Rob Beanlands, MD, is Director of the National Cardiac PET Centre at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. He is a Professor in the Division of Cardiology in the Department of Medicine, Department of Radiology (Cross-Appointment), Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (Cross-Appointment) in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Beanlands graduated with an MD degree (Magna Cum Laude) (Gold Medalist) from the University of Ottawa. He undertook residency in internal medicine and cardiology at the University of Toronto, before taking on research fellowships in Cardiology and Nuclear Cardiology (University of Toronto) and Cardiovascular Nuclear Medicine (University of Michigan). He joined the University of Ottawa Heart Institute as staff cardiologist in 1992.
Dr. Rob Beanlands is an international leader in cardiovascular nuclear imaging and the founding Director of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute’s National Cardiac PET Centre, the first PET facility in Canada dedicated to cardiovascular disease. He has established the Molecular Function and Imaging Program, which focuses on translational research and transdisciplinary training. He has led the multicentre imaging research initiatives PARR2, IMAGE-HF, CADRE Registry and is a Co-PI for the Canadian Atherosclerotic Imaging Network (CAIN). He has served on several committees/advisory boards for government, industry and professional organizations impacting healthcare policies and practice guidelines and serves as an Associate Editor for the Canadian Journal of Cardiology and the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology. Dr. Beanlands is past-president of the Canadian Nuclear Cardiology Society, Ontario Governor for the American College of Cardiology and was the Scientific Program Chair and then Annual Meeting Chair for the Canadian Cardiovascular Society. From 2012-14 he served as vice-Chair and as of 2014, he has served as the Chair of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (HSFC) Scientific Review Committee VIII. From 2015, he is the Treasurer and Executive Committee Member of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology and since 2013 has been co-Chair of the International Congress for Nuclear Cardiology.
Dr. Beanlands is a Career Investigator (HSFC) and is the Tier 1 Chair in Cardiovascular Research (uOttawa). His research program is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. He has well over 400 peer-reviewed publications. Recent awards include the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal for contribution to Canada (2012), and the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Hermann Blumgart Award for research achievement (2013).
Clinical
Dr. Beanlands’ clinical practice includes outpatient and inpatient general cardiology as well as nuclear imaging. He is former Division Head of Cardiac Imaging and former Division Head of Cardiology at University of Ottawa Heart Institute. In imaging he has special clinical interest and is considered a world expert in defining blood flow in the hearts of patients with coronary artery disease and other heart conditions as well as the detection of whether heart tissue is viable before considering revascularization with CABG or stenting. He is also an expert in defining inflammatory conditions of the heart such as cardiac sarcoidosis. He strives for patient centred care and continuous quality improvement.
Research
Dr. Beanlands’ research applies imaging to understand cardiovascular disease and treatment. His research interests include metabolism, cellular function, viability and blood flow of the heart; and more recently, development and investigation of novel probes for evaluation of proteins, transporters and receptors and other parameters to help advance understanding of cardiovascular disease, diagnostic capabilities and optimize management to improve patient care and outcomes.
See current publications list at PubMed.
Selected publications
- Rubin BB, Drenth B, Beanlands RS. Appropriate, quality imaging tests through linkage of payment to guidelines, accreditation and training. CMAJ. 2015 Mar 3;187(4):E126-7.
- Hall AB, Ziadi MC, Leech JA, Chen SY, Burwash IG, Renaud J, deKemp RA, Haddad H, Mielniczuk LM, Yoshinaga K, Guo A, Chen L, Walter O, Garrard L, DaSilva JN, Floras JS, Beanlands RS. Effects of short-term continuous positive airway pressure on myocardial sympathetic nerve function and energetics in patients with heart failure and obstructive sleep apnea: a randomized study.Circulation. 2014 Sep 9;130(11):892-901.
- Chow BJ, Dorbala S, Di Carli MF, Merhige ME, Williams BA, Veledar E, Min JK, Pencina MJ, Yam Y, Chen L, Anand SP, Ruddy TD, Berman DS, Shaw LJ, Beanlands RS. Prognostic value of PET myocardial perfusion imaging in obese patients. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. 2014 Mar;7(3):278-87.
- Sleiman L, Beanlands R, Hasu M, Thabet M, Norgaard A, Chen YX, Holcik M, Whitman S. Loss of cellular inhibitor of apoptosis protein 2 reduces atherosclerosis in atherogenic apoE-/- C57BL/6 mice on high-fat diet. J Am Heart Assoc. 2013 Sep 26;2(5):e000259.(R Beanlands co-supervisor)
- Thackeray JT, Dekemp RA, Beanlands RS, Dasilva JN. Insulin restores myocardial presyncopy sympathetic neuronal integrity in insulin-resistant diabetic rats. J Nucl Cardiol. 2013;20(5):845-56.) (R Beanlands co-supervisor) (–Awarded Top Basic Science Paper Journal of Nuclear Cardiology 2013)
- O'Meara E, Mielniczuk LM, Wells GA, deKemp RA, Klein R, Coyle D, Mc Ardle B, Paterson I, White JA, Arnold M, Friedrich MG, Larose E, Dick A, Chow B, Dennie C, Haddad H, Ruddy T, Ukkonen H, Wisenberg G, Cantin B, Pibarot P, Freeman M, Turcotte E, Connelly K, Clarke J, Williams K, Racine N, Garrard L, Tardif JC, DaSilva J, Knuuti J, Beanlands R; IMAGE HF investigators. Alternative Imaging Modalities in Ischemic Heart Failure (AIMI-HF) IMAGE HF Project I-A: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2013 Jul 16;14:218.
- Tardif JC, Spence JD, Heinonen TM, Moody A, Pressacco J, Frayne R, L'allier P, Chow BJ, Friedrich M, Black SE, Fenster A, Rutt B, Beanlands R. Atherosclerosis imaging and the Canadian Atherosclerosis Imaging Network. Can J Cardiol. 2013 Mar;29(3):297-303.
- Mielniczuk L, Beanlands R, Imaging-Guided Selection of Patients with Ischemic Heart Failure for High Risk Revascularization Improves Identification of those with the Highest Clinical Benefit. Circulation Cardiovascular Imaging 2012; 5(2):262-70.
- Mc Ardle BA, Dowsley TF, deKemp RA, Wells GA, Beanlands RS. Does rubidium-82 PET have superior accuracy to SPECT perfusion imaging for the diagnosis of obstructive coronary disease?: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2012 Oct 30;60(18):1828-37.
- Youssef G, Leung E, Mylonas I, Nery P, Williams K, Wisenberg G, Gulenchyn KY, deKemp RA, DaSilva J, Birnie D, Wells G, Beanlands RSB. The Use of FDG-18 PET Imaging in the Diagnosis of Cardiac Sarcoidosis, a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Including the Ontario Experience. J Nucl Med. 2012;53(2):241-8.
- Ziadi MC, deKemp RA, Williams K, Guo A, Chow BJW, Renaud JM, Ruddy TD, Sarveswaran N, Tee R, Beanlands RSB. Impaired Myocardial Flow Reserve on Rubidium-82 Positron Emission Tomography Imaging Predicts Adverse Outcomes In Patients Assessed for Myocardial Ischemia. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2011;58(7):740-8.