dr. Sumaiya Ahmed
Dr. Sumaiya Ahmed completed her internal medicine and nephrology training at the University of Ottawa. She is currently completing a Glomerulonephritis Fellowship and a Master of Science in Epidemiology at the University of Ottawa.
Her clinical and academic interests include glomerulonephritis and onconephrology. She is also passionate about medical education, mentorship, and advancing equitable kidney care. Dr. Ahmed will be joining the Division of Nephrology at McMaster University this summer.
Bryce
Barr
Dr. Bryce Barr
Bryce Barr is a nephrologist and assistant professor at the University of Manitoba with a clinical and research focus on glomerulonephritis. He completed internal medicine training at the University of Calgary, followed by nephrology training at the University of Manitoba. He then completed a fellowship in glomerulonephritis at the University of Calgary and spent time training in the vasculitis clinic at the University of Cambridge. His outpatient clinic is focused on the treatment of glomerulonephritis, in particular lupus and vasculitis, and he is the principal investigator of the Manitoba Glomerular Diseases Registry. He is currently an MSc candidate in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba.
Marisa
Battistella
Dr. Marisa Battistella
Marisa is a pharmacist in the nephrology program at the University Health Network and Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. As Pharmacy Clinician Scientist, the objective of her research program focuses on translational studies that address unmet clinical needs across the entire spectrum of pharmacotherapy care in the CKD patient, from pre-prescribing (using genomics to guide the selection of drugs) to deprescribing (tapering, stopping, discontinuing or withdrawing drugs), with the goal of managing polypharmacy (use of multiple medications) and improving patient outcomes. She is currently the external liaison officer for the Renal Pharmacists Network.
Jennifer
Brown
Dr. Jennifer Brown
Dr. Jennifer Brown is a Nephrologist and Clinical Lecturer at the University of Calgary. She completed her medical school at the University of Manitoba, and Internal Medicine Residency and Nephrology Subspeciality training at the University of Calgary. She subsequently completed a fellowship in Glomerulonephritis at the University of Calgary.
Azim
Gangji
Dr. Azim Gangji
Dr. Azim Gangji is Professor of Medicine and the current Program Director of Nephrology and AFC/AST Director of Solid Organ Transplantation at McMaster University. He is also the Vice President of Education at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton and is the chair of the RCPSC AFC Accreditation Committee and chair of the CST Education Committee. Dr. Gangji has a strong interest in medical education and has introduced various innovative programs including introducing a case-based learning program, virtual learning and assessment and a novel nephrology-palliative care curriculum. In competency by design, he was acknowledged for introducing a novel curriculum. He is the recipient of the prestigious Donald R. Wilson/RCPSC award for introducing innovative methods of teaching of CanMEDS Roles. He has also received the CSN Clinical Nephrology Teaching Award and the Canadian Association of Medical Education Merit Award in Education. Dr. Gangji's clinical interest is in the field of kidney transplantation and glomerulonephritis and associated research in evaluating the role of immunosuppressive therapy and renal transplant fibrosis.
Januvi
Jegatheswaran
Dr. Januvi Jegatheswaran
Dr. Januvi Jegatheswaran completed her medical degree at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. She completed her residency training in Internal Medicine and Nephrology at the University of Ottawa and is certified as a Hypertension Specialist by the American Heart Association. Dr. Jegatheswaran completed a Fellowship in Medical Education Research through the Department of Innovation in Medical Education at the University of Ottawa and earned a Master’s degree in Medical Education from the University of Dundee. She currently serves as the Renal Block Content Expert and Internal Medicine Sciences Lead for the University of Ottawa Undergraduate Medical Education program. She is also the Fellowship Director for the Hypertension Fellowship at The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa. Her clinical interests include hypertension, hemodialysis, and peritoneal dialysis. Her academic interests focus on hypertension management as well as curriculum development in undergraduate medical education and postgraduate training in Internal Medicine.
Tina
Kim
Dr. Tina Kim
Dr. Tina Kim completed her medical school at Dalhousie University followed by Internal Medicine and Adult Nephrology residency training at the University of Calgary. She will be starting a Home Dialysis Fellowship at the University of Toronto. She is committed to quality improvement and medical education. Her interests include home dialysis, peritoneal dialysis access, sex differences in kidney disease, and reproductive health in people living with chronic kidney disease.
Ngan
Lam
Dr. Ngan Lam
Dr. Ngan Lam is a clinician-scientist and transplant nephrologist at the University of Calgary where her research focuses on the health outcomes of living kidney donors and kidney transplant recipients.
Damien
Noone
Dr. Damien Noone
Dr. Damien Noone is a Staff Nephrologist in the Division of Paediatric Nephrology at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, and Program Director for Paediatric Nephrology. He holds the academic appointment of Associate Professor with the University of Toronto Department of Paediatrics. He completed clinical nephrology training in Great Ormond Street Hospital in London as well as at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, where he also completed the Clinician Investigator Program with an MSc at the University of Toronto in the Program of Cell Biology. Dr. Noone has focused his clinical work in the area of vasculitis, glomerular diseases and dialysis. He also plays a leading role in nephrology education locally and nationally and is Program Director for the Division of Nephrology. During his first two years as Program Director he completed the Education Scholars Program, a longitudinal leadership development program for educators. He also has roles within the Department of Paediatrics and the University of Toronto in Faculty Development, especially around Competence by Design (CBD), competency-based medical education (CBME) and in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) where he is a mentor with the Diversity Mentorship Program at the University of Toronto and a champion in promoting equity, diversity and inclusion at SickKids.
