Dr. Steven Smith appointed to research leadership role at KHSC

Dr. David Pichora, President and CEO of Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) is pleased to announce that Dr. Smith has been appointed Vice President, Health Sciences Research at KHSC.  Dr. Smith has also been appointed by the Board of Directors of the Kingston General Health Research Institute (KGHRI) as President and CEO of the Institute. Similarly,  Dean Richard Reznick is pleased to announce that Tom Harris, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) at Queen’s University, has appointed Dr. Steven Smith as Vice-Dean Research for the Faculty of Health Sciences, effective January 1, 2020. These concurrent terms end June 30, 2024.

Dean Reznick and Dr. Pichora would like to thank Dr. Roger Deeley for exceptional service as the Vice-Dean Research for Queen’s and Vice President, Health Sciences Research for the Kingston Health Sciences Centre in this combined role. Dr. Deeley has made magnificent contributions in advancing the collective health research missions of Queen’s and KHSC. His leadership has been invaluable, and he is undoubtedly leaving the faculty well positioned to continue its mission in health research.

Dr. Smith completed his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry at Western, where he also earned his Ph.D. in 1998. Before joining Queen’s Department of Biochemistry in 2001, Dr. Smith completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oxford as a Burroughs Wellcome Hitchings-Elion fellow and McGill University as CIHR postdoctoral fellow. Dr. Smith has taken on a number of leadership positions while at Queen’s, including acting as the Director of Queen’s Protein Function Discovery Group & Facility and the Director of Research for the Faculty of Health Sciences. He previously served as the Associate Head for the Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, and acted as Chair for the Undergraduate Biochemistry Program from 2007-2011 and again from 2014-2017.

During his time at Queen’s, Dr. Smith has demonstrated his commitment to students’ learning as an exceptional educator. His numerous awards include the Faculty of Health Sciences Education Award and Life Science Student Choice Teaching Award, and he has regularly received the Biochemistry 3rd Year Teaching Award since 2004. These awards are a testament to his excellence in teaching and mentorship and speak to Dr. Smith’s reputation as a dedicated professor who is deeply invested in the classroom experience.     

As an expert in structural biology and biochemistry, Dr. Smith has made remarkable contributions to Queen’s and the wider scientific community through his research. In 2009, Dr. Smith was recognized for his research excellence with the Chancellor’s Research Award. He is the recipient of the Faculty of Health Science’s Mihran & Mary Basmajian Research Award and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator Award. Dr. Smith’s extensive publication track record attest to his status as a prolific researcher. As an invited speaker, Dr. Smith has presented his work nationally and internationally, including in the U.S.A., Portugal, France, and Israel. 

Dr. Smith has established himself as a lead­­er both in the University and on the national stage through his service to the profession. He is currently serving as a member of Senate and as a senator for the Senate Advisory Research Committee. He also currently acts as a University Delegate for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

In his role as Vice-Dean Research (Faculty of Health Sciences), Vice President, Health Sciences Research, and President and CEO of the KGHRI, Dr. Smith looks forward to accelerating the integrated health research continuum by maximizing research successes, intensifying collaborative interdisciplinary programs, and fostering innovative industry and patient-oriented opportunities.

About the KGHRI:

The Kingston General Health Research Institute (KGHRI) is a not-for-profit academic health research institute whose mission is to carry out the research strategy of the Kingston Health Sciences Centre on its Kingston General and Hotel Dieu Hospital sites. At KGHRI, more than 350 investigators are conducting innovative research with global impact in brain, heart, lung, neurological and blood disorders, allergy, digestive diseases and pain, among others. In 2017 the KGHRI opened the W.J. Henderson Centre for Patient-Oriented Research, a 10,000-square-foot, multidisciplinary research hub, in which  patients, families, scientists, doctors and allied health teams investigate better ways to diagnose, treat and prevent disease.

On April 1, 2017, Hotel Dieu Hospital and Kingston General Hospital integrated to form Kingston Health Sciences Centre. The amalgamation of Hotel Dieu Kingston RI and Kingston General Health RI on June 1, 2019 is the first step in a complementary integration of the respective research institutes.  Steps are now underway to change the name of KGHRI to KHSCRI (Kingston Health Sciences Centre Research Institute). KGHRI and KHSC have a strategic research partnership with Queen’s University.

About Queen’s University:

Queen’s University is one of Canada’s leading universities. The university has a proud history and strong traditions in leading research, excellence in teaching and student engagement. Through these strong traditions – combined with a picturesque campus, close-knit community and wide breadth of co-curricular opportunities – students who come to Queen’s have a transformative learning experience. Learners from more than 100 countries, along with every Canadian province and territory, come to Queen’s, comprising 17,250 undergraduate students, 3,746 graduate students, and 2,086 students from part-time studies and postgraduate medical education.

The Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen’s University comprises the schools of medicine, nursing and rehabilitation therapy. More than 540 full-time and 1,460 adjunct faculty members, and more than 700 general and research staff members are dedicated to accomplishing our respective missions to: advance the science and practice of medicine; advance learning and scholarship in the discipline and profession of nursing; and educate leaders by developing skills and competencies in rehabilitation.  The university works closely with its hospital partners in developing a shared vision for a research agenda and a shared approach to conducting research.

Please join Dean Reznick and Dr. Pichora in congratulating Dr. Smith on these appointments.