In each newsletter we will be taking a light-hearted look at how ISSHP members spend their off duty hours. This time, it’s the turn of Laura Magee, President Elect.
Laura is a general internist with Royal College of Canada Certification in Internal Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology. She has her MSc in clinical epidemiology (University of Toronto) and undertook a second clinical research fellowship (University of Oxford).
Laura joined UBC in 2000 after four years as an Assistant Professor, University of Toronto. She is appointed to both the Departments of Medicine (Division of General Internal Medicine) and Obstetrics and Gynaecology (Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine). She is a Consultant in Obstetric Medicine, BC Women’s, and a Senior Clinician Scientist at the CFRI, Reproduction and Healthy Pregnancy Cluster.
Laura is focused on medical complications of pregnancy and the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in particular, clinical epidemiology (MSc), and reproductive toxicology. She is the PI on CIHR-funded national and international projects, including the CHIPS Trial (Control of Hypertension In Pregnancy), its follow-up study CHIPS-Child, knowledge translation of MgSO4 for fetal neuroprotection (MAG-CP), and investigation of serious maternal morbidity. Importantly, she is a co-investigator on PRE-EMPT.
Laura’s number one collaborator in life and research is Peter von Dadelszen, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, UBC. Laura met Peter in Oxford through their shared work. They have three children whose names are familiar to patients (the ‘EMMA’ clinic), clinical colleagues (the ‘PIERS’ project), and research staff (the planned ‘WILL’ model).
If you hadn’t become a doctor, is there any other career that you might have chosen instead?
I would have become a vet, as long as I wouldn’t have to care for snakes or spiders.
What’s your favourite food?
Bread of any type. Bananas are a distant second.
Favourite place?
Home.
Do you have a pet?
Yes, a 12 1/2 year old Newfoundland Dog called Peyton. She is the loveliest member of my family and we are getting her a sister.
Favourite movie?
Toy Story – all three versions that remind me of when my children were very young.
Ideal Sunday morning?
Slow, wearing pyjamas, drinking lattes, and having bacon for breakfast.
If you didn’t live in the UK, where else would you like to live?
I’d live anywhere that Peter does. Our recent move to the UK from Vancouver, Canada is proof of that.
Cooking for friends – what do you cook?
Nothing complicated, but something with colour and texture – usually beef or pork with fruit. I leave the complicated parts (and the baking) to Peter.
Stuck in a lift– alone or with others? Who?
With others – I love to talk and there is nothing like a bind to generate conversation!
Favourite book?
The Diaries of Josephine B
Favourite song?
The Ave Maria because my Dad used to sing it and he had a beautiful voice.
Crunchie or Twix?
Twix – no competition. It was the first ‘meal’ that Peter and I shared!
Sun or snow?
Snow – I don’t like to tan and I am Canadian after all.
Favourite gadget?
My iPhone
Favourite holiday?
Christmas – I love decorating the tree and eating turkey.
Beatles or Rolling Stones?
Beatles
Favourite sport or hobby?
It is a toss-up between fencing or rugby, the sports that my children play.
Favourite movie actress?
Judy Dench – how can you not love someone who controls Bond?
Apple or android (this relates to mobile devices not body shape …)
Apple but only for my phone. Hospitals are PC worlds and I’m not savvy enough with computers to problem-solve translation issues between PCs and Macs.
What would you like to invent?
Something that would slow down the clock and give me more hours in the day.
Pet hate
Not getting the courtesy of a response
Moment of the day?
Getting into bed at night and relaxing.
The memory:
The day that Emma was born.
The advice:
‘I love you’ can never be said too often
The virtue:
Boundless energy (once I’ve had my morning coffee)
The vice:
Lack of patience (despite my best efforts)
