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Brown, Fisman, Herridge, Walmsley, Booth Elected to Canadian Academy of Health Sciences

September 13/2021

Five faculty members at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health have been elected to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, the most prestigious honour of its kind in Canada.

Fellows of the Academy are elected on the basis of their demonstrated leadership, creativity, distinctive competencies and commitment to advancing academic health sciences. The CAHS Fellowship is considered one of the highest honours for members of the Canadian health sciences community and carries with it a covenant to serve the Academy and Canadian society.

head shot of Dean Steini Brown

Dean Adalsteinn (Steini) Brown

“I’m deeply honoured and grateful to be joining such a distinguished group of scholars,” says Dean Adalsteinn (Steini) Brown, a health policy expert at the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) who co-leads the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table. “I hope to use this platform to advance understanding of the need for strong public health and health systems in Canada.”

Another faculty member elected to the Academy, Prof. David Fisman, is an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist who has made significant contributions to the scientific community’s understanding of COVID spread.

Prof. David Fisman smiling head shot in front of bookshelf

Prof. David Fisman

Prof. Gillian Booth

“What an incredible honour,” he says. “I’m pretty used to the study of communicable disease dynamics being a bit of an overlooked field.  Clearly the pandemic has given our field new prominence, and I think being recognized in this way is a signal that our field’s importance to health is increasingly understood.”

Prof. Gillian Booth, who is cross-appointed to IHPME, was also named as one of the new Fellows. Booth is an internationally recognized diabetes researcher who is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Policy Solutions for Diabetes Prevention and Management.

Prof. Margaret Herridge, another IHPME professor, is a physician and senior scientist at the University Health Network.  She too was named to the CAHS for her international leadership in family and caregiver outcomes after critical illness.

Prof. Margaret Herridge

And Prof. Sharon Walmsley, also of IHPME, was elected to the organization for her world-leading research in the area of HIV and AIDS, and in particular aging and issues around long-term care with HIV.

Prof. Sharon Walmsley

The DLSPH scholars join current Fellows and DLSPH professors Vivek Goel, Janet Smylie, Harvey Skinner, John McLaughlin, Linda Rabeneck, Ross Baker, Raisa Deber, Andreas Laupacis, Paula Rochon, Michael Carter and Howard Hu.