Dr. Malcolm Sherwood will undertake his fellowship at the University of Toronto (U of T) and the University Health Network’s (UHN) ILD Research program under the clinical supervision of Dr. Shane Shapera with research supervision from Dr. Jolene Fisher and Dr. Lee Fidler.
During his fellowship he will work towards a Master’s degree in Clinical Epidemiology and Research Management through Western University, which includes both course work and a year-long capstone research project. This project will also be his primary research study under the fellowship.
The question that this project will answer is whether patients at ILD centres across the world should be invited to participate in their multidisciplinary case discussion as standard of care. The research will assess:
- Patient perceptions of shared decision-making in multidisciplinary ILD discussions,
- Provider perceptions of patient involvement in multidisciplinary rounds, and
- Track changes in diagnostic and treatment outcomes resulting from patient participation.
Longer term, Dr. Sherwood plans to bring excellent care to ILD patients, particularly in underserved areas of Canada, and to pursue an academic research career focused on improving the quality of care delivered to ILD patients, regardless of geographic location.