Professor Earl Nowgesic appointed Interim Associate Director of the new Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health
April 17/2015
Professor Earl Nowgesic is the Interim Associate Director of the new Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health (WBIIH) as of April 1, 2015. At this same time, he will also begin an academic appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor in the Division of Social and Behavioural Health Sciences at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
“A Dalla Lana School of Public Health graduate, Earl Nowgesic brings vast knowledge and experience working with Indigenous communities and the health care system as a nurse, epidemiologist, academic researcher and executive administrator — a perfect fit for the new Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health,” said Professor Jeff Reading, Interim Director of the WBIIH.
Earl Nowgesic is Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) from Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek (Gull Bay First Nation, near Thunder Bay, Ontario). On March 5, 2015, Earl successfully defended his Doctor of Philosophy dissertation in Public Health Science, specializing in Social and Behavioural Health Sciences, at the School.
With more than 20 years of experience working in the health sector in Canada, Professor Nowgesic started his career as a nurse in Ontario and has published papers in HIV, tuberculosis, diabetes, nursing, public health, research capacity and infrastructure.
“I am honoured to be working with the new Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health, particularly given its mandate that includes improving the health and wellbeing of Indigenous communities,” said Professor Nowgesic.
“I hope to support the Institute in becoming a world renowned institution for Indigenous health, bringing together faculty, students, community members, policy makers, service providers and the public.”
He has taken on numerous government, academic and committee roles, including Director of the First Nations Centre of the National Aboriginal Health Organization (2008 to 2009), Associate Director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)-Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health (2001 to 2008), and board member of the Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada (1997 to 2001).
He has also held a number of competitive grants, including the CIHR Fellowship in Health Services and Population Health HIV/AIDS Priority Announcement, and the CIHR Social Research Centre in HIV Prevention Fellowship based at U of T.
Read Professor Nowgesic’s full biography.
Photo: Professor Earl Nowgesic (left) and Angela Mashford‐Pringle, DLSPH alumna, at the Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health Naming Ceremony and Feast on March 23.
For more photos from the Ceremony, visit DLSPH’s Flickr page.