Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) 5 Members

Kara Laing, MD, FRCPC, CCPE
Dr. Kara Laing has more than 20 years of experience as a clinician, leader, educator and researcher. She is a Medical Oncologist within the Cancer Care Program, Eastern Health, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Professor and Chair, Discipline of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University. She received her MD from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1993, completed Internal Medicine Residency at Memorial in 1996, and Medical Oncology subspecialty training at the University of British Columbia in 1998. She then completed a Research Fellowship with the National Cancer Institute of Canada, Clinical Trials Group, prior to returning home to practice in 1999. Read more

Carolyn Baer, MD, FRCPC (Moncton, NB)
Dr. Carolyn Baer is a General Internist with almost 30 years of clinical experience. She graduated Medicine from the University of Ottawa and completed a residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is currently practicing in Moncton, NB. Her interests are in cardiovascular rehabilitation and prevention and women’s heart health. She has previously been president of the Canadian Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (CACPR) and continues on the board of directors. She has been the chair of the advanced training module committee for CACPR for many years. She is also an associate editor of CV Edge, the Canadian cardiac rehab journal. She has been on several conference planning committees and was co-chair of the CACPR spring conference when it was held in Moncton. She has been on the Training and Education committee of the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance since 2018 and is currently co-chair of this committee.

She has also been a long-time educator of physicians and medical trainees as well as the general public and has been a speaker at local, provincial and national conferences. She is bilingual in English and French.

Lind Grant-Oyeye, M.D, DCP, MSc., FRCPC
Lind Grant-Oyeye is a psychiatrist in the province of New Brunswick. She received her medical degree from the University of Benin, Nigeria. She holds the following additional post-medical training qualifications and professional designations: specialty certification in psychiatry and sub-specialty certification in child and adolescent psychiatry from the Royal College of Physicians of Canada. Certificate in Safety, Quality, informatics, and Leadership, Harvard medical school and Master of Science with specialization in public health management, Uninettuno. She has experience in various leadership positions, including corporate governance, strategic planning, and steering committees. Her areas of interest include the interface between art and medicine, social issues in medicine, and global development.

Ravi Pullela, BSc (Hons), MD, FRCPC (Sydney, NS)
Dr. Ravi Pullela is an attending Anesthesiologist at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital in Sydney, Nova Scotia. He completed his medical degree at St. George’s University, Grenada and his Anesthesiology residency at Dalhousie University, Halifax. He is an assistant professor at Dalhousie University.
His medical interests include teaching and advocacy for practitioner well –being. Dr. Pullela is a strong believer in work-life balance.
His non-medical interests include aviation, travel, and technology.

Michael Saunders, MD, FRCPC (Charlottetown, PEI)
Dr. Mike Saunders is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and specializes in General Internal Medicine, currently working at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. After completing medical school at Dalhousie University, he completed his residency at Memorial University of Newfoundland and the University of Alberta. His practice interests include Cardiology and Critical Care Medicine, in addition to General Internal Medicine.

Lauren Smithson, MPhil, MD, FRCSC, FACS (St. Anthony, NL)
Dr. Lauren Smithson is a General Surgeon and in St. Anthony, Newfoundland & Labrador, and a Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at Memorial University. Her interest in rural populations started in her hometown of Dunrobin, Ontario, and evolved to rural medicine with her clerkships in Blackburn, UK, through the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Southfield, Michigan, which allowed for her involvement in the Advisory Council for Rural Surgery to the American College of Surgeons, of which she is now Vice-Chair. She has an interest in international rural surgery, working with the Provincial Surgeons Association in Australia, and started the Society for Young Rural Surgeons as a platform for trainees looking towards a career in rural medicine. Her passion for excellence in rural medicine has led to her work with the Royal College of Surgeons to improve access to specialty care for rural Canadians.

Kirstin Weerdenburg, MD, FRCPC (Halifax, NS)
Dr. Kirstin Weerdenburg is a Pediatric Emergency Physician at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, NS, as well as an Assistant Professor at Dalhousie University. She also completed fellowship training in Pediatric Emergency Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) which led her to become actively involved in undergraduate, postgraduate and staff physician education and training on POCUS, mostly locally but also nationally and internationally through course/conference teaching.

