Meet the Team who is dedicated to provide you with the highest quality care and support for all of your gastrointestinal needs
Our team at the Ottawa Gastrointestinal Institute is a friendly and experienced group of physicians and staff who are passionate about providing personalized care and support to all of our patients. We strive to make you feel comfortable and at ease during your visit with us, and are always here to answer any questions you may have.
Owners of OGI
Dr. Robin Boushey
Dr. Robin Boushey is a Surgical Oncologist/Colorectal Surgeon at the Ottawa Hospital, Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Ottawa, and co-owner of the Ottawa Gastrointestinal Institute.
Dr. Boushey finished a four-year undergraduate degree in Chemistry/Biochemistry with a minor in Psychology at the University of Toronto (U of T). He completed his four-year Medical Degree at U of T before entering his General Surgery Residency. While a resident in General Surgery at U of T, Dr. Boushey entered the Surgeon Scientist Training Program and completed his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Physiology at the Institute of Medical Science.
His research involved studying intestinal epithelial biology and helped in the development of two new medications that are currently in clinical use, including Glucagon Like Peptide 1 (GLP-1) and Glucagon Like Peptide 2 (GLP-2). For his basic science research, he was awarded the Gold Medal in Surgery from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He also successfully completed the Clinician Investigator Program (CIP) degree from the Royal College of Canada.
Upon completion of his General Surgery Residency, he completed a one-year Clinical Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Surgery at St Michaels Hospital in Toronto. He subsequently completed a one-year Colorectal Clinical Fellowship in the world-renowned Colorectal Surgery Program at the Lahey Clinic in Boston, Massachusetts.
Upon his return to Ottawa, he was instrumental in the development of the Colorectal Fellowship Training Program at the University of Ottawa, the General Surgery Research Program, the Anorectal Clinic at the Riverside Campus, Ottawa Colorectal Cancer Assessment Centre where he serves as Medical Director, Regional Lead for the Colorectal Cancer Community of Practice and co-owner of the Ottawa Gastrointestinal Institute. His main clinical interests are the Surgical Management of Colorectal Cancer, Colonoscopy, and the Management of Perianal Disease.
Dr. Liliana Oliveira
Dr. Liliana Oliveira is a clinical gastroenterologist at the Montfort Hospital and a co-owner of the Ottawa Gastrointestinal Institute. Her main interest is Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
Dr. Oliveira finished a 5-year undergraduate co-op degree in Honours Biology and Pharmacology at McMaster University. She received her medical degree from the University of Ottawa where she then went on to complete her Internal Medicine Residency and Gastroenterology Fellowships. She then completed an advanced fellowship in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at the University of Chicago Medical Centre.
She returned to Ottawa as an assistant professor and gastroenterologist at the Ottawa Hospital where she practiced for 4 years.
Currently, she is based at the Montfort Hospital and the Ottawa Gastroenterology Institute.
Dr. Richmond Sy
Dr. Richmond Sy is an Assistant Professor of the Division of Gastroenterology at the University of Ottawa, Department of Medicine, and a co-owner of the Ottawa Gastro Intestinal Institute.
Dr. Sy received his BSc and MD from the University of British Columbia. He went on to Dalhousie University for Internal Medicine and then completed his residency program in Gastroenterology at the University of Western Ontario. He went on to pursue an advanced fellowship in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at the University of Western Ontario. Dr. Sy has also completed training in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Western Ontario.
Dr. Sy is currently the medical director of the IBD Center of Excellence and chair of the IBD clinical trials research program at The Ottawa Hospital. His main research interests are clinical trials in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
He has published in peer-reviewed journals and is the author of several book chapters.
Dr. Shahram Zolfaghari
Dr Shahram Zolfaghari is a Colorectal Surgeon and co-founder of the Ottawa Gastrointestinal Institute (OGI). Dr Zolfaghari completed his General Surgery Residency and Colorectal Surgery Fellowship in New York, USA, and Ottawa, Canada. During this time, he trained medical students and residents. From this, he received the Academic Excellence and Outstanding Teacher Awards from the University of Ottawa.
He began his work at the Ottawa Hospital and Queensway Carleton Hospital but currently is practicing at OGI and Kemptville District Hospital. His main specializations are Colorectal Cancer Prevention as well as outpatient General and Colorectal Surgeries.
