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Susan Poutanen

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Associate ProfessorDepartment of Laboratory Medicine and PathobiologyUniversity of Toronto

Susan Poutanen

Associate Professor

Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

University of Toronto

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

ORCID

Supervision signals

Professors usually supervise graduate students in their department's programs.
11 publications in the last five years, latest in 2026.
Principal investigator on 3 research grants (3 CIHR), most recently in 2020.

These signals come from public records, including CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions. Ask the professor or the graduate program whether they are taking new students.

Academic metrics

Publications

167

Citations

h-index

Collaborators

Grants

Publications by year

Counts cover the works listed on the university profile; citation counts come from Dimensions.

Education

Profiles and links

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Signals and details

Research

Read how they describe their research on their University of Toronto profile.

Pathology (except oral pathology)Medical microbiology Antimicrobial resistance Infectious diseases

Latest papers

The Safety, Efficacy, and Feasibility of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in a Population With Bipolar Disorder During Depressive Episodes: A Pilot Parallel Arm Randomized Controlled Trial: Sécurité, efficacité et faisabilité de la transplantation de microbiote fécal chez une population atteinte de troubles bipolaires, au cours d’épisodes dépressifs : essai pilote contrôlé à répartition aléatoire et à groupes parallèles
Canadian Journal of Psychiatry · 2026
Identification of plasmid-mediated tigecycline resistance tet(x4) and New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM) in an Escherichia coli isolate from Canada.
Microbiology spectrum · 2025
Characterization of ertapenem-resistant Enterobacterales in Canadian hospitals: 17 years of the CANWARD study (2007-23).
The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy · 2025

All 23 publications

Latest funding

High Pressure Processing of Donor Human Milk to Improve Fat Absorption in Preterm Infants (The HiPP Study)
CIHR · 2024 · Co-investigator
$898,875
Understanding the epidemiology and burden of invasive Candidal infections and antifungal resistance in Canadian hospitals (Can-EPI-R)
CIHR · 2022 · Co-investigator
$1,522,350
Can COVID-19 and maternal antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 be transmitted through human milk? Implications for breastfeeding and human milk banking
CIHR · 2020 · Principal investigator
$154,245

All 9 grants and awards

23 publications.

The Safety, Efficacy, and Feasibility of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in a Population With Bipolar Disorder During Depressive Episodes: A Pilot Parallel Arm Randomized Controlled Trial: Sécurité, efficacité et faisabilité de la transplantation de microbiote fécal chez une population atteinte de troubles bipolaires, au cours d’épisodes dépressifs : essai pilote contrôlé à répartition aléatoire et à groupes parallèles

Shekarriz S, Vigod SN, Bianco T, Bala A, Hao C, Allard JP, Hota S, Poutanen S, Surette MG, Taylor VH

Canadian Journal of Psychiatry20264 citations

DOI: 10.1177/07067437261420877

Identification of plasmid-mediated tigecycline resistance tet(x4) and New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM) in an Escherichia coli isolate from Canada.

Mataseje LF, Lerminiaux N, McGeer A, Johnstone J, Poutanen S, McGill E, Longtin Y, Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program (CNISP)

Microbiology spectrum2025

DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00976-25 PMID: 41060019

Characterization of ertapenem-resistant Enterobacterales in Canadian hospitals: 17 years of the CANWARD study (2007-23).

Mataseje LF, Lerminiaux N, Lagacé-Wiens P, Walkty A, Adam HJ, Poutanen S, Baxter M, Karlowsky JA, McCracken M, Golding GR, Zhanel GG

The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy2025

DOI: 10.1093/jac/dkaf221 PMID: 40873030

Gram-negative pathogens from Canadian hospitals: 17 years of results from the CANWARD study (2007-23).

Zhanel GG, Baxter MR, Lagacé-Wiens P, Walkty A, Fuller J, Davidson RJ, Blondeau J, Poutanen S, Lavallée C, Mataseje L, Golding G, Schweizer F, Bay D, Denisuik A, Li J, Karlowsky JA, Adam HJ

The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy2025

DOI: 10.1093/jac/dkaf217 PMID: 40873026

Gram-positive pathogens from Canadian hospitals: 17 years of results from the CANWARD study (2007-23).

Zhanel GG, Baxter MR, Golden AR, Lagacé-Wiens P, Walkty A, Fuller J, Davidson RJ, Blondeau J, Poutanen S, Lavallée C, McCracken M, Golding G, Schweizer F, Bay D, Karlowsky JA, Adam HJ

The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy2025

DOI: 10.1093/jac/dkaf263 PMID: 40873025

‘Raise the Bar’, a Canadian intervention to combat disparities in the recognition and management of iron deficiency: Development of the intervention, feasibility and implementation

Tang GH, Phillips Z, Poutanen S, Yip P, Brinc D, Goh E, Cheung M, Pai M, Oleschuk C, Beriault D

British Journal of Haematology20256 citations

DOI: 10.1111/bjh.70150

High Genetic Diversity Among Bacillus cereus Isolates Contaminating Donated Milk at a Canadian Human Milk Bank

Gene M, Guthrie JL, Li K, Teatero S, Paterson A, Li A, Doyen A, Yamamura D, Khan S, Srigley JA

Microorganisms20251 citations

DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms13051136

Systematic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 reveals dynamics of variant mutagenesis and transmission in a large urban population.

