Three DLSPH faculty elected as 2025 Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Fellows
August 19/2025
DLSPH Profs. Yvonne Bombard, Rayjean Hung and Laura Rosella were elected as 2025 Canadian Academy of Health Sciences fellows on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, one of the highest distinctions for academics in health sciences.
By Bonnie O’Sullivan and Ishani Nath
“Being elected to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) is a profound honour,” says Prof. Laura Rosella. DLSPH Profs. Yvonne Bombard and Rayjean Hung join Rosella as newly elected 2025 Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Fellows.
CAHS Fellows are recognized for their “demonstrated leadership, creativity, distinctive competencies & background, and a commitment to advance academic health science.”
Read on to learn about these three faculty members’ important research focuses.
Yvonne Bombard, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation
Prof. Bombard focuses on genomics health services and policy. Through her research and partnerships with academics and government, Bombard has worked to make genomic medicine more accessible and patient-centred.
“I am deeply committed to improving access to genomics and precision medicine,” says Bombard, whose work has developed patient digital tools like Genetics Adviser and spotlighted systemic inequities in genomics and barriers to testing that can impede early detection of conditions like breast cancer.
She led Canada’s first comprehensive study on genetic discrimination, revealing that 40 per cent of those with a genetic predisposition to Huntington’s disease experienced genetic discrimination. As a founding member of the Scientific Adviser of the Canadian Coalition for Genetic Fairness (CCGF), Bombard was instrumental in the development of the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act (2017), which makes it illegal to require someone to disclose the results of a genetic test as a condition of providing a good or service, such as health insurance.
“This recognition affirms the importance of partnering with patients and health system providers to develop the tools and policies that can improve patient care,” says Bombard. “Becoming a CAHS Fellow is an honour that will allow me to continue the research and digital innovations that are driven by the communities we aim to serve.”
Rayjean Hung, Public Health Sciences
The focus of Prof. Hung’s research is finding new ways to detect cancer early. For example, lung cancer is one of the most common cancers diagnosed in Canadians. Hung’s research team is working on an international project looking at how predictive modeling can improve lung cancer screening. Her team is also exploring ways to use non-invasive procedures to improve early detection of pancreatic cancer — a cancer that is often only caught in advanced stages and once it has spread to other parts of the body. On average, only 10 per cent of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer will live for at least five years.
“The goal is to detect these fatal cancers early when curative treatment is still possible,” says Hung, a Professor in DLSPH’s Epidemiology Division.
Hung plans on continuing this life-saving work as a CAHS Fellow, with a particular focus on underrepresented communities. She will also be collaborating with an international team of researchers on work to improve children’s health trajectories in their early stages of life onwards.
“It is my absolute honour to be elected as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences,” says Hung. “I look forward to contributing to the Academy’s work on key health issues that impact Canadians.”
Laura Rosella, Public Health Sciences
Prof. Rosella’s research focuses on improving population health and strengthening health systems through data science. To do this, her research examines linkages between health, social, environmental, and clinical data. “By applying advanced analytics, my work aims to support more integrated and anticipatory decision-making across sectors,” she explains.
Rosella’s research has generated new data about health and wellbeing that is now used by policymakers and health systems leaders to improve and plan services, resource allocation and in identifying at-risk populations. She also developed a population health tool that uses artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to help in the prevention and management of chronic diseases such as diabetes.
Rosella is Chief Scientist, Stephen Family Research Chair in Community Health and Scientist at Trillium Health Partners’ Institute for Better Health and Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Public Health.
She says being named a CAHS fellow affirms the importance of data science in improving population health. “It reflects the value of advancing data science to address the real-world challenges facing population health and health systems in Canada. This recognition affirms the importance of understanding how social, environmental, and structural determinants shape health, and it celebrates the interdisciplinary work that makes this possible. I’m incredibly grateful to my colleagues, trainees, and partners who have contributed to this shared mission.”