Dr. Cheryl Barnabe, MD, MSc’11, appointed director, McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health

The Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) and Alberta Health Services (AHS) are pleased to announce the joint appointment of Dr. Cheryl Barnabe, MD, MSc’11, as the new director of the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health. The appointment takes effect Jan. 1, 2024.

Dr. Barnabe is a rheumatologist and professor in the departments of Medicine and Community Health Sciences at the CSM. She is a Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Autoimmune Diseases and the Arthur J.E. Child Chair in Rheumatology Outcomes Research.

Dr. Barnabe has held previous leadership positions as deputy director of the McCaig Institute; vice-chair, Indigenous Health in the Department of Medicine; chair of the Quality Care Committee for the Canadian Rheumatology Association; principal investigator of the Alberta Indigenous Mentorship in Health Innovation Network; and chair of the Group for Research with Indigenous Peoples at the O’Brien Institute for Public Health.

Dr. Barnabe will take over the role as director of the McCaig Institute from Dr. Steven Boyd, PhD, whom we thank for his eight years of service.

Dr. Barnabe completed two Bachelor of Science degrees, in Science and in Medicine, as well as a Doctor of Medicine, at the University of Manitoba. She completed a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Calgary in 2011. As a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta and advocate for equity in health services, her research program, Arthritis Care for Indigenous Populations, has investigated the epidemiology of arthritis and contemporary outcomes of inflammatory arthritis conditions. In response to identified care gaps, she has worked with Indigenous leadership in Alberta to co-develop, implement and evaluate health services interventions, and led curricular initiatives for rheumatology residents and practitioners to support the provision of culturally safe arthritis care environments.

Dr. Barnabe has received several national awards including the Killam Emerging Research Leader Award. She is a member of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada (2018).

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Barnabe on her new appointment.

Todd Anderson, MD                                                                Mark Anselmo, MD                                          
Dean, Cumming School of Medicine                                     Calgary Zone Medical Director
University of Calgary                                                               Alberta Health Services