Karina Top, MD, MS, FRCPC

Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Pediatrics Dept

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Contact Overview Announcements Publications Links

Contact

Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Pediatrics Dept

Email: ktop@ualberta.ca
Phone: (780) 492-8038
Address: 3-509 Edmonton Clinic Health 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 an external expert to the National Advisory Committee on Immunization's Vaccine Safety Working Group, 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.

Announcements

MPH Practicum position available for Spring/Summer 2025 (posted on Campusbridge): (6909) UofA Pediatrics - Vaccine Safety

Featured Publications

Biomarkers of vaccine safety and efficacy in vulnerable populations: Lessons from the fourth international precision vaccines conference

Vaccine. 2025 January; 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.126477

A scoping review of active, participant centred, digital adverse events following immunization (AEFI) surveillance of WHO approved COVID-19 vaccines: A Canadian immunization Research Network study

Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics. 2024 January; 10.1080/21645515.2023.2293550

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

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

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

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

Vaccination and egg allergy: Considerations for family physicians,La vaccination et l’allergie aux Œufs Facteurs que devraient considérer les médecins de famille

Canadian Family Physician. 2024 January; 10.46747/cfp.700113

mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Among Children and Adolescents from the Canadian National Vaccine Safety Network Cohort Study

SSRN. 2024 January; 10.2139/ssrn.4854765

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

Paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome in Canada: population-based surveillance and role of SARS-CoV-2 linkage

Pediatric Research. 2023 January; 10.1038/s41390-023-02668-1

Immunological Effects and the Safety of Live Rotavirus Vaccination Following Antenatal Exposure to Monoclonal Antibody Biologics: A Canadian Immunization Research Network Study

SSRN. 2023 January; 10.2139/ssrn.4364876

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

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

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

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

medRxiv. 2022 January; 10.1101/2022.02.22.22271358

Prioritise research on vaccines for pregnant and breastfeeding women

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

Physician vaccination practices in mild to moderate inborn errors of immunity and retrospective review of vaccine completeness in IEI: results from the Canadian Immunization Research Network

Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology. 2022 January; 10.1186/s13223-022-00667-1

Kawasaki disease following immunization reported to the Canadian Immunization Monitoring Program ACTive (IMPACT) from 2013 to 2018

Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics. 2022 January; 10.1080/21645515.2022.2088215

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

Vaccine coverage among children with epilepsy in two Canadian provinces: A Canadian immunization research network study

Christiaan H. Righolt, Gurpreet Pabla, Jessy Donelle, Paula Brna, Shelley L. Deeks, Sarah E. Wilson, Bruce Smith, Kumanan Wilson, Salaheddin M. Mahmud, Karina A. Top, Steven Hawken

Vaccine. 2021 April; 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.03.009

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

Governing off-label vaccine use: An environmental scan of the Global National Immunization Technical Advisory Group Network

Karina A. Top, Abdoulreza Esteghamati, Melissa Kervin, Louise Henaff, Janice E. Graham, Noni E. MacDonald

Vaccine. 2020 January; 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.11.033

Adverse Events Following Immunization Among Children With Epilepsy: A Self-Controlled Case Series

Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. 2020 January; 10.1097/INF.0000000000002553

Waning Vaccine Immunity and Vaccination Responses in Children Treated for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Canadian Immunization Research Network Study

Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2020 January; 10.1093/cid/ciaa163

Live vaccines after pediatric solid organ transplant: Proceedings of a consensus meeting, 2018

Sneha Suresh, Julia Upton, Michael Green, Anne Pham‐Huy, Klara M. Posfay‐Barbe, Marian G. Michaels, Karina A. Top, Yaron Avitzur, Catherine Burton, Pearlie P. Chong, Lara Danziger‐Isakov, Anne I. Dipchand, Diane Hébert, Deepali Kumar, Shaun K. Morris, Nadya Nalli, Vicky Lee Ng, Sarah Kogan Nicholas, Joan L. Robinson, Melinda Solomon, Bruce Tapiero, Anita Verma, Jolan E. Walter, Upton D. Allen

Pediatric Transplantation. 2019 November; 10.1111/petr.13571

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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