Dr. Aleksandra Pikula is an Associate Professor of Medicine (Neurology/Vascular Neurology) at the University of Toronto, a Clinician-Investigator at Krembil Brain Institute, Director of Stroke Neurology Research at UHN, Co-Director of Women's Neurology Fellowship at U of T and Founder of the EMBRACE Lifestyle Program for Optimal Brain Care & Stroke Prevention. She is a founder and director of the largest multidisciplinary Stroke in Young Adults (SiYA) Program in Canada. Dr. Pikula is quadruple board-certified in Internal Medicine, Neurology, Vascular Neurology & Lifestyle Medicine, and she is certificated in Clinical Nutrition Science at Stanford University, Plant-Based Nutrition at Cornell University, Functional Medicine in Clinical Practice at the Institute for Functional Medicine & Precision Nutrition Coaching.
Dr. Pikula’ s overarching clinical and research interests are focused on sex-disparities in stroke prevention and outcomes, studying the effect of various factors (psychological, social, lifestyle) on HRQOL and brain care/health in young adults. This led to an emerging interest in developing innovative clinical strategies for brain care/stroke prevention such as the EMBRACE Lifestyle Program and the KNOW BRAIN Study focusing on patients’ knowledge & awareness about impact of lifestyle on brain health.
Dr. Pikula chairs the U of T Women’s Brain Health Rounds – a unique international opportunity for students, faculty, residents, and patients to share translational science around women’s brain health. As an Associate Editor, Dr. Pikula was able to secure support from the Frontiers in Global Women’s Health through Article Collection to allow students and junior faculty members publish their work around the same topic. Dr. Pikula’ s work had been published in high impact journals and recognized by, amongst others, the NIH/NINDS & ANA, the AHA/ASA and the CIHR through continuous research support.
Contact info:
Aleksandra.Pikula@uhn.ca