Kristen
Peterson
Dr. Kristen Pederson
Kristen Pederson completed her medical school at the University of Calgary, pediatric residency at Memorial University of Newfoundland and pediatric nephrology residency at the University of Toronto. She has been working at the Winnipeg Children’s Hospital since 2003. Her clinical interests are CKD and dialysis in children and renal-rheumatological diseases. She is an associate professor at the Max Rady School of Medicine and has been a program director for Pediatric Nephrology. She is the current Past-President for the Canadian Association of Pediatric Nephrology.
Nikhil
Shah
Dr. Nikhil Shah
Dr. Nikhil Shah is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Alberta and Director of the Peritoneal Dialysis program for Alberta Kidney Care - North. He completed his internal medicine and nephrology training in Poona, India, before undertaking specialized fellowships in kidney transplantation, general nephrology, and home dialysis at the University of Alberta.
A passionate advocate for modernizing medical education, Dr. Shah has been a core committee member of NephJC since 2015, championing Free and Open Access Medical Education (#FOAMed). He is actively integrating innovative AI methodologies into medical learning as the founder of AudioScholar.cc, an AI-based audio education platform. Furthermore, he serves as the Social Media Editor for Peritoneal Dialysis International and holds a provincial leadership role in Medical Informatics for Alberta.
Nausheen
Siddiqui
Dr. Nausheen Siddiqui
Dr. Siddiqui graduated from medical school from the University of Ottawa and thereafter completed internal medicine residency at Western University and nephrology training at the University of Toronto. She holds a Masters in Community Health Sciences (focus on Health Practitioner Teacher Education) from the University of Toronto. She is a staff nephrologist at Toronto East Health Network (Michael Garron Hospital) in Toronto, and continues to have a strong interest in medical student and resident education.
Lawrence
Slapcoff
Dr. Lawrence Slapcoff
Dr. Lawrence Slapcoff is a nephrologist and Assistant Professor at McGill University. He completed his medical school, internal medicine residency, and nephrology residency at McGill University, followed by a fellowship in home dialysis at the University of Toronto. He is currently pursuing a Master of Education in Health Professions Education at the University of Ottawa. His interests include experiential learning and the intersection of innovative teaching strategies and patient education in home dialysis.
Nabil
Sultan
Dr. Nabil Sultan
Dr. Nabil Sultan is a Professor of Medicine, academic educator, and nephrologist at Western University. He is the former Program Director for Western Nephrology and currently serves as Medical Director of the Adam Linton Dialysis Unit and Associate Program Director for the Nephrology Residency Program.
Dr. Sultan’s academic interests focus on medical education research, particularly character-based leadership and professional identity formation in healthcare. He has authored peer-reviewed publications and presented his work at national scientific meetings. His educational interests within nephrology include dialysis adequacy and urea kinetic modeling, with a focus on improving the quality and delivery of dialysis care. He also has a particular interest in the teaching of acid-base disorders.
Raymond
Xing
Dr. Kristen Pederson
Wendy
Ye
Dr. Wendy Ye
Dr. Ye completed medical school and internal medicine residency at McMaster University, followed by nephrology and home dialysis training at the University of Toronto. She completed a Master of Health Professions Education from Maastricht University. She is currently a clinical assistant professor at the University of Calgary and the co-medical director of home dialysis for Alberta Kidney Care South. Her academic interests are in curriculum development, teaching and evaluating professionalism, and improving home dialysis care through qualitative research.
Alireza
Zahirieh
Dr. Alireza Zahirieh
Dr. Zahirieh earned his B.Sc. in Human Biology from the University of Toronto and completed his M.D. at Western University. He completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in nephrology at the University of Toronto, followed by the Department of Medicine’s Master Teacher Program. Since 2009, he has been a faculty member in the Department of Medicine at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine.
Dr. Zahirieh plays a central role in medical education at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He serves as the nephrology education site lead at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and as Co-Director of the Peters-Boyd Academy at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. His contributions have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Mitchell Halperin Division of Nephrology Teaching Award, the Joanne Bargman Mentorship Award, the Kevin Imrie Leadership Award, and multiple MD Program Teaching Awards of Excellence.
Dr. Zahirieh’s clinical and scholarly work focuses on HIV-associated kidney disease and the integration of point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) into nephrology practice. He holds CPOCUS Core IP Certification and developed the Sunnybrook Renal Ultrasonography Clinic. He established the first POCUS fellowship in Toronto, which has graduated three fellows to date, and has built a comprehensive POCUS training experience at Sunnybrook that attracts residents and fellows from a variety of programs. In Summer 2026, he will launch a dedicated POCUS consultation service. He also serves as the Sunnybrook Medical Director of Acute Dialysis with expertise in continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT).
