UHN is Canada's No. 1 hospital and the world's No. 1 publicly funded hospital. With 10 sites and more than 44,000 TeamUHN members. UHN consists of Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, The Michener Institute of Education and West Park Healthcare Centre. As Canada's top research hospital, the scope of biomedical research and complexity of cases at UHN have made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. UHN has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research in neurosciences, cardiology, transplantation, oncology, surgical innovation, infectious diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine. UHN is a research hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto.
UHN's vision is to build A Healthier World and its only because of the talented and dedicated people who work here that we are continually bringing that vision closer to reality.
Summer student position to support the following study: Inflammatory Cardiomyopathies Retrospective Study
Union: Non-Union
Site: Toronto General Hospital
Department: Cardiology
Reports to: Dr. Natasha Aleksova
Work Model: Hybrid
Grade: A0:90
Hours: 35
Salary: 17.20 - $20.30 per hour. Start rate non-negotiable. (To commensurate with experience and consistent with UHN compensation policy)
Shifts: Monday to Friday
Status: Temporary Full-time
Closing Date: March 3rd, 2025
Job Details: The purpose of the placement is to collect retrospective data on all patients at the University Health Network who have a group of heart conditions called "inflammatory cardiomyopathies" which includes myocarditis and cardiac sarcoid. The cause of inflammatory cardiomyopathies is increasingly recognized as the overlap between genetics, immune and infectious factors. There is growing interest in understanding differences in etiology and clinical trajectories for these conditions. Clonal expansion of hematopoietic cells or clonal hematopoiesis (CH) refers to the clonal expansion of hematopoietic stem cells due to somatic mutations. CH is detected by next generation sequencing of DNA isolated from the white blood cells in the peripheral blood. Some CH mutations have been associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes. The purpose of the project is:
To characterize the prevalence of CH among patients with inflammatory cardiomyopathies.
To determine whether there is an association between CH status and the development of adverse outcomes: disease progression to chronic myocarditis, arrhythmias, heart failure, survival.
Educational Objectives:
Learn about the process of conducting scientific research, from asking a scientific question, establishing a hypothesis and carrying out the necessary steps to address the question of interest
Create a database and data dictionary for the purposes of transparent data collection for this project
Learn how to generate some basic descriptive statistics for the purposes of their presentation at the end of the placement
Proposed deliverables at the end of the placement:
Create a presentation for TRCHR, having gained skills on data management, basic statistics and effective knowledge translation
Submit an abstract for a national conference, e.g. CCC, if interested and/or remain involved in the project if interested
Education and experience required:
The selected candidate would ideally have some medical knowledge and be able to recognize key medical terms for the purposes of data extraction on the subject matter.
The candidate should have reasonable understanding of Microsoft Excel. Some understanding of statistics would be an asset, but not a necessity.
Why join UHN?
In addition to working alongside some of the most talented and inspiring healthcare professionals in the world, UHN offers a wide range of benefits, programs and perks. It is the comprehensiveness of these offerings that makes it a differentiating factor, allowing you to find value where it matters most to you, now and throughout your career at UHN.
Current UHN employees must have successfully completed their probationary period, have a good employee record along with satisfactory attendance in accordance with UHN's attendance management program, to be eligible for consideration.
Vaccines (COVID and others) are a requirement of the job unless you have an exemption on a medical ground pursuant to the Ontario Human Rights Code.
UHN is a respectful, caring, and inclusive workplace. We are committed to championing accessibility, diversity and equal opportunity. Requests for accommodation can be made at any stage of the recruitment process. Applicants need to make their requirements known in advance. Any information received related to an accommodation will be addressed confidentially.
University Health Network thanks all applicants, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
All applications must be submitted before the posting close date.
UHN uses email to communicate with selected candidates. Please ensure you check your email regularly.
Please be advised that a Criminal Record Check may be required of the successful candidate. Should it be determined that any information provided by a candidate be misleading, inaccurate or incorrect, UHN reserves the right to discontinue with the consideration of their application.
UHN is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive recruitment process and workplace. Requests for accommodation can be made at any stage of the recruitment process. Applicants need to make their requirements known.
We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.