Dr. Main completed her Undergraduate and Medical training at McMaster University. She is currently acting as a Medical Microbiologist and Infectious Disease consultant at the Hamilton General Hospital. She is also the Program Director for the Medical Microbiology residency program at McMaster University. In addition, Dr. Main is an Assistant Professor in the department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at McMaster University.

Dr. Main will be sponsoring the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

Dr. Vignjevic, Hamilton dermatologist, was raised in the east end of Hamilton where he attended Glendale High School. From 1987 to 1989 he did his undergraduate studies in Biology at McMaster University. As both a high school and university student, he conducted medical research at the Intestinal Diseases Research Unit (IDRU - McMaster University) with scholarship funding from the Canadian Foundation for Ileitis and Colitis. In 1989 he started medical school at the University of Toronto. While in medical school he worked in the physiotherapy department at the Henderson General Hospital in Hamilton and conducted research in Skin Cancer (Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma) at the Hamilton Regional Cancer Clinic (Juravinski Cancer Centre).

Dr. Vignjevic and his family currently reside in the Hamilton area. He is an avid traveler and has been to Australia, Japan, South East Asia, South America and Europe. He is a supporter of the Shaw and Stratford festivals. He enjoys photography - especially of plants and landscapes. The screensavers on the computers in his office are composed from his photographs. He enjoys studying Botany and visiting the Royal Botanical Gardens. He is a keen walker and an internet enthusiast updating his website regularly.

He has supported the Canadian Cancer Society with the proceeds from his annual lecture at the McMaster Mini-Medical School course and the office has an annual "Dress Down Day for Breast Cancer" to raise funds for breast cancer research. He has also donated his time as a speaker at fundraising events for skin cancer and treatment of burn victims.

Dr. Vignjevic will be sponsoring the Red Cross-Haiti Earthquake Relief.

Dr. Mark Matsos attended McMaster University for his undergraduate studies in the Arts and Science Program before moving to the University of Western Ontario for medical school, graduating in 2004. He returned to McMaster for Internal Medicine training which he completed in 2007. Following his Internal Medicine training, Dr. Matsos entered the Rheumatology Fellowship Program at McMaster and is currently the Chief Rheumatology Resident for McMaster University.

His current interests are in connective tissue disease and inflammatory arthritis. He is also active in medical education as a lecturer and PBL tutor for the Michael DeGroote School of Medicine. At the post-graduate level he is involved in curriculum development and teaching physical examination skills for McMaster’s Internal Medicine Program.

Dr. Matsos will be sponsoring the Scleroderma Society of Ontario.

Jon Davine, MD, CCFP, FRCP(C) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University, with a cross appointment in the Department of Family Medicine.  His outpatient psychiatry practice focuses on liaising with primary care physicians in the “shared care” model.  For a number of years, he has taught courses in behavioural sciences to family medicine residents and to family doctors in the community.  He has lectured nationally and internationally on this topic.  He is a past Chair and remains a member of the Council of Psychiatric Continuing Education (COPCE), which is affiliated with the Canadian Psychiatric Association.  He has received several educational awards including:

• Undergraduate Teaching Award, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, 2009.
• Outstanding Preceptor Award, Psychiatry.  Faculty of Health Sciences, Undergraduate MD Program, McMaster University, 2009.
• Association of Academic Psychiatry, Regional Teacher of the Year Award, 2006.
• McMaster Psychiatric Residents’ Association – Jock Cleghorn Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award, 1999.
• PAIRO – Clinical Teacher’s Travel Award, 1988.

Dr. Davine will be sponsoring the Canadian Psychiatric Association Foundation.

Susan Waserman obtained her MSc. and medical degree from McGill University. She specialized in Internal Medicine, followed by subspecialty training in Allergy/Clinical Immunology, then completed a 2 year fellowship at the Meakins Christie Laboratories at McGill University in Montreal.

She is currently a Professor of Medicine, in the Division of Allergy/Clinical Immunology at McMaster University in Hamilton, where she been since 1991. She was Training Program Director of the Allergy /Clinical Immunology training program for 13 years. She is the Director of the Adverse Reactions Clinic at the Firestone Institute of Respiratory Health, St Joseph’s Hospital,   Hamilton. She is extensively involved in medical education in both academic and community settings, and has an active hospital based clinical practice in adult and pediatric allergy/ clinical immunology.

Research interest and activities include clinical trials in a variety of therapeutic areas related to allergy with a focus on food related anaphylaxis, as well as asthma and rhinitis.

She is the past President of the Ontario and Canadian Societies of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, where activities included CME for physicians, allied health professionals and the community, as well as practice guidelines in areas such as anaphylaxis, rhinitis and immunotherapy.  

Dr. Waserman will be sponsoring Anaphylaxis Canada.

Dr. Oczkowski completed his Undergraduate and Medical training at McMaster University. He is currently a Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Neurology at McMaster. His research interests include prevention and treatment of stroke. 

