John Coles

Senior Clinician-Scientist
Translational Medicine

Dr. John Coles joined the SickKids team in 1984 as a consulting staff surgeon, taking on a position in the Research Institute in 1990.  He also works in the academic community as a professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto. The research environment is very supportive of the clinical aspects of The Hospital for Sick Children, which is why Dr. Coles enjoys working here. As both a researcher and a surgeon, he is a witness to how research can influence clinical care.

Education and experience

• 1972: B.Sc., Natural Science, University of Western Ontario, London
• 1976: MD, University of Western Ontario
• 1982: Resident, Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Toronto
• 1984: R.S. McLaughlin Research Fellow, U of T
• 1985–Present: Staff CV Surgeon, Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children
• 2003–Present: Professor, Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto
• 2010–Present: Senior Clinician-Scientist, Translational Medicine Program, SickKids Research Institute

Achievements

• 2019–2020: HSBC Award. The Paxillin:Parvin Interface as a novel therapeutic target for Cardiac Fibrosis. HSBC Catalyst Research Grant Competition
• 2017–2018: OCE Award. MARs Innovation

1. Traister A, Patel R, Huang A, Patel S, Plakhotnik J, Lee JE, Medina MG, Welsh C, Ruparel P, Zhang L, Friedberg M, Maynes J, Coles J. Cardiac regenerative capacity is age- and disease-dependent in childhood heart disease. PLoS One. 2018 Jul 25;13(7):e0200342.
2. Traister A, Lu M, Coles JG, Maynes JT. Dataset of integrin-linked kinase protein: Protein interactions in cardiomyocytes identified by mass spectrometry. Data Brief. 2016 Mar 19;7:1148-50.
3. Traister A, Li M, Aafaqi S, Lu M, Arab S, Radisic M, Gross G, Guido F, Sherret J, Verma S, Slorach C, Mertens L, Hui W, Roy A, Delgado-Olguin P, Hannigan G, Maynes JT, Coles JG. Integrin-linked kinase mediates force transduction in cardiomyocytes by modulating serca2a/pln function. Nat Commun. 2014;5:4533
4. Traister RS, Fajt ML, Whitman-Purves E, Anderson WC, Petrov AA. A retrospective analysis comparing subjects with isolated and coexistent vocal cord dysfunction and asthma. Allergy Asthma Proc. 2013 Jul-Aug;34(4):349-55. 
5. Traister A, Aafaqi S, Masse S, Dai X, Li M, Hinek A, Nanthakumar K, Hannigan G, Coles JG. Ilk induces cardiomyogenesis in the human heart. PloS one. 2012;7:e37802