Aynaud MM, Caldwell L, Al-Zahrani KN, Barutcu S, Chan K, Obersterescu A, Ogunjimi AA, Jin M, Zakoor KR, Patel S, Padilla R, Jen MCC, Veniegas PM, Dewsi N, Yonathan F, Zhang L, Ayson-Fortunato A, Aquino A, Krzyzanowski P, Simpson J, Bartlett J, Lungu I, Wouters BG, Rini JM, Gekas M, Poutanen S, Pelletier L, Mazzulli T, Wrana JL

Nature communications2024

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55031-1 PMID: 39738001

SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and their neutralizing capacity against live virus in human milk after COVID-19 infection and vaccination: prospective cohort studies.

Ismail S, Unger S, Budylowski P, Poutanen S, Yau Y, Jenkins C, Anwer S, Christie-Holmes N, Kiss A, Mazzulli T, Johnstone J, McGeer A, Whittle W, Parvez B, Gray-Owen SD, Stone D, O'Connor DL

The American journal of clinical nutrition2024

DOI: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.10.008 PMID: 38309831

Effect of faecal microbial transplant via colonoscopy in patients with severe obesity and insulin resistance: A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial.

Ghorbani Y, Schwenger KJP, Sharma D, Jung H, Yadav J, Xu W, Lou W, Poutanen S, Hota SS, Comelli EM, Philpott D, Jackson TD, Okrainec A, Gaisano HY, Allard JP

Diabetes, obesity & metabolism2023

DOI: 10.1111/dom.14891 PMID: 36239189

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their CIHR grant from 2020

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Pathology (except oral pathology) Dear Professor Poutanen, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "The Safety, Efficacy, and Feasibility of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in a Population With Bipolar Disorder During Depressive Episodes: A Pilot Parallel Arm Randomized Controlled Trial: Sécurité, efficacité et faisabilité de la transplantation de microbiote fécal chez une population atteinte de troubles bipolaires, au cours d’épisodes dépressifs : essai pilote contrôlé à répartition aléatoire et à groupes parallèles" (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your CIHR-funded project "Can COVID-19 and maternal antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 be transmitted through human milk? Implications for breastfeeding and human milk banking" (2020), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]

Profile data last refreshed on September 25, 2026 from the university directory, publication records and CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding.

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Susan Poutanen

Research

Latest papers

Latest funding

Identification of plasmid-mediated tigecycline resistance tet(x4) and New Delhi metallo-&#x3b2;-lactamase (NDM) in an Escherichia coli isolate from Canada.

Characterization of ertapenem-resistant Enterobacterales in Canadian hospitals: 17 years of the CANWARD study (2007-23).

Gram-negative pathogens from Canadian hospitals: 17 years of results from the CANWARD study (2007-23).

Gram-positive pathogens from Canadian hospitals: 17&#x2005;years of results from the CANWARD study (2007-23).

‘Raise the Bar’, a Canadian intervention to combat disparities in the recognition and management of iron deficiency: Development of the intervention, feasibility and implementation

High Genetic Diversity Among Bacillus cereus Isolates Contaminating Donated Milk at a Canadian Human Milk Bank

Systematic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 reveals dynamics of variant mutagenesis and transmission in a large urban population.

SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and their neutralizing capacity against live virus in human milk after COVID-19 infection and vaccination: prospective cohort studies.

Effect of faecal microbial transplant via colonoscopy in patients with severe obesity and insulin resistance: A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial.

Frequent collaborators

Allison McGeer

Tony Mazzulli

Jennie Johnstone

Valerie Taylor

Susy Hota

Bryan Coburn

Samira Mubareka

Laurence Pelletier

Sharon Unger

Frank Schweizer

Sue Tsai

Yves Longtin

Yves Longtin

Nahuel Fittipaldi

Divya Sharma

Daniel Beriault

Davor Brinc

Ramzi Fattouh

Elaine Goh

Paul Yip

Irene Armstrong

Emma Allen-Vercoe

Wendy Lou

Mark Crowther

Liliana Attisano

Wei Xu

Rod Bremner

Emma Allen-Vercoe

Nahuel Fittipaldi

Timothy Jackson

Herbert Gaisano

Sarah Khan

Michael Surette

Menaka Pai

Identification of plasmid-mediated tigecycline resistance tet(x4) and New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM) in an Escherichia coli isolate from Canada.

Gram-positive pathogens from Canadian hospitals: 17 years of results from the CANWARD study (2007-23).