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SickKids scientists elected to Canada’s top health sciences academy
Summary:
Drs. Astrid Guttmann, Zhengping Jia, Rulan Parekh and Russell Schachar have been elected Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, one of the most prestigious honours in Canada.
Drs. Astrid Guttmann, Zhengping Jia, Rulan Parekh and Russell Schachar at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have been elected as Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) — one of the highest honours in Canada’s health science community.
The CAHS brings together the country’s top-ranked health and biomedical scientists and scholars from all disciplines to evaluate complex health challenges and shape the future of health care and research. Guttmann, Jia, Parekh and Schachar are recognized for their exceptional leadership, academic performance, scientific innovation and commitment to advancing health and well-being in Canada and beyond.
“I’m proud to congratulate Drs. Guttman, Jia, Parekh and Schachar on their appointments to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in recognition of their groundbreaking contributions and unwavering leadership in health sciences and child health,” says Dr. Stephen Scherer, Chief of Research. “Their election to CAHS reflects the excellence of research at SickKids and its far-reaching impact on health outcomes across Canada and globally.”
Dr. Astrid Guttmann
Senior Scientist in the Child Health Evaluative Sciences program, Staff Physician in the Division of Paediatric Medicine and Co-Director of the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children
Dr. Astrid Guttmann is recognized for her leadership in advancing evidence-based health care delivery and policy development. Her research aims to improve child health and health equity with population-based research evaluating health systems and social programs. Current areas of focus include health system models of care such as virtual care to improve access to primary and mental health services, and the impacts and gaps in care for families impacted by perinatal opioid use. She works closely with the communities she studies, including refugee and First Nations communities, to better understand long-term physical and mental health outcomes. In addition to her clinical and research roles at SickKids, Guttmann holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Child Health Policy and Services, is Chief Science Officer at ICES and a professor in the Paediatrics Department at the University of Toronto, with cross-appointments in the Institute for Health, Policy, Management and Evaluation and Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
Dr. Zhengping Jia
Senior Scientist in the Neurosciences & Mental Health program
Dr. Zhengping Jia’s research examines how neurons communicate, focusing on the molecular mechanisms behind synapse development, plasticity and memory formation, to illuminate the fundamental processes of brain development. Jia uses cutting-edge preclinical models, imaging techniques and behavioural analysis to investigate the role and function of various molecules involved in these processes. By better understanding how synapses develop and function, Jia hopes to identify the underlying molecular mechanisms for a number of neurodevelopmental conditions, including schizophrenia, and inform potential targets for future therapies. Jia holds a Canada Research Chair in Synaptic Plasticity and Brain Disorders and is a Professor and Neuroscience Platform Head in the Department of Physiology at the University of Toronto and international guest professor at Southeast University and Shaanxi Normal University in China.
Dr. Rulan Parekh
Project Investigator in the Child Health Evaluative Sciences program and Staff Physician in the Division of Nephrology
Dr. Rulan Parekh is a recognized leader in clinical epidemiology and translational research in kidney disease. Her work has revealed novel genetic risk factors leading to kidney disease and increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality for children and adults with kidney disease. She holds a Canada Research Chair in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Epidemiology and is Vice President, Academics and a clinician-scientist at Women’s College Hospital and Professor of Paediatrics and Medicine in the Departments of Medicine, Paediatrics and Epidemiology at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Russell Schachar
Senior Scientist Emeritus in the Neurosciences & Mental Health program and Psychiatrist in Department of Psychiatry
Dr. Russell Schachar has over four decades of research focused on neurodevelopmental conditions in youth, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder and autism spectrum disorder. His child psychology work integrates cognitive, physiological and genetic approaches to improve early detection and therapeutic strategies and has improved the understanding of brain function in children recovering from brain injuries and cancer. Currently, the Schachar Lab examines how genetic and environmental influences interact to cause problems in attention, learning and behaviour in people with ADHD and related neurodevelopmental conditions. Through this work and as co-lead of Spit for Science, Schachar is a champion of Precision Child Health, using geospatial data combined with genetic information to better understand and predict neurodevelopmental conditions in children. He is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto.
Learn more about this year’s CAHS Fellows.