Maggie Bellis MD FRCPC – Forensic Pathologist, Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit
Dr. Bellis joined the Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit (PFPU) as a Forensic Pathologist in 2014, following residency training in Forensic Pathology at the PFPU and through the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. Maggie completed her residency training in Anatomical Pathology at U of T in 2013. She completed of her medical training at the National University of Ireland, Cork in 2006.
Bonnie Burke BSc, MD, FRCSC – Regional Supervising Coroner for Central Region – Central West Office
Dr. Burke attended the University of Toronto earning a BSc in toxicology and human biology. She then attended the University of McMaster for her Doctor of Medicine and the University of Toronto for a residency in General Surgery. She worked for many years as a consult at Apotex. Most recently, she was received a certification from CAMH for their Opioid Dependence Treatment course. Dr. Burke has been an investigating coroner since 2002 and has been an inquest coroner and has completed over 3800 death investigations. She was recently appointed as Regional Coroner for the Central West Office.
David Cameron MD LLB CCFP – Regional Supervising Coroner for North Region, Sudbury Office
Cameron was appointed Regional Supervising Coroner North Region – Sudbury Office in January 2015. Dr. Cameron is a physician and a lawyer. He has worked clinically as a family doctor and hospitalist, in the legal field as a business lawyer and health law consultant, and administratively as a hospital vice-president and chief of staff. The RSC job is the best job yet, by far.
Kristopher Cunningham MD PhD FRCPC – Forensic and Cardiovascular Pathologist, Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit
Dr. Kristopher Cunningham returned to the Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit as a Forensic and Cardiovascular Pathologist in August 2014. Kris initially joined the PFPU in 2009, and was the Medical Director from 2011 to 2013, when he left to become the Director of the Kingston Forensic Pathology Unit. He returned to Toronto one year later to run the Ontario Forensic Pathology Molecular Autopsy Programme. Dr. Cunningham also works with Ms. Liz Siydock and Ms. Natasha Desjardins in running the OFPS / OCC Next of Kin Clinic. Dr. Cunningham received a PhD in biochemistry at Ohio State University (2000) and his medical degree from the University of Ottawa (2004). Dr. Cunningham did his residency training at U of T in Anatomical Pathology, with additional training in cardiovascular and pulmonary pathology at U of T and the Ottawa Heart Institute.
Michael D’Agostino MD MBA FRCPC – Pathologist-in-Chief and Medical Director of Laboratory Services, Sault Area Hospital
Dr. D’Agostino completed his medical training at the University of Toronto: MD (2005), General Pathology Residency Training Program (2010), Forensic Pathology Residency Training Program (2011). Prior to this he completed Bachelor of Science (Biology) and Master of Business Administration degrees at Lake Superior State University in Michigan. Following training, he worked as a staff general surgical pathologist and forensic pathologist at Health Sciences North and the Northeastern Forensic Pathology Unit in Sudbury for one year. In 2012 he took the opportunity to return home to Sault Ste. Marie to continue this work at the Sault Area Hospital where he also serves as Chief and Medical Director of the Laboratory Medicine. In May 2015 the seventh Forensic Pathology Unit in Ontario came into service in Sault Ste. Marie for which he is medical director. He holds much gratitude in being afforded the opportunity to become a member of the provincial medico-legal death investigation team and to be able to contribute to advancing the laboratory services and patient care in the community he serves.
Paul Dungey MD – Regional Supervising Coroner for East Region – Kingston Office
Dr. Paul Dungey was appointed Regional Supervising Coroner East Region – Kingston Office in May 2015. He is an active educator holding the position of Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Queen’s University. He was the Deputy Head & Program Medical Director for the Emergency program at Queen’s for 9 years with responsibility for operation of their two acute care sites. As a strong advocate for innovation, he was the physician lead for the implementation of the Emergency Department Information System in Kingston – one of the few centres in Canada to fully implement this type of emergency electronic medical record system.
David S. Eden MD – Regional Supervising Coroner for Inquests
Dr. Eden co-manages Inquests in Ontario. He coordinated the development of the Chief Coroners Rules of Procedure which are intended to ensure full, fair and efficient inquests. He is also involved in Indigenous, LGBTQ and suicide issues. Previous responsibilities include Quality and Risk Management for the Office of the Chief Coroner. Dr. Eden is an Amethyst Award recipient in recognition of his work in helping to identify First Nations children who went missing while in the care of residential schools.
