Researchers
Dean Fergusson

Dean Fergusson

PhD, MHA, FCAHS

Senior Scientist, Methodological and Implementation Research

Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

Deputy Scientific Director, Clinical Research

Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

Full Professor, Departments of Medicine and Surgery

University of Ottawa

Endowed Chair, Practice-Changing Research

Ottawa Hospital Research Institute/University of Ottawa

Scientific Lead, Ontario SPOR SUPPORT Unit

Government of Ontario and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Contact

dafergusson@ohri.ca

Administrative Coordinator Jodi Peters: 613-737-8899 x79842 jpeters@ohri.ca

ORCID 0000-0002-3389-2485

Bio

Dr. Fergusson is a Senior Scientist & Deputy Scientific Director of Practice-Changing Research, at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. He is also a Full Professor, Departments of Medicine, Surgery, & of the School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa. Dr. Fergusson holds the position of Endowed Chair, OHRI/uOttawa, Clinical Epidemiology Program and is the Scientific Lead of the Ontario SPOR SUPPORT Unit (OSSU). 

He holds a PhD (Honours) in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from McGill University and a Master of Health Administration from the University of Ottawa. Dr. Fergusson’s clinical research interests are mainly in the field of transfusion medicine with a focus on transfusion alternatives and the effectiveness of blood products. His research interests also extend to the methodology and ethics of clinical trials and systematic reviews. Dr. Fergusson is a Principal Investigator on the national Accelerating Clinical Trials (ACT) Consortium and CANTRAIN Clinical Trials Training Platform, both funded by CIHR. He was also the co-lead of the Rethinking Clinical Trials (REaCT) Program which performs practical patient-focused research that ensures that patients receive optimal, safe, cost-effective treatment. Dr. Fergusson is a principal investigator on a number of large, peer-reviewed clinical trials in transfusion medicine including “An innovative Trial Assessing Donor Sex on Recipient Mortality (iTADS), “Blood Conservation Using Antifibrinolytics: Randomized Trial in High-Risk Cardiac Surgery (BART)”, Age of Red Blood Cells in Premature Infants (ARIPI), and “Age of Blood Evaluation (ABLE)”. Dr. Fergusson has contributed over 744 full journal articles to the medical literature. 

 

Research Goals and Interests

I have focused my research contributions in the following areas:

1) transfusions and transfusion alternatives

2) patient-oriented research methods and practice

3) methodological research into the ethics, design and analysis of randomized trials

4) evidence-informed approaches to improve bench to bedside translation

 

My two research priorities are evidence-informed transfusion medicine and clinical trial methods. I have made research contributions in: 1) red cell transfusions and red cell transfusion alternatives and; 2) methodological research into the ethics, design and analysis of clinical trials. Since my faculty appointment at uOttawa in 2003, I have been successful in securing over $350 million in peer-reviewed research grants (including 175 CIHR grants), over $142 million as a principal investigator (including 52 CIHR grants), and major salary awards from CIHR and the Province of Ontario. I have published over 744 peer-reviewed journal articles including many in high impact journals. My current H-index is 115 and my global citation numbers rank in the top 1% in both transfusion medicine and epidemiology.

I have advanced the knowledge and practice of transfusion medicine in the areas of defining the optimal blood product to transfuse, establishing when to administer transfusions, and evaluating alternatives to reduce bleeding and transfusion risk. I conducted the first trials (ARIPI & ABLE) to evaluate clinical outcomes in patients receiving “fresh” red cell transfusions and I am currently conducting a similar trial in pediatric critical care (ABC) funded by CIHR and NIH. ARIPI & ABLE helped reassure international blood systems on current procurement practice and provided evidence that fresh red blood cells confer no additional benefit to their patients. I conceived and led the BART trial that changed the worldwide practice of blood loss management in cardiac surgery. The CIHR and Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care funded 2500 patient BART trial looking at three commonly used agents that reduce blood transfusion and massive bleeding during high-risk cardiac surgery. Published in the NEJM in 2008, BART affected the worldwide practice of blood loss management in cardiac surgery. The study provided evidence that the most popular drug aprotinin, widely considered the most effective, actually increased mortality. I have also designed major trials to establish optimal transfusion thresholds (TRICSI-III, TRIST, OPTIMAL). Based on my work in transfusion research, I have served or chaired numerous CIHR panels, and hold membership on 4 NIH/NIHLBI State of the Science panels, editorial boards, and renowned pediatric and adult disease networks.

My work on clinical equipoise, post-randomization exclusions, ethical use of placebo controls, and statistical approaches has influenced the worldwide practice and reporting of clinical trials. As Deputy Scientific Director of the Centre for Practice Changing Research, I provide senior leadership to over 106 Scientists, 1220 Investigators and staff. I have cultivated a robust successful research community with significant international influence at Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, the hospital, and uOttawa. I have been extremely productive in building local and national research capacity (trainees, scientists) and stimulating innovation by creating a dynamic diverse environment, developing creative educational initiatives, and establishing facilities for trainees, fellows, and residents. I also led the Ottawa Methods Centre’s participation in major provincial and national enterprises such as the $100 million Ontario SPOR Support Unit. Under my leadership, the Ottawa Methods Centre inspired the national CIHR SPOR SUPPORT initiative and is being modeled in other Canadian centres.
 

News

Publications

Transfusion thresholds and other strategies for guiding red blood cell transfusion

2025-10-20 Go to publication

Identifying Challenges and Enablers to Engaging Patients in Preclinical Laboratory Research

2025-09-22 Go to publication

CCR5 antagonists as cerebroprotective and stroke recovery enhancing agents: a preclinical systematic review and meta-analysis

2025-03-03 Go to publication

CCR5 antagonists as cerebroprotective and stroke recovery enhancing agents: a preclinical systematic review and meta-analysis

2025-03-03 Go to publication

Strategies to Improve Health Care Provider Prescription of and Patient Adherence to Guideline-Recommended Cardiovascular Medications for Atherosclerotic Occlusive Disease: Protocol for Two Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of Randomized Controlled Tria

2025-01-16 Go to publication
View More on ORCiD

Current Funding

Total lifetime funding as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator: $145,001,238
Total lifetime funding as Co-Investigator: $217,015,899
*unless otherwise stated, Dr. Fergusson's role is a Co-Investigator

 


04/2025-03/2028 Developing evidence-informed patient engagement guidance for economic evaluations (DEEP-ENGAGE)
Principal Investigators: Thavorn, Kednapa; Graham, ID; Hutton, BE; Presseau, J; Smith, MM
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Project Grant

04/2025-03/2027 STRIVE before surgery trial: a pragmatic multicenter randomized trial of Structured TRaining to Improve fitness in a Virtual Environment before surgery
Principal Investigators: McIsaac, Daniel I; Gillis, CA; Hallet, J; Kidd, GD; Lee, SM; Mayson, KV; Taljaard, M; Tandon, P; Wallace, T; Wijeysundera, DN
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Project Grant – Patient-Oriented Research – Implementation Science

04/2025-03/2028 Optimizing Patient-centred outcomes Using opioid minimization Strategies (OPUS) Pilot Trial
Principal Investigators: Verret, Michael; Fergusson, Dean A; Lalu, Manoj M; Turgeon, Alexis F
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Project Grant

02/2025-01/2026 Empowering communities: developing strategies to improve uptake of the CARE project
Principal Investigators: Manoj Lalu, Dawn Richards, Laurie Proulx
Funder: Ontario SPOR SUPPORT Unit’s (OSSU) / Program - EMPOWER VIII Project Opportunity

10/2024-09/2025 Accelerating and standardizing assessment of acute lung injury using an artificial intelligence based approach
Principal Investigators: Manoj Lalu, Arvind S. Mer, Patricia C Liaw 
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Project Grant

10/2024-09/2028 Establishing An International Core Outcome Set for Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH) - What and How to Measure Outcomes in SAH Research
Principal Investigators: English, Shane W; Marti, Maria Luisa; Presseau, Justin; Shea, Beverley J; Andersen, Christopher R
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Project Grant