At OGI, Dr. Zolfaghari has been instrumental in designing a new model of healthcare delivery in Ottawa by providing patients with access to gastrointestinal medical and surgical services. This model includes a centralized referral intake and triage system to support our high-volume multidisciplinary practice. His objective is to minimize wait time for accessing high-quality and attentive care.
Gastroenterologists
Dr. Ramy Abaskharoun
Dr. Ramy Abaskharoun completed his medical degree at McGill University in 2001. He completed his residency training at Queen’s University in Kingston where he also completed his fellowship in Gastroenterology. He also completed additional training in ERCP and therapeutics before joining the Ottawa Hospital in 2006 as a staff gastroenterologist.
In 2013 he joined the Queensway Carleton Hospital where he maintains a busy practice with a focus on ERCP, large polyp removal, and enteral stenting.
Dr. Achuthan Aruljothy MDCM, MSc, FRCPC
Dr. Achuthan Aruljothy is a gastroenterologist at Hawkesbury & District General Hospital. He attended medical school and completed his Internal Medicine residency at McGill University (Montreal, QC) in 2019. He completed his Gastroenterology fellowship at McMaster University (Hamilton, ON) in 2021 and obtained his Master of Science in Health Research Methodology at McMaster University (Hamilton, ON) in 2022. He acquired additional training in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis and completed an Advanced Inflammatory Bowel Diseases fellowship at Western University (London, ON) in 2022.
Dr. Krikor Kichian
Dr Kichian Completed medical school in Toronto and then studied Internal medicine followed by a subspecialty in gastroenterology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Dr. Kichian has been a staff gastroenterologist at the Queensway Hospital since 2004. He has extensive knowledge of common gastrointestinal and liver diseases and has performed over 30000 endoscopic procedures.
Dr. Charles Sabbagh
Dr Charles Sabbagh trained at the Ottawa Hospital and completed a fellowship in Gastroenterology in 2005. He has been a staff Gastroenterologist at the Montfort Hospital since then and started working at OGI over 2 years ago. He is fully bilingual in French and English and is an avid Toronto Raptors and Ottawa Senators fan.
Dr. Robert Tambay
Dr. Robert Tambay graduated from McGill Medical School in 1995. He finished a residency in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology in 2000 from Université de Montréal. He has been practicing general gastroenterology since 2001 and has been part of our OGI team since 2017.
Surgeons
Dr. Sameer Apte
Dr. Apte is a Surgical Oncologist, Colorectal Surgeon, and Clinician Investigator at the Ottawa Hospital, General Campus. After finishing his general surgery residency in Edmonton, Alberta, he completed a 2-year complex surgical oncology fellowship at The Ottawa Hospital. Subsequently, he traveled to Melbourne, Australia to pursue an additional 18-month fellowship at The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in advanced colorectal, peritoneal, and robotic surgery. His surgical interests include complex colorectal cancer, peritoneal malignancy, and minimally invasive robotic surgery.
Dr. Rebecca Auer B.Sc., M.D., M.Sc., FRCSC, FACS
Dr. Rebecca Auer is the Scientific Director for the Cancer Therapeutics Program at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. She is a Surgical Oncologist specializing in Colorectal Cancer Surgery and Retroperitoneal Sarcomas at The Ottawa Hospital and a Professor in the Department of Surgery and the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology at the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Auer holds a Tier 1 Clinical Research Chair in Perioperative Cancer Therapeutics and leads a translational research program focusing on understanding the promotion of metastatic disease in the perioperative period, following surgical stress. She had defined a mediating role for Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells and effector Natural Killer and T cells in the cancer recurrence and the development of postoperative metastases. Using surgically relevant preclinical animal models, Dr. Auer has identified candidate immunotherapies capable of counteracting the effects of surgery. Dr. Auer has led four translational clinical trials of perioperative cancer therapies based on this preclinical research. She has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and received over 8 million dollars in peer-reviewed funding to support her work.
