Dr. Stewart Harris named to the Order of Canada

Dr. Stewart Harris was appointed as a member to the Order of Canada on July 1, 2015.

His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, announced 100 new appointments to the Order of Canada. The new appointees include two Companions, 11 Officers and 87 Members. These appointments were made on the recommendation of the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada.

Recipients will be invited to accept their insignia at a ceremony to be held at a later date.

The Order of Canada is one of Canada’s highest civilian honours, established in 1967, during Canada’s centennial year. It recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. Over the last 45 years, more than 6,000 people from all sectors of society have been invested into the Order.

Dr. Harris graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Cellular and Microbial Biology from the University of Calgary. He completed his MD at the University of Calgary in 1982. He received an MPH. in Epidemiology from The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland followed by completing his Fellow in Preventative Medicine in 1987.

Dr. Harris joined the Departments of Family Medicine and Epidemiology and Biostatistics and the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry as an Assistant Professor, in 1995 and became an Associate Professor in 2000. Dr. Harris became a Professor in 2006.

He currently holds the Canadian Diabetes Association Chair in Diabetes Management as well as the Ian McWhinney Chair of Family Medicine Studies.  He is also a Research Scientist at the Lawson Health Research Institute.

His research focuses on developing and evaluating strategies to improve clinical outcomes for patients with type 2 diabetes. Dr. Harris has published 240 peer review papers. He is an actively practising diabetologist at St. Joseph’s Heath Care London. 

His current and previous research, as well as clinical involvement in diabetes care provides a strong base to fulfill a research agenda focused on health services, primary care, population health and First Nations.

Dr. Harris was the recipient of the Dr. Gerald S. Wong Service Award (2007), the co-recipient of the Dean’s Award of Excellence, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry (2010), and the Hellmuth Prize for Achievement in Research, Western University (2014).

Dr. Harris has more than 20 years experience working with First Nations (FN) communities. As part of the current FORGE AHEAD program, he leads a research team with extensive expertise in multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional collaboration in the fields of diabetes care, participatory action research, and knowledge translation. The FORGE AHEAD team spans nine provinces and represents a wide variety of voices, including First Nations community representatives, Indigenous and non-Indigenous health care providers, clinician scientists, academic researchers, representatives from the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), representatives from the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) of Health Canada, representatives from the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA), and representatives from the Heart & Stroke Foundation).