New CEO and Scientific Director of CHEO RI and VP Research of CHEO

The following is a letter to partners from Alex Munter, CHEO’s President and CEO, and Caroline Somers, the Board Chair of the CHEO Research Institute.

On behalf of the Boards of Directors of CHEO and the CHEO Research Institute (CHEO RI), we are pleased to share that Dr. Jason Berman will be the new CEO and Scientific Director of the CHEO RI and the VP Research of CHEO.

Dr. Berman joins us from Halifax’s IWK Health Centre and Dalhousie University, where he is the Interim Vice President Research, Innovation and Knowledge Translation, Associate Chair Research, Department of Pediatrics, and Full Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Pathology and Microbiology & Immunology at the Faculty of Medicine.

The selection committee, which included leaders from CHEO, CHEO RI, Department of Pediatrics, uOttawa, CHEO Foundation the CHEO Family Advisory Committee, as well as frontline researchers, considered a stellar cast of Canadian and international candidates. We ultimately chose Dr. Berman because of his track record as an effective, collaborative and passionate leader and administrator; a successful, credible and accomplished researcher; a warm, engaging person who will fit well with CHEO’s culture; and a high-energy, strategic and confident contributor.

Dr. Berman is a practicing pediatric hematologist/oncologist and will join our dedicated Oncology and Hematology Division staff in delivering the best life for children and youth with cancer. He is an active part of the C17 Canadian Childhood Cancer Network and president of the Canadian Society of Clinical Investigation. He also has an extensive basic science research program and was the first Canadian scientist using zebrafish as a tool for cancer research. His research has received many multi-year awards held at both the IWK Health Centre and at Dalhousie; it was recently profiled by CBC Nova Scotia.

Dr. Berman tells us: “I am truly thrilled to join CHEO and the CHEO RI in these two leadership roles. I hope to bring my passion for research to improve health care and share it with others through mentorship, guidance, and build on the excellent clinical care for which CHEO is nationally and internationally recognized. I look forward to the opportunity to enhance the strong research culture at CHEO and foster innovation and knowledge translation throughout the organizations and with our partners across the region, the country and around the world.

"I want to thank the leadership, staff and my close colleagues at both the IWK Health Centre and Dalhousie University and the patients and families whose care I’ve had the privilege to be a part of for their unwavering support over the past 14 years. Working in such a collaborative and nurturing environment afforded opportunities to learn and grow, enabling me to reach this new milestone.”

We are grateful to Dr. Martin Osmond for his leadership of the CHEO RI for the past 10 years. The organization has seen tremendous growth during his tenure, including grant success, increased peer-reviewed publications and world-class research programs, backed by a strong administrative team. There are 37 Scientists and Senior Scientists, more than 225 Investigators and 27 Affiliate Investigators appointed to the RI. Last year there were more than 650 current studies being undertaken, with 536 peer-reviewed articles published by CHEO researchers. As VP Research at CHEO, Dr. Osmond has truly integrated research throughout the hospital, ensuring that the discoveries being made by researchers support children, youth and families in living their best life. More than 45,000 patients and families participated in research at CHEO last year.

Dr. Berman will join CHEO and the CHEO RI on August 1, 2019. We look forward to an opportunity to introduce him to you.

Sincerely,