Welcome to Dalhousie!
Welcome to the Pediatric Infectious Diseases (PID) training program at Dalhousie University! I am Dr. Jeannette Comeau, the Program Director. I am an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and an Investigator at the Canadian Center for Vaccinology (CCfV).
About Our Residency Program
Our excellent two-year training program in pediatric infectious diseases is fully accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC). Residents complete rotations in inpatient and ambulatory pediatric and adult infectious diseases, infection prevention and control, and medical microbiology at two sites in Halifax: the IWK Health Centre and the QEII Health Sciences Centre. Residents will spend eight weeks at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto to gain additional experience in transplant infectious diseases and pediatric HIV.
Based at the IWK Health Centre, the only tertiary care pediatric centre in the Maritime Provinces, the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases provides inpatient and outpatient consultative services to a broad spectrum of infants, children, and youth with complex acute and chronic infections. Residents gain exposure to infections in patients with immunocompromising conditions, including cancer, stem cell and solid organ transplant, and primary immunodeficiency, as well as preterm neonates, post-surgical patients, immigrants, and refugees. Outpatient services also include coordinated follow-up of Maritime children living with HIV and a specialized immunization clinic for high-risk patients.
The overall goal of the PID training program is to train residents to be well-rounded, broad-based pediatric infectious disease consultants with clinical competency in infectious diseases, expertise in critical analysis of the scientific literature and its application to practice, and research skills in pediatric infectious diseases. Although PID has traditionally been primarily an academic, research-based specialty, consultants work in a range of fields including public health, medical microbiology and industry. As a small program, we have the flexibility to tailor our residents’ training program according to their interests and career goals. Opportunities are available for additional formal training in vaccine research, epidemiology, immunology, medical microbiology, and medical education.
Division of Infectious Diseases Research Day/CCfV Symposium, 2015
Program Highlights
Our program provides exposure to a broad spectrum of patients seen at the IWK Health Centre. Our close affiliation with the Adult Infectious Disease and Medical Microbiology residency programs ensures that our trainees receive excellent training in those areas and have the opportunity to interact with trainees from those programs. The Clinical Immunology service at the IWK offers residents a unique opportunity to gain experience in investigation and management of patients with a broad range of primary immunodeficiencies. Finally, the research environment at the Canadian Center for Vaccinology is world class, providing many opportunities for training in basic science, clinical, and translational research.
Our Faculty
Our dynamic team of highly experienced PID physicians provides exceptional guidance to our trainees. All are experienced faculty members and educators, and most are full professors and internationally recognized researchers.
Dr. Jeannette Comeau is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Dalhousie University. She is the Program Director for the Pediatric Infectious Diseases (PID) training program at Dalhousie University. In addition to clinical responsibilities, she is the Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control, and the Medical Co-Lead of Antimicrobial Stewardship. She is a co-PI at the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology, with an interest in Clinical Trials and Vaccine Policy.
Dr. Scott Halperin is a Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology and Immunology at Dalhousie University and Director of CCfV. His research focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of pertussis (whooping cough) and other vaccine-preventable diseases such as influenza.
Dr. Joanne Langley is a Professor of Pediatrics and Community Health and Epidemiology at Dalhousie University. She currently serves as Head of Infectious Diseases at the IWK Health Centre and is the Associate Director for the Evaluation Group at CCfV. Dr. Langley’s main research interests are in the epidemiology and prevention of respiratory infections, particularly Respiratory Syncytial Virus and influenza.
Dr. Karina Top is Adjunct Faculty with the Department of Pediatrics
and Community Health & Epidemiology at Dalhousie University and an Investigator with the Canadian Center for Vaccinology. Her primary research focus is vaccine safety, specifically, the clinical management of patients who have experienced adverse events following immunization, the risk of adverse events in patients with underlying conditions and vaccine safety and effectiveness in immunocompromised patients.
Dr. Tim Mailman trained at the University of Michigan and Dalhousie University and is dual-certified in Medical Microbiology and Pediatric Infectious Diseases. His interests include molecular diagnosis of enteric infections and a provincial laboratory stewardship program. He currently has clinical roles at the IWK and is Senior Medical Director for Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at NSHA
For More Information:
For more information on resident electives and applying to our program, please visit the Department of Post Graduate Medical Education’s webpage, and the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS).
Contact:
Program Administrator
Kelly LeFurgey
Canadian Center for Vaccinology
IWK Health Centre, Goldbloom Pavilion, 4th Floor
5850/5980 University Avenue
Ph: 902-470-8141
Fax: 902-470-7232
Program Director
Dr. Jeannette Comeau
Dalhousie University, IWK Health Centre
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics
Pediatric Infectious Diseases
Goldbloom Pavilion, 4th Floor
5850/5980 University Avenue
Ph: 902-470-8141
Fax: 902-470-7232
j.comeau@dal.ca