Professor Jeffrey Reading

Professor Jeffrey Reading has more than two decades of experience enhancing knowledge in Indigenous health issues, both in Canada and globally. He obtained Master of Science (1991) and Doctor of Philosophy (1994) in Community Health Sciences, (now the Dalla Lana Faculty of Public Health), University of Toronto and was the inaugural Scientific Director of the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research from 2000 to 2008. Jeff led a movement calling for a national advanced research agenda in the area of Aboriginal Peoples’ health and led the CIHR cross-cutting initiative in rural and northern health research. Jeff's broad interests in research in Public Health has brought attention to issues including but not limited to: the social determinants of health, environmental issues including provision of safe potable water, health promotion and disease prevention, heart health, diabetes, tobacco misuse and accessibility to health care among Aboriginal Canadians. Jeff has played a pivotal role in the introduction of Canadian ethics guidelines for Aboriginal health research. In 2016, Jeff was appointed the Inaugural British Columbia First Nations Health Authority Chair in Heart Health and Wellness at St. Paul’s Hospital based at Simon Fraser University, renewed in 2021 for 5 years to 2026.