John Fernandes MDCM FRCSC FRCPC – Chief of Laboratory Medicine, Hamilton Health Sciences
Dr. Fernandes received his MDCM from McGill University (MU) in 1982. After a year of general practice in Sault Ste. Marie he returned to MU for a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology. He practiced OB/GYN for nine and a half years in Thunder Bay. In 1997 he began a residency in General Pathology at U of T, followed by a fellowship in Forensic Pathology in Virginia at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia (completed in 2002). Dr. Fernandes has been a forensic pathologist at the Hamilton Regional Forensic Pathology Unit, and has previously held the position of Medical Director in 2009. Dr. Fernandes is certified in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and in General Pathology by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and was granted “Founder” designation in Forensic Pathology. He is an Associate Professor and Residency Director for Forensic Pathology at McMaster University. As of July 2018 , he was promoted to full professor. Dr. Fernandes is currently Chief of Laboratory Medicine at the Hamilton Health Sciences.
Kathy Gruspier, BA, MA, PHD, JD
Kathy Gruspier obtained her BA in Near Eastern Archaeology from Wilfrid Laurier University, her MA in Palaeopathology and Funerary Archaeology from The University of Sheffield, her Ph.D. in Physical Anthropology from the University of Toronto and her JD from the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto. She is currently the first and only fulltime forensic anthropologist in Canada, working for the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service. She is an Associate Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. She has undertaken extensive field work and analysis of human remains in Italy and Jordan (archaeological sites), Kosovo, East Timor, Cambodia and Poland (forensic investigations). She was also a consulting forensic anthropologist to the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario (since 1992), and consulted for the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale in Quebec. Kathy has published numerous papers in scientific journals, and regularly presents papers at international conferences and for continuing education groups and special seminars. She regularly testifies in criminal proceedings, and testified for the Goudge Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology for which she also wrote a research paper. Her teaching contributions include law courses for forensic science students and forensic science courses for law students, as well as courses in forensic anthropology.
Jayantha Herath MD DLM MD (Forensic) FCAP FRCPC – Medical Director and Forensic Pathologist, Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit
Dr. Herath is the Medical Director of the Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit in Toronto, part of the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, as well as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. He obtained his MD and MSc from the Medical University of Varna, Bulgaria, and his post-graduate Diploma in Legal Medicine and Doctor of Forensic Medicine from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. After moving to Canada, he completed his residency in Anatomical Pathology and fellowship in Forensic Pathology at the University of Manitoba, obtaining specialist certification in Anatomical Pathology (2010) and Forensic Pathology (2012) from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Before joining the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, Dr. Herath worked as a Medical Examiner for the Province of Manitoba and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology of the University of Manitoba. In addition, Dr. Herath recently became Program Director of the Forensic Pathology Program at the University of Toronto commencing July 1, 2017. He is also an Investigative Coroner for homicides and criminally suspicious deaths in Ontario.
Rebekah Jacques BSc (HON), MD, FRCPC – Forensic Pathologist, Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit
Dr. Jacques joined the Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit as a staff forensic pathologist in January 2016 and became an investigating coroner in June 2016. She obtained her Doctor of Medicine at Queen’s University and residency training in Anatomical Pathology at Western University. This was followed by subspecialty training in forensic pathology at U of T. She holds Royal College certification in both Anatomical and Forensic Pathology. Dr. Jacques has received an entry level academic appointment with U of T in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology. She has a special interest in public health and the intersection between the medicolegal death investigation system and distinct populations. She is a member of the Geriatric and Long-term Care Committee. She has successfully completed half of the MHSc program in Bioethics at U of T.
Reuven Jhirad MD MPH CCFP FCFP – Deputy Chief Coroner; Chair of the Patient Safety Death Review Committee; Adjunct Professor Dalla Lana School of Public Health University of Toronto, and Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Pathology & Molecular Medicine, Faculty Health Sciences, McMaster University.
