Dr. Sibel Aydin has had a tremendous impact on uOttawa’s Faculty of Medicine and the city’s medical landscape since she moved to Canada’s capital in 2015.
Originally from Turkey, Aydin’s expertise and interests have taken her on a journey of learning, curiosity, and medical excellence. She is today a professor of medicine and rheumatology at uOttawa and with the Department of Medicine at the Ottawa Hospital.
Aydin’s contributions to rheumatology started in 2001 when she completed a rotation within her internal medicine residency at Marmara University in Istanbul, Turkey. From there, she followed her research and clinical interests to Italy and the United Kingdom, learning from experts in ultrasonography, an imaging method used for diagnostic purposes. She was particularly interested in how ultrasound could be used to better assess and understand spondyloarthritis, a group of diseases characterized by inflammation in the spine and joints.
Arriving in Ottawa, Aydin dedicated herself to developing a musculoskeletal (MSK) ultrasound curriculum as part of uOttawa’s rheumatology residency program—a first in Canada. As an outcome of this specialized training, many community and academic rheumatologists have been able to incorporate MSK ultrasound into their daily practice. The technology helps to better diagnose conditions like sprains, tears, trapped nerves, and arthritis, allowing for faster treatment and the opportunity for more personalized patient care.
“Regardless of where I work, when people recognize the value [of MSK ultrasound], the barriers are not too difficult to overcome,” wrote Aydin in 2019. Barriers to care have typically been a lack of training for rheumatologists in the use of ultrasound, as well as the high cost of the technology. Added Aydin: “I am very happy to see the increased uptake of ultrasound in my division, and seeing that barriers are getting smaller and smaller as time goes by.”
At uOttawa, Aydin established a research program in inflammatory arthritis in a division where many senior researchers were retiring. “People with inflammatory arthritis are frequently diagnosed between the ages 20 and 50 and live with this disease for the rest of their lives. We want to do everything we can to improve their quality of life,” said Aydin in 2022.
In addition to her medical research, Aydin is also supporting the next generation of rheumatology professionals. In less than a decade, she has supervised 11 trainees in their post doctoral fellowships, master’s degrees, and bachelor’s studies. Aydin has also worked in collaboration with uOttawa to create several fellowship programs to attract international and national talent to the Faculty of Medicine.
With her dedication to the advancement of rheumatology care in Ottawa, Aydin is making a positive impact on the lives of patients with inflammatory diseases, as well as the trajectories of students and medical professionals, past and present.
Watch Dr. Sibel Aydin's acceptance speech.
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