Affiliation: Sunnybrook Research Institute

Dr. Jill Weyers completed her PhD in Developmental Biology and Genetics at Johns Hopkins University. There, she examined the genetic mechanisms of organogenesis, with a focus on cellular movements and interactions. She then did postdoctoral research in cardiovascular regenerative medicine with Drs. Chuck Murry and Bill Mahoney at the University of Washington where she investigated the use of stem cells to repair and revascularize infarcted hearts. This is also where she developed an interest in cardiovascular imaging technologies, which have been a prominent theme of her career ever since. She has subsequently gained expertise in multiple imaging technologies, all toward the goal of better visualizing the heart, vasculature, and the dynamics of blood flow, including micro-CT, echocardiography, optical coherence tomography, optical projection tomography, intravascular ultrasound, and most recently, cardiac MRI (CMR). She is now a Research Associate in the Cardiovascular Imaging group at Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto, working with Drs. Graham Wright and Nilesh Ghugre. Her current research focus uses quantitative CMR methods to visualize the hemorrhage, inflammation, and microvascular dysfunction that accompany myocardial injury, with the goal of developing therapies to limit myocardial damage and enhance recovery in heart attack victims.