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Theo Moraes

Title: Division Head, Respiratory Medicine
Designations: MD, PhD, FRCPC
Pronouns: he/him
Email: theo.moraes@sickkids.ca
External Email: theo.moraes@utoronto.ca
Alternate Contact Name: Michelle Sviajina
Alternate Phone: 416-813-7654  ext. 415320
Alternate Email: michelle.sviajina@sickkids.ca
U of T Positions: Associate Professor, Department of Paediatrics

Hospital Positions

Staff Physician, Respiratory Medicine

Research Positions

Senior Scientist, Translational Medicine

Biography

Dr. Theo Moraes became Division Head of Respiratory Medicine in January 2023. He joined The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) part-time as a respirologist in 2003 and full-time as a clinician scientist in 2008.

He has broad clinical experience in respiratory medicine including severe asthma, complex respiratory care, chronic lung disease of prematurity, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, tracheoesophageal fistula, and general respiratory disorders.

He has a significant research portfolio that includes both bench research, cohort work and clinical studies.

He is a strong advocate for smoking and vaping cessation.

Research

Theo Moraes is the Toronto site Director of the CHILD Study, a birth cohort involving almost 3,500 kids and their families. This study is helping us understand why some people get sick with different diseases including asthma and allergies. Moraes also runs a lab that studies lung epithelial cells (the cells that line our lungs). In this area he has projects focused on respiratory viruses, asthma, cystic fibrosis (CF) and vaping. He is a member of the Program for Individualized CF Therapy (CFIT) which aims to advance personalized therapy in CF.

Education and experience

  • 2023–Present: Senior Scientist, SickKids Research Institute
  • 20122022: Scientist, SickKids Research Institute
  • 2008–Present: Staff Respirologist, SickKids
  • 2007–2008: Postdoctoral Fellowship, Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • 2003–2008: Staff Respirologist, (Part-time), SickKids, Toronto
  • 2002–2007: Doctorate, Doctor of Philosophy, Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • 2000–2002: Paediatric Respirology Fellowship, SickKids, Toronto
  • 19972000: Paediatrics Residency, Queen’s University, Kingston
  • 1993–1997: MD, Doctor of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 

Achievements

  • 2019: Dr. Melvin Wise Lecture in Pediatric Respirology. Montreal Children’s Hospital, Division of Respirology, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  • 2018: Paul Man Lectureship, Alberta Respiratory Centre, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Publications

  • 2022–2025: Understanding the Common CHILDhood Inflammatory Origins of Asthma and Atherosclerosis, Co-Principal Investigator, CIHR Project Grant, $ 1,262,288 CAD 
  • 2022–2025: Vaping nicotine impairs airway epithelial cell function, Principal Applicant, PSI Clinical Research Grant, $250,000 
  • 2020–2025: The regulation of mRNA translation by the NucleoporinRanBP2/Nup358, Co-Investigator, CIHR Program Grant, $853,740 CAD
  • 2022–2024: Multi-site collaboration to validate use of patient-derived nasal cultures for expanding access to CFTR Modulators, Co-Investigator, Cystic Fibrosis Canada, $200,000 CAD
  • 2020–2024: Causational Roles of the Gut Microbiome in Childhood Asthma: Leveraging the CHILD Cohort Study, Co-Investigator, CIHR Team Grant: Canadian Microbiome Initiative 2: Research Teams, $2,000,000 CAD
  • 2022–2023: Screening for Social Determinants of Health, Principal Applicant, Department of Paediatrics Creative Professional Activity Grant, $10,000 CAD
  • 2020–2023: SARS-CoV-2 genotype-dependent pathogenesis and transmission, Co-Investigator, CIHR Operating Grant: COVID-19 Research Gaps and Priorities, $601,000 CAD
  • 2020–2023: Role of early childhood viral infection on the development of childhood sleep disordered breathing, Co-Investigator, CIHR Project Grant, $562,276 CAD 
  • 2018–2023: Cell Therapy for Pulmonary Diseases, Co-Investigator, National Sanitarium Association – Innovative Research Program, $1,000,000 CAD. 
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