September 22, 2009: AGM for 2009 Highly Successful
CAHS concluded a highly successful set of meetings in Ottawa on September 21-22, 2009. On the first day, a provocative and stimulating full day symposium was held entitled "Canada's Strategic Role in Global Health", chaired by Peter Singer. More than 100 Fellows and guests interacted with panelists and speakers including Janet Hatcher-Roberts; Victor Neufeld; Prabhat Jha; Elizabeth Dowdeswell; Howard Alper; Margaret Biggs; David Butler-Jones; Abdallah Daar; Nancy Edwards; Michael Hayden; Bartha Knoppers; Lorna Jean Edmonds; James Orbinski; Ronald Labonte; Stuart MacLeod; Alan Bernstein; Carol Dahl; Hon Peter Msolla (Science Minister, Tanzania); and Nelson Sewankambo (Principal, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Uganda).

In the evening, 28 new Fellows (see item above) were inducted into the Academy together with the third Distinguished Fellow, the Honourable Michael Kirby. Senator Kirby participated in the ceremony welcoming the new Fellows and provided some entertaining remarks about his remarkable career. On September 22, Fellows attended the Annual Business meeting, heard updates about ongoing assessment work and impact, and heard a thought-provoking luncheon talk from Sir John Bell, the 2009 Friesen Prize winner on the subject of Impact from Health Research and the remarkable recent developments in the U.K.

May 15, 2009: ROI Assessment Makes an Impact
Cy Frank, Chair of the panel on the Return on Investments in Health Research, has been very active in responding to institutions, organizations and other groups by presenting this framework to interested audiences in a variety of locales. Since its release, presentations have been made to representatives of the Government of Ontario, Ministry of Research and Innovation; Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (sponsored by Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation), CIHR’s Governing Council, Toronto’s Academic Health Science Network Research Committee, the Forum of Health Research Funders, the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada, Boeckh Foundation and soon to the Conference Board of Canada. Dr. Frank has been invited to Spain and Sweden to participate in key conferences focusing on this core issue. The report has been referenced on a variety of websites and a communication was disseminated by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) specifically about this assessment.

February 15, 2009: Outstanding Panel Named for Chronic Disease Assessment
Co-Chairs Louise Nasmith and Penny Ballem have named 14 outstanding panelists to the panel for the assessment: Health System Transformation to Meet the Challenge of Chronic Disease.  This panel (listed below) is comprised of renowned experts from across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. They also represent the diversity of disciplines and perspectives required to address the complexities of the challenge. Click here to see bios for the panelists and documents related to the assessment.

• Penny Ballem (Co-Chair)
• Louise Nasmith (Co-Chair)
• Raymond Baxter
• Howard Bergman
• David Colin Thomé
• Carol Herbert
• Nora Keating
• Richard Lessard
• Renee Lyons
• Dale McMurchy
• Pam Ratner
• Peter Rosenbaum
• Robyn Tamblyn
• Ed Wagner
• Sheila Weatherill
• Brenda Zimmerman

January 21, 2009: The Assessment on Return on Investments in Health Research released
The Report on Measuring the Return on Investments in Health Research was released on January 21, 2009. Chaired by Dr. Cy Frank, the Assessment Panel produced a comprehensives and practical report on this complex topic that was accepted enthusiastically by its Sponsors at a special forum on January 21, 2009. The report and its accompanying documents can be found here.

September 24, 2008: Monique Begin inducted as second Distinguished Fellow
At the annual ceremony and dinner, the Honourable Monique Bégin was the guest of honour and was inducted as the second Distinguished Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. She joins Dr. John Evans who was inducted in 2007 as the first Distinguished Fellow. Dr. Bégin was honoured by CAHS for her many contributions to health care policy including the Canada Health Act of 1984 which enshrined the five core principles of universality, comprehensiveness, portability, accessibility, and public administration into Canada’s health care system.

