Meet the First 13 Scientific Directors at CIHR

Through research, various leadership roles, and a public political career, Dr. Hébert has contributed to advancing health care services for Canada's aging population. His research interests include geriatrics, gerontology, health services and systems, public health policy, aging, integrated care for older adults, and long-term care.

Notable contributions

• Promoted integrated health and social services for older people.
• Advocated for public policies supporting caregivers and aging populations.
• Developed the Système de mesure de l'autonomie fonctionnelle to assess people's autonomy and needs.
• Led the Programme de recherche sur l'intégration des services de maintien de l'autonomie (PRISMA) to better integrate local health services.

Achievements as CIHR scientific director

• Inspired the institute's first strategic research priorities through a vision of the aging population as an opportunity for our society.
• Conceptualized a population-based longitudinal study on aging in Canada and laid the groundwork for the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA).

Dr. Reading, a Mohawk scholar from the Tyendinaga First Nation, is a globally recognized leader in Indigenous health research, known for advancing culturally grounded approaches to wellness and chronic disease prevention. As the inaugural First Nations Health Authority Chair in Heart Health and Wellness at St. Paul's Hospital and a recipient of the Order of Canada, he has championed Indigenous-led solutions to health inequalities across Canada and beyond.

Notable contributions

• Held the first endowed research chair at the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto.
• Served as the first Interim Director of the Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.
• Played a pivotal role in developing and implementing Canadian ethics guidelines for research involving First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples.
• Made key contributions to the Canadian Academy of Health Science's report and solutions that aim to have a particular impact on Indigenous Peoples' health globally.

Achievements as CIHR scientific director

• Championed a national research agenda focused on Indigenous health.
• Led initiatives in rural and northern health research.
• Founded the CIHR Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research.

Dr. Branton was a cancer researcher who conducted pioneering research in molecular biology, cancer virology, gene expression, and RNA splicing. His legacy includes catalyzing national collaboration across Canadian cancer research funding agencies and advancing cancer research for the public good.

Notable contributions

• Pioneered the field of viral oncogenesis, uncovering how viruses can transform normal cells into cancerous cells.
• Provided key insights on how specific viral proteins manipulated cellular pathways for cancer development and progression.
• Paved the way for the advancement of novel cancer therapies.

Achievements as CIHR scientific director

• Founded the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance.
• Helped establish the Terry Fox Research Institute and the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow's Health (CanPath), Canada's largest population health longitudinal cohort study.
• Contributed to laying the groundwork for a cohesive national cancer research strategy through a nationwide consultative process.

Dr. McManus is a visionary cardiovascular pathologist whose research has transformed our understanding of heart inflammation, transfusion medicine, transplant rejection, and organ failure. He has led groundbreaking initiatives that bridge science, medicine, and biotechnology to improve patient care worldwide.

Notable contributions

• Co-founded several biotechnology and health companies.
• Led the Centre of Excellence for the Prevention of Organ Failure, a not-for profit organization developing blood tests to predict and manage heart, lung, and kidney diseases and transplants.
• Established the Bruce McManus Cardiovascular Biobank which maintains over 100,000 de-identified human cardiovascular tissue specimens for research and education.

Achievements as CIHR scientific director

• Expanded the institute's research mandate beyond basic science research on the heart, lung and blood to include clinical, health services and psychosocial dimensions.

Dr. Stewart leaves a lasting legacy as a trailblazer in gender and population health research. Her work shed light on the critical role of social support and equity in shaping health outcomes for populations living in disadvantaged circumstances.

Notable contributions

• Built enduring research networks and championed inclusive health policies.
• Delivered a keynote speech about fostering children's resilience at the World Health Organization.
• Led health promotion research centres that facilitated more than 100 studies.

Achievements as CIHR scientific director

• Made significant investments to improve access and equity for vulnerable populations.
• Laid a strong foundation for gender, sex, and health research in Canada.
• Established one of the most successful transdisciplinary funding programs at CIHR.
• Attracted over 89 million dollars in partnerships within CIHR and other funding partners.

A trailblazing Canadian geneticist, Dr. McInnes has advanced knowledge of human genetics, inherited eye diseases, photoreceptors, retinal and eye development, and retinal degeneration. His groundbreaking research and leadership have shaped both scientific discovery and genetics education on a global scale.

Notable contributions

• Co-authored the award-winning textbook Thompson and Thompson's Genetics in Medicine.
• identified major regulatory genes of eye development and associated these genes with inherited blindness.
• Co-discovered retinal stem cells.
• Served as CIHR's interim president in 2017–2018 and contributed to improving CIHR's peer review system and Open Programs.

Achievements as CIHR scientific director

• Led the institute for 10 years, the longest term of the 13 inaugural scientific directors.

A health economist by training, Dr. Barer retired in 2018 from an accomplished academic career in health services and policy. Some of the research interests that shaped Dr. Barer's scholarship include physician resource policy, health care financing, health care utilization, and access to care.

Notable contributions

• Co-founded what is now Population Data BC and ensured that it was set up as a “public utility,” available for all researchers in Canada.
• Founded the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research at the UBC.
• Served on the federal, provincial, and territorial Advisory Committee on Health Services.
• Co-developed and led the inaugural conference of iHEA (International Health Economics Association) in 1996 Vancouver.

Achievements as CIHR scientific director

• Significantly grew the health services and policy research community in Canada through innovative programming and partnerships.
• Spearheaded a policy-oriented, rapid response initiative to fund research that helped establish Canada's first-ever wait time benchmarks in cancer, joint replacement, and sight restoration.
• Contributed to the establishment and launch of the Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research and Healthcare Policy, the only journal at its time that peer-reviewed for both excellence and policy relevance.

