Dr. Keyvan Karkouti

Chief of the Department of Anesthesia and Pain Management

Dr. Karkouti was appointed Chief of the Department of Anesthesia and Pain Management for Sinai Health/ University Health Network (UHN)/ Women’s College Hospital in December, 2018. He has served as Deputy Chief at Toronto General Hospital since 2011 and has made an impactful contribution to the clinical, research and education pillars of the department.  He has held privileges at Mount Sinai Hospital since 2017 and has practiced at UHN, Women’s College Hospital and CAMH.

Education

Dr. Karkouti obtained his MD from University of Toronto in 1990, followed by Anesthesia residency and a Fellowship in Anesthesia at St. Michael’s Hospital.  He also holds a Masters of Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research and Health Administration from the University of Toronto and completed the Rotman School of Medicine Leadership Program.

He is a highly respected academician at the University of Toronto as a Professor and served as Vice Chair of Innovation and Research, and Chair of the Promotions Committee in the Department of Anesthesia, 2016-2018. Dr. Karkouti is cross-appointed to the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation as well as the Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine.

Research

Dr. Karkouti is a world-renowned investigator who has published in high impact journals. He is a Senior Scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute with a focus on improving the science and outcomes of perioperative medicine as it relates to anemia, coagulopathy, transfusion and acute kidney injury.   He has advanced the understanding of the prognostic importance and the limits of tolerance for perioperative anemia and has helped establish the important relationship of perioperative anemia and blood transfusion with acute kidney injury in cardiac surgery. His studies have been recognized by prestigious research awards.