Sonia Anand
The University of British Columbia (UBC) Faculty of Medicine has given the Margolese Heart Disorders Prize for 2022 to PHRI Senior Scientist Sonia Anand.
The prize is valued at $50,000, making it among the most prestigious honours bestowed by a Canadian university. Recipients are chosen by a committee of international experts.
The 12th annual heart disorders award was granted to Anand, cites UBC, for:
Research that has uncovered significant differences in risk factors among ethnically diverse populations, including highlighting the impact of socio-economic disparities on the risk of cardiovascular disease in underserved communities.
Anand, a professor in the division of cardiology, McMaster University’s Department of Medicine, holds a Canada Research Chair in Ethnic Diversity and Cardiovascular Disease, and a Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada endowed Chair in Population Health at McMaster University. She is also Director, Chanchalani Institute for Global Health Research, and Director, Population Genomics Program at McMaster.
For the past two decades, UBC writes, “her leadership in flagship studies of ethnic differences in cardiovascular risk factors resulted in increased recognition of the high-risk factors among people of South Asian origin, and First Nations people living in Canada.”
First Nations and South Asian population health studies
They go on to say of Anand: “Her work in partnership with the Six Nations of the Grand River led to projection of the future burden of cardiovascular (CV) disease (including kidney disease), leading to increased health service provision for such conditions. This also led to the formation of a national study of the causes of early onset vascular diseases in eight First Nations communities across Canada– showing the strong impact of the social disadvantage on CV risk factors, and protective factors including social support, education, and trust in communities.”
Transformative work in PAD
Anand is a specialist in peripheral artery disease (PAD), and UBC notes that “her work has transformed the way clinicians in North America, Europe, and elsewhere approach antithrombotic treatment to save lives and reduce limb loss in patients with PAD.” Findings from her research have been incorporated into guidelines and transformed clinical practice including the recent Canadian Cardiovascular Society Guidelines in peripheral artery disease (PAD) that she co-chaired and published in May 2022.
Everyone at PHRI wishes a hearty congratulations to Sonia Anand on her receipt of this prize!
