Joanna Schaafsma is a vascular neurologist who obtained her medical degree in the Netherlands. She then pursued specialized training in vascular neurology in Paris. Subsequently, she returned to the Netherlands to complete a PhD program focused on brain aneurysm imaging, which included health technology assessment. She combined her PhD program with a neurology residency that included an elective in interventional and diagnostic neuroradiology. Following that, she undertook a stroke fellowship in Toronto, Canada.

Since 2018, Dr. Schaafsma has served as a clinician investigator at the University Health Network and holds the position of assistant professor at the University of Toronto. Her research primarily revolves around decision making and imaging in cerebrovascular diseases. She has secured funding from various sources and leverages her national and international collaborative network to lead and participate in investigator-led observational studies and key clinical trials. As a result of her work, she has contributed to numerous peer-reviewed publications and has been invited for lectures nationally and internationally. Additionally, Dr. Schaafsma serves as the director of an integrated stroke fellowship program at UHN.

She actively contributes to the multidisciplinary team in both the neurovascular clinic and the revascularization clinic, working collaboratively to provide comprehensive care to our patients