ATI Research Day 2026
ATI Research Day 2026 - Program Booklet
Location details
The Lister Conference Centre is located on the University of Alberta Campus at 87th Avenue and 116 Street in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is conveniently located near parking, public transit (LRT and bus), an onsite cafeteria, and a Starbucks in the nearby Edmonton Clinic Health Academy (ECHA) building. The Conference Centre has onsite accommodations of its own, or is close to additional hotels within cab or even walking distance.
The University of Alberta campus is also located along the banks of the North Saskatchewan River Valley and boasts over 150 kilometres of trails for walking and cycling. The trails are accessible a short four blocks from the Lister Conference Centre.
For those wishing to spend more time in Alberta and especially the Canadian Rocky Mountains while you are here, you can find information on travel, accommodation, tours, and much more at our Jasper or Banff & Lake Louise travel information websites! Also, the members of our host Alberta Transplant Team are very familiar with these areas and would love to help answer any questions as well at: transplant@ualberta.ca. Just note that Jasper National Park and townsite will still be actively recovering from a devastating forest fire in the summer of 2025 so there may be some venues still closed or under repair as our National Park teams work to restore the area.
Address: 11613 87 Avenue Northwest, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Speakers
Kiran Khush
Professor of Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine)
Dr. Kiran Khush is a Professor of Medicine and Section Chief of the Heart Failure, Heart Transplant, and Mechanical Circulatory Support programs at Stanford University.
She is a clinical and translational investigator who runs a wide-ranging research program related to (1) evidence-based evaluation and selection of donors for heart transplantation, (2) pathogenesis of primary graft dysfunction after heart transplantation, and (3) development and testing of novel genomic biomarkers for heart transplant surveillance.
Dr. Khush is the program director of the advanced heart failure transplant cardiology fellowship at Stanford and was the Program Chair of the 2025 annual meeting of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT).
She is the incoming President-Elect of the ISHLT.
Michael Mengel
Alberta Transplant Institute - University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
Director, ATI and Professor, Laboratory Medicine & Pathology
Saeideh Davoodi
Alberta Transplant Institute
Research and Education Program Manager
Sean Delaney
Alberta Transplant Institute (staff)
Director, Operations
Elena-Bianca Barbir
University of Alberta
Assistant Clinical Professor, Division of Nephrology
Elena Barbir, MD, FRCPC joined the division of nephrology at the U of A December 2024 after having completed general nephrology training at UBC, followed by 2 additional fellowships in transplant nephrology and onco-nephrology at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. She is establishing an Onco-Nephrology clinic at the U of A, in addition to maintaining an active kidney transplant practice. Her clinical and research interests include recurrent diseases in kidney transplant recipients, specifically complement mediated thrombotic microangiopathy and monoclonal gammopathies of renal significance, immunotherapy related renal complications, and drug induced thrombotic microangiopathy in Oncology patients.
Emily Christie
Department of Medicine, University of Alberta
Transplant Nephrologist & Clinical Lecturer
Nerea Cuesta-Gomez
University of Alberta
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Surgery
Ala'A Al-Dajani
University of Alberta
PhD Student, Faculty of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences
Esme Dijke
Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL)
Director, HLA Laboratory
Ryaan El-Andari
University of Alberta
PhD Student, Division of Cardiac Surgery
Oscar Fernandez Garcia
University of Alberta
Transplant Infectious Disease Specialist
I am an Infectious Diseases Physician with secondary training in Transplant Infectious Diseases. I completed my medical education, Internal Medicine residency and Infectious Diseases residency in Mexico City.
I trained as a fellow in Transplant Infectious Diseases at the University of Alberta. I joined the Infectious Diseases Division at the University of Alberta in 2023. I have an interest in Medical Education and am currently enrolled in a postgraduate masters program at the University of Dundee.
My clinical and research interests include care of immunocompromised hosts, transplant evaluation, infections in transplant recipients. I have focused on donor derived infections, viral infections and antimicrobial resistance.
Farshid Fathi
Columbia University
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Medicine
Gopesh Gopinath
University of Alberta
Master's Student, School of Dentistry
Parham Hassanzadeh
University of Alberta
Masters Student, Department of Surgery
Summer Helmi
University of Alberta
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Surgery
A.J. Lesanko
University of Alberta
Undergraduate Trainee, Department of Pediatrics
Robin Love
University of Alberta
Research Partner
I am a Research Partner at the University of Alberta supporting Clinical Research in the College of Health Sciences. I've always been involved in research as a lab technician, lab manager, and scientific writer. I've been with the University of Alberta since 2019 where I began as the Research Analyst for the FoMD Office of Research. Later, I was the Project Coordinator for the Pathways to Health Equity for Indigenous Peoples Project with a focus on Indigenous partnership research. I have experience in many aspects of project execution and funding.
Andrew Masoud
University of Alberta
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Medicine
Kacey Neely
Kidney Recipient and Dialysis Patient
Linda Powell
Alberta ORGANization Group
Caregiver
Jamie Robertson
University of Alberta
Ethicist
Jamie Robertson, PhD, HEC-C, is a Clinical Ethicist serving the University of Alberta Hospital, the Stollery Children’s Hospital, and Alberta Hospital Edmonton. She has a doctorate in philosophy from York University and completed a Fellowship in Clinical and Organizational Ethics through the Centre for Clinical Ethics. She has provided healthcare ethics support in a range of environments in both Ontario and Alberta including academic health sciences centres, community hospitals, long-term care, community care, and specialized mental health facilities. Her role involves supporting careful consideration of ethical issues that emerge in clinical and organizational decision-making.
