Karina Top, MD, MS, FRCPC

Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Pediatrics Dept

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Contact Overview Publications Links

Contact

Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Pediatrics Dept

Email: ktop@ualberta.ca
Phone: (780) 492-8038
Address: 3-509 Dianne and Irving Kipnes Health Research Academy
11405 87 Ave NW

Edmonton AB

T6G 1C9

Overview

Area of Study / Keywords

immunization; immunocompromised host; infectious diseases; pediatrics; pregnancy; vaccine safety

About

Dr. Karina Top is a pediatric infectious disease physician and clinician-scientist in vaccine research. She is a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Adjunct Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. Dr. Top completed medical school and pediatric residency at Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS and went on to complete fellowship training in pediatric infectious diseases and a Master of Science (Epidemiology) at Columbia University in New York. From 2011 to 2023, she was on the faculty of Dalhousie University and IWK Health where she established a research program in vaccine safety and vaccination of special populations.

Dr. Top is the Principal Investigator of the International Network of Special Immunization Services and co-Principal Investigator of the Canadian Immunization Research Network’s Special Immunization Clinic Network. She was awarded the CIHR-CEPI Leadership Award for Excellence in Vaccine Research in 2021. She has over 100 peer-reviewed publications and contributes her expertise in vaccine safety as member of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, member of the Brighton Collaboration Science Board, and in supporting World Health Organization-led vaccine safety trainings in the European region.

Research

Dr. Top leads an internationally recognized research program employing epidemiological, mixed-methods, and multi-OMICs approaches to understand causes and risk factors for rare adverse events following immunization, and improve vaccination practices for people with adverse events following immunization, those who are immunocompromised, and in pregnancy.

Current studies include evaluating COVID-19 vaccine safety and the risk of adverse event recurrence after revaccination, identifying the biological mechanisms underlying COVID-19 vaccine-associated myocarditis, and evaluating safety and immune response to live vaccines among children with solid organ transplants.

Featured Publications

Active Surveillance for Myocarditis and Pericarditis in Canadian Children from 2021 to 2022: A Canadian Immunization Monitoring Program ACTive Study

Karina A. Top, Julie A. Bettinger, Joanne E. Embree, Taj Jadavji, Rupeena Purewal, Laura Sauvé, Jesse Papenburg, Shelley L. Deeks, Sarah E. Wilson, Nagib Dahdah, Manish Sadarangani, Scott A. Halperin, Fatima Kakkar, Shaun K. Morris, Natalie Bridger, Jeannette Comeau, Roseline Thibeault, Marc Lebel, Nicole Le Saux, Kescha Kazmi, Jeffrey M. Pernica, Jared Bullard, Rupesh Chawla, Cora Constantinescu, Catherine Burton

The Journal of Pediatrics. 2025 September; 10.1016/j.jpeds.2025.114642

Exploring off-label vaccine use: a survey of the global national immunization technical advisory group network

Vaccine. 2025 January; 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.127581

Longitudinal Meta-cohort study protocol using systems biology to identify vaccine safety biomarkers

Vaccine. 2025 January; 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.127504

Knowledge gaps and research priorities regarding vaccination in pregnancy: A Canadian perspective from the prevention of infections in the maternal-infant dyad (PRIMED) consortium

Vaccine. 2025 January; 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.127594

Neurological adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination among Canadians referred to the special immunization clinic network

Vaccine. 2025 January; 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.127254

Risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome after COVID-19 vaccination or SARS-CoV-2 infection: A multinational self-controlled case series study

Vaccine. 2025 January; 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.127291

Severity of COVID-19 in Hospitalized Immunocompromised Children Across Canada

Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. 2025 January; 10.1097/INF.0000000000004856

Participant-reported neurological events following immunization in the Canadian National Vaccine Safety Network-COVID-19 vaccine (CANVAS-COVID) study

Vaccine. 2024 January; 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.126445

The safety of seasonal influenza vaccination among adults prescribed immune checkpoint inhibitors: A self-controlled case series study using administrative data

Vaccine. 2024 January; 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.01.023

The current state of pertussis vaccination in pregnancy around the world, with recommendations for improved care: Consensus statements from the Global Pertussis Initiative

International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics. 2024 January; 10.1002/ijgo.15311

Revaccination outcomes among adolescents and adults with suspected hypersensitivity reactions following COVID-19 vaccination: A Canadian immunization research network study

Vaccine. 2024 January; 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.06.045

Safety and immunogenicity of the live-attenuated varicella vaccine in pediatric solid organ transplant recipients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

American Journal of Transplantation. 2023 January; 10.1016/j.ajt.2023.06.008

Parent and healthcare provider views of live varicella vaccination of pediatric solid organ transplant recipients

Pediatric Transplantation. 2023 January; 10.1111/petr.14609

Immunological effects and safety of live rotavirus vaccination after antenatal exposure to immunomodulatory biologic agents: a prospective cohort study from the Canadian Immunization Research Network

The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health. 2023 January; 10.1016/S2352-4642(23)00136-0

Factors associated with intention for revaccination among patients with adverse events following immunization

Vaccine. 2023 January; 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.08.067

Anaphylaxis: Revision of the Brighton collaboration case definition

Vaccine. 2023 January; 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.11.027

Adverse Events Following Immunization With mRNA and Viral Vector Vaccines in Individuals With Previous Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection From the Canadian National Vaccine Safety Network

Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2023 January; 10.1093/cid/ciac852

A narrative review of vaccine pharmacovigilance during mass vaccination campaigns: Focus on myocarditis and pericarditis after COVID-19 mRNA vaccination

British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 2023 January; 10.1111/bcp.15625

Safety of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy: a Canadian National Vaccine Safety (CANVAS) network cohort study

The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2022 January; 10.1016/S1473-3099(22)00426-1

Prioritise research on vaccines for pregnant and breastfeeding women

The Lancet. 2022 January; 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00379-8

Advancing the Science of Vaccine Safety during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic and Beyond: Launching an International Network of Special Immunization Services

Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2022 January; 10.1093/cid/ciac407

The Canadian National Vaccine Safety Network: surveillance of adverse events following immunisation among individuals immunised with the COVID-19 vaccine, a cohort study in Canada

Julie A Bettinger, Manish Sadarangani, Gaston De Serres, Louis Valiquette, Otto G Vanderkooi, James D Kellner, Matthew P Muller, Karina A Top, Jennifer E Isenor, Allison McGeer, Kimberly Marty

BMJ Open. 2022 January; 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-051254

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children and adults (MIS-C/A): Case definition & guidelines for data collection, analysis, and presentation of immunization safety data

Vaccine. 2021 January; 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.01.054

Active surveillance of acute paediatric hospitalisations demonstrates the impact of vaccination programmes and informs vaccine policy in Canada and Australia

Karina A Top, Kristine Macartney, Julie A Bettinger, Ben Tan, Christopher C Blyth, Helen S Marshall, Wendy Vaudry, Scott A Halperin, Peter McIntyre

Eurosurveillance. 2020 June; 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.25.1900562

Developing product label information to support evidence-informed use of vaccines in pregnancy

Vaccine. 2019 January; 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.09.063

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