CIHR Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health Announces Dr. Carrie Bourassa as New Scientific Director

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CIHR Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health Announces
Dr. Carrie Bourassa as New Scientific Director

January 13, 2017 (Ottawa, ON) – The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) would like to congratulate Dr. Carrie Bourassa on her appointment as Scientific Director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHRs) Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health. Dr. Bourassa is a member of the Riel Métis Council of Regina Inc. (RMCR, Local #34), who earned her Master of Arts degree in political science and Ph.D. in social studies from the University of Regina.

Chair of Northern & Indigenous Health at the Health Sciences North Research Institute in Sudbury, Dr. Bourassa has worked for 15 years as a professor of Indigenous health studies at the First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv) in Regina. A member of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada, and the Royal College Council of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, she was previously a member of the CIHR Institutes Advisory Board on Indigenous Peoples’ Health.

Dr. Bourassa will be a leader at CIHR in ensuring better success rates for Indigenous-focused grant applications and developing strategies to train the next generation of Indigenous researchers through capacity building and mentoring.

“Dr. Bourassa’s past work in raising awareness about the impacts of colonization on the health of Indigenous peoples and the need to deliver culturally safe care makes us confident that she will become a strong leader in working towards the health of Indigenous women and girls in Canada,” NWAC Interim President Francyne D. Joe commented. “Given that Dr. Bourassa has successfully partnered with NWAC’s Pathways PEKE (Partners for Engagement and Knowledge Exchange) in the past, we are very excited to advance future partnerships with herself and the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples Health.”