September 24, 2008: Successful Annual General Meeting Held
The Academy held an extremely successful set of meetings including the 2008 AGM. The set of meetings included a half-day symposium on Access to Oral Health Care in Canada, a full-day Forum to launch the Major Assessment on Health System Transformation to Meet the Challenge of Health Care, an update on the progress of the Return on Investment Assessment and a luncheon lecture by Dr. Harold Varmus, Nobel Laureate and winner of the 2008 Henry Friesen International Prize in Health Research.

March 15, 2008: New Assessment on Access to Oral Health Care
The Standing Committee on Assessments has approved a new Major Assessment entitled "Improving Access to Oral Health Care for Canadians". Enhancing oral health and ensuring timely access to quality dental services of all citizens has become a public health priority in most western countries. In the UK, health inequalities were highlighted in 1998 by a commission that led the British government to make a commitment toward their reduction; in the USA, the 2000 Report of the Surgeon General highlighted oral health disparities and called for a national plan of action. CAHS will address this problem in Canada and evaluate the changes to Canadian oral health care delivery systems that are necessary to improve access for under-privileged Canadians. Sponsorship for the assessment is now being sought.

March 1, 2008: Panel Co-Chairs Named
Drs. Penny Ballem and Louise Nasmith have been named as Co-Chairs of the CAHS Assessment "Health System Transformation to Meet the Burden of Chronic Disease". Sponsorship of this major assessment is being finalized.

January 25, 2008: New Assessment on Chronic Disease Management Approved
The Standing Committee on Assessments has approved the prospectus for a Major Assessment entitled "Health System Transformation to Meet the Burden of Chronic Disease". This Assessment will make recommendations regarding how our health care systems must adapt to the meet the challenge of preventing and managing chronic diseases. With chronic diseases now accounting for 55% of all visits to specialists and 72% of nights spent in hospital and utilizing ever-increasing proportions of scarce health care resources, the challenge of chronic diseases must be fully addressed if we are to sustain our health care system.

November 13, 2007: Nomination Process for 2008 Opens.
The 2008 nomination process for election of Fellows is now open. The deadline for nominations is March 28, 2008. Nominations will be adjudicated by the Fellowship Committee in May 2008. New Fellows will be inducted into the Academy at the dinner ceremony during the Annual General Meeting in Toronto on September 23-24, 2008.

September 18, 2007: CAHS Launches Major Assessment with a Forum
The Major Assessment on "Return on Investments in Health Research: Defining the Best Metrics" was launched with a day-long Major Forum held in conjunction with the AGM in Montreal on September 18, 2007. The day included a number of very stimulating talks, panel discussions and break-out sessions. The approximately 115 attendees included Fellows and representatives of the Sponsors. Speakers included the Honourable John Manley, André Picard, Chris Van Weel, Borys Chabursky, Steven Schoenbaum, Alain Beaudet, Sister Elizabeth Davis, and Alan Davis. A summary of the Forum is available at this site.

September 18, 2007: 42 Outstanding Fellows Inducted into the Academy
The 2007 nomination and election process was another success with 42 outstanding Fellows inducted into Academy. The new Fellows were inducted at the annual ceremony held on the evening of September 18, 2007 in Montreal.

September 18, 2007: CAHS inducts its first Distinguished Fellow
At its September 17, 2007 meeting, the CAHS Council unanimously approved the election of Dr. John Evans as the first Distinguished Fellow of the Academy. Dr. Evans was also the Friesen Prize laureate for 2007.

September 17, 2007: CAHS Creates the Category of Distinguished Fellow
At its September 17, 2007 meeting, the CAHS Council established a new category of Fellowship. Election to Distinguished Fellowship is the highest honour awarded by the Academy.  It is open to individuals who must meet the usual criteria for Fellowship, but whose accomplishments are considered of such high distinction that only a select few are worthy of this designation.  No more than one Distinguished Fellow may be elected each year, and there can be no more than 10 Distinguished Fellows at any time.