Dr. Samuel is a Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine, and a member of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute and the O’Brien Institute of Public Health. She received her undergraduate medical degree from the University of British Columbia, and completed postgraduate medical training in pediatrics and nephrology at SickKids Hospital in Toronto. She has a MSc in Clinical Epidemiology from the Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. Her research goal is to improve care and outcomes of children with chronic disease, in particular those with kidney disease. She leads the Canadian Childhood Nephrotic Syndrome Project, a national initiative designed to evaluate the impact of care variation on patient outcomes and to conduct registry based clinical trials. She also leads the Transition Navigator Trial research team, a multi-disciplinary group evaluating effectiveness of interventions to improve transition to adult care. Her work is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and various foundations. She serves on national and international committees working to increase research capacity, and to improve translation of evidence into practice. She is passionate about mentoring and guiding clinicians towards academic and scientific careers. In her role as the Director of the Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program, she is helping clinicians, from diverse disciplines, establish successful careers in health research. She has received awards for research and community contributions, including the University of Calgary Petro Canada Community Innovator Award, Top 40 under 40 Award from Avenue Magazine in Calgary, and BMO Endowed Research Award from the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute. Dr. Samuel is supported by her husband, Stephen, who is an oil and gas engineer. They have 3 children, Priyanka, Roshan, and Sneha, who keep them very busy with music training and sports activities. As a family, they volunteer in their local church and enjoy spending time in the Rocky Mountains.

After completing her Honorary Bachelor of Science at the University of Toronto in 2003, Linda joined the Division of Immunology and Allergy at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto where she rose from a summer lab student during her undergrad days, to the Centre Manager for the Canadian Centre for Primary Immunodeficiency at SickKids. With a keen mind for computer technology, and expertise in clinical and basic research, Linda executed clinical research projects while successively managing training and research programs for various stakeholders in the immunodeficiency family. She also managed clinical research trails for the Division and the SickKids Immunology Service lab. Her outstanding organizational and budgeting skills led her to the SickKids Learning Institute where she configured the Conference Management Centre that continues to be a successful resource for staff at SickKids. Linda is blissfully bananas with her husband, Ari, and two children, Evelyn (7 yrs) and Gavin (5 yrs). She is passionate about singing, dancing, cleaning, databases and (of course) her family.

Linda can be reached at:
Linda.Pires@sickkids.ca
Office: 416-813-7654 ext 204304
Fax: 416-813-5015