Paul B. Yaffe , BSc, BSc (Med), MD, MSc, CIP, FRCSC, CCM (Wolfville, NS)
Dr. Paul Yaffe is a Colorectal and General Surgeon, and Intensivist at Valley Regional Hospital in Kentville, NS since 2015. He completed his medical degree at the University of Manitoba and his General Surgery residency, Master’s degree in the Clinical Investigator Program, and Critical Care fellowship at Dalhousie University. After 3 years in practice, he returned to the University of Manitoba for a Colorectal Surgery fellowship. He is an assistant professor at Dalhousie University. Medical interests include medical student and resident education. Non-medical interests include reading, running, and mostly spending time with his family.

Braydon Connell, MD
Dr. Braydon Connell is a lifelong resident of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Braydon graduated with a Bachelor of Science, then a Master of Science (Occupational Therapy) and finally attained his MD from Dalhousie University. He has continued his training, currently in the third year of a Neurology residency, also in Halifax. He has a strong commitment to medical education, having served as a representative with the Undergraduate Medical Education Committee, Interprofessional representative for the Canadian Federation of Medical Students’ Education Committee and as a resident on the Department of Medicine’s Continuing Professional Development Committee. He is a regular panelist and workshop facilitator with Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Discovery Days. These events give secondary school students interested in science the opportunity to explore a variety of career options in medicine and the health sciences. In his spare time, Braydon enjoys traveling, a good cup of coffee, hiking and going to the beach.

Stephanie Roberts
Stephanie Roberts (she/her) is a provincially recognized community philanthropist, an enthusiastic student leader, and a committed changemaker. Stephanie earned a Bachelor of Nursing degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN), where she was a recurrent Dean's List recipient, Dr. Leslie Harris Scholar, and Chancellor Award Nominee. She has served as Nursing Society President, Atlantic Conference Director of the Canadian Nursing Student Association, and Planning Coordinator of the Heart & Stroke Red Dress Event, which led to her becoming a member of the prestigious Caring Hearts Circle as a dedicated supporter of the Foundation. Stephanie is currently the President of the Memorial Medicine Class of 2023 and the Co-Chair of the MUN Branch of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada. She is working on several research projects focusing on the presence of incivility in the clinical practice setting, as well as identifying the current uses of augmented reality in minimally invasive surgical procedures, in keeping with much of her leadership and advocacy initiatives. Stephanie recently became the Atlantic Regional Director of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS) and has worked to identify the region's current student needs. She plans to use her new position to form an Atlantic Medical Students Association in order to unite, advocate for, and network with other Atlantic medical students.

Jennifer Leonard, MD, FRCPC (St. John’s, NL) – Memorial University
Dr. Jennifer Leonard is a Gastroenterologist / Hepatologist who has had an active Gastroenterology and Hepatology practice in St. John’s, NL since 2007. She is an Associate Professor at Memorial University. She completed her medical degree at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and continued there with her Internal Medicine Residency. She then attended McMaster University for 2 years of Gastroenterology, and then completed a Transplant Hepatology Fellowship at Mayo Clinic Rochester.

Ford Bursey, MD, FRCPC (St. John's, NL)
Ford.bursey@med.mun.ca
Dr. Ford Bursey has been Assistant Dean for Professional Development in the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University since 2004. As Assistant Dean, he oversees professional development for family medicine physicians and Royal College specialists, faculty development, and the Clinical Skills Assessment and Training Program for physicians who need to upgrade their skills. Read more

Jo-Ann Talbot, MD, FRCPC (Saint John, BC)
talbotj@nb.sympatico.ca
Dr. Jo-Ann Talbot is an emergency medicine specialist who works at the Saint John Regional Hospital Emergency Department. She teaches the evidence-based medicine course for the Dalhousie University emergency medicine residency program. She also teaches at the New York Academy of Medicine, Teaching Evidence Assimilation for Collaborative Health Care (TEACH) and at the McMaster Evidence Based Clinical Practice Course. Read more