Sonia Anand

Sonia Savitri Anand FCAHS (born 1968) is a Canadian vascular medicine specialist. She previously held the Eli Lilly Canada - May Cohen Chair in Women's Health and currently holds the Michael DeGroote Heart and Stroke Chair in Population Health and Epidemiology at McMaster University.

Sonia Anand
Born1968 (age 54–55)
Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada
Parent(s)Saroj D. Ram and S.V. Anand
RelativesAnita Anand (sister) Gita Anand (sister)
Academic background
EducationMD, 1992, PhD, 2005, McMaster University
ThesisEthnicity and the determinants of cardiovascular disease among South Asians, Chinese, and European Canadians (2005)
Academic work
InstitutionsMcMaster University

Early life and education

Anand was born in 1968[1] to Indian immigrant parents in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada.[2] Her parents were both physicians; her mother Saroj D. Ram (now deceased) was an anesthesiologist, and her father S.V. (Andy) Anand (passed away on October 3, 2022) was a general surgeon. Her father was from Tamil Nadu and her mother was from Punjab. She has two older sisters, Gita Anand who is an employment lawyer in Toronto, and Anita, who is a lawyer and politician.[3] Anand received her medical degree from McMaster University in 1992 and completed her training and fellowship in internal medicine at the same institution.[4]

Career

Following her fellowship, Anand joined the faculty at McMaster University in 1996.[4] Shortly thereafter, she was promoted to the rank of associate professor in the McMaster University Medical School and named the Eli Lilly Canada - May Cohen Chair in Women's Health. While serving in these roles, she also directed the vascular medicine clinic at Hamilton Health Sciences. As a result of her research, Anand established the Gender Research and Cardiovascular Evaluation Network (GRACE) Network. The aim of the GRACE network was to perform gender-based research in cardiovascular disease, train new researchers, and ensure transparency and accessibility.[5] In 2011, Anand was the recipient of a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Ethnic Diversity and Cardiovascular Disease to fund her research on high risk populations such as South Asians and Indigenous peoples in Canada.[6]

As a Canada Research Chair, Anand was also appointed director of the Chanchlani Research Centre which aimed to "understand the causes and consequences of common diseases that afflict ethnic populations, women and the socially disadvantaged."[7] Anand was re-appointed as a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in 2017.[8] Following her re-appointment, Anand was also named the inaugural Associate Chair, Equity, and Diversity for McMaster's Department of Medicine.[9] In 2019, Anand was elected a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.[10] In 2022, Anand was named a Fellow in the Royal Society of Canada's Academy of Science (FRSC).[11][12]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Anand became the principal investigator of the COVID CommUNITY-South Asian and COVID CommUNITY-First Nations study which collected, analyzed, and reported data relating to COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness and safety.[13] She was also the recipient of the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award from the South Asian Health Foundation.[14]

Personal life

Anand and her husband, a family physician, have three children together.[2]

References
  1. "Anand, Sonia S., 1968-". VIAF. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  2. "Renowned cardiovascular researcher has medicine in her DNA". McMaster University. March 8, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  3. Easwar, Shagorika (July 2020). ""THINK BIG, PURSUE YOUR DREAMS, WORK HARD"". Desi News. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  4. "Sonia Anand, MD, PhD, FRCPC" (PDF). Canadian Women's Heart Health Centre. 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  5. "Scientists turn on the 'gender lens' on cardiovascular disease research". Eurekalert. December 10, 2004. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  6. D'Alvise, Danelle (October 20, 2011). "Government of Canada invests $6.7M in Canada Research Chairs at McMaster". McMaster University. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  7. Morrison, Suzanne (March 28, 2012). "New centre to focus on health of diverse populations". McMaster University. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  8. "Meet the 22 women who hold Canada Research Chairs at McMaster". McMaster University. March 8, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  9. "Dr. Anand Appointed Associate Chair, Equity & Diversity". Population Health Research Institute. July 23, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  10. "CAHS inductees Drs. Gerstein and Anand". Population Health Research Institute. September 19, 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  11. Fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Canada judges to have "made remarkable contributions in the arts, the humanities and the sciences, as well as in Canadian public life". As of 2020, there are more than 2,000 living Canadian fellows, including scholars, artists, and scientists such as Margaret Atwood, Philip J. Currie, David Suzuki, Stephen Waddams, and Demetri Terzopoulos.
  12. "The Royal Society of Canada | Class of 2022" (PDF). The Royal Society of Canada.
  13. "Immune response and vaccine hesitancy in First Nations investigated". McMaster University. December 7, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  14. "South Asian Health Foundation lifetime award: Sonia Anand". Population Health Research Institute. October 15, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
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