David Birnie

Biography

David Birnie, MD, is staff cardiac electrophysiologist and Director of the Arrhythmia Service at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. He is also Director, Clinical Research, Division of Cardiology at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and Associate Professor in the Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Birnie leads the Ottawa region strategic research Innovation Cluster on Atrial Fibrillation.   Dr. David Birnie received his medical degree (MB ChB) from Glasgow University in 1990. After completion of Internal Medical training at Aberdeen University he gained his MRCP (UK) in 1993. He spent three years as a cardiology research fellow at Glasgow University from 1993 studying the immunology of atherosclerosis and was awarded his PhD equivalent (MD) in 1996. Between 1996 and 2001 he undertook cardiology training at Glasgow University and received his Certificate of Completion of Specialist Cardiology Training in 2001. In addition he spent a year in 1999-2000 as a Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellow at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Dr. Birnie was recruited to the University of Ottawa Heart Institute in 2002 as staff cardiac electrophysiologist and clinician Iinvestigator. Dr. Birnie is a founding and current member of the Canadian Heart Rhythm Society Research Committee. He is chair of the first international guidelines for the diagnosis and management of cardiac sarcoidosis. He currently sits on both Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Heart and Stroke Foundation peer review panels. Since 2013, Dr. Birnie, as principal investigator, has been awarded grants from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and is a recipient of the  Heart and Stroke Foundation Ontario (HSFO) Mid Career Investigator Award, where his application was ranked no.1 in the competition. He plays a leading role as Co-Principal Investigator on the CIHR Canadian Atrial Fibrillation Stroke Prevention Network and in the NCE Canadian Arrhythmia Network (CANet). Dr. Birnie has previously been funded by the British Heart Foundation, HSFC, CIHR and the JP Bickell Foundation.  To date, he has been involved in over 385 peer-reviewed presentations, publications, and book chapters. In 2014, Dr. Birnie was awarded the University of Ottawa Heart Institute’s Clinical Science Investigator of the Year award. Dr. Birnie has been an invited speaker at major international conferences including the American Heart Association, Heart Rhythm Society and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society meeting. He has managed to combine work with his major hobby, serving as cardiologist for the Medical Advisory Committee of the Canadian Soccer Association.

Research Interest

Optimization of CRT, Heart failure, Cardiac sarcoidosis