Medical Lead of the Pediatric Comprehensive Hemoglobinopathy Program of Northern Alberta.

Our program goal is to promote health and wellbeing for pediatric patients with hemoglobinopathies.

We are dedicated to health (including health maintenance and preventative medicine), education (for patients, families, healthcare professionals, administration and the public) advocacy, and research.

Dr. Madeleine Verhovsek is an Associate Professor in the Division of Hematology and Thromboembolism at McMaster University, and the Director of the Adult Program at the McMaster Hemoglobinopathy Clinic.  She completed Internal Medicine training and Hematology Residency at McMaster University, followed by specialized training at Boston Medical Centre and Boston Children’s Hospital. In addition to her clinical responsibilities, she is a Consultant Laboratory Hematologist with the Red Cell Disorders Laboratory, Hamilton Regional Laboratory Medicine Program.

Dr. Verhovsek has a passion for teaching, research, clinical care and patient advocacy.  She is delighted to be on the Board of Directors and Executive of the Canadian Haemoglobinopathy Association.  Dr. Verhovsek is the co-lead author of the Consensus Statement on the Care of Patients with Sickle Cell Disease in Canada, and an expert panel member for both the European RARE-Best Practices Sickle Cell Disease Guidelines and the American Society of Hematology Sickle Cell Disease Guidelines.

Dr. Simpson received her medical degree from McGill University in 2005 and completed her General Pediatrics training and Hematology/Oncology fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto in 2012.  During her fellowship training, she also completed a Master’s in Public Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as a Global Health Scholar.  In 2012, Dr. Simpson joined the Division of Hematology/Oncology at CHEO and was appointed as Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics within the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine.  Her major clinical and research interests have centered upon health systems improvement for children and adolescents with sickle cell disease and other chronic hematologic disorders.  She has also been a board member for the Black Physicians Association of Ontario since 2017 and currently serves on the executive board of directors as treasurer for the Canadian Haemoglobinopathy Association.

Through her clinical practice and academic work, Dr. Simpson is passionate about promoting cultural sensitivity, social justice and advocacy for the communities that she serves.  In her role as Assistant Dean for the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Dr. Simpson aims to strengthen faculty-wide approaches for supporting our diverse community of trainees, staff and faculty and to prioritize principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging.