Dr. Mihir Bhatt, recipient of the 2023 Anthony KC Chan Rising Research Star Award, completed his MD, Pediatric Residency training, as well as Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at McMaster University. Following his fellowship, he pursued subspecialty training in Pediatric Hemostasis/Thrombosis as a Clinical Scholar under the supervision of Dr. Anthony Chan. During this time, he also completed an MSc in Health Research Methodology at McMaster University. Dr. Bhatt was recruited to the Department of Pediatrics in September 2018. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. He is a staff physician at McMaster Children’s Hospital, with joint appointment at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. His clinical area of expertise is in the care of patients with hemostasis and thrombosis disorders. Dr. Bhatt is developing a research program in Pediatric Hemostasis and Thrombosis with a focus on practical aspects of patient management.
In his presentation titled, "It takes a "village" to raise a 'researcher'", he talks about how learning and conducting research involves guidance, mentorship, and support of many people at different levels - colleagues, leaders, patients, learners and family, among others. He shares his research journey and explores the role of these individuals from the first project to current work and future ideas. In particular, he discusses the opportunity, challenges, and learning lessons from initiating and conducting a Health Canada-regulated pilot randomized controlled trial assessing weight adjusted versus anti-Xa adjusted dosing of enoxaparin in neonates and children - and that too from one side of the Pandemic to the other.