Our Board 2023-24

Naresh Tinani
President

Naresh is the Clinical Lead Perfusionist at the Regina General Hospital within the Saskatchewan Health Authority.  He has a background in Respiratory Therapy, with a BHSc from Thompson Rivers University, followed by graduating from the Michener Perfusion program in 2012.  Naresh also completed a graduate degree in Health Administration and Policy from the JSGS School of Public Policy at the University of Regina in 2020.  
He previously served as Executive Secretary & Registrar on the CSCP Board of Directors from 2015-2019.

Naresh rejoined the CSCP Board of Directors in October 2022.

Andréanne Thiffault
Vice President & Eastern Region Director

(Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & Labrador)

Andréanne completed a bachelor’s degree in sciences with a major in Kinesiology in 2010, then became a registered respiratory therapist in 2013. She worked at Quebec’s Heart and Lung Institute in intensive care units, pulmonary function tests and anesthesia. This is where she discovered the profession of Perfusionist.

She graduated in extracorporeal perfusion from Université de Montréal in 2020 and is still working for the Heart and Lung Institute in perfusion and respiratory therapy. She is certified by the American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion (April 2021) and the Canadian Society of Clinical Perfusion (July 2021).  Andréanne is studying health and social care management.

Andréanne is glad to serve on the CSCP board and give her time to the prosperity of the profession.

Andréanne joined the CSCP Board of Directors in January 2022.

Christie Smith
Executive Secretary/Registrar & Central Region Director

(Ontario)

Christie graduated with her Honors degree in Human Kinetics with a specialization in Human Anatomy at the University of Guelph. She then studied Cardiovascular Perfusion at the Michener Institute of Education, where she graduated in 2018.

Christie continued to pursue her passion for cardiac research when she began her career at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; there, she received the Toronto Academic Health Professional Innovation Fellowship, which led to her research in patient temperature management on CPB. In 2019, Christie moved to Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga, where she has become one of the few Perfusionists in Canada familiar with operating the Minimally Invasive Heart-Lung machine. At Trillium, Christie is actively engaged in updating and writing new policies that reflect evidence-based practices and standards; she has a particular interest in ECLS. In response to the ongoing pandemic and staffing shortages in 2021, Christie volunteered to re-deploy to Toronto General Hospital as an ECLS specialist to care for some of the most ill COVID-19 patients in the province. Upon completing her re-deployment, Christie accepted a part-time permanent position at TGH in order to continue working with ECLS patients.

Christie has served on the Ontario Society of Clinical Perfusion since she was a student; she was the Student Representative while in school and has sat on the Board of Directors as the Secretary since 2018. She firmly believes that professional societies such as the CSCP and OSCP are crucial for inter-professional communication, collaboration and the growth of the profession.

Christie joined the CSCP Board of Directors in October 2022.

Jo-Anne Marcoux
Treasurer

Jo-Anne was the Clinical Lead Perfusionist at the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon and has been a Canadian and American board-certified perfusionist since graduating from the Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences in 2001. Leading up to her career in perfusion, Jo-Anne attained her B.Sc. from the University of Winnipeg, followed by a diploma in Respiratory therapy from the School of Respiratory Therapy, Health Sciences Center, Winnipeg. Working as a perfusionist, Jo-Anne attained a Master of Science, Health Sciences Program, from the University of Saskatchewan in 2011. Jo-Anne has been on the Document Review Committee for the CSCP since 2009.

With a career to date focused predominantly on research and publication, Jo-Anne cherishes the opportunity to further serve her professional society.

Jo-Anne joined the CSCP Board of Directors in October 2023.

Kyrylo Chasovskyi
Director at Large & Western Region Representative

Kyrylo graduated from Medical University in the East of Ukraine in 2005.  After graduation, he worked at the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and was trained in Intensive Care and, eventually, in Perfusion.  Before arriving in Canada, Kyrylo worked at Ukrainian Children's Cardiac Center for almost eight years.  He defended his Ph.D. in Cardiovascular Surgery in 2014. In 2016 Kyrylo started as a pediatric perfusionist at British Columbia Children's Hospital. He successfully applied and completed all the requirements for the internationally educated process to become Canadian certified. He has been a Certified member of the CSCP since 2017.  Kyrylo became the Supervisor of the Perfusion Department at BC Children's Hospital in June 2020.

Kyrylo joined the CSCP Board of Directors in January 2023.

Usama Saeed
Director at Large

Usama graduated with a Specialist in Neuroscience, Honours Degree from the University of Toronto. He then studied Cardiovascular Perfusion at the Michener Institute and graduated in 2020.

Usama works as a Clinical Perfusionist at The University of Ottawa Heart Institute and The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. He serves as a Union Steward on the Local Executive Committee for OPSEU Local 464 and is a member of their Local Bargaining Committee. Usama has taken additional training by the Hospital Professionals Division (HDP) to promote the attainment of improved working conditions for and the general advancement of paramedical professionals.

Usama joined the CSCP Board of Directors in October 2023.