Prior to becoming Deputy Chief Coroner, Dr. Jhirad has been an investigating coroner in Ontario since June 2004 in the Halton and Reel regions and has presided over several inquests. In addition to his work as both investigating and inquest coroner, Dr. Jhirad has also worked as a Family Physician in Burlington, Ontario, Emergency Physician at Wellesley/St. Michael’s Hospital and Occupational Health Medical Officer for Health Canada in Toronto. Ontario. He has also been a Lecturer/Resident Supervisor for the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto and an Assessor/Investigator at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Dr. Jhirad is a graduate at the University of Toronto’s School of Medicine, is certified in Family and Community Medicine, and completed the requirements for a Masters of Public Health at the University of Liverpool in Liverpool, England. Dr. Jhirad has been the Medical Director of the Sexual Assault Centre at the Trillium Health Center and was part of the medical executive at the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital in Burlington.
Joel A. Kirsh BASc, M.Sc, MD, MHCM, FRCPC, FHRS, CEPS – Regional Supervising Coroner for Central Region – Central East Office
Dr. Kirsh joined the Office of the Chief Coroner on September 5, 2017 as the Regional Coroner overseeing the Central Region, Central East Office. Prior to joining the OCC, Dr. Kirsh spent 17 years in the Labatt Family Heart Centre at the SickKids, where he served as Head of the Arrhythmia Service and was cross-appointed in Cardiac Critical Care. Dr. Kirsh recently completed a Master’s Degree in Healthcare Management at Harvard University, and is a Professor of Pediatrics in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. During his career at SickKids, Dr. Kirsh’s clinical interests included the development and assessment of innovative methods for safer catheter ablation of arrhythmias, public access defibrillator programs, the care of children and families with inherited heart rhythm disorders, and the investigation of sudden unexplained deaths. Prior to his appointment as a Coroner, Dr. Kirsh provided consultative support to the Coroner’s Office over two decades, including case reviews, the development of a provincial framework for the evaluation of sudden unexplained deaths, and research collaboration through the Cardiac Death Advisory Committee. “Dr. Joel” is the founder and medical director of Camp Oki, Canada’s first summer camp for children with heart disease, which just completed its 15th season.
Sarah Kmiec MAiD Team Lead, Nurse Investigator
Sarah has been the Team Lead of the inaugural Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) Team since its inception in January 2017. She is a Registered Nurse who previously worked as an Investigator at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) and as a mental health nurse at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
Anita Lal MD D-ABP FCAP – Forensic Pathologist, Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit
Dr. Lal joined as a staff Forensic Pathologist in the Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit (PFPU) in January 2013. Dr. Lal obtained her medical degree (2005) at Ross University in the West Indies. She then completed her residency training in Anatomical and Clinical Pathology at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and fellowship in Forensic Pathology at the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office, also located in Detroit. Dr. Lal joined the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Calgary, Alberta as an Assistant Chief Medical Examiner in July 2011 with a cross-appointment as a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary.
Rick Mann MD CCFP FCFP FRRMS – Regional Supervising Coroner for West Region – London Office and Chair of the Office of the Chief Coroner’s Maternal and Perinatal Death Review Committee
Dr. Mann practiced family medicine and was on staff at both the Kincardine & District General Hospital and the South Bruce Grey Health Centre, where he was Chief of Staff (Kincardine General Hospital), President and Vice-President Medical Staff (South Bruce Grey Health Centre). He served as President of the Ontario College of Family Physicians, 1993-1994. He was also Adjunct Professor at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario and a Clinical Lecturer, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto.
Noel McAuliffe MB ChB BAO DMJ(Path) Dip ABP(AP) – Forensic Pathologist, Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit
Dr. McAuliffe became a permanent Forensic Pathologist in the PFPU in 2011, following many years of valuable contract support. He has also been appointed as a Coroner for Ontario since 2013. Dr. McAuliffe’s Forensic Pathology practice in Ontario spans 25 years. He was certified by the American Board of Pathology in Anatomical Pathology in 1993 and in Forensic Medicine with a Diploma in Medical Jurisprudence in 2005. Dr. McAuliffe has performed autopsies in Ireland, East Timor and St. Maarten. He gained extensive experience in Human Rights/War Crime Pathology while working with the United Nations as the Director of the Forensic Pathology Unit in East Timor in 2001 and 2003.
