معرفی
Patricia Fontela, MD, PhD is a Scientist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at McGill University. She is affiliated with the Child Health and Human Development Program and the Centre for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE) at RI-MUHC, with clinical responsibilities in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Critical Care at the McGill University Health Centre.
Her research focuses on optimizing antibiotic use in critically ill children to reduce bacterial resistance in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs). She studies the clinical utility of infection biomarkers to personalize antibiotic use and develop evidence-based decision-support tools for when to start and stop antibiotics for critically ill children. Her work addresses the major problems of antibiotic overuse and bacterial resistance in PICUs by developing objective criteria to guide antimicrobial use and personalize treatment duration.
Analysis of her publication record reveals a strong trajectory in pediatric critical care research, with increasing focus on biomarker utilization for antibiotic stewardship. Her most recent work has expanded into broader pandemic research, including contributions to large international COVID-19 studies through the ISARIC Clinical Characterisation Group. She has published extensively on procalcitonin and C-reactive protein as tools to guide antibiotic therapy in critically ill children.
Dr. Fontela maintains active collaborations with researchers across Canada and internationally, particularly through her involvement with the RI-MUHC's Centre for Outcomes Research and Evaluation. Her work bridges clinical practice and outcomes research to improve evidence-based decision-making in pediatric critical care settings.