Dr. Roona Sinha MD

Dr. Roona Sinha is a pediatric hematologist oncologist who joined the University of Saskatchewan faculty in January 2012.  She completed her undergraduate and medical school studies at the University of Ottawa.  This was followed by a pediatrics residency at the University of Alberta and then fellowship training in pediatric hematology oncology at the University of British Columbia.

Dr. Sinha is the local principal investigator for several national trials in the area of pediatric hematology.  This includes treatment studies in hemophilia, surveillance of treatment effects in bleeding disorders, examining the genetic basis of bone marrow failure disorders, and looking at next generation sequencing to identify genetic predispositions that affect treatment in aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndromes.  In the area of pediatric oncology, she is an active member of the Children’s Oncology Group which is an international clinical trials group that examines the biology of cancer, new treatments, and supportive care in pediatric oncology patients.   Through her work on the executive of the C17 which is the national hematology oncology organization she is also looking at ways to increase access to clinical trials for pediatric hematology oncology patients in Canada.

One of Dr. Sinha’s latest research initiatives involves working with a group of local clinicians as well as laboratory collaborators on a project looking at feasibility and efficacy of using point of care hematology testing devices in the pediatric inpatient setting.  The goal of this study is to validate point of care machines for the inpatient setting as these machines require much lower blood volumes for hematology testing. 

Dr. Sinha is also a qualitative researcher.  Past qualitative studies have included looking at health related quality of life in pediatric oncology patients as well as examining the efficacy of using written hematology patient education materials to enhance the clinic visit experience.  Her qualitative research interests combined with her interests in medical education led her to recently complete a Masters of Health Professions Education through Maastricht University in the Netherlands.  In her thesis research project, she examined the challenges faced by physicians at the time of transition to practice and why these challenges exist.  Novel findings were found with respect to the culture of medical training and practice in Canada as well as implications to help ease the process of transition to practice for future physicians.  Stemming from this project she is now collaborating on an international study looking at cultural differences during the transition to practice period for physicians in different countries.

Dr. Sinha is interested in clinical research using both qualitative and quantitative methodology that brings together collaborators from different fields to explore new ideas that can further the health of children.

Cuvelier GD, Rubin TS, Junker A, Sinha R, Rosenberg A, Wall D, Schroeder ML. Clinical presentation, immunologic features, and hematopoietic stem cell transplant outcomes for IKBKB immune deficiency. Clin Immunol. 2018 Oct 31. pii: S1521-6616(18)30324-3. doi: 10.1016/j.clim.2018.10.019.

Waespe N, Dhanraj S, Wahala M, Tsangaris E, Enbar T, Zlateska B, Li H, Klaassen R, Fernandez CV5, Cuvelier GDE, Wu JK, Pastore YD, Silva M, Lipton JH, Brossard J, Michon B, Abish S, Steele M, Sinha R, Belletrutti MJ, Breakey VR, Jardine L, Goodyear L, Kofler L, Cada M, Sung L, Shago M, Scherer SW, Dror Y. The clinical impact of copy number variants in inherited bone marrow failure syndromes. NPJ Genom Med. 2017 May 10;2. pii: 18. doi: 10.1038/s41525-017-0019-2.

Ghemlas I, Li H, Zlateska B2, Klaassen R, Fernandez CV, Yanofsky RA, Wu J, Pastore Y, Silva M, Lipton JH, Brossard J, Michon B, Abish S, Steele M, Sinha R, Belletrutti M, Breakey VR, Jardine L, Goodyear L, Sung L, Dhanraj S, Reble E, Wagner A, Beyene J, Ray P, Meyn S, Cada M, Dror Y. Improving diagnostic precision, care and syndrome definitions using comprehensive next-generation sequencing for the inherited bone marrow failure syndromes. J Med Genet. 2015 Sep;52(9):575-84. doi: 10.1136/jmedgenet-2015-103270. Epub 2015 Jul 1.

Cada M, Segbefia CI, Klaassen R, Fernandez CV, Yanofsky RA, Wu J, Pastore Y, Silva M, Lipton JH, Brossard J Michon B, Abish S, Steele M, Sinha R, Belletrutti M, Breakey V, Jardine L, Goodyear L17, Sung L, Shago M, Beyene J, Sharma P, Zlateska B, Dror Y. The impact of category, cytopathology and cytogenetics on development and progression of clonal and malignant myeloid transformation in inherited bone marrow failure syndromes. Haematologica. 2015 May;100(5):633-42. doi: 10.3324/haematol.2014.117457. Epub 2015 Feb 14.

Klassen AF, Cano SJ, Sinha R, Shahbaz A, Klaassen R, Dix D. Is the Give Youth a Voice questionnaire an appropriate measure of teen-centred care in paediatric oncology: a Rasch measurement theory analysis. Health Expect. 2015 Oct;18(5):1686-97. doi: 10.1111/hex.12161. Epub 2013 Nov 28.