DLSPH names director of Institute for Indigenous Health
December 12/2014
Professor Jeffrey Reading will begin the role of inaugural interim director of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health’s Institute for Indigenous Health on January 1, 2015.
This is somewhat of a homecoming for Professor Reading. He is an alumnus with master’s and PhD degrees from U of T’s Community Health Department, precursor to the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and he also held the inaugural TransCanada Pipelines Chair in Aboriginal Health and Well-being.
The Institute, which was created in June 2014 with support from Michael and Amira Dan, aims to support thriving Indigenous communities through population-based, trans-disciplinary, Indigenous and community-based participatory research approaches and education.
With more than two decades of experience enhancing knowledge in Indigenous health issues, both in Canada and globally, Professor Reading is excited to return to Toronto and have the opportunity to play a role in the development of this Institute, one of the first of its kind in the world.
Professor Reading joins the Dalla Lana School of Public Health community from the University of Victoria where he was a Professor in the School of Public Health and Social Policy since 2005. He was the founding Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Health Research at the University of Victoria and the inaugural Scientific Director of the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). In the CIHR role, he led a movement calling for a national advanced research agenda in the area of Aboriginal people’s health and led the CIHR cross-cutting initiative in rural and northern health research.
Some of Professor Reading’s research interests include: the social determinants of health, environmental issues including provision of safe potable water, health promotion and disease prevention, heart health, diabetes, tobacco misuse and accessibility to health care among Aboriginal Canadians.