Dr. Cara Tannenbaum Appointed Scientific Director of CIHR's Institute of Gender and Health

OTTAWA, Nov. 13, 2014 /CNW/ - Dr. Alain Beaudet, President of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), along with CIHR's Governing Council, announced today the appointment of Dr. Cara Tannenbaum as incoming Scientific Director of CIHR's Institute of Gender and Health. This appointment will be effective January 1, 2015.

Dr. Tannenbaum is a Professor of Medicine and Pharmacy at the Université de Montréal where she has held the Michel Saucier Endowed Chair in Geriatric Pharmacology, Health and Aging since 2008. Among her many accomplishments, Dr. Tannenbaum has been nationally and internationally recognized for her outstanding achievements in geriatric, women's health and gender research. She received the May Cohen Gender Equity Award for her efforts to improve the gender equity environment in academic medicine in Canada, the CIHR Betty Haven's Knowledge Transfer Prize, and additional research awards from the North American Menopause Society, the American Geriatrics Society, and the International Continence Society. She is currently leading a clinical trial to improve healthy life expectancy for women across Canada, the UK and France. Through her research activities, she aims to reduce the stigma associated with incontinence issues, cognitive impairment, mental health and inappropriate prescribing for senior men and women. Dr. Tannenbaum obtained her medical degree and received specialty training in geriatric medicine, epidemiology and older women's health at McGill University.

In the position of Scientific Director of CIHR's Institute of Gender and Health, Dr. Tannenbaum will work with the Canadian gender, sex and health research community and stakeholders to identify research priorities, develop research funding opportunities, build partnerships and translate research evidence to improve the health of Canadians. Finally, as a member of CIHR's leadership team, she will participate in setting and implementing CIHR's strategic directions.

Quick Facts

• CIHR is comprised of 13 Institutes, each led by a Scientific Director responsible for championing specific areas of health research, establishing and nurturing partnerships, and promoting the use of research evidence to inform policies that support better health for Canadians.
• CIHR's Institute of Gender and Health funds research that addresses pressing health challenges facing men, women, girls, boys and gender diverse people. The Institute focuses on improving health research systems, research methods, and the outcomes of gender, sex and health research. CIHR is one of the leading research funders in this area in Canada.

Quotes
"I'm pleased to welcome Dr. Tannenbaum to the CIHR leadership team. Her outstanding reputation as a leader in cutting-edge geriatric research both nationally and internationally, coupled with her proven experience in women's health and gender-based analysis will be instrumental in taking the Institute of Gender and Health forward."
Dr. Alain Beaudet
President, CIHR

"I am honoured and delighted to be the new Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health, and to have the opportunity to work with CIHR stakeholders, partners, and the research community. I look forward to building on the previous innovative programs established by Drs. Miriam Stewart and Joy Johnson by ensuring leadership in gender, sex and health research and the application of research findings to improve policies, our health care systems, and the health of Canadians."
Dr. Cara Tannenbaum
Scientific Director, CIHR's Institute of Gender and Health

Related Product

• Dr. Tannenbaum's biography

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's health research investment agency. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to enable its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened health care system for Canadians. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 13,200 health researchers and trainees across Canada.

Biography

Dr. Cara Tannenbaum is a Professor in the Faculties of Medicine and Pharmacy at the Université de Montréal. As a practicing geriatrician, women's health specialist and Director of the Geriatric Incontinence Clinic at the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, her clinical practice fuels her vision for her patient-oriented research program.

Distinctions

Dr. Tannenbaum received many national and international distinctions for her accomplishments. These include the May Cohen Gender Equity Award presented by the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada to recognize outstanding achievement in improving the gender equity environment in academic medicine in Canada, and several research prizes for her research on women's health from the North American Menopause Society, the American Geriatrics Society, and the International Continence Society. Dr. Tannenbaum has received several research grants from the CIHR and became, in 2013, the recipient of the CIHR Betty Haven's Knowledge Transfer Prize in Aging. Her work has been featured in the New England Journal of Medicine Watch and the New York Times. Dr. Tannenbaum also received the Best Clinical Abstract Prize at the 2013 International Continence Society Meeting in Barcelona. More recently, she has been elected Scientific Chair of the 2015 International Continence Society meeting to be held in Montréal, Canada in 2015.

Research Activities

Dr. Tannenbaum's research focuses on best practices in pharmaceutical care for women and men, better understanding the drug-brain-bladder connection in women, self-management strategies for health improvement, mental health indicators and outcomes, and gender-based analysis. Since 2008, she has held the Michel Saucier Endowed Chair in Geriatric Pharmacology, Health and Aging. Dr. Tannenbaum is currently leading an international randomized controlled trial entitled Dare To Age Well for Women. She is also an active member of the Polypharmacy Committee for the Institut national de santé publique du Québec, and a strong advocate for interprofessional collaboration to optimize healthy aging across the lifespan.

Education

Dr. Tannenbaum obtained her medical degree at McGill University in 1994 and subsequently obtained specialty training in geriatric medicine and older women's health. Her CIHR post-doctoral fellowship included clinical training in women's health at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, a Master's degree in  epidemiology and biostatistics from McGill University, and research training on sex hormones with Elizabeth Barrett-Connor from the University of California in San Diego.

Image with caption: "Dr. Cara Tannenbaum is a Professor in the Faculties of Medicine and Pharmacy at the Université de Montréal. As a practicing geriatrician, women's health specialist and Director of the Geriatric Incontinence Clinic at the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, her clinical practice fuels her vision for her patient-oriented research program. (CNW Group/Canadian Institutes of Health Research)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20141113_C4476_PHOTO_EN_7965.jpg

SOURCE: Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Media Relations, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, 613-941-4563, [email protected] - Ce document est également disponible en français.