Featured research chairs
New Chair
Raywat Deonandan, Chair in University Teaching
Professor Deonandan (Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences) is the recipient of the 2023 Chair in University Teaching, promoting inclusive, innovative and effective teaching and learning practices that impact the University. As Chair, he is examining how artificial intelligence can improve pedagogy, looking at how large language models can improve writing skills among health science students.
Renewed Chair
Chibuike Udenigwe, University Research Chair in Food Properties and Nutrient Bioavailability
Professor Udenigwe (School of Nutrition Sciences) holds the University Research Chair in Food Properties and Nutrient Bioavailability since 2018, and has recently been granted a second five-year term. His research program in food biomolecular chemistry advances knowledge of the nutritional and health-promoting properties of food proteins and peptides, including: 1) how the structures of emerging protein-based materials influence gastrointestinal fate and nutritional quality across the lifespan; 2) biological interactions and safety of protein-based nanoparticle delivery systems; and 3) the biological roles and health benefits of food peptides. He aims to advance knowledge on novel protein functionality to promote utilization by consumers and industry, while training personnel for the burgeoning sustainable protein sector.
Outgoing Chairs
Pascal Imbeault, Montfort Research Chair in Physical and Mental Comorbidities
Professor Imbeault (School of Human Kinetics) held the Montfort Research Chair in Physical and Mental Comorbidities from 2016 until 2024. With this Chair, he catalyzed research into the mechanisms underlying the development of metabolic disturbances in individuals living with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. In particular, Professor Imbeault’s team showed that the body's ability to manage blood lipids (triglycerides) is negatively affected in men, especially when exposed to intermittent hypoxia, an experimental model simulating obstructive sleep apnea. By fostering the integration of clinician specialists from the Montfort Hospital Sleep Laboratory into his research, this latest work will promote the development of preventive and therapeutic approaches that will improve the quality of life of people living with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.
Chair term : December 2016 to March 2024
Jacinthe Savard, Co-holder of the University of Ottawa/Institut du Savoir Montfort Joint Chair on the Health of Francophones in Ontario
Professor Savard (School of Rehabilitation Sciences) will have been co-holder of the University of Ottawa and Institut du Savoir Montfort Research Chair on the Health of Francophones in Ontario from 2019 to 2024. Professor Savard's research program aims to consolidate the knowledge base identifying the living conditions of minority Francophones, their health status, their experience of service and language barriers, and the organizational capacity to offer services in French. With her colleagues, she has developed several tools, often available online, to train future professionals in the active offer of health and social services in French and to measure active offer behaviors, as well as for self-assessment of organizational and community resources for active offer. The latter tool guides healthcare providers towards improving their offer of services in French in Francophone minority settings. The Chair has also created a knowledge mobilization website that brings together in a single access point over 600 bibliographical references on health in a minority francophone context, links to the tools mentioned above, as well as atlases and dashboards on the living conditions or social determinants of health of Francophones living in Ontario and the availability of French-language services in various regions.
Chair term: October 2019 to September 2024
Dawn Stacey, University Research Chair in Knowledge Translation to Patients
Professor Stacey (School of Nursing) will have held the University Research Chair in Knowledge Translation to Patients from 2012 to 2024. While holding this Chair, she became an internationally recognized authority in conceptual models and research methods to support patient engagement in evidence-informed healthcare decisions. She also used the Chair funding to support numerous graduate students to build competencies in implementation and decision sciences. Her pioneering research established cancer symptom triage decision tools, novel decision coaching, and efficient methods for creating decision aids; thereby improving patient and health system outcomes. These methods and decision tools are publicly available, used in practice, and have directly influenced health policy in Canada and globally. For example, she maintains the world’s largest inventory of patient decision aids which has 250,000 page views per year.
Chair term: November 2012 to October 2024