Louise McNaughton-Filion BSc (Hon) MD CM FCFP CCFP (EM) CCPE– Regional Supervising Coroner for East Region – Ottawa
Dr. Louise McNaughton-Filion is the Regional Supervising Coroner for the Ottawa office in the East Region, since 2013. Prior to her appointment she was an investigating and inquest coroner for many years. She has been a practicing physician since 1990, initially working as a ‘full service’ family physician (emergency, obstetrics, palliative care, in-hospital) in Pickering and Toronto, then focussing her practice on emergency medicine upon her arrival in Ottawa in 1993. She has held multiple administrative posts on a hospital, regional and national level. Dr. McNaughton-Filion is also the organizer for the Multi-Disciplinary Death Investigation Rounds, an educational initiative for all participants in the death investigation system, province-wide.
Chris Milroy MBChB MD LLB BA LLM FRCPath FFFLM FRCPC Founder in Forensic Pathology DMJ – Director of the Eastern Ontario Regional Forensic Pathology Unit
Dr. Milroy is a Forensic Pathologist/Coroner based in Ottawa where he is Director of the Eastern Ontario Regional Forensic Pathology Unit and Full Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. He qualified in Medicine from the University of Liverpool (MBChB, MD) and in Law from the University of London (LLB, LLM). He also has a BA in Philosophy from London. He is a Fellow of the UK Royal College of Pathologists, The Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada, where he is Chief Examiner in Forensic Pathology. He has worked as a full time Forensic Pathologist in the UK and Canada for 28 years and has published over 100 articles and chapters.
Michael Pickup MSc MD FRCPC – Forensic Pathologist, Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit
Dr. Pickup obtained his Doctor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He went on to complete his residency training in Anatomical Pathology followed by subspecialty fellowship training in Forensic Pathology at the University of Toronto. He holds Royal College certifications in both Anatomical and Forensic Pathology, and currently is a staff Forensic Pathologist at the Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit in Toronto. Dr. Pickup is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, and holds a cross appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Diagnostic Radiology. He has developed a particular interest in postmortem radiology, and is the postmortem imaging lead at the Forensic Services and Coroner’s Complex.
Martin Queen MD – Medical Director Northeast Regional Forensic Pathology Unit at Health Sciences North in Sudbury
Dr. Queen obtained his Doctor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He was certified in Anatomical Pathology by the Royal College and by the American Board of Pathology in 1992. Dr. Queen was certified in Forensic Pathology by the American Board of Pathology in 1996. He is currently the Medical Director of the Northeast Regional Forensic Pathology Unit at Health Sciences North in Sudbury. Dr. Queen is on the teaching staff at Laurentian University, and is an Associate Professor at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.
Ashwyn Rajagopalan MD FRCPC – Forensic Pathologist, Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit
Dr. Ashwyn Rajagopalan is a forensic pathologist and coroner at the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He received his MD from Queen’s University, and trained in pathology at both McMaster University, and at the University of Toronto. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in both Anatomical and Forensic Pathology, and a Lecturer in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. He is a consultant forensic pathologist to the Cayman Islands.
Michael Shkrum MD FRCPC – Director of the Southwestern Ontario Regional Forensic Pathology Unit
Dr. Shkrum was appointed the Director of the Southwestern Ontario Regional Forensic Pathology Unit based at London Health Sciences in 2001. Dr. Shkrum received his medical degree from the University of Western Ontario (UWO) in 1978 and did his residency in Anatomical Pathology at UWO. Following a forensic pathology fellowship at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in North Carolina, he joined the Pathology Department at Victoria Hospital in London in 1985. He is a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at UWO. Dr. Shkrum is the Director of the Motor Vehicle Safety (MOVES) Research Team funded by Transport Canada. By collecting and analyzing data from real world collisions, the MOVES Research Team assists Transport Canada in the development of motor vehicle safety standards.
Roger Skinner MD CCFP (EM) – Regional Supervising Coroner for Central Region – Toronto West Office; Chair of the Office of the Chief Coroner’s Geriatric and Long-Term Care Death Review Committee
Before joining the Office of the Chief Coroner full-time, Dr. Skinner was an investigating and inquest coroner in Grey-Bruce where he practiced family, emergency and hospitalist medicine with Grey Bruce Health Services. He currently chairs the Office of the Chief Coroner’s Geriatric and Long-Term Care Review Committee.
