Dr. Coutts moved to Calgary to complete a Fellowship in Stroke Neurology with Dr. Alastair Buchan and completed her Neurology Residency Training, receiving her FRCPC (Neurology) in 2006. During her stroke neurology training, she completed a postgraduate research degree on “Modern imaging: its role in prediction of outcome after stroke and TIA” and she received her MD (PhD equivalent) for this from the University of Edinburgh in 2005.
Her research interests include the use of acute imaging in triage and treatment of stroke and TIA patients in the Emergency Department. She plans to design therapeutic trials in high risk TIA and minor stroke using imaging to identify patients.
She is running the TEMPO-1 study. This is phase 2, dose escalation, safety study using low dose TNK in the treatment of minor stroke with intracranial occlusion. Currently, she is also coordinating a project to reduce the rate of stroke after a TIA throughout the province of Alberta. Her work is funded by The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and by a Pfizer cardiovacsular research award.
Dr. Coutts has received a number of awards for her work, including the “Siekert New Investigator Award” from the American Stroke Association, the "Michael J. Pessin award" in stroke leadership from the American Academy of Neurology and the Petro Canada Young Innovator Award in Community Health. She is the first recipient of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada Distinguished Clinician Scientist award, supported in partnership with the CIHR Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health and AstraZeneca Canada Inc. She also hold a clinical investigator award from the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research.