Dr. Marek Smieja - MD, Ph.D, FRCPC
Scientific Director, McMaster HealthLabs
Microbiologist and Infectious Diseases Physician
Chief of Laboratory Medicine (Interim),
St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton and Hamilton Health Sciences
Professor, Pathology and Molecular Medicine,
McMaster University
Marek's primary research interests are in respiratory and gastrointestinal infections, and the role of chronic infections in respiratory and cardiovascular disease.
This includes developing and evaluating accurate, convenient, and cost-effective diagnostic tests for SARS-Coronavirus, influenza, and rhinovirus. He developed the mid-turbinate swab for self-collection of respiratory viruses, and led a randomized clinical trial of vitamin D for preventing respiratory infections.
Marek is a physician, professor and researcher. He trained at the University of Western Ontario (MD 1987), Dalhousie University (1988), the University of London, and McMaster University (1991-2002), including Royal College certification in Internal Medicine (1995), Infectious Diseases (1998), and Medical Microbiology (1998). He obtained his PhD in 2002 in Health Research Methodology.
Marek is a Microbiologist and Infectious Diseases Physician based at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, where he also serves as Medical Co-Director for Infection Prevention and Control. He provides patient care in infectious diseases and HIV.
As a laboratory physician, Marek provides leadership for the Hamilton Regional Laboratory Medicine Program as Interim Chief and Medical Director since May 2019. He has also had leadership roles in Virology, Parasitology, and Microbiology over the past 20 years. As a McMaster University faculty member since 2001, he has taught clinical epidemiology and diagnostic research methods, and trained over 40 microbiologists and infectious diseases physicians.
Marek has over 350 publications, abstracts, and book chapters, and served as co-editor for BMJ Books "Evidence-Based Infectious Diseases".