James R. Sproule, MD CM CCFP (EM) MBA CCPE – Deputy Chief Coroner, Office of the Chief Coroner Deputy Chief Coroner
Dr. James Sproule joined the OCC in October 2015. After graduating from Medical School at McGill University, Dr. Sproule completed a combined residency in Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine at the University of Ottawa followed by a Fellowship in Sport Medicine at the University of Western Ontario. He practiced Emergency Medicine and Sport Medicine in Ottawa and London Ontario where he taught in the Faculties of Medicine and Kinesiology at the University of Western Ontario. Dr. Sproule was Chief Medical Officer for Canada at the 1996 Centennial Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Sproule joined the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) in 1995 and, in 2001, earned an MBA degree from the Queen’s University School of Business. In 2003, he became the Director of Physician Consulting Services at CMPA. From 2008 to 2015, Dr. Sproule was the Managing Director of the Physician Services Group and a member of CMPA’s Senior Management Group. Dr. Sproule led a number of major projects including the Association’s transition to Electronic File Management (EFM), and a review and revamping of the roles and responsibilities of CMPA’s physician employees. Jim was the Executive Sponsor for CMPA’s recent Strategic Initiatives to enhance the Association’s service delivery model. Jim’s previous leadership experience will help the Office of the Chief Coroner implement the 2015-2020 Strategic Plan for Ontario’s Death Investigation System.
Jeff Tanguay MD, FRCPC – Director, Kingston Regional Forensic Pathology Unit
Dr. Tanguay became the Director of the Kingston Regional Forensic Pathology Unit on May 1, 2018. His education includes a Bachelor of Science (Queen’s University, 1997), Masters of Science (Queen’s University, 1999), Medical Degree (University of Western Ontario, 2003), Anatomic Pathology Residency Training Program (University of Toronto, 2008), Forensic Pathology Residency Training Program (University of Toronto, 2009). He sat the first Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Forensic Pathology examination in 2009. After completion of forensic pathology residency training, he worked at the Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit in Toronto for several years. He then undertook additional fellowship training in Thoracic Pathology at the Toronto General Hospital where he continued to work for several years as a Thoracic Pathologist while continuing to work as a part time forensic pathologist at the Provincial Unit. He now enjoys practicing Forensic and Thoracic pathology at Kingston Health Sciences Centre. He is an Assistant Professor at Queen’s University.
Ingo von Both MD PhD – Forensic Pathologist, Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit
Dr. von Both completed his residency in Anatomical Pathology at the University of Cologne, Germany, followed by a PhD. He came to Toronto in 2000, where he was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Mount Sinai Hospital and then a Research Associate at SickKids. In 2015, Dr. von Both completed his residency in Anatomical Pathology at University of Toronto in 2015 followed by subspecialty training in Forensic Pathology at U of T. In addition, Dr. von Both was appointed Assistant Professor at the Department of LMP at the University of Toronto. Dr. von Both has joined the Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit at the Forensic Services and Coroner’s Complex in July 2016, to augment forensic pathology capacity in the Greater Toronto Area.
Andrew S. Williams, MD FRCPC – Forensic Pathologist, Coroner, Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit
Dr. Williams completed his BMSc with an Honors Specialization in Pharmacology and Toxicology (2007) prior to obtaining his MD (2011) from The University of Western Ontario. He has completed residencies in Anatomical Pathology (Dalhousie University, 2016) and Forensic Pathology (University of Toronto, 2017). He joined the Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit in Toronto as a Forensic Pathologist in July 2017 and is appointed as a coroner for the province of Ontario.
Michael Wilson, B.Arts.Sc., CCFP FCFP – Regional Supervising Coroner for North Region – Thunder Bay Office, Inquest Coroner and Chair of the Construction Death Review Committee
Dr. Wilson is a member of the American Association of Forensic Sciences. He is also Associate Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. Dr. Wilson practiced family and emergency medicine from 1996 to 2010 and held positions at the Nipigon District Memorial Hospital, including Chief of Staff and Chair of the Emergency Care Team. He was an investigating coroner for 10 years prior to being appointed to Regional Supervising Coroner in 2010.