Four UCalgary researchers inducted into Canadian Academy of Health Sciences

The Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) has inducted four UCalgary faculty members for their demonstrated leadership, creativity, and distinctive contributions to advancing health sciences.

CAHS brings together Canada’s top-ranked health and biomedical scientists and scholars to make a positive impact on the urgent health concerns of Canadians. CAHS fellows are selected from disciplines across the range of health sciences and collaborate to evaluate Canada’s most complex health challenges and recommend strategic, actionable solutions.

Dr. Stephen Freedman, MD; Dr. Jayna Holroyd-Leduc, MD; Dr. Eddy Lang, MD; and Dr. David Nicholas, PhD, were inducted into the academy on Aug. 31, 2022.

“Fellowship in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences is an opportunity to make an impact on Canada’s most complex health challenges,” says Dr. William Ghali, vice-president (research).

“Drs Freedman, Holroyd-Leduc, Lang, and Nicholas have made their mark at UCalgary through scholarly excellence and dedication to their fields and will be tremendous additions to this prestigious and productive academy. We congratulate them on this achievement.”

Dr. Stephen Freedman, MD

Professor of paediatrics and emergency medicine, Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation Professor in Child Health and Wellness, Cumming School of Medicine

Freedman is a professor of paediatrics and emergency medicine at the University of Calgary. He completed his residency at The Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto) and a paediatric emergency medicine fellowship and a Master’s of Science in Clinical Investigation at Northwestern University (Chicago). He is the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation Professor in Child Health and Wellness and the associate dean, clinical trials at the University of Calgary.

Freedman’s research focuses on applying clinical research to improve outcomes in children seeking emergency department care. He has dedicated his career to optimizing the care provided with children with acute infectious gastroenteritis and has led national and international studies of COVID in children.

Read more about Freedman’s research on long COVID in children and Shiga toxin-Producing E. coli.

Dr. Jayna Holroyd-Leduc, MD FRCPC

Professor and department head, Department of Medicine; professor, Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine

Holroyd-Leduc is a geriatrician researcher with over 150 publications, over $6 million in principal investigator/co-principal investigator grants and over 50 mentees. She is a professor in the Departments of Medicine and Community Health Sciences, and department head of the Department of Medicine. In July 2022, she took on the role as academic lead of the Brenda Strafford Centre on Aging within the O’Brien Institute for Public Health.

Her research focuses on the scientific implementation of evidence into practice, including extensive contributions to improving care for older adults. Her collaborations span the country, built in part through her leadership within the Canadian Frailty Network. Holroyd-Leduc was named a UCalgary Peak Scholar in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Knowledge Engagement in 2016 for work implementing evidence-informed elder-friendly practices within acute care. She holds the UCalgary Brenda Strafford Foundation Chair in Geriatric Medicine and was named one of the 2021 WXN Top 100 Most Powerful Canadian Women.

Read more about Holroyd-Leduc’s research on palliative care and ageism.

Dr. Eddy Lang, MD

Professor and department head, Department of Emergency Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine

Lang is an internationally recognized leader in academic emergency medicine as well as evidence-based medicine, knowledge translation and clinical practice guidelines. He is professor and department head of emergency medicine and the scientific director of the Alberta Health Services Emergency Strategic Clinical Network. He is the chair of the Academic Section of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians and a member of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Healthcare.

Lang has led the evolution of guideline development globally in fields such as resuscitation and prehospital care. He has over 340 publications and his work has focused on promoting the field of implementation science in emergency medicine, high-impact clinical practice guidelines and health services research.

Read more about Lang’s research and teaching and his experience as an ER doctor during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. David Nicholas, PhD

Associate dean, research and partnerships, and pofessor in the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary; cross appointed to the Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta

Nicholas is renowned for work on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and nneurodevelopmental disability. For 20 years, he has led multiple national and international studies advancing vocational engagement of individuals and quality of life for individuals and families impacted by neurodevelopmental disability and complex health care needs, with a focus on ASD. These include national initiatives that advance engagement of youth and adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities in vocational development and employment.

Read more about Nicholas’s research on employment for neuro-diverse adults and how health services during the pandemic have impacted paediatric patients.