OTTAWA, June 12, 2020 – Research Canada held its first virtual Annual General Meeting in 15 years on June 4, 2020. The meeting was an opportunity for Research Canada’s Members across the health innovation community to come together in the wake of COVID-19 and discuss the work that the organization is doing to advocate for health research and health innovation. Research Canada was also pleased to appoint its new Chair and Past-Chair and welcome three new Research Canada Board Directors.
Research Canada was pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Rose Goldstein, a professor in the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University and the former Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation to the position of Chair of the Board of Directors. Dr. Goldstein steps into this role after two years as Research Canada’s Vice-Chair, during which she chaired the Governance and Leadership in Advocacy Award Selection Committees and lent her valuable expertise and counsel to Research Canada’s management on a number of strategic priorities.
Dr. Goldstein had the opportunity to honour her predecessor, Dr. Robert McMaster, Vice President of Research at Vancouver Coastal Health and Associate Dean of Research, Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. Dr. McMaster stepped into the role of Past-Chair after three years of exemplary service as Chair of the Board of Directors, during which he made many important contributions to Research Canada, helping to foster excellent relationships with decision makers and National Partners. Under his leadership, Research Canada put in place a new strategic plan and held a number of stellar Parliamentary Health Research Caucus events and panel presentations. Research Canada looks forward to continuing to work with Dr. McMaster as Past-Chair.
Research Canada was also pleased to announce and welcome three new knowledgeable, experienced and talented Board Directors:
Dr. Amir Asif is the Vice-President, Research and Innovation at York University. Dr. Asif’s research focuses on developing next generation technologies for a variety of everyday applications, including health and medical devices. Furthermore, his extensive academic experience and university service have contributed to his reputation for thoughtful, decisive leadership aimed at training the next generation of engineering and computer science leaders. During his time as Dean of the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science at Concordia University, Dr. Asif developed an EDI plan to promote a greater gender balance in engineering.
Ms. Elizabeth Kidd is the current Executive Director of the Health Coalition of Alberta. As a senior executive with more than 25 years of experience developing and implementing government relations, public relations and public policy strategies that achieve results, Ms. Kidd is a strong negotiator with demonstrated success in improving patient access to services and care as well as finding solutions to shape health care policy.
Dr. Jennifer Walker is a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Health at Laurentian University in the School of Rural and Northern Health. As an award-winning health services researcher, Dr. Walker examines the impact of policy on the health of Indigenous populations. Throughout her career, she has collaborated closely with Indigenous organizations in order to have her research projects drive advocacy and change, and has extensive research relationships with Indigenous scholars and organizations.
Research Canada also said farewell to Dr. Robert Haché, President of Laurentian University and Dr. Alain Gratton, Director of the Douglas Institute Research Centre and Professor of Psychiatry at McGill University, both of whom have stepped off the Board after eight years of exemplary service. Dr. Debbie Martin, a Tier II Canada Research Chair of Indigenous Peoples Health and Well-being at Dalhousie University, also stepped down after two years of service in order to focus on her research to prevent chronic diseases among Indigenous communities.
For a complete list of Research Canada’s Board of Directors, please visit rc-rc.ca/board-of-directors.
About Research Canada
Research Canada is a national alliance dedicated to increasing investments in health research through collaborative advocacy and engaging government, academia, industry and non-profit sectors to build support for long-term health research funding. For more information, visit rc-rc.ca.
For inquiries:
Christie Tomkins
Manager of Policy and Public Affairs
613-234-5129
ctomkins@rc-rc.ca