Jim Christenson
Dr. Christenson is a Professor and past-Head of the Department of Emergency Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia and has a wide range of experience in emergency care clinical research. His primary research focus is in the area of cardiovascular emergencies, especially resuscitation science. He led the BC site for the North American Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium and is currently a Co-Principal Investigator for the Canadian Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium which aims to improve care through early interventions in cardiac arrest across Canada. He is also the Principal Investigator of a neuroprotective intervention given by paramedics to patients with severe stroke (The FRONTIER Trial). Christenson leads a team that built and launched the BC Emergency Medicine Network (EMN) to facilitate knowledge sharing and clinical support for all emergency practitioners in British Columbia. It is growing quickly and changing the way physicians communicate about new knowledge and practice change. He also leads a study funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research to improve emergency care in 4 Nuu Chah Nuulth remote communities on the west coast of Vancouver Island. He has been a volunteer for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada for over 30 years and is currently the chair of the Resuscitation Advisory Committee.
- Co-Director, BC Resuscitation Research Collaborative (RESURECT)
- Professor and Past Head, Department of Emergency Medicine
- University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
- Executive Medical Lead, BC Emergency Medicine Network
Brian Grunau
Dr. Grunau’s primary research interest is the management of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. He has received over $10 million in research funding and published over 125 peer-reviewed manuscripts, including as the first author in high-impact journals such as JAMA. He is currently funded by Michael Smith Health Research BC and holds a tenure-track faculty position within the UBC Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Grunau works closely with BC Emergency Health Services, assisting with research and quality-improvement initiatives for prehospital emergency care.
Dr. Grunau is the co-chair of the CanROC cardiac arrest committee and volunteers for the Heart & Stroke Foundation as a scientific content expert. He has spoken to international audiences, most commonly on the topics of ECPR and intra-arrest transport, and has authored chapters in the core textbooks Tintinalli’s Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services: Clinical Practice and Systems Oversight.
- Co-Director, BC Resuscitation Research Collaborative (RESURECT)
- Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia
- Emergency Physician, St. Paul’s Hospital
- Scientist, Centre for Health Evaluation & Outcome Sciences
- Resuscitation Innovation Lead, Emergency Medicine Network
- Research Medical Consultant, BC Emergency Health Services
Mike Christian
Mike Christian, MD, MSc, FRCPC, DRCPSC, CCPE, is Chief Medical Officer with BCEHS. He has a diverse background beginning his career as a paramedic prior to entering medicine in which he specialized in Intensive Care as well as Prehospital and Transport Medicine.
- Chief Medical Officer, BC Emergency Health Services, Provincial Health Services Authority
- Provincial Medical Director, Trauma Services BC, Provincial Health Services Authority
- Clinical Professor, Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia
Christopher Fordyce
Dr. Fordyce trained in both internal medicine and cardiology at UBC. He also completed the program in clinical effectiveness at the Harvard School of Public Health and a Master of Health Science in clinical research through the Duke School of Medicine. He completed a clinical research fellowship in cardiovascular disease at the Duke Clinical Research Institute, as well as further subspecialty training in cardiac critical care at Duke University Hospital. Dr. Fordyce’s clinical and research interests lie predominantly in cardiac critical care, including myocardial infarction and cardiac arrest, as well as non-invasive testing for stable coronary disease and antithrombotic therapy in atrial fibrillation.
- Clinical assistant professor, Division of Cardiology, University of British Columbia
- Director of the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Vancouver General Hospital
- Scientist, Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences (CHÉOS)