10/2024-09/2028 Effects of donor-recipient sex-matched versus sex-mismatched red blood cell transfusion on outcomes in critically ill adult patients
Principal Investigators: Dean Fergusson, Michelle Zeller 
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Project Grant

04/2024-03/2027 Reconnecting care partners to persons living with dementia through primary care surveillance data
Principal Investigators: Neil Drummond, Claire Webster, Annie Robitaille
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Operating Grant, Eval. of Dementia Programs, Services, & Care Models 

03/2024-03/2026 Harnessing the power of cell therapy for severe lung injury: assessing feasibility and understanding reproducibility.
Principal Investigators: Manoj Lalu, Kelly Cobey
Funder: New Frontiers in Research Fund / Program: Exploration

04/2024-03/2029 BRAINapt: TBI International Adaptive Platform Trial
Principal Investigators: Alexis Turgeon, Shane English, Francois Lauzier, Michelle McDonald, Lynne Moore, Jay Park, Ryan Zarychanski
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Project Grant

04/2024-03/2028 Virtual, Innovative, postsurgical Care To Optimize Return home for older people with frailtY: the VICTORY randomized trial
Principal Investigators: Sylvie Aucoin, Alan Forster, Michael Jack, Gurlavine Kidd, Manoj Lalu, Jordan Leitch, Michael McGillion, Daniel McIsaac, Kednapa Thavorn 
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Operating Grant: SPOR Innovative Clinical Trial Multi-Year Grant 

04/2023-01/2025 AAVenger-B: Adeno-Associated Virus Engineered Gene Epithelial progenitor cell Regeneration for surfactant proteinB deficiency
Prinicipal Investigator: Dean Fergusson
Funder: Stem Cell Network / Program: Impact Awards: Ethical, Legal, Social Implications

04/2023-01/2025 Developing guidance to translate promising cell therapies to early phase clinical trials
Prinicipal Investigators: Dean Fergusson, Manoj Lalu 
Funder: Stem Cell Network / Program: Impact Awards: Ethical, Legal, Social Implications 

10/2022-03/2025 The effects of an intraoperative targeted low-splanchnic blood volume restrictive fluid management strategy compared to a liberal one on postoperative outcomes in liver transplantation - the REFIL (REstrictive Fluid management In Liver transplantation) pilot multicenter randomized controlled trial
Prinicipal Investigators: Dean Fergusson, François M Carrier, Michael Chasse 
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Project Grant

10/2022-09/2025 Patient engagement in basic science: co-development and pilot evaluation of a novel framework
Prinicipal Investigators: Dean Fergusson, Manoj Lalu, Dawn Richards 
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Project Grant

09/2022-08/2025 PREVENT GU: Prevention of thromboembolism with rivaroxaban in GU cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Clinical Trial
Principal Investigators: Luke Lavallée, Dominick Bossé, Rodney Breau, Marc Carrier
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Project Grant

09/2022-02/2027 A Randomized Controlled Non-Inferiority Trial to Assess the Utility of Non-
Targeted Biopsies for Colorectal Neoplasia Detection in Adult Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Principal Investigators: Dean Fergusson, Sanjay Murthy 
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Project Grant

07/2022-06/2025 Exergaming registry-based trial promoting physical activity in children and adolescents with spinal muscular atrophy
Principal Investigators: Maryam Oskoui, Maureen M Smith, Alan C Evans, Yasser Iturria Medina, Danielle Levac, Elizabeth K Potter
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Operating Grant - Clinical Trials Projects 

07/2022-06/2025 The Clinical Evaluation of Adults Undergoing Elective Surgery Utilizing Intraoperative Incisional Wound Irrigation (CLEAN Wound) Trial
Principal Investigators: Paul J Karanicolas, Jad Abou Khalil, David E Smith, Melanie E Tsang, Stephanie Mason
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Operating Grant - Clinical Trials Projects

