The University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine has awarded 58 clinical research chairs to top clinician-scientists in a five-year, $40 million investment to drive clinical research excellence and enhance health and patient care.
The University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine Clinical Research Chairs span four categories—Distinguished, Tier 1, Tier 2 and Junior—and represent a wide range of departments and medical specializations (see below for a full list of recipients). The program has expanded to include additional chairs in keeping with the direction set by the Faculty’s Strategic Plan, Leading Innovation for a Healthier World, including recognition of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), a top priority for the Faculty of Medicine.
“The Clinical Research Chairs Program has allowed the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine to foster some of our top-performing clinician-scientists across the Faculty,” said Dr. Jocelyn Côté, vice-dean of research at the Faculty of Medicine. “It has been received with great enthusiasm.”
The uOttawa Faculty of Medicine Clinical Research Chairs Program was launched in 2010, aiming to support excellence in clinical research with an ultimate view to improve health and/or patient care. The first iteration of the program included two categories of awards, Tier 1 and Tier 2, mirroring the Canada Research Chair program. The categories provide $200,000 and $100,000 per year respectively for five years, with the uOttawa Faculty of Medicine contributing 30%, and the respective clinical department 70%, of these sums.
In 2015 the program grew from five to nine Tier 1 chairs and from seven to 13 Tier 2 chairs, and expanded to create 12 Junior Clinical Research Chairs. The latter recognizes the Faculty’s commitment to supporting and promoting its early career investigators, providing $80,000 annually to newly recruited faculty members in each of the Faculty’s 12 clinical departments.
This year’s competition was launched in early 2020 for new and renewal applications, along with the creation of a new Distinguished Clinical Research Chair tier. The selection committee received an unprecedented number of outstanding applications.
“The Faculty continues to uphold its dedication to the emerging and continuing success of our outstanding clinical researchers,” Dr. Côtésaid.
| Dr. Shawn Aaron | Department of Medicine | Chair in Obstructive Lung Disease |
| Dr. Rob Beanlands | Department of Medicine | Chair in Cardiac Imaging |
| Dr. Bill Cameron | Department of Medicine | Chair in Infection and Immunity |
| Dr. Greg Knoll | Department of Medicine | Chair in Clinical Transplantation Research |
| Dr. David Mack | Department of Pediatrics | Chair in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Diseases |
| Dr. Alex MacKenzie | Department of Pediatrics | Chair in Neurologic Rare Disease Therapeutics |
| Dr. Ian Stiell | Department of Emergency Medicine | Chair in Improving Care for Patients with Acute Cardiac Conditions |
| Dr. Phil Wells | Department of Medicine | Chair in Translational and AI Research in Venous Thromboembolic Diseases |
| Dr. Gonzalo Alvarez | Department of Medicine | Chair in Prevention of Tuberculosis in Indigenous Communities |
| Dr. Jonathan Angel | Department of Medicine | Chair in HIV Cure Research |
| Dr. Rebecca Auer | Department of Surgery | Chair in Perioperative Cancer Therapeutics |
| Dr. David Birnie | Department of Medicine | Chair in Cardiac Arrhythmia Research |
| Dr. Marc Carrier | Department of Medicine | Chair in Venous Thromboembolism and Cancer |
| Dr. Darryl Davis | Department of Medicine | Chair in Translational Cardiovascular Medicine |
| Dr. Dar Dowlatshahi | Department of Medicine | Chair in Patient Oriented Cerebrovascular Disease Research |
| Dr. Grégoire Le Gal | Department of Medicine | Chair in Diagnosis of Venous Thromboembolism |
| Dr. Doug Manuel | Department of Family Medicine | Chair in Precision Medicine for Chronic Disease Prevention |
| Dr. Lisa Mielniczuk | Department of Medicine | Chair in Heart Function |
| Dr. Smita Pakhalé | Department of Medicine | Chair in Equity and Patient Engagement in Vulnerable Populations |
| Dr. Amy Plint | Department of Pediatrics | Chair in Pediatric Emergency Medicine |
| Dr. Michael Schlossmacher | Department of Medicine | Chair in Neurodegeneration |
| Dr. Andrew Seely | Department of Surgery | Chair in Innovative Use of Clinical Data to Monitor Systems and Improve Patient Care |
| Dr. Venkatesh Thiruganasambandamoorthy | Department of Emergency Medicine | Chair in Cardiovascular Emergencies |
