Carmen Parra-Farinas

Staff Physician, Division of Neuroradiology and Image-Guided Therapy (IGT)

Project Investigator, SickKids Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children

Dr. Carmen Parra-Fariñas is a paediatric interventional neuroradiologist with expertise in the diagnosis and endovascular management of complex cerebrovascular disorders in children. Dr. Parra-Fariñas’ clinical and academic work focuses on paediatric stroke, arteriopathies, vascular malformations, and the adaptation of neurointerventional techniques and devices for children. She is actively involved in advancing imaging-guided decision making and procedural safety in paediatric neurovascular care.

Her scholarly interests include improving systems of care for childhood stroke and developing simulation-based approaches for training in rare, high-risk neurointerventional procedures. Dr. Parra-Fariñas collaborates closely within multidisciplinary teams to deliver individualized, evidence-informed care for children with complex neurovascular disease. Her work aims to bridge gaps between adult neurointervention paradigms and the unique pathophysiology of paediatric cerebrovascular disorders.

She is also committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion within neurointervention, and strongly believes that diversity stimulates creativity, innovation, respect, and inclusiveness. She emphasizes thoughtful, collaborative leadership, being considerate, honest, and tactful; valuing others’ perspectives; and recognizing the importance of both social and task-related relationships, as essential to fostering a supportive, high-performing team environment.

Research

Dr. Carmen Parra-Farinas’ research focuses on improving the care of children with cerebrovascular diseases, including stroke and complex vascular malformations. Her work aims to better understand how these conditions present in children and how treatments can be safely tailored for younger patients. She is particularly interested in using advanced medical imaging to guide diagnosis, treatment planning, and follow-up care.

In parallel, she leads sustainability work to “green” the paediatric angiosuite at SickKids by conducting a comprehensive waste and energy audit of angiography procedures and using the findings to implement practical interventions toward a pediatric “Green Angiosuite Framework.”

Dr. Parra-Farinas is also working on developing realistic simulation tools to help clinicians train for rare and high-risk procedures in children. Her current projects explore ways to improve decision-making and safety during minimally invasive treatments of paediatric brain vascular conditions.

Through her research, she aims to advance more precise, effective, and child-centered approaches to neurovascular care.

Education and experience

• 2022–2023: Clinical Associate, Paediatric Interventional Neuroradiology Fellowship, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
• 2021–2022: Co-Chief Fellow, Diagnostic Neuroradiology Fellowship Program, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
• 2020–2022: Diagnostic Neuroradiology Fellow, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
• 2018–2020: Interventional Neuroradiology Clinical Fellow, St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• 2018–2022: PhD Training. University Autonoma of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain: “Endovascular Treatment: Technical Features in Adult and Pediatric Populations with Acute Ischemic Stroke” Magna Cum Laude
• 2014–2018: Radiology Residency. Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
• 2007–2013: Medical Degree. Medical School. University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain

Achievements

• 2025: Charlie-the-Penguin Grant for Research on Image-Guided Therapy, SickKids, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• 2024: Presurgical Simulation of Intra-arterial Chemotherapy for Retinoblastoma Using Custom Pediatric Endovascular Flow Models with 3D-Printed Anatomical Replicas, Garron Family Cancer Centre & Transplant and Regenerative Medicine Centre Teaching Awards, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• 2023: Chase an Idea in Pediatric Neuroscience Award: “Robotic-Assisted Endovascular Simulation Using Anatomically Realistic, True-to-Flow 3D Replicas of Pediatric Neurovascular Pathologies,” Garry Hurvitz Centre for Brain and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• 2023: Young Practitioners Scholarship, LINNC Seminar – Americas Edition, Miami, Florida, United States
• 2023: Educational Grant for Participation in the World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• 2021: Artificial Intelligence Workshop Grant, ASNR–ASFNR Artificial Intelligence Workshop, Virtual (United States)
• 2019: Young Practitioners Scholarship, LINNC Seminar – Americas Edition, Miami, Florida, United States
• 2018: U.S. Fellows Program Scholarship, Global Embolization Symposium and Technologies (GEST), Miami Beach, Florida, United States
• 2017: IR Campus Scholarship for Interventional Radiology Trainees and Residents, CIRSE, Pisa, Italy
• 2017: Student Travel Grant, Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), Chicago, Illinois, United States
• 2017: Congress Travel Grant (Rolf W. Günther Foundation Travel Grant), CIRSE, Copenhagen, Denmark
• 2017: ESOR Interventional Radiology Scholarship Program Award, European Society of Radiology (ESOR), Multiple countries (Europe)
• 2017: The Voice of EPOS Award, European Congress of Radiology (ECR) “Invest in Youth” Program, Vienna, Austria
• 2017: Junior Editor Scholarship, Radiología (SERAM official journal), Spain
• 2012–2013: Iberoamérica Scholarship, Edgar Santos University Hospital, Salvador (Bahia), Brazil
• 2011–2012: Seneca Scholarship, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
• 2007–2013: Marcelino Botín Foundation Scholarship, Marcelino Botín Foundation, Spain
• 2007: “Becas Europa” Scholarship (Summer Program for Top 50 Spanish Pre-college Students), Spain

