Gramlich, Leah

Leah Gramlich, MD, FRCPC University of Alberta

Supervisor:

CFN Interdisciplinary Fellow 2016 — Chelsia Gillis

As a Gastroenterologist and Physician Nutrition Specialist, Dr. Gramlich began her career in clinical practice and has evolved into full time Academic Practice at the University of Alberta. Building upon this unique perspective, her personal goal is to work at patient, provider and systems levels to understand and enhance the impact of diet and activity strategies to improve health and reduce disease. She ‘lives’ at the interface of research, practice and health administration and uses this environment to support patient orientated research across the continuum from initial studies in humans to comparative effectiveness and outcomes research and the integration of this research into health care systems. With this background, through Nutrition Services in Alberta Health Services (AHS) Dr. Gramlich co-developed the proposal for ERAS that was advanced and supported through the Obesity, Diabetes and Nutrition Strategic Clinical Network. Her recent sabbatical in Europe (January-April, 2013) allowed her to explore integrative care for patients with foregut tumors (focused on nutrition, function and patient decision making) and she had the opportunity to look at Enhancing Recovery After Surgery programs across several European sites and to use this opportunity to support the development and implementation of an Enhanced Recovery Program After Surgery for AHS.

Dr. Gramlich is the Founding President of the Canadian Nutrition Society and has led Food-health strategies at a national level. At nationally and international levels she is a member of several thought-leading groups including the Canadian Malnutrition Task Force and the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition task force on Nutrition Education, and was invited to participate in the first North American Surgical Nutrition Summit in 2012. She was Co-Chair of the Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines for Nutrition in the Critically Ill adult. In addition, Dr. Gramlich is the provincial medical advisor for AHS Nutritional Services and is a member of the Nutrition Obesity and Diabetes Strategic Clinical Network and in this unique capacity has garnered the perspectives of effecting system change. She is the Medical Director of Nutrition Support Programs in Northern Alberta and recognizes the impact of high quality programs for patients, providers and the system.