Shaifali Sandal
McGill University
Associate Professor, Nephrology
Kayla Thai
University of Alberta
Undergraduate Trainee, Department of Pediatrics
Uchechi Ihejirika
Alberta Transplant Institute
MPH Trainee and ATI Onsite Volunteer
Meeting Planning Committee
Alberta Transplant Institute Research Day 2026
The March 25th ATI Research Day program has been developed by the Alberta Transplant Institute Research Committee, chaired by Dr. Esme Dijke. Other members of the Committee are listed below (in alphabetical order):
- Dr. Jason Acker (Lab Medicine, Assoc. VP (Research Integrity Support), Edmonton)
- Dr. Ryaan El-Andari (Cardiac Surgery Resident, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, Edmonton)
- Dr. Lynn Cornell (Anatomical Pathologist, Calgary)
- Dr. Saeideh Davoodi (ATI Management Team)
- Mr. Sean Delaney (ATI Management Team)
- Dr. Michael Mengel (Lab Medicine, and ATI Director)
- Dr. Tony Kiang (Pharmaceutical Sciences, Edmonton)
- Dr. Ngan Lam (Nephrology, Calgary)
- Dr. Sean Spence (Critical Care, Lethbridge)
- Dr. Simon Urschel (Pediatric Cardiology, Edmonton)
- Ms. Donna Veldhoen (Patient Partner, Edmonton)
ATI Research Day: Registration, refreshments and poster set up
ATI Research Day: Opening remarks
ATI Research Day: Oral presentations (session 1)
Speaker 1: Ala'A Al-Dajani
Speaker 2: Farshid Fathi
Speaker 3: Andrew Masoud
Speaker 4: Gopesh Gopinath
Speaker 5: Parham Hassanzadeh
ATI Research Day: Morning Break
ATI Research Day: Keynote speaker presentation: "New Frontiers in Non-Invasive Heart Transplant Surveillance" Sponsored by William H. Lakey Lectureship Fund
"New Frontiers in Non-Invasive Heart Transplant Surveillance" with Dr. Kiran Khush (Stanford University)
ATI Research Day: Poster session
No Zoom/Virtual option available during in-person Poster Session
Lunch Symposium Sponsored by Alexion: Dr. Elena Barbir
ATI Research Day: Oral presentations (session 2)
Speaker 1: Summer Helmi
Speaker 2: Nerea Cuesta Gomez
Speaker 3: Ryaan EL-Andari
Speaker 4: Kayla Thai
Speaker 5: A.J. Lesanko
ATI Research Day: Afternoon Break #1
Trainee Professional Development Session: The Lifecycle of Research
ATI Research Day: Afternoon Break #2
ATI Research Day: Patient-focused session - Moral Distress in Organ Donation & Transplantation
ATI Research Day: Closing remarks and awards
ATI Research Day: Poster Teardown and Cleanup
Sponsors
Platinum Sponsors
Restaurant Options Nearby
Coffee:
Starbucks (Inside the Edmonton Clinic Health Academy)
3 Minute Walk (200 metres) straight East of Lister Centre: 87 Avenue & 114 Street (MAP)
Tim Hortons (Coffee, Donuts - Just East of the UofA Hospital)
13 Minute Walk (900 metres) from Lister Centre: 8427 - 112 Street NW (MAP)
Remedy Cafe (Chai Tea, Coffee, Bakery: MENU)
19 Minute Walk (1.4 kilometres) from Lister Centre: 8631 - 109 Street NW (MAP)
Food:
Student Union Building (SUB) Food Court (Multiple fast food / pickup options: LIST)
6 Minute Walk (500 metres) from Lister Centre: 8900 - 114 Street NW (MAP)
Earls Kitchen + Bar (Casual Dining: MENU)
10 Minute Walk (750 metres) from Lister Centre: 8629 - 112 Street NW (MAP)
The Sherlock Holmes Pub Campus (English-style Pub: MENU)
12 Minute Walk (850 metres) from Lister Centre: 8519 - 112 Street NW (MAP)
La Petite Iza (French-style Bistro: MENU)
18 Minute Walk (1.3 kilometres) from Lister Centre: 10926 - 88 Avenue NW (MAP) - UBER or cab suggested
Sugarbowl (Casual Dining: MENU)
18 Minute Walk (1.3 kilometres) from Lister Centre: 10922 - 88 Avenue NW (MAP) - UBER or cab suggested
O'Byrne's Irish Pub (Irish pub food, live music: MENU)
30 Minute Walk (2.2 kilometres) from Lister Centre: 10616 Whyte Avenue NW (MAP) - UBER or cab recommended
Local Food Guide - for more diverse ethnic and dietary needs:
EXPLORE EDMONTON - Food & Drink Guide (LINK)
Hotel Options
We are happy to welcome you to Edmonton and have several options for accommodations both onsite at the Lister Conference Centre or nearby hotels within walking/cab distance:
Lister Conference Centre Guest Rooms - there are only 20 rooms available onsite, but are ideally situated in the same building as the ATI Research Day & NIH Workshops.
- For reservations, please enter your information in their form and they will get back to you with details. Ensure to select a Room Type of "Hotel Style Guest Room (Lister Centre)" from the menu of options: LINK
Campus Towers Suite Hotel (Operated by Coast Hotels) - a short 10 minute (750 metre) walk from Lister Centre across the UofA Campus, Campus Towers is located just across the street from the University of Alberta Hospital and is conveniently located near restaurants, a 24-hour market, and pharmacy.
- For reservations, please visit their website at: LINK
Metterra Hotel on Whyte - a bit further away from campus at 2.5km from Lister Centre, the Metterra is located a brisk 30 minute (2.5km) walk or 10 minute cab/Uber ride away. It is, however, located in the heart of the vibrant and historical Whyte Avenue district of Edmonton, where you will find many more local & chain restaurants, as well as boutique shopping.
- For reservations, please visit their website at: LINK
Register