Speakers

- Associate Professor of Medicine
- University of Sherbrooke

Biography

Dr. Charles Dussault is cardiologist and electrophysiologist at Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke and professor of medicine at the University of Sherbrooke.

After completing his cardiology training at the University of Sherbrooke in 2012, Dr Dussault pursued an advanced cardiac electrophysiology fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital associated with Harvard University in Boston where he also completed a Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in clinical effectiveness from the Harvard Chan School of Public Health.

His main clinical and research interests are related to the treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. He is also actively involved in the MD Program as well as the cardiology residency program at the University of Sherbrooke.

- Cardiologist Electrophysiologist
- Montreal Heart Institute
- Assistant Professor of Medicine
- Université de Montréal

Biography

Dr Alexandre Raymond-Paquin is a cardiac electrophysiologist. He practices at the Montreal Heart Institute and is assistant clinical professor in the department of medicine at the University of Montreal. Dr. Raymond-Paquin completed his doctorate in medicine as well as his residency in cardiology at the University of Montreal. He completed a fellowship in interventional cardiac electrophysiology at the Montreal Heart Institute and at the Virginia Commonwealth University in the United States. He is actively involved in the management of complex cases of pacemakers, defibrillators and arrhythmia ablations. Dr Raymond-Paquin also participates in numerous research projects in the field of electrophysiology.

- Director, Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery
- Surgical Director, Structural Heart Program
- Joseph Vitale & TLN Media Group Chair in Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery
- Associate Professor of Surgery
- Division of Cardiac Surgery
- St. Michael’s Hospital
- University of Toronto

- Cardiology Division Director, and Yusuf Chair in Cardiology
- Cardiologist and Electrophysiologist; Hamilton Health Sciences
- Senior Scientist, Population Health Research Institute
- Professor of Medicine, McMaster University

Biography

Jeff Healey is a Cardiologist / Electrophysiologist and Professor of Medicine at McMaster University.

He is the director of the division of cardiology, and the Salim Yusuf Chair in Cardiology.  He is the chair of the Canadian Stroke Prevention and Intervention Network (CSPIN) and past chair of the Canadian atrial fibrillation guidelines committee.

He was the lead author of the ASSERT trial, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2012 and demonstrated the increased stroke risk associated with sub-clinical atrial fibrillation detected by pacemakers.  He was also the lead author of the RELY AF cohort study, a 15,000-patient worldwide registry, published in the Lancet in 2016, examining the causes, treatment and outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation.

He currently leads the ARTESIA trial, evaluating the role of anticoagulation in patients with subclinical AF.

- Professor of Medicine, Western University

Biography

Dr. Klein is currently Professor of Medicine at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. He received his medical degree in 1972 at the University of Toronto. He received his certification from The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in Internal Medicine in 1976 and in Cardiology in 1978. He has been an Honorary Lecturer in the Department of Physiology at Western University since 1993. He was an Ontario Career Investigator with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario from 1987 to 1989. He received the Canadian Cardiovascular Society Research Achievement Award in 1988 (Cardiac Arrhythmias: From the Bench to the Operating Theater). The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario honored him with a Distinguished Research Professorship award from 1989-1994. His research focus has been in cardiac arrhythmia with contributions to the natural history and management of the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, the operative and ablative management of arrhythmias and the understanding of clinical syncope. He is the inventor of the implantable loop recorder (Reveal Rx). He is an associate editor of the Journal of Cardiac Electrophysiology (JCE), Associate Editor of Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology (PACE) and is on the Editorial Board of three scientific journals. He served on the Test Committee for cardiac electrophysiology of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) from 1996 to 2005 and was Chair of the Committee from 2000 to 2005. He was the 2003 recipient of the Distinguished Teacher Award of the North American Society for Pacing and Electrophysiology (now known as “Heart Rhythm Society”). He has supervised the arrhythmia training of over 148 Research Fellows over the years. He has published over 12 books, 100 book chapters and 600 papers and currently holds 12 US patents.

- Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
- Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University
- Specializes in atrial fibrillation (device-detected, perioperative, and subclinical AF)
- On Steering Committee of major international trials including ARTESiA, LAAOS-IV and BoxX-NoAF
- Canadian Lead on Horizons Europe Grant on defining AF burden
- Author of 200+ peer-reviewed publications in leading journals (NEJM, Nature Medicine, Lancet Neurology, European Heart Journal, JACC, Circulation)
- Focused on AF detection, screening and peri-operative AF

Biography

Dr. William McIntyre is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University. His research centers on atrial fibrillation across clinical contexts, particularly device-detected and perioperative AF, and evidence to guide screening, detection anticoagulation and management. He is an active contributor to major international trials (ARTESiA, LAAOS-IV, BoxX-NoAF) and is leading large collaborative meta-analyses (e.g., ARTESiA, NOAH-AFNET 6, SCREEN-AF) and has authored 200+ peer-reviewed publications in the past decade, with recent work in Nature Medicine, NEJM, Lancet Neurology, European Heart Journal, Circulation and JACC (2024–2025).

- Professor of Surgery, McMaster University
- Associate Chair, Research, Department of Surgery, McMaster University
- Chief and Division Head, Cardiac Surgery, Hamilton Health Sciences
- Lead Investigator, Population Health Research Institute
- Canada Research Chair in Cardiovascular Surgery

Biography

Dr. Whitlock is a Professor of Surgery at McMaster University and is the Associate Chair, Research, for the Department of Surgery. He is a practicing cardiac surgeon at Hamilton Health Sciences, and the Chief and Division head for Cardiac Surgery. He is a lead investigator at the Population Health Research Institute and the principal investigator of the LAAOS III trial, which established a new way of stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation. Dr. Whitlock holds the Canada Research Chair in Cardiovascular Surgery. Through the multinational studies that he has led, which include SIRS, TRICS III, VISION Cardiac, and LAAOS III, he has established a network of over 300 collaborating cardiac surgical centres in 32 countries to better the care of patients through robust evidence generation. He is currently leading several industry-partnered trials including LeAAPS, LAAOS IV, and STAR T.

Biography

Dr. Carlos A. Morillo is a Cardiologist and Electrophysiologist and currently a Senior Visiting Scientist within the Molecular and Novel Arrhythmia Mechanisms group at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Clinicas (CNIC), in Madrid, Spain. Dr. Morillo is a Full Professor in the Department of Cardiac Sciences, and Medicine, and served as the Section Chief Cardiology Division at the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, Cummings School of Medicine, University of Calgary and Zone Head Cardiology for the Calgary & Southeastern Alberta Region, Alberta Health Services, from 2015-2023 (currently on Academic Sabbatical leave). He also holds and Adjunct Full Professor appointment at the Department of Medicine at McMaster University. Dr. Morillo was the Director of the Hamilton Atrial Fibrillation Reference Centre, Director of the Syncope Autonomic Disorder Unit at McMaster University (2002-2014). Dr. Morillo is the past Director of the Arrhythmia & Pacing Services from 2002-2012, a Cardiac Electrophysiology & Pacing program director at McMaster University. Dr. Morillo received his MD and Internal Medicine and Cardiology certifications from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, and Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, respectively in Bogota, Colombia. He trained as a Cardiologist and Cardiac electrophysiologist at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario Canada under the mentorship of Professor George Klein; he performed a post-doctoral fellowship sponsored by the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada in Cardiovascular Autonomic Physiology, under the mentorship of Professor Dwain Eckberg, and Kenneth Ellenbogen at the Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, where he was on staff for 5 years.

- Clinical Associate Professor, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia
- Director Cardiac Device Clinic, St Paul’s Hospital
- Staff Cardiologist Heart Rhythm and Adult Congenital Heart Services, Division of Cardiology, St Paul's Hospital

- Clinical Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University
- Director, Cardiac Electrophysiology
- Institut universitaire de cardiologie et pneumologie de Québec

Biography

Dr Jean-François Sarrazin is a cardiologist and electrophysiologist at the "Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Quebec" in Canada since 2008. He completed a Medical degree at McGill University in Montreal in 1999. He then did his Cardiology training at Laval University in Quebec, followed by a two-year fellowship in Clinical Cardiac Electophysiology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He is the Director of the Electrophysiology Division in Quebec since January 2020. He is particularly involved with complex ablations. His publications focused primarily on atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia and premature ventricular contraction ablations.

