Appointments and affiliations
Full Professor of Medicine and Staff Cardiologist
Director, Cardiac Electrophysiology and Arrhythmia Service
Division of Cardiology
University of Ottawa Heart Institute
Cross Appointment
Department of Medicine to the School of Epidemiology and Public Health
University of Ottawa
Dr. Girish Nair is currently the director of cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmia service at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. He is a full professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Nair is also cross-appointed from the Department of Medicine to the School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa.
Background
Dr. Nair graduated from the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), a deemed University in Pondicherry, India. He completed his residency in internal medicine and cardiology from the University of Delhi. He moved to Canada in 2002 and completed a clinical/research fellowship in interventional cardiac electrophysiology from the University of Toronto and associated Toronto General Hospital. Dr. Nair has also completed his MSc in health research methodology from McMaster University. He served as a faculty in the Division of Cardiology at McMaster University from 2004 to 2012. Dr. Nair joined the Division of Cardiology at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute in October 2012.
Dr. Nair is currently a grant panel member for Heart and Stroke of Canada, CIHR and, from 2018 to present day, has been a Primary panel member for the Canadian Cardiovascular Society Atrial Fibrillation Guidelines. In addition, Dr. Nair has served as Chair of the Annual Scientific Sessions for the Canadian Heart Rhythm Society, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Dr. Nair has received several awards. At McMaster University he received the Ernest Fallen Award for Teaching Excellence. Dr. Nair was also recognized by Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), University of Pondicherry, India with the Ananda Rangapillai Memorial Medal for performance in Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), the South Arcot District Co-op Supply and Marketing Society Endowment Prize in Ophthalmology, as well as the 1st Annual Conference of the Association of Pathologists and Microbiologists of India Endowment Prize in Pathology.
Research and clinical interests
Dr. Nair’s clinical focus is on complex ablations including atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia and arrhythmias in the adult congenital heart disease population.
Dr. Nair is a clinician-researcher with the Ottawa Heart Institute Research Corporation (OHIRC), and his current research interests include quantitative research methods for atrial fibrillation, sudden cardiac death and ventricular tachycardia with a specific focus on evaluating treatment strategies and knowledge transfer. He currently holds peer-reviewed grants from multiple sources (CIHR, HSFC) and is leading clinical trials evaluating treatment strategies for atrial fibrillation and other cardiac arrhythmias. He has cross-appointment from the Department of Medicine to the School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, with supervisory privileges (co-supervision, MSc And PhD). He is a primary panel member of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society Atrial Fibrillation guidelines.
Publications
Selected publication
See full list of publications on PubMed.
- Unni RR, Prager RT, Odabashian R, Zhang JJ, Fat Hing NN, Nery PB, Pi L, Aldawood W, Sadek MS, Redpath CJ, Birnie DH, Alqarawi W, Zagzoog A, Golian M, Klein A, Ramirez FD, Green MS, Chen L, Visintini S, Wells GA and Nair GM. Rhythm Monitoring Strategy and Arrhythmia Recurrence in Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Trials: A Systematic Review. CJC Open. 2022.
- Nair GM, Birnie DH, Wells GA, Nery PB, Redpath CJ, Sarrazin J-F, Roux J-F, Parkash R, Bernier M, Sterns LD, Novak P, Veenhuyzen G, Morillo CA, Singh SM, Sturmer M, Chauhan VS, Angaran P and Essebag V. Augmented Wide Area Circumferential Catheter Ablation for Reduction of Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence (AWARE) Trial: Design and Rationale. American heart journal. 2022.
- Nery PB, Nair GM and Birnie DH. Reply to Hong and Glover-Catheter Ablation of Low-Voltage Areas for Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: Procedural Outcomes Using High-Density Voltage Mapping. The Canadian journal of cardiology. 2021;37:1297.
- Kaoutskaia A, Shurrab M, Amit G, Parkash R, Exner D, Toal S, Sterns L, Sarrazin J-F, Chauhan V, Sultan O, Nair G, Deyell M, Macle L, Klassen S, Glover B and Crystal E. Canadian national electrophysiology ablation registry report 2011-2016. BMC health services research. 2021;21:435-435.Lewis KB, Birnie D, Carroll SL, Brousseau-Whaley C, Clark L, Green M, Nair GM, Nery PB, Redpath C and Stacey D. Decision Support for Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Replacement: A Pilot Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial. The Journal of cardiovascular nursing. 2021;36:143-150.
- Hansom SP, Alqarawi W, Birnie DH, Golian M, Nery PB, Redpath CJ, Klein A, Green MS, Davis DR, Sheppard-Perkins E, Ramirez FD, Nair GM and Sadek MM. High-Power, Short-Duration Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Compared to a Conventional Approach: Outcomes and Reconnection Patterns. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2021.
- Nair GM, Birnie DH, Sumner GL, Krahn AD, Healey JS, Nery PB, Kalfon E, Verma A, Ayala-Paredes F, Coutu B, Becker G, Philippon F, Eikelboom J, Sandhu RK, Sapp J, Leather R, Yung D, Thibault B, Simpson CS, Ahmad K, Sturmer M, Kavanagh K, Crystal E, Wells GA and Essebag V. Post-operative pain following cardiac implantable electronic device implantation: insights from the BRUISE CONTROL trials. Europace. 2020. DOI: 10.1093/europace/euaa349
- Andrade JG, Aguilar M, Atzema C, Bell A, Cairns JA, Cheung CC, Cox JL, Dorian P, Gladstone DJ, Healey JS, Khairy P, Leblanc K, McMurtry MS, Mitchell LB, Nair GM, Nattel S, Parkash R, Pilote L, Sandhu RK, Sarrazin JF, Sharma M, Skanes AC, Talajic M, Tsang TSM, Verma A, Verma S, Whitlock R, Wyse DG, Macle L and Members of the Secondary Panel. The 2020 Canadian Cardiovascular Society/Canadian Heart Rhythm Society Comprehensive Guidelines for the Management of Atrial Fibrillation. The Canadian journal of cardiology. 2020;36:1847-1948.
- Zagzoog A, Green MS, Almehmadi F, Nair GM and Golian M. Premature atrial contraction during a wide complex tachycardia: What is the mechanism? Pacing Clin Electrophysiol. 2020;43:1390-1392.
- Sadek MM and Nair GM. Evaluating a Prior Cavotricuspid Isthmus Ablation Line at the Time of Atrial Fibrillation Ablation. Another Weak Link in the Chain! JACC Clin Electrophysiol. 2020;6:997-998.
- Nery PB, Alqarawi W, Nair GM, Sadek MM, Redpath CJ, Golian M, Al Dawood W, Chen L, Hansom SP, Klein A, Wells GA and Birnie DH. Catheter Ablation of Low-Voltage Areas for Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: Procedural Outcomes Using High-Density Voltage Mapping. The Canadian journal of cardiology. 2020. PMID: 32738208 DOI: 10.1016/j.cjca.2020.03.040