Boyden is pleased to share the appointment news of Dr. Rulan Parekh, a recruitment led by Nick Chambers
June 9, 2021 - Toronto, ON
Announcement by Heather McPherson, President and CEO, Women’s College Hospital:
Following an international search that attracted an exceptional slate of diverse candidates, it is with great pleasure that I announce the appointment of Dr. Rulan Parekh, MD, MS, FRCPC to the position of Vice President of Academics for Women’s College Hospital effective September 1, 2021. Dr. Parekh will also hold an appointment as full-time faculty in the Women’s College Hospital Department of Medicine, University of Toronto and will also maintain her clinical paediatric practice at the Hospital for Sick Children.
Dr. Parekh is an internationally reknowned physician scientist, well-known and respected in the TAHSN and broader research communities. She is currently the Associate Chief, Clinical Research and Senior Scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children and the University Health Network, Division Director of Nephrology, and Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Paediatrics, Epidemiology, and Health Policy and Management Evaluation at the University of Toronto. She currently holds the Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology. She was formerly program director for the Royal College Internal Medicine and Pediatric Nephrology training programs from 2010-2017.
Dr. Parekh will be a member of the hospital’s Executive Team, and as Vice President of Academics, she will lead the advancement of our goal to build sustainable, world-class research, innovation and education. This includes leveraging the collective strengths of the Women’s College Research Institute (WCRI), Women’s College Hospital Institute for Health Systems Solutions and Virtual Care (WIHV), and the hospital’s interprofessional teaching and education scholarship to create a new portfolio integrating research, innovation and education and advancing Women’s College Hospital as a Learning Health System. As the only woman of colour to lead research at one of Canada’s top research hospitals and the first woman of colour to lead research, education and innovation at Women’s College, Dr. Parekh will also play a pivotal role in helping to shape and inform our strategies to advance health equity.
Dr. Parekh was trained in paediatrics and internal medicine with subspecialty training in both paediatric and adult nephrology at the University of Michigan. She completed her post-doctoral training at Johns Hopkins University and joined the faculty in 2000. In 2008, she returned to Canada and accepted a faculty position at the Hospital for Sick Children, University Health Network and the University of Toronto. She is known for a genetic discovery that accounts for excess risk of chronic kidney disease among those of African ancestry. Her research is now focused on determining the utility of genetic screening for kidney disease in sub-Saharan Africa. Since 2000, Dr. Parekh has maintained a record of sustained NIH and CIHR funding. She has significant productivity with more than 180 publications in journals such as Nature Genetics, NEJM and JAMA, with over 10,000 citations, and a stellar track record of training and mentoring 95 students and post-doctoral trainees. She has received several awards including the National Kidney Foundation of Maryland Award, Advising, Mentoring and Teaching Research Award at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, University of Toronto Department of Paediatrics Faculty Mentorship Award and the Hospital for Sick Children’s President’s Award. Dr. Parekh was also elected into academic honour societies such as the American Society of Clinical Investigation, Association of American Physicians, Society for Pediatric Research and the American Pediatric Society.
I would like to sincerely thank Dr. Simone Vigod who has been acting as the interim Vice President of Academics. We are tremendously grateful for your leadership over the past several months supporting the transition of the portfolios.
Please join me and the Board of Directors in congratulating Dr. Parekh on this new role and welcoming her to Women’s College Hospital. I have no doubt that her experience and leadership will be pivotal in the new era of Academics.
Original source: WCH Newsroom