| Dr. Christian Vaillancourt | Department of Emergency Medicine | Chair in Emergency Heart and Brain Resuscitation |
| Dr. Leanne Ward | Department of Pediatrics | Chair in Pediatric Bone Health |
| Dr. Kumanan Wilson | Department of Medicine | Chair in Digital Health Innovation |
| Dr. Roger Zemek | Department of Pediatrics | Chair in Pediatric Concussion (Brain and Mind) |
| Dr. Angel Arnaout | Department of Surgery | Chair in Preoperative Cancer Therapeutics |
| Dr. Sibel Aydin | Department of Medicine | Chair in Inflammatory Arthritis |
| Dr. Sylvain Boet | Department of Anesthesiology | Chair in Perioperative Patient Safety |
| Dr. Lana Castellucci | Department of Medicine | Chair in Thrombosis and Anticoagulation Safety |
| Dr. Innie Chen | Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology | Chair in Population Health and Health Services for Women |
| Dr. Sharon Chih | Department of Medicine | Chair in Cardiac Transplantation |
| Dr. James Downar | Department of Medicine | Chair in Palliative and End of Life Care |
| Dr. David Dyment | Department of Pediatrics | Chair in Epilepsy Genetics |
| Dr. Susan Humphrey-Murto | Department of Medicine | Chair in Medical Education |
| Dr. Natasha Kekre | Department of Medicine | Chair in Cellular Immunotherapy |
| Dr. Claire Kendall | Department of Family Medicine | Chair in Strengthening Primary Care for Integrated Health Equity |
| Dr. Daniel McIsaac | Department of Anesthesiology | Chair in Innovative Perioperative Care |
| Dr. Hugh McMillan | Department of Pediatrics | Chair in Advanced Therapeutics in Neuromuscular Disease |
| Dr. Tiago Mestre | Department of Medicine | Chair in Parkinson’s Disease |
| Dr. Sanjay Murthy | Department of Medicine | Chair in Inflammatory Bowel Disease |
| Dr. Mark Norris | Department of Pediatrics | Chair in Eating Disorders |
| Dr. Louise Sun | Department of Anesthesiology | Chair in Big Data and Cardiovascular Outcomes Research |
| Dr. Peter Tanuseputro | Department of Medicine | Chair in Palliative Care and Predictive Analytics |
| Dr. Jodi Warman Chardon | Department of Medicine | Chair in Diagnosis and Discovery Pipeline for Patients with Genetic Neuromuscular Disease |
| Dr. Lisa Caulley | Department of Otolaryngology | Chair in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery |
| Dr. Angela Cheung | Department of Medicine | Chair in Precision Medicine in Autoimmune Liver Disease |
| Dr. Debra Eagles | Department of Emergency Medicine | Chair in Geriatric Emergency Medicine |
| Dr. Darine El-Chaâr | Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology | Chair in Perinatal Research and Epidemiology |
| Dr. Rustum Karanjia | Department of Ophthalmology | Chair in Neuro-ophthalmology |
| Dr. Manoj Lalu | Department of Anesthesiology | Chair in Innovative Translational Research |
| Dr. Luke Lavallée | Department of Surgery | Chair in Surgery |
| Dr. Derek MacFadden | Department of Medicine | Chair in Antibiotic Use and Antibiotic Resistance |
| Dr. Kamila Premji | Department of Family Medicine | Chair in Family Medicine |
| Dr. Marie-Eve Robinson | Department of Pediatrics | Chair in Genetic Skeletal Disorders |
| Dr. Krishan Yadav | Department of Emergency Medicine | Chair in Skin and Soft Tissue Infections |
| Dr. Naista Zhand | Department of Psychiatry | Chair in Schizophrenia |
uOttawa Faculty of Medicine Clinical Research Chairs Program:
Notes on the program and the most recent allocation of chairs 
- In the category of Distinguished Clinical Research Chairs, no applications were received from women or members of other under-represented groups.
- 29% of all applications to the program were from women.
- The work of the selection committee, on which four women sat, resulted in 34% of applications from women being selected.
- 38% of the chairs were awarded to women.
- Additional investments have been made to promote Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), with the Faculty investing selectively in nine additional chairs to support EDI and la Francophonie.
- The profile of the junior category of chairs reflects a more balanced EDI profile than the more senior categories; similar ratios are reflected as professorial rankings advance from assistant to associate to full professor.
- EDI remains a top priority at the Faculty, and it is well integrated into its new strategic plan 2020-2025 and draft blueprint for action. The Faculty has a large number of initiatives in support of EDI under the leadership of Dr. Sharon Whiting, vice-dean of faculty affairs, and Dr. Cathy Tsilfidis, assistant dean of EDI, and its efforts align with those of the University and its leadership.
