Biography
Dr. Claire Kendall was appointed Associate Dean, Social Accountability at the Faculty of Medicine in November 2020 after having served under the title of Assistant Dean, Social Accountability from February 2020.
After completing a Baccalaureate in Science Biochemistry, Dr. Kendall earned her medical degree followed by a Women’s Health Fellowship, all at the University of Ottawa. She obtained a Master of Science, Public Health (distance) from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London, England, and most recently, completed a PhD in Epidemiology at uOttawa.
As an Associate Dean, Dr. Kendall joins the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) of the Faculty of Medicine. The Faculty’s social accountability commitment involves orienting its research, clinical service and education activates towards the diverse communities it is meant to serve through partnership with those communities themselves. In the short time that Dr. Kendall held the position of Assistant Dean, she conducted an environmental scan of the social accountability profile across the Faculty, spearheaded a social accountability faculty award, and launched an extensive grants and awards program for students at all levels, faculty members, and community stakeholders. These activities are integrating in concrete ways the Faculty’s social accountability mandate as laid out in the Faculty of Medicine’s 2020–2025 Strategic Plan.
Dr. Kendall is a family physician and a 15-year member of the Faculty. A seasoned clinician investigator, she holds scientific appointments with the Bruyère Research Institute, l’Institut du Savoir Montfort, and the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, among others, and is a Full Professor with the Department of Family Medicine and cross-appointed to the School of Epidemiology and Public Health.
Dr. Kendall actively advocates for Ottawa’s marginalized residents, and is frequently called upon as an expert in the delivery of primary care to populations such as people living with and at risk for HIV and people who are homeless or vulnerably housed, participating in discussions on how to mobilize research results into community action. Concurrent with her leadership and academic roles, Dr. Kendall holds a Faculty of Medicine Clinical Research Chair in Strengthening Primary Care for Integrated Health Equity.