07/2022-06/2025 Paving The Way to a Canadian Standard of Care with CAR-T Cellular Therapy: Phase II Trial of CD19 CAR-T for Relapsed/Refractory Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (CLIC-01A)
Principal Investigators: Dean Fergusson, Natasha Kekre, Christopher Bredeson, Terry A Hawrysh, Kevin A Hay, Rob Holt, Jennifer L Quizi, Kednapa Thavorn
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Operating Grant - Clinical Trials Projects

07/2022-06/2025 The Safety and Efficacy of Adalimumab for Pain Reduction in Individuals with Mucopolysaccharidoses: A Phase 1/2 Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial
Principal Investigators: John J Mitchell, Maureen M Smith, Michal Inbar- Feigenberg, Shailly Jain, Lynda Polgreen, Elizabeth K Potter
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Operating Grant - Clinical Trials Projects

07/2022-06/2025 A Phase I trial of single domain antibody-based CD22 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells for the treatment of relapsed/refractory CD22+ B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Principal Investigators: Kevin A Hay, Terry A Hawrysh, Natasha Kekre, Joerg
Krueger, Amanda Li, David Szwajcer
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Operating Grant - Clinical Trials Projects

07/2022-06/2025 A Training Platform in Pragmatic Registry-Based Trials: Connecting Canada's Health, Data, and Biomanufacturing Sectors
Principal Investigators: Amit Garg, Jeremy Grimshaw, Lauralyn McIntyre, Justin Presseau, Monica Taljaard, et al.
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Training Grant - Clinical Trials Training Platforms

07/2022-06/2025 Canadian Network for Statistical Training in Trials (CANSTAT)
Principal Investigators: Sameer Parpia, Shirin Golchi, Anna Heath, Shun Fu Lee, Tolulope Sajobi, Kevin Thorpe, Hubert H Wong
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Training Grant - Clinical Trials Training Platforms

07/2022-06/2025 Accelerating Clinical Trials (ACT) – Canada
Principal Investigators: PJ Devereaux, Dean Fergusson, et al. 
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Team Grant - Pan Canadian Clinical Trials Consortium

07/2022-06/2025 Umbilical Mesenchymal Stromal Cells as Cellular Immunotherapy for Septic Shock: A Phase II RCT
Principal Investigators: Dean Fergusson, Lauralyn McIntyre, Alison Fox- Robichaud, Asher A Mendelson, Duncan J Stewart, Keith R Walley 
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Clinical Trials Award Program

07/2022-06/2025 Canadian Consortium of Clinical Trial Training (CANTRAIN) platform: enhancing career preparedness in RCT research targeting different audiences across the continuum
Principal Investigators: Dean Fergusson, Jean Bourbeau, etc al. 
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Training Grant - Clinical Trials Training Platforms 

04/2022-03/2025 Umbilical Mesenchymal Stem Cells as Cellular Immunotherapy for Septic Shock (UC-CISS): A Phase II RCT
Principal Investigator: Lauralyn McIntyre
Funder: Stem Cell Network

04/2022-01/2025 Engaging patients in laboratory-based cell therapy research: Co-production and field testing of a framework
Principal Investigators: Dean Fergusson, Manoj Lalu 
Funder: Stem Cell Network / Program: Translation & Society Team Award

03/2022-02/2028 DRAGON 2 - An international multicenter randomized controlled trial to compare combined Portal and Hepatic Vein Embolization (PVE/HVE) with PVE alone in liver surgery
Prinicipal Investigators: Dean Fergusson, Guillaume Martel 
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: Project Grant

10/2021-09/2026 Perioperative pharmacologic opioid minimization strategies and patient- centred outcomes after surgery
Prinicipal Investigators: Michael Verret Supervisors: Dean Fergusson, Manoj M Lalu Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Program: CIHR Fellowship

04/2021-03/2026 Ontario SPOR SUPPORT Unit – Phase II
Principal Investigator: Dean Fergusson
Funder: Canadian Institute of Health Research and Strategy for Patient- Oriented Research (SPOR)

 

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