Robert Hamilton

Staff Cardiologist, Electrophysiology

Head, Cardiovascular Research, Labatt Family Heart Centre
Senior Associate Scientist, SickKids Research Institute

Dr. Robert Murray Hamilton is a Children’s Cardiologist, Heart Rhythm Specialist and Senior Associate Scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children and Research Institute in Toronto, Canada. He is also a Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Paediatrics, at the University of Toronto. He is a Senior Electrophysiologist, manages an inherited arrhythmia clinic, and has gained a unique perspective on the clinical impact of hereditary heart rhythm conditions on children and families.

Dr. Hamilton’s research focuses on inherited arrhythmia conditions and improving their diagnosis. Their expertise includes Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC), Brugada Syndrome (BrS), Heart Block, and Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia (CPVT). These conditions are challenging to diagnose, often due to the absence of identifiable genes in affected families. The Hamilton lab is developing accurate blood tests for these diseases that do not rely on genetic findings. In 2017, Dr. Hamilton discovered a novel biomarker for ARVC, presented at the European Society of Cardiology, and published in the European Heart Journal. This ARVC test is being translated to clinical laboratories and may lead to new treatments. Recently, Dr. Hamilton identified a biomarker for Brugada Syndrome, presented at the American Heart Association and also published in the European Heart Journal. Dr. Hamilton received the Sustained Research Award from the SickKids Department of Pediatrics.

Education 

• 1988 – 1989: Post-Doctoral Fellow, Pediatric Cardiac Electrophysiology, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA. Supervisor: Garson, A
• 1987 – 1988: Clinical Fellow, Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Supervisor: Freedom, RM
• 1987 – 1987: Clinical Fellow, Pediatric Cardiology, W.C. MacKenzie Health Sciences Centre, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
• 1986 – 1987: Clinical Fellow, Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Supervisor: Dr. Neil Duncan
• 1985 – 1986: Clinical Fellow, Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Supervisor(s): Douglas, R; Finley, J.
• 1978 – 1982: M.D., Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

1. Maternal autoantibodies to the sodium potassium pump alpha1 subunit AT1A1 and fetal autoimmune congenital heart block: a case-control study. S. Benjamin, L. Vi, D. Chatterjee, E. T. Jaeggi, A. Ruffatti, L. T. Hiraki, et al. Lancet Rheumatol 2025 Vol. 7 Issue 8 Pages e554-e564
2. An autoantibody profile detects Brugada syndrome and identifies abnormally expressed myocardial proteins. D. Chatterjee, M. Pieroni, M. Fatah, F. Charpentier, K. S. Cunningham, D. A. Spears, et al. Eur Heart J 2020 Vol. 41 Issue 30 Pages 2878-2890
3. An autoantibody identifies arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy and participates in its pathogenesis. D. Chatterjee, M. Fatah, D. Akdis, D. A. Spears, T. T. Koopmann, K. Mittal, et al. Eur Heart J 2018 Vol. 39 Issue 44 Pages 3932-3944
4. Abnormal connexin43 in arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy caused by plakophilin‐2 mutations. LM Fidler, GJ Wilson, F Liu, X Cui, SW Scherer, GP Taylor, RM Hamilton. Journal of cellular and molecular medicine 13 (10), 4219-4228
5. Assessment of fetal atrioventricular time intervals by tissue Doppler and pulse Doppler echocardiography: normal values and correlation with fetal electrocardiography. M Nii, RM Hamilton, L Fenwick, KS Roman, ET Jaeggi. Heart 92 (12), 1831-1837

View a full list of Robert Hamilton's publications in PubMed. 

Funding 

• 2024 – 2032: Biomarker-driven Precision Medicine. Primary Investigator. Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research.
• 2023 – 2028: Determining the fetal conduction target proteins of autoantibodies in congenital heart block: developing a sensitive and specific biomarker of pregnancies at risk, Primary Investigator. CIHR Project Grant.
• 2022 – 2025: Identifying circulating factors initiating postoperative junctional ectopic tachycardia using a novel AV nodal cell model. Labatt Heart Centre Innovation Fund. Primary Investigator.