Dr. Challis is an internationally respected Canadian physiologist whose research on pregnancy, fetal development, preterm birth, and the developmental origins of health and disease has had a profound impact on the lives of people in Canada and abroad. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Human Potential Program, Singapore.

Notable contributions

• Uncovered fundamental processes contributing to premature birth and birth at term.
• Showed how different hormones affect the birth process.
• Uncovered the role of fetal development in onset of disease.
• Developed the concept that the control of labor results from local hormonal interactions within the uterus and placenta.

Achievements as CIHR scientific director

• Reshaped the Canadian health research landscape, championing interdisciplinary collaboration and supporting innovative research on maternal, child, and youth health.
• Established a strong foundation for the integration of developmental health science into Canadian health policy and practice.

Dr. Frank was an orthopedic surgeon and researcher in bone and joint, osteoarthritis, and orthopedic care for hip and knee replacements. Celebrated for his leadership, Dr. Frank championed the application of research to innovate the healthcare system and improve the quality of care for patients.

Notable contributions

• Contributed to introducing changes to Alberta's system for hip and knee replacements that have reduced wait times and the length of post-operative hospital stays.
• Helped develop methods for grafting and repairing injured knee ligaments and preventing joint osteoarthritis.
• Held two patents for advanced diagnostic devices.
• Founded the Alberta Bone and Joint Health Institute.
• Co-founded the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health.
• Led Alberta Innovates — Health Solutions.

Contributions as CIHR Scientific Director

• Played a leading role in the development of the Alliance for the Canadian Arthritis Program, a coalition that fought the burden of arthritis.
• Encouraged government to dedicate resources to arthritis research and care.

Dr. Singh is a distinguished immunologist, professor, and leader who has advanced the understating of immune regulation in autoimmune diseases. His research has focused on the mechanisms of T cell-mediated immune responses, and he has contributed to vaccine development, infection control, and transplantation science.

Notable contributions

• Served as Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Western Ontario and co-director of the Immunology group at the Robarts Research Institute.
• Promoted interdisciplinary research linking microbiology, immunology, and public health.
• Mentored numerous students and researchers in the field of immunology.
• In 2010, CIHR created the Bhagirath Singh Early Career Award in Infection and Immunity to honour his contributions.

Achievements as CIHR scientific director

• Engaged diverse stakeholders—researchers, health charities, and public/private sectors—in shaping Canada's infection and immunity research agenda.
• Played a key role in national and international public health and policy initiatives related to SARS, HIV/AIDS, and Hepatitis C.
• Garnered support for research on the microbiome, positioning Canada as a leader in this field.

An accomplished leader in the public and not-for-profit sectors of health research, Dr. Finegood is known for building complex partnerships and inspiring excellence among her team and colleagues. She is an expert and champion for translating science and demonstrating the importance of discovery, research, and new knowledge to address complex challenges.

Notable contributions

• Served as President and CEO of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (2012–2016).
• Published in a wide range of academic domains including the pathogenesis of diabetes, mathematical modeling, public health, knowledge translation, and complex adaptive systems.
• Developed the Complex Systems Frameworks Collection to make systems thinking more accessible.

Achievements as CIHR scientific director

• Made strategic investments in research addressing the obesity epidemic, recognizing it as a major public health challenge.
• Co-founded Canada on the Move, an innovative public-private partnership that brought together CIHR and Kellogg Canada to promote physical activity and healthy lifestyles.
• Contributed to establishing policy and procedures for CIHR's corporate governance and accountability. 
• Advanced knowledge mobilization and developed capacity in nutrition, metabolism, and diabetes, fostering collaboration across sectors and disciplines.

Dr. Quirion's career exemplifies the trajectory from pioneering researcher to global science policy leader, shaping the governance of science in Canada and beyond. His work has advanced the field of neuroscience, particularly in the areas of mental health, addiction, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Notable contributions

• Advanced the understanding of neuropeptide physiology in mental disorders.
• Served as Vice-Dean (Life Sciences & Strategic Initiatives) at McGill's Faculty of Medicine, guiding research strategy and university growth.
• Mentored nearly 100 graduate students and postdocs.
• Helped shape science policy as Quebec's first-ever Chief Scientist.

Achievements as CIHR scientific director

• Led the International Collaborative Research Strategy on Alzheimer's Disease, fostering global coordination for dementia research.
• Promoted interdisciplinary and translational research in mental health and addiction, advancing research in Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, depression, pain, memory, and neuropeptide biology.
• Strengthened Canada's global leadership in neuroscience research, including in the newly developing field of neuroethics.

With a career spanning over four decades, Dr. Frank is a distinguished epidemiologist renowned for his work on health inequalities and chronic disease prevention. His career is marked by leadership roles in pioneering public health research institutes in Canada and Scotland, where he played pivotal roles in shaping evidence-based health policy on an international scale.

Notable contributions

• Was the Founding Director of Research, Institute for Work & Health, Toronto (1991–1997).
• Served as Director for the Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy (2008–2018).
• Held the position of Chair in Public Health Research and Policy at the University of Edinburgh (2008–2022).

Achievements as CIHR scientific director

• Led the Global Health Research Initiative (2001–2008), a major international collaboration to address global health disparities.
• Advanced research on health inequalities, focusing on socio-economic determinants of health.
• Promoted interdisciplinary public health research, helping shape CIHR's strategic direction in population health.
• Secured and managed significant funding for applied public health research, influencing both Canadian and international health policy.