Darine El-Chaar
Scientist, Inflammation and Chronic Disease
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Staff Physician, Maternal Fetal Medicine
The Ottawa Hospital
Associate Professor, Department of OB/GYN
University of Ottawa
Associate Professor, School of Epidemiology and Public Health
University of Ottawa
Tier-2 Clinical Research Chair, Perinatal Research and Epidemiology
University of Ottawa- Faculty of Medicine
Research Interests
Dr. Darine El-Chaâr is involved in maternal fetal medicine research to improve outcomes for fetuses and pregnant individuals. Her current research focus areas include:
(1) maternal immunization and infectious diseases in pregnancy;
(2) maternal morbidity and perinatal care; and
(3) breastfeeding outcomes.
Brief Biography
Dr. Darine El-Chaâr completed her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at the University of Ottawa in 2012. During her residency, she was involved in several research projects focused on the risk of maternal obesity and its impact on neonatal obstetrical outcomes and interventions. In 2014, Dr. El-Chaâr completed her fellowship in Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) at the University of Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital and later earned a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in 2017.
She joined the MFM Department at The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) in July 2014. She currently holds a Tier 2 Clinical Research Chair in Perinatal Epidemiology and Immunity from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine.
She has secured funding through CIHR and other grant funding agencies, including $1.8M for research projects addressing knowledge gaps in perinatal health, such as the effects of COVID-19 infection and vaccination on maternal and fetal outcomes, the impact of cannabis use during pregnancy, and methods to reduce maternal morbidity through multidisciplinary care. She has a productive research track record and an extensive network of collaborations, which has yielded $27,702,415 in research funding (32 grants). Dr. El-Chaâr is co-lead of the OMNI Research Group and her team’s research has been featured widely in local, provincial, and national media.
During the pandemic, Dr. El- Chaâr launched the COVID-19 Ontario Pregnancy Event (COPE) Network followed by the PLAN-V Study, investigating vaccine immunogenicity during pregnancy and lactation. She is the TOH lead for CMVictory and RSVoyage clinical trials on Moderna’s CMV vaccine in reproductive-aged individuals (phase 3) and Moderna’s RSV vaccine in pregnancy (phase 2), respectively. Most recently, she is the co-Principal Investigator of the EAGER Pilot Trial, which evaluates whether early induction in gestational diabetes improves outcomes.
Dr. El-Chaâr is actively involved in mentorship and has supervised over 70 trainees across disciplines. Her research projects are focused on incorporating patient partner engagement in research and collaboration with a diverse number of institutions such as Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC), Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health (PCMCH), Federation of Medical Women of Canada’s (FMWC), and others. She is involved in designing and delivering research training curriculum and previously served as Program Director for the MFM Fellowship. She frequently speaks at national and international conferences and leads maternal health collaborations internationally. Through many platforms, Dr. El-Chaâr is dedicated to providing excellent patient care, and that is what motivates her daily in her research and educational activities.
Selected Publications
Muldoon KA, Denize KM, Talarico R, Biosvert C, Frank O, Harvey A, Rennicks White R, Fell DB, O’Hare-Gordon MA, Guo Y, Murphy MS, Corsi D, Sampsel K, Wen SW, Walker MC, El-Chaâr Darine. COVID-19 and Perinatal Intimate Partner Violence: A cross-sectional survey of pregnant and post-partum individuals in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. BMJ Open, 11(5), e049295
Pham-Huy A, Top KA, Constantinescu C, Seow CH, El-Chaâr Darine. The use of monoclonal antibody biologics during pregnancy: Impact on mother and baby. CMAJ – July 26, 2021
Guo Y, Murphy M, Erwin E, Fakhraei R, Corsi D, White-Rennicks R, Harvey A, Gaudet L, Walker MC, Wen SW & El-Chaâr Darine. Birth outcomes following cesarean delivery on maternal request: a population-based cohort study. Accepted for publication Apr 23, 2021 CMAJ. doi/10.1503/cmaj.202262
Foudil-Bey I, Murphy MS,
Keely EJ, El-Chaâr Darine. Maternal and newborn
outcomes of antenatal breastmilk expression: a scoping review protocol. BMJ Open.
May 12,2020. 2020;10:e033101.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-033101
Corsi D, Walsh L, Weiss D,
Hsu H, El-Chaâr Darine, Hawkeen S,
Fell D, Walker MC. Association Between
Self-Reported Prenatal Cannabis Use and Maternal, Perinatal, and Neonatal
Outcomes. Impact factor 40 JAMA. 2019 Jun 18. doi: 10.1001/jama.2019.8734. [Epub ahead of print].
PMID: 31211826 DOI: 10.1001/jama.2019.8734
El-Chaâr Darine, Manley J, LeBouthillier F, Ryan G,
Windrim R. Development of a
High-Fidelity Simulator for Teaching Chorionic Villus Sampling. J Obstet
Gynaecol Can. 2018 Sep;40(9):1178-1181. doi: 10.1016/j.jogc. 2017.10.028. Epub
2018 Jul 18. PMID: 30030058
Berndl A, El-Chaâr
Darine, Murphy K, McDonald S. Does cervical ripening at term using a
high volume foley catheter result in a lower caesarean section rate than a low
volume foley catheter? A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Obstet Gynaecol Can.
2014 Aug; 36(8):678-87. Review. PMID:
25222162
El-Chaâr
Darine, Finkelstein SA, Tu X, Fell DB, Gaudet L, Sylvain J, Tawagi
G, Wen SW, Walker M. The impact of
increasing obesity class on obstetrical outcomes. J Obstet
Gynaecol Can. 2013 Mar; 35(3):224-33.
PMID: 23470110
El-Chaâr
Darine, Yang Q, Gao J, Bottomley J, Leader A, Wen SW, Walker
M. Risk of birth defects increased in
pregnancies conceived by assisted human reproduction. Fertil Steril. 2009
Nov; 92(5):1557-61. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.08.080. Epub 2008 Oct
29. PMID: 18973885
El-Chaâr Darine, Gagnon A, Sorisky A. Inhibition of insulin signaling and
adipogenesis by rapamycin: effect on phosphorylation of p70 S6 kinase vs eIF4E-BP1. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord.
2004 Feb; 28(2):191-8. PMID: 14970836
Diseases, conditions and populations of interest
Research and clinical approaches
