Dr. Mamoru Watanabe
(Calgary, Alberta)
Dr. Mo Watanabe,
Emeritus Professor of Medicine and former Dean of the Faculty of
Medicine of the University of Calgary, received his MD, PhD and
postgraduate clinical training in Internal Medicine and subspecialty in
Endocrinology at McGill University. His PhD training in steroid
biochemistry was followed by postdoctoral experience in molecular
biology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
He is recognized
nationally and internationally for his leadership roles in health care,
health policy, health research, physician workforce, rural health,
medical education, information and communications technology and
telehealth.
In the area of
health care and health policy, he chaired Alberta Health's Advisory
Committee on the Utilization of Medical Services from
1987-1989,
and chaired the
Utilization Monitoring - Medical Services Committee from 1992-1994. He
was vice-Chair of Calgary Area Hospital Advisory Council from 1988-91.
He served as
a member of the Prime Minister's National Forum on Health from
1994-97.
In the area of
health research, he chaired Medical Research Council's Task Force on
Health Research from
1993-94,
and as MRC’s
Director of Health Research
from 1994-95 led the effort to broaden the base of MRC’s research to
include health services, population health, and psychosocial research.
He has also served as chair of the ad hoc
Scientific Advisory Committee
of
Alberta
Heritage Foundation for Medical Research during it’s initial years from
1980-81,
Chair of the Research Projects Panel and Vice-Chair of the Medical
Planning Committee of the Arthritis Society, a member of the Committee
on Planning and Priorities of the National Cancer Institute of Canada,
and a member of the Advisory Committee and Scientific Review Committee
of the Alberta Heart and Stroke Foundation. He has served on the
Council of the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation, the Canadian
Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, the Canadian Institute of
Academic Medicine, and the Canadian Hypertension Society.
An expert on
physician workforce planning, he chaired the Committee on Physician
Resources for the Canadian Medical Association and served as a member on
a number of task forces and committees including
F/P/T
Advisory Committee on Health Human Resources,
Alberta Health’s
External Advisory Committee on Physician Manpower, Alberta Medical
Association’s Task Force on Physician Resources, Royal College of
Physician and Surgeons of Canada’s Specialty Physician Resources
Committee, and the National Coordinating Council on Post-Graduate
Medical Training. He chaired the Manpower Steering Subcommittee and the
Research Group on Physician Resources in Health for the Canadian Medical
Forum.
In the area of rural
healthcare, he was a member of
Canadian Medical Association’s Advisory Panel on the Provision of
Medical Services in Underserviced Areas, wrote the report on Rural
Health Research resulting from the Workshop held in Prince George, and
was a member of Canadian Institute for Health Research’s National
Steering Committee for Rural Health Research Strategy.
He was a member of
Health Canada’s National Steering Committee for First Nations and Inuit
Homecare and National Telehealth Research, and Health Canada’s
Ministerial Advisory Committee on Rural Health, chairing its Working
Group on Telehealth and Information Technology.
In the area of
health information and communications technology and telehealth, he has
served on Industry Canada's Information Highway Advisory Council, Health
Canada's Advisory Council on Health Infostructure, Industry Canada's
National Broadband Task Force, and
Conference Board of Canada’s Advisory Committee on Connectedness.
He is a former Chair of the Board of CANARIE and chaired its e-Health
Advisory Committee. He was a member of Alberta Health’s Senior
Reference Committee for alberta we//net and remains a member of its
Provincial Telehealth Committee having previously chaired their
Telehealth Coordinating Committee. He is the Founding President and
Chair of the Board of the Canadian Society of Telehealth, and was a
member of the Board of the American Telemedicine Association. He served
as a coordinator for the Canada-Germany S&T Partnership in Health
Telematics and chaired the Advisory Board of the EU-Canada Cooperation
in Health Telematics.
In the area of
medical education he served as President of the Association of Canadian
Medical Colleges from 1989-91 and he served on Health Canada’s
Steering Committee on Social Accountability of Medical Schools.
He received the
Distinguished Service Award from the Canadian Society of Endocrinology
and Metabolism in 1991, the Certificate of Merit from the College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta in 1992, and the Presidents Award
from the Medical Research Council of Canada in 1996 for his
contributions to health research. He received the 1997 CANARIE/CATA
National IWAY Award for Application of Technology, and received a DSc
(Hon.) from the University of Alberta in June of 1997 for his
contributions to the health information highway. He received the Medal
of Service from the Canadian Medical Association in 2000, Duncan Graham
Award and the James Graham Award of the Royal College of Physicians and
Surgeons of Canada in 1994 and 2001, respectively, the Ronald V.
Christie Award from the Canadian Association of Professors of Medicine
in 2001, and a Special Recognition Award from the Canadian Society of
Telehealth in 2001. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada
in October of 2001 for lifetime achievement.
March 2005
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