Charles Tator MD, PhD, FRCSC, FACS (Symposium Chair)

Director, Neurosurgeon

Krembil Brain Institute

Dr. Tator graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto in 1961. He performed graduate studies in Neuropathology from 1961–1965 and was awarded his Masters and PhD degrees from the University of Toronto before entering the Neurosurgery Training program in 1965. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 1969 and joined the Neurosurgical Staff at Sunnybrook Medical Centre that year. Having served as Neurosurgeon-in-Chief at Sunnybrook from 1974-1984, he then moved to Toronto Western Hospital where he became Neurosurgeon-in-Chief from 1985-1988. He was appointed Chairman of the Division of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto for a 10-year term beginning 1989, during which time he fostered the growth of the Surgeon-Scientist Training Program with the aim of encouraging academic surgeons to train in science at the highest level. It is largely through this vision that the University of Toronto Neurosurgery program is so highly regarded as one of the world's preeminent programs. He held the Campeau Family Foundation Chair in Brain and Spinal Cord Research at the University of Toronto and Toronto Western Hospital from 2001-2007. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Surgery at The University of Toronto. His main clinical interests are in the neurosurgery of spinal diseases and traumatic brain injury. His research laboratory focuses on the study of acute spinal injury models. He is the Project Director for the Canadian Sports Concussion Research Project at the Toronto Western Hospital.

In 1992, Dr. Tator founded ThinkFirst Canada, an organization that educates young people about safety, and served as its President until 2007. In 2012, In 2012, ThinkFirst merged with three other organizations to form Parachute Canada, and he serves on the Board of this organization. He was elected to the Order of Canada in 2000 and to the Terry Fox Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2009, Dr. Tator was elected to the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in recognition of his transformative research in spinal cord injury, his tremendous advocacy efforts in injury prevention and his legendary dedication and commitment to his patients. He continues to receive prestigious awards and honors in recognition of his distinguished career in neurosurgery, research and education.

Robin Green PhD (Symposium Co-Chair)

Senior Scientist

KITE, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network; Research Division Head, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network

Dr. Robin Green is a professor in the department of Psychiatry, the Saunderson Family Chair in Acquired Brain Injury at UHN, and a Senior Scientist in cognitive neurosciences at KITE, Toronto Rehab. She completed her PhD at Cambridge University and her clinical training in neuropsychology at the University Health Network. Dr. Green founded and oversees a telerehabilitation centre for people in the chronic stages of acquired brain injury. Her research interests include: understanding how brain injuries unfold in the chronic stages; characterizing neurodegenerative processes in moderate and severe traumatic brain injuries; and developing cognitive interventions to prevent neurodegeneration.

Carmela Tartaglia MD, FRCPC (Symposium Co-Chair)

Krembil Clinician Investigator

Krembil Research Institute (Krembil)

Dr. Carmela Tartaglia is an Associate Professor and Clinician-Scientist at the University of Toronto. She received her medical degree from McGill University, completed her residency at the University of Western Ontario and did three years of clinical/research fellowship in cognitive/behavioral neurology at the University of California, San Francisco Memory and Aging Center. She maintains a cognitive/behavioral clinic where she sees people with neurodegenerative disease and post-concussion syndrome within the UHN Memory Clinic. Her clinical and research interests lie in neurodegenerative diseases with a focus on frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and possible chronic traumatic encephalopathy.