Dr. Auer is an international leader in surgical oncology and translational research in surgery. She currently serves as the Chair of the Rectal Disease Oncology Group for the Canadian Cancer Trials Group and the Canadian representative to the NIH US Anal and Rectal Oncology Task Force. She is also the executive of the Society of Surgical Oncology and the Canadian representative on the Global Forum for Cancer Surgeons. Dr. Auer also serves as the Chair of the Research Committee for the Canadian Association of General Surgeons and the Canadian Society of Surgical Oncology.
Dr. Benjamin Carrier
Dr. Carrier completed both medical school and post-graduate training in General Surgery at the University of Ottawa. He has been with OGI for 5 years and also works as a general surgeon in Winchester.
Dr. Khaled Elgadi
Dr Elgadi completed his training at the University of Toronto. He is the author of several scientific publications from Harvard University and the University of Toronto. He was the Chief of Surgery at Temiskaming Hospital from 2012-2023 and recently moved to the Ottawa area where he practices at OGI and the Kemptville District Hospital.
Dr. Ameer Farooq
Dr. Ameer Farooq is an Associate Professor in the Division of General Surgery at Queen’s University. Dr. Farooq completed his general surgery residency at the University of Calgary and a colorectal surgery fellowship at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. Dr. Farooq has a Master of Public Health from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and is interested in patient decision-making. He is also the co-host of the Cold Steel podcast.
Dr. Ian Grant MB BCh BAO FRCSC
Dr Grant completed his surgical residency here in Ottawa. Followed by a clinical Fellowship in the Surgery of Trauma. He started practice at the Montfort Hospital as a General Surgeon, however still covers Trauma Surgery at the Civic. He has been with OGI since 2019, where he performs Colonoscopies and Gastroscopies.
Dr. Jordan Heuser
Dr. Jordan Heuser completed computer engineering at Queen’s University in 2008 and then went on to complete medical school at McGill University in 2013. He did his surgical residency at the University of Ottawa until 2018 and then completed a fellowship at the University of Toronto in 2019 specializing in minimally invasive surgery with a focus on gastrointestinal, foregut, and bariatric surgery. He then returned to Ottawa in 2019 to work at the Queensway Carleton Hospital as a general and minimally invasive surgeon. He has also been working at OGI since 2019. He specializes in colorectal and anti-reflux surgery, as well as hernia and gallbladder surgery and upper and lower endoscopy.
Internal Medicine
Dr. Jason Kiser
Dr. Jason Kiser, an Internal Medicine specialist, obtained his MD at the University of Ottawa and completed his residency in core internal medicine at the University of Alberta. During his residency, he served as one of the chief residents in his final year. Subsequently, Dr. Kiser pursued internal medicine fellowship training at the University of Toronto.
He later joined the Queensway Carleton Hospital, where he worked as a staff physician from 2016 to 2022. Dr. Kiser played pivotal roles as the Internal Medicine Perioperative Lead and General Internal Medicine Lead. He was instrumental in establishing the Internal Medicine Rapid Referral Clinic, significantly improving patient care and access to specialized services. In addition to his clinical responsibilities, he actively participated in medical education through a Part-Time Lecturer position at the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Kiser’s professional interests encompass perioperative medicine and cardiovascular medicine. He divides his clinical practice between his perioperative work at OGI, Queensway Carleton Hospital, Carleton Place Hospital, and locum work in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Beyond his medical career, he enjoys a rich and diverse set of hobbies, including playing baseball, traveling, immersing himself in historical fiction, and exploring the world of improv comedy.
Dr. Marika Mihok
Dr. Marika Mihok obtained her medical degree from the University of Ottawa Ontario. She completed both an Internal Medicine Residency and Internal Medicine Fellowship at the University of Ottawa. She is Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons certified in Internal Medicine.
Dr. Marika Mihok has a long-standing interest in cardiovascular medicine. Before medical school, she completed an undergraduate degree in Bio-Medical sciences and a PhD in Microvascular Physiology at the University of Guelph Ontario. Her professional interests include the assessment and treatment of cardiovascular risk factors including diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity. She strives to provide exceptional and compassionate care in the management and prevention of cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Marika Mihok is also a mother of four young girls, keeping her exceptionally busy, entertained, and hopefully well cared for into her older age. Before life as a doctor, and mom, and now on “rare” occasions, she enjoys outdoor activities like snowshoeing and hiking, swimming, reading, and spending time with her family and friends.