Specialty: Echocardiography, General Cardiology, Heart Failure, Imaging
Dr. Van Spall completed a Doctor of Medicine degree and postgraduate clinical training at the University of Toronto. She earned a Master of Public Health degree at Harvard University. She is a full-time cardiologist, with a clinical focus in Heart Failure and Echocardiography in the Department of Medicine at McMaster University.
Dr. Van Spall is a scientist who leads clinical trials in Heart Failure at the Population Health Research Institute. She has garnered more than $4.0 million in research funding, including peer- reviewed grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Heart and Stroke Foundation, and Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long Term care. She has won several research awards, is an invited international speaker, and has presented her research at Late Breaking Clinical Trial sessions at the European Society of Cardiology and American Heart Association conferences. Her work is published in high-impact medical journals, including JAMA, Lancet, Circulation, and Annals of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Van Spall has a track record in mentorship and is passionate about sponsoring women in Cardiology. She has used her roles as researcher and media correspondent to highlight the
gender-based disparities in Medicine. She is committed to fostering the career growth of women as principal investigators of cardiovascular clinical trials and as leaders of academic medical institutions. She has chaired scientific conferences, maintaining a focus on scientific excellence and gender equity of co-chairs and speakers. She plans to work with Women as One platform to develop a formal mentorship and networking program for women who wish to pursue a research career in Cardiology.