- Associate Professor of Medicine
- Department of Medicine
- Division of Cardiology
- Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
- Western University

Biography

Dr. Manlucu is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Western University and a member of the London Heart Rhythm Program at the London Health Sciences Centre (University Hospital) in London, Ontario.

She is a medical graduate of McMaster University and completed her Internal Medicine and General Cardiology training at Western University before going on to subspecialty training in Advanced Cardiac Electrophysiology at the Ottawa Heart Institute and Brigham and Womens Hospital (Harvard University, Boston, MA).

She joined the London Heart Rhythm Program in 2012, where she is currently the Director of the Cardiac Implantable Device Lab and Program Director for the Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship Training Program. She has a special interest in implantable cardiac devices, laser lead extraction and complex catheter ablation. Her research interests include cardiac resynchronization therapy, the management of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, and the prevention of sudden death.

- Professor of Medicine, University of Sherbrooke
- Adjunct Professor of Medicine, McGill University

Biography

Dr. Jean-François Roux is cardiologist and electrophysiologist at Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke.

He is professor of medicine at the University of Sherbrooke and adjunct professor of medicine at McGill University. After completing his cardiology training at the University of Sherbrooke in 2005, Dr Roux pursued a cardiac electrophysiology training at the Montreal Heart Institute, followed by an advanced cardiac electrophysiology fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

His main clinical and research interests are related to the treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. He is also program director for the internal medicine residency program at the University of Sherbrooke.

- Assistant Researcher
- Associate Professor
- Cardiovascular Research - Epidemiology

Biography

Linda Johnson is a board certified diagnostic specialist in Sweden. She obtained a PhD in Cardiology in 2016 at Lund University in Sweden, and was appointed an Associate Professor in Cardiovascular Epidemiology at the same institution in 2021. She is also affiliated with the Population Health Research Institute in Hamilton, ON, as an Associate Investigator. Her main research topic is arrhythmia diagnostics, prediction and prevention.

She also serves as a consulting Chief Scientific Officer for MEDICALgorithmics, which is a Polish med-tech business that develops cutting edge artificial intelligence solutions for cardiac diagnostics.

- Director of the Women’s Cardiovascular Health Initiative & Martha Brauer Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Health Research, Libin Cardiovascular Institute Medical Director of the Women’s Cardiovascular Health Clinic Cardiologist (Electrophysiology) | Professor, Department of Cardiac Sciences
- Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary

Biography

Dr. Roopinder K. Sandhu, is Professor of Cardiac Sciences, Director of the Women’s Cardiovascular Health Initiative and Martha Brauer Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Health Research at the Libin Cardiovascular Institute, University of Calgary. She is a clinician-scientist focused on arrhythmia health services research including gaining a better understanding of arrhythmia epidemiology, identifying gaps in treatment and pursuing strategies to improve outcomes.

- Cardiac Electrophysiology, Vancouver General Hospital
- Clinical Faculty, University of British Columbia
- Assistant Professor, Université de Montréal
- Director, Electrophysiology, Vancouver General Hospital
- Director, Atrial Fibrillation Clinic, Vancouver General Hospital
- Medical Chair, Heart Rhythm Disease - BC Cardiovascular Disease Network
- Co-Chair, Atrial Fibrillation Guidelines - Canadian Cardiovascular Society
- Chair, Device Committee - Canadian Heart Rhythm Society
- Social Media Editor - Heart Rhythm Journal

Biography

Jason Andrade is the director of Cardiac Electrophysiology at Vancouver General Hospital in Canada. He is an Assistant Professor at the Université de Montréal. He is co-chair of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) Device Therapy Guidelines, former co-chair of the Atrial Fibrillation Guidelines, chair of the Canadian Heart Rhythm Society Device Committee, and medical chair for Heart Rhythm Disease for the province of BC. He has authored over 320 publications and was the PI for the CIRCA-DOSE, EARLY-AF, OPTIMAL AF-HF, and CRYO-LATS randomized trials.

