Scientists in Surgery
Approximately 15% of our surgical faculty are non-MDs who work as full time scientists.
These individuals are significant contributors to the research effort of our Department.
This section will endeavour to profile excellence in research among the scientists in our
Department.
Tom Schweizer
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Tom Schweizer earned his PhD at the University of Waterloo in Behavioural
Neuroscience in 2004. He then completed a post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Donald
Stuss at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest. He joined St. Michael's Hospital
as a research scientist in the Keenan Research Centre of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge
Institute and the Division of Neurosurgery in the summer of 2007. His research program
combines experimental cognitive paradigms with neuropsychological and advanced neuroimaging
techniques (functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging)
in order to provide an integrative account of cognitive functioning in both basic
and applied research settings. His current major research focus is on identifying
the role of the cerebellum in non-motor behaviours and how this region interacts
with the frontal lobes during the performance of complex, cognitive operations (e.g.,
attention and executive functions).
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The ultimate goal of this research is to create a cognitive "localization" map of
the cerebellum that will assist patients and clinicians in understanding the effects
of damage to this area of the brain. Tom is also investigating how brain damage
impacts real-world functional abilities such as driving performance; he has recently
acquired a driving simulator to address this important question. Other projects
in his lab include identifying the neuroanatomical correlates of surgical performance
and the efficacy of various cognitive rehabilitation techniques in different brain
damaged populations. Tom already has a very active research program. Since joining
St. Michael's Hospital he has been awarded grants from CIHR, the Brain Tumour Foundation
of Canada, the Alzheimer's Society of Canada and Mathematics of Information Technology
and Complex Systems (MITACS). He has also developed collaborative projects with
several of our Surgeon-Scientists including Michael Cusimano, Loch Macdonald, James
Rutka and Teodor Grantcharov. Tom is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at
the University of Waterloo in the faculty of Applied Health Sciences, a member of
the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario's Centre for Stroke Recovery and is cross-appointed
with the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering at the University of
Toronto.
Please join me in welcoming Tom to our Department.
Ori D. Rotstein
Surgeon-in-Chief, St. Michael's Hospital
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