2023–2025 Merit Awards Impact: Drs. Brian Cuthbertson and Karim Ladha
Photo shows 2023-2025 Merit Award Recipients
Continuing our series on 2023–2025 Merit Awards recipients, we feature Drs. Brian Cuthbertson and Karim Ladha, whose research is transforming perioperative care. Dr. Cuthbertson is leading a multi-centre randomized trial to improve the management of atrial fibrillation in critically ill patients, while Dr. Ladha is advancing innovative, multi-centre research on nitrous oxide as a potential treatment for resistant depression, expanding therapeutic possibilities through interdisciplinary collaboration. Their work exemplifies how the Merit Awards foster innovation, rigorous clinical investigation and real-world impact.
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Dr. Brian Cuthbertson
Merit Award
Dr. Brian Cuthbertson, Senior Scientist at Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, is leading research to improve treatment strategies for atrial fibrillation (AF) in critically ill patients, a condition linked to worse clinical outcomes in the ICU.
"Atrial fibrillation is the most common rhythm disorder of the heart in critically ill patients and is associated with poor outcomes," he explains. "The MAGNAM trial is a multi-centre, randomized controlled study evaluating treatments for atrial fibrillation in the ICU, with high-dose intravenous magnesium sulphate as the main intervention.” The trial compares a magnesium-based stepwise treatment strategy to the standard approach using Amiodarone for atrial fibrillation in critically ill patients.
"We have recruited now 160 of the planned 200 patients for MAGNAM and expect the trial to conclude in 2026," he notes. The trial brings together five centres across Toronto and uses a unique clinical fellow-led model, giving trainees a hands-on leadership role in shaping and conducting a major multi-centre ICU study.
Through this program, Dr. Cuthbertson is generating high-quality evidence to guide the management of atrial fibrillation in critically ill patients while training the next generation of ICU clinician-researchers. The MAGNAM trial represents a significant step toward defining effective, safe and practical therapies for AF in the ICU, with the potential to improve outcomes for one of the highest-risk patient populations in critical care.
Dr. Karim Ladha
Merit Award
Dr. Karim Ladha, Evelyn Bateman Recipe Chair in Ambulatory Anesthesia and Women’s Health at Women's College Hospital, is advancing an innovative approach to treating depression by exploring the use of nitrous oxide for individuals with treatment-resistant depression.
Building on promising early evidence, his team conducted a pilot trial, recently published in BJPsych Open, demonstrating that repeated nitrous oxide administration in patients with treatment-resistant depression is feasible and well tolerated, supporting further investigation of its safety and potential efficacy as a novel therapeutic option for patients who have not responded to standard treatments.
This work has prompted interdisciplinary partnerships and laid the foundation for a larger national effort. As Dr. Ladha explains, “This has led to a robust collaboration between the departments of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine and Psychiatry. Further, we have a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) grant to conduct the definitive multi-centre trial.” The recently awarded CIHR Project Grant will support a rigorous, multi-centre study designed to definitively assess the role of nitrous oxide in improving depressive symptoms, with the potential to expand treatment options for patients facing limited alternatives.
Dr. Ladha highlights that the Merit Award “has been instrumental in getting supported time,” enabling him to build the necessary infrastructure and partnerships to conduct this important research. By bridging anesthesiology and psychiatry, this work reflects a growing recognition of the role perioperative and anesthetic agents may play beyond the operating room, particularly in addressing complex neuropsychiatric conditions.