- Staff Cardiac Electrophysiologist, University of Ottawa Heart Institute
- Vered Chair and Division Head of Cardiology, University of Ottawa Heart Institute
- Professor of Medicine, University of Ottawa (Cardiology; cross-appointed to the School of Epidemiology & Public Health)
- Tier 1 Clinical Research Chair in Cardiac Electrophysiology
- Qikiqtaaluk Cardiology Program Lead
- Co-Lead, Ottawa Region Strategic Research Innovation Cluster on Arrhythmias

Biography

Dr. David Birnie is Division Head of Cardiology at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, where he also serves as a staff cardiac electrophysiologist, Vered Chair, and Tier 1 Clinical Research Chair in Cardiac Electrophysiology. A full professor at the University of Ottawa, he has authored more than 500 peer-reviewed publications and is internationally recognized for his leadership in cardiac sarcoidosis, atrial fibrillation, and device therapies. He co-leads one of Canada’s leading arrhythmia research programs and has chaired international guidelines on cardiac sarcoidosis.

- Electrophysiologist & Cardiologist, Montreal Heart Institute
- Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal
- MD in Cardiology, Université de Grenoble, France (2008)
- Chief of Clinic (Arrhythmia), University Hospital of Grenoble, France (2 years)
- Recognition as Cardiologist, Collège des médecins du Québec (2013)
- Fellowship in Electrophysiology, Montreal Heart Institute (2011–2013), focus on adult congenital heart disease (team of Dr. Paul Khairy)
- Specialized training in cardiac device lead extraction, University Hospital of Lille, France (2014)

Biography

Dr. Blandine Mondésert is an electrophysiologist and cardiologist at the Montreal Heart Institute and clinical faculty in the Department of Medicine at Université de Montréal. Trained in France (MD, Université de Grenoble, 2008), she served as Chief of Clinic in arrhythmia at the University Hospital of Grenoble before completing an electrophysiology fellowship at the Montreal Heart Institute (2011–2013), with a focus on adult congenital heart disease under Dr. Paul Khairy. She later completed specialized training in cardiac device lead extraction at the University Hospital of Lille (2014). Her clinical and research interests include CIED technologies and extraction, arrhythmia ablation, atrial fibrillation, and stroke prevention (including LAA closure). She serves as PI/co-PI on multi-center studies such as ATLAS, Aveir DR i2i, Modular ATP, and LILAC.

- Electrophysiologist
- Assistant Clinical Professor, Head of the Electrophysiology Department, Department of Medicine, Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal, Université de Montréal

Biography

Dr. Alexios Hadjis is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Université de Montréal and the Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology at the Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal.

Dr. Hadjis completed his EP fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. He pursued further subspecialization completing his MSc at the Università Vita-Salute (Milan, Italy) in Complex Ventricular Arrhythmias.

His academic research interests focus on mapping and ablation of ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation.

- MD. Cardiac Electrophysiologist
- Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM)
- Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellow (PGY9), University of British Columbia

Biography

Dr. Bisson is a cardiac electrophysiologist specializing in both clinical and interventional EP, with a special interest for cardiogenetics and inherited arrhythmia syndromes. She completed her MD at the University of Sherbrooke, followed by a cardiology residency at the University of Montreal. Recently, she finished a two-year fellowship in cardiac electrophysiology at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Bisson will soon join the Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM), where she will lead the development of their cardiogenetics program.

- McGill University Health Center
- Montreal, Canada

Biography

After completing his medical degree and cardiology training at McGill University, Dr Bernier went on to complete a fellowship in clinical cardiac electrophysiology under the supervision of Dr Mark Josephson, at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard University.

He has returned to the McGill University Health Centre in 2012 as full-time cardiologist and clinical cardiac electrophysiologist. Dr Bernier has expertise in a wide range of ablation and device therapies for cardiac rhythm disturbances, with a particular interest in advanced therapies for the treatment of ventricular tachycardia. In addition, he is the director of the cardiac electrophysiology fellowship program at McGill University.

- CK Hui Heart Centre
- Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute
- University of Alberta

Biography

Dr. Evan Lockwood is a cardiologist specializing in clinical cardiac electrophysiology. His clinical interests include pharmacological and non-pharmacological management of atrial fibrillation, the prevention of sudden cardiac death, as well as cardiac resynchronization therapy for heart failure. He is currently the Director of the Arrhythmia Clinic and Device programs at the CK Hui Heart Centre.

- Clinical Professor – Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Cardiac Sciences, Libin Cardiovascular Institute
- Cardiac Electrophysiologist – CIED Clinic; Atrial Fibrillation Clinic, and Arrhythmia Clinic

Biography

Dr. George D. (Yorgo) Veenhuyzen is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Cardiac Sciences at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. He is the past director of the Electrophysiology Labs at Foothills Meical Center and the current Director of the Fellowship Program in Adult Cardiac Electrophysiology. His clinical and research interests include catheter ablation of cardiac arrhythmias.

- University of British Columbia
- Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN

Biography

Andrew Krahn, M.D., FRCPC, FHRS, is a Professor in the Division of Cardiology at the University of British Columbia. He received his MD from the University of Manitoba. His clinical expertise is in management of cardiac arrhythmias. Current research interests include investigation of genetic causes of arrhythmias, causes of loss of consciousness and implantable arrhythmia devices.

Dr. Krahn has research funded by a Foundation grant from the Canadian Institute of Health Research through 2027. His research has been published in numerous high impact scientific journals such as Circulation, JAMA, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the New England Journal of Medicine, and the European Heart Journal. He founded the Hearts in Rhythm Organization (HiRO – www.heartsinrhythm.ca). He has published >500 papers in peer-reviewed journals. He sits on the Editorial Board of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, Heart Rhythm and the Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology.

Dr. Krahn is affiliated with several professional associations including the Royal College of Physicians of Canada, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, and the Heart Rhythm Society. He is past President of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, and past President of the Heart Rhythm Society. He was the Head of Cardiology at UBC from 2012-2023. He is the Paul Brunes Chair in Heart Rhythm Disorders, and the Sauder Family and Heart & Stroke Foundation of BC & Yukon Chair in Cardiology.

- Electrophysiologist, Southlake Regional Health Centre, Newmarket, ON
- Chief Medical Officer, PACE Cardiology
- Fellow, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (FRCPC)
- Fellow, American College of Cardiology (FACC)
- Fellow, Heart Rhythm Society (FHRS)

Biography

Dr. Yaariv Khaykin is a cardiologist and electrophysiologist at Southlake Regional Health Centre and Chief Medical Officer at PACE Cardiology. He established one of Canada’s leading atrial fibrillation programs and is recognized internationally for his expertise in complex ablation, device therapies, and innovation in patient care. His research is widely published and continues to shape the treatment of heart rhythm disorders worldwide.

- Cardiologist & Cardiac Electrophysiologist
- Assistant Professor, University of Toronto
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
- Associate Scientist, Sunnybrook Research Institute

Biography

Dr. Christopher Cheung is a staff cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist at the Schulich Heart Program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. He specializes in treating complex arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and ventricular tachycardia. Specific techniques include endocardial and epicardial catheter ablation, novel ablation techniques, and implantable devices. In his research, Dr. Cheung focuses on atrial fibrillation and complex arrhythmia management, wearable devices, and digital health. He has participated in numerous clinical trials, including leading trials in atrial fibrillation monitoring. His wearable device and digital health research involves the evaluation of novel devices for arrhythmia monitoring, decentralized clinical studies, and the use of machine learning tools.

- Division Head of Electrophysiology
- Southlake Regional Health Centre
- Clinical Electrophysiology
- Pacing & Defibrillator Therapy
- Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy

Biography

Dr. Bernice Tsang is an Electrophysiologist at Southlake Regional Health Centre, where she has built her career around advancing innovative, safe, and evidence-based cardiac care. Her clinical practice focuses on electrophysiology, pacing and defibrillator therapy, and cardiac resynchronization therapy. Dr. Tsang is one of the early Canadian adopters of next-generation leadless pacemaker and subcutaneous defibrillator technology since inception almost a decade ago and is a leading implanter of extravascular defibrillators. She has played a key role in introducing this minimally invasive technology across Canada and internationally, educating and training cardiologists in the U.S. and Japan. Dr. Tsang is recognized for her commitment to innovation and improving patient experience through cutting-edge cardiac care.