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Dr Shelagh Coutts

BSc, MD, MSc, FRCPC
Pronouns: She/Her

Positions

Professor

Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Clinical Neurosciences

Professor

Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Radiology

Professor

Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Community Health Sciences

Full Member

Hotchkiss Brain Institute

Contact information

Phone number

Office: +1 (403) 944-1594

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Kelly Johnston
Senior Communications Specialist

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Background

Credentials

FRCPC, Royal college of physicians and surgeons of Canada, 2006

MRCP (UK), Royal College of Physicians, 2000

Educational Background

MBChB Medicine, University of Edinburgh, 1997

BSc Pathology, University of Edinburgh, 1995

MD University of Edinburgh, 2005

Msc (with distinction) Clinical Trials , London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 2013

Biography

Dr. Coutts obtained her Undergraduate Medical Degree from the University of Edinburgh in 1997 and undertook general medical training at Glasgow Royal Infirmary prior to specializing in neurology. She moved to Calgary to complete a Fellowship in Stroke Neurology with Dr. Alastair Buchan and completed her Neurology Residency Training, receiving her FRCPC (Neurology) in 2006. During her stroke neurology training, she completed a postgraduate research degree on “Modern imaging: its role in prediction of outcome after stroke and TIA” and she received her MD (PhD equivalent) for this from the University of Edinburgh in 2005.

Her research interests include the use of acute imaging in triage and treatment of stroke and TIA patients in the Emergency Department. Her research interests include better diagnosis, triage and treatment of TIA and minor stroke patients. She recently completed a provincial study to improve TIA care throughout Alberta.

Her research involves designing therapeutic trials in TIA and minor stroke using imaging to stratify patients. 

She completed the TEMPO-1 study.; this was a phase 2, dose escalation, safety study using low dose TNK in the treatment of minor stroke with intracranial occlusion. This has now led to paste 3 pivotal trial; TEMPO-2 which is a multi centre, international randomized controlled trial assessing the use of TNK in minor stroke with intracranial occlusion. This study is running in Canada, Europe and Australia. Funding has been received for TEMPO-2 from The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. This study is over half way completed and is already the largest minor stroke thrombolysis trial completed.

Dr. Coutts has received a number of awards for her work, including the “Siekert New Investigator Award” from the American Stroke Association, the "Michael J. Pessin award" in stroke leadership from the American Academy of Neurology and the Petro Canada Young Innovator Award in Community Health. She is the first recipient of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada Distinguished Clinician Scientist award, supported in partnership with the CIHR Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health and AstraZeneca Canada Inc. She was also awarded a clinical investigator award from the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research. She was named in Avenue Magazine Calgary’s top 40 under 40 in 2012.

Awards

  • Top 40 under 40, Avenue Magazine. 2012
  • Michael J. Pessin award for Stroke Leadership , American Academy of Neurology. 2010
  • CIHR-CMAJ: Top Achievements in Health Research Awards., CIHR-CMAJ. 2011
  • Robert G. Siekert New Investigator award in Stroke , American Stroke Association . 2005
  • Distinguished clinician Scientist, HSFC, CIHR Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health, and AstraZeneca Canada Inc.. 2009
  • McDonald Scholarship, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.. 2009