Meet the Speakers!

Tannis Erickson recently retired from the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM) having most recently held the positions of Executive Director of the Research Support Unit and the Innovative Pediatric Clinical Trials Network.  In these roles, she was responsible for the implementation of numerous pediatric research projects including many clinical trials.  Tannis worked collaboratively with the University of Manitoba, Manitoba Shared Health, provincial and national counterparts in the successful completion of many research projects.  She participated in local and national committees including many under the Maternal Infant Child and Youth Research Network (MICYRN). 

Dr. Naveen Poonai completed his Doctor of Medicine at the University of Toronto in 2004 and his paediatric residency and emergency medicine fellowship training at Western University in 2009. He obtained his Master of Science in Health Research Methodology from McMaster University in 2013. Dr. Poonai is a Professor in the Departments of Paediatrics and Epidemiology & Biostatistics at Western University. He is the Chair of both the Children’s Health & Therapeutics Division of the Children’s Health Research Institute and Western University’s Health Sciences Research Ethics Board. On a national level, he is a Decision Editor for the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine, and the Vice-Chair of Pediatric Emergency Research Canada (PERC). His research interests include procedural sedation and management of acute pain in children. To this end, he has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and has had over 20 invited speaker engagements in 6 countries. Recognitions include the Research & Innovation Award from Western University in 2025, the Faculty Scholar Award from Western University in 2024, the Provincial Innovation Award from the Academic Medical Organization of Southwestern Ontario in 2022, the Scientist of Year Award from the Children’s Health Research Institute in 2022, the Supporting Scholarship Award from the Department of Paediatrics at Western University in 2021, the Terry Klassen Young Investigator Award from Paediatric Emergency Research Canada (PERC) in 2019, the Young Investigator Award from the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) in 2018, and the John Dreyer Research Excellence Award from the Division of Emergency Medicine in 2017.