Funding

• 2025–2026: Charlie-the-Penguin Grant for Research on Image-Guided Therapy, SickKids, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. “Greening the Pediatric Angiosuite: A Pilot Waste and Energy Audit to Inform a Sustainability Framework for Image-Guided Therapy at SickKids.” Principal Investigator (PI) and applicant. $10,000.
• 2024–2025: Garron Family Cancer Centre & Transplant and Regenerative Medicine Centre Teaching Awards, SickKids, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. “Presurgical Simulation of Intra-arterial Chemotherapy for Retinoblastoma Using Custom Pediatric Endovascular Flow Models with 3D-Printed Anatomical Replicas.” Principal Investigator (PI) and applicant. $15,000.
• 2023–2025: Chase an Idea in Pediatric Neuroscience Award, The Garry Hurvitz Centre for Brain and Mental Health, SickKids, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. “Robotic-Assisted Endovascular Simulation Using Anatomically Realistic, True-to-Flow 3D Replicas of Pediatric Neurovascular Pathologies.” Principal Investigator (PI) and applicant. $64,000.

Affiliated websites

Paediatric Neurovascular Program

Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto - Faculty Profile

1. Bhatia KD, Parra-Fariñas C, Colao K, Orbach DB, Abruzzo T, Rennie A, Sporns PB, Dmytriw AA, Fullerton H, Muthusami P. Recommendations from the International Paediatric Stroke Organization on pediatric neurointerventional best practices based on Delphi consensus. J Neurointerv Surg. 2025 Jun 10:jnis-2025-023345.
2. Pai V, Parra-Fariñas C, Shaikh F, Mallipatna A, Zaarour C, Muthusami P. An updated review of intra-arterial chemotherapy for retinoblastoma. Radiologia (Engl Ed). 2025 Mar-Apr;67(2):162-175. doi: 10.1016/j.rxeng.2025.02.001. Epub 2025 Mar 1. PMID: 40187809.
3. Sporns PB, Bhatia KD, Muthusami P, Parra-Fariñas C, Fox CK, Dmytriw AA, Kerleroux B, Lee S, Fiehler J, Lehmann C, Dugar F, Abruzzo T, Pabst L, Fraser S, Sun LR, Boulouis G, Burkard T, Naggara O, Kossorotoff M, Kemmling A, Olivieri M, Martinez M, Psychogios M, Nguyen-Kim TDL, Wildgruber M. Thrombectomy versus Medical Management for Pediatric Acute Ischemic Stroke Due to Isolated M2 Occlusion: A Multicenter Cohort Study. Ann Neurol. 2025 Nov 28. doi: 10.1002/ana.78101. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41316719.
4. Sporns PB, Bhatia KD, Muthusami P, Parra-Fariñas C, Fox CK, Dmytriw AA, Lee S, Fiehler J, Abruzzo T, Pabst L, Fraser S, Sun LR, Boulouis G, Burkard T, Psychogios M, Nguyen-Kim TDL, Wildgruber M; SaveChildS Pro Investigators. Intravenous Thrombolysis for Pediatric Acute Ischemic Stroke. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Oct 1;8(10):e2538191. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.38191. PMID: 41091470; PMCID: PMC12529207.
5. Bhatia KD, Muthusami P, Parra-Fariñas C, Pulcine E, Chowdhury S, Dlamini N, Andrews I, Gupta S, Webster R, Troedson C, Dale RC, Miteff F, Miteff C, Fox CK, Dmytriw AA, Lee S, Fiehler J, Abruzzo T, Pabst L, Fraser S, Sun LR, Boulouis G, Nguyen-Kim TDL, Wildgruber M, Sporns PB. Thrombectomy Versus Medical Management for Pediatric Arterial Ischemic Stroke With Large Baseline Infarct. Stroke. 2025 Sep;56(9):2440–2449. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.125.050993. Epub 2025 Jun 25. PMID: 40557480.

To view more of her publications, please visit Dr. Parra-Fariñas' PubMed page