Dr. Oczkowski will be sponsoring the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

Michelle Welsford, BSc, MD, ABEM, FACEP, FRCPC. Dr. Welsford is a staff emergency physician at Hamilton Health Sciences, and an Associate Professor at McMaster University where she works extensively with undergraduate medical students, emergency residents, and EMS Fellows. She is also the Regional Medical Director for nine ambulance services in the region surrounding Hamilton.

Dr. Welsford’s academic and research interests include community, EMS, and Emergency Department management of acute coronary syndromes, acute /congestive heart failure (CHF), and cardiac resuscitation. She is involved with the continuum of care of myocardial infarction patients from the field through to the hospital including community CPR, use of prehospital 12-lead ECGs, management by paramedics, triage directly to cardiac centres, and optimization of first contact to reperfusion time.

Dr. Welsford will be sponsoring Doctors without Borders/ Medecins Sans Frontieres

Dr. Azim Gangji is currently an assistant professor of medicine in the division of nephrology within the department of medicine at McMaster University.  He completed his undergraduate medical degree, along with both his internal medicine residency and nephrology fellowship at McMaster University.  In addition to his regular clinical duties, he is the co-director of the plasmapheresis program and director of the nocturnal hemodialysis program at St. Joseph’s Hospital.  He also makes significant contributions to the medical education at McMaster as the chairperson of the PGY3 Internal Medicine Academic Half-day program.

His research interests include nocturnal hemodialysis and volume assessment in dialysis patients. 

His charity of choice is the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

Dr. Christina Grant is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics with the Department of Pediatrics at McMaster University. She completed her undergraduate medical degree from McMaster University, and her Adolescent Medicine fellowship at the Hospital of Sick Children.

As part of the Adolescent Medicine Division at McMaster Children’s Hospital, she primarily cares for young people with eating disorders. In addition, Dr. Grant has created a transition clinic for young people with Type 1 Diabetes and is a member of the Hamilton Health Sciences Ethics Consultation Team.

Dr. Grant will be sponsoring “Danielle’s Place”, a support place for people who struggle with Eating Disorders, located in Burlington. 

Dr. Donna Fedorkow is Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at McMaster University and serves as the Department’s Continuing Medical Education Director, Undergraduate Program Director and Urogynecology Program Director. She is a former president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.

Dr Fedorkow graduated with a Medical Degree from the University of Calgary and obtained her FRCSC (Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada) in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. After completing her sub-specialty training in Urogynaecology, Dr. Fedorkow obtained a Masters of Science Degree in Epidemiology. Dr. Fedorkow’s clinical and research interests include urogynaecology, conservative management of pelvic floor dysfunction, menopause and geriatric gynaecology.

Dr Fedorkow will be sponsoring the Canadian Foundation for Women’s Health (CFWH) – a national not-for-profit fundraising foundation for women’s sexual and reproductive health that funds women’s health research and fosters support for international women’s health programs. Some of the research supported by the CFWH includes in utero fetal health, safer pregnancies, infertility and menopause.  For more information on the CFWH please visit http://cfwh.org or check out their facebook page.

Dr. Conrad Sichler is an integrative Family Physician who works in Burlington, Ontario.  He completed his medical studies at McGill University and then studied Family Medicine at Queen’s University. In addition to conventional Family Medicine, Dr.Sichler also integrates Addictions Medicine, Psychotherapy, and Energy Medicine into his practice.
Dr. Sichler has also been contributing to medical education at McMaster University by being involved in the teaching of medical students.

Dr. Sichler will be sponsoring Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR), a charity that works in partnership with vulnerable communities and diverse organizations to overcome poverty and build healthy communities in Africa.

Dr. Shariq Haider is currently an associate professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases within the department of medicine at McMaster University. He completed his undergraduate medical degree at University of Saskatchewan, internal medicine residency at University of Toronto, Infectious Disease fellowship at Henry Ford Hospital Detroit MI, and Tropical Medicine Training at London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in London, England.

In addition to his regular clinical duties, Dr. Haider is the Chief of Infectious Diseases at Hamilton Health Sciences (all 4 sites), Director at the International Health and Tropical Medicine Clinic and the HIV/HCV Coinfection Clinic, and the Director of Research for the Internal Medicine Residency Program at McMaster University.

His research interests include Infections in Immunocompromised Hosts like HIV patients, Cancer patients and Bone Marrow Transplant patients.

Dr. Haider will be sponsoring “Free the Children”.

Dr. Josh Williams attended the University of Calgary for his Undergraduate degree in Biology, and then subsequently for medical school.  He came to Hamilton in 2002 to complete his residency in Emergency Medicine.  Since finishing residency in 2007, Dr. Williams has practiced Emergency Medicine at the Hamilton Health Sciences and St. Joseph’s Healthcare. 

His current interests include medical education, trauma care, and bedside ultrasound in the Emergency Department.  Outside of medicine, he has a passion for running and ice hockey, though regrettably he is both slow and uncoordinated. 

Dr. Williams will be sponsoring Doctors without Borders/Medicins sans Frontieres.