The McGill Department of Medicine is pleased to announce that effective August 1, 2025, Dr. Benjamin Smith will begin a 5-year term as the McGill Division Director of Clinical Epidemiology.
Dr. Smith is a respiratory physician and scientist based at the McGill University Health Centre Research Institute where he directs the Centre for Outcomes Research and Evaluation. Trained in respiratory epidemiology and medicine at McGill and Columbia Universities, his research program investigates the heterogeneity of chronic lung disease susceptibility and progression across the life course. Dr. Smith was strongly supported by a selection committee of multi-site leaders who felt that Dr. Smith demonstrated he will be a visionary leader, effective “rassembleur”, principled in his actions and an effective communicator.
In his role as Division Director, Dr. Smith will oversee the development and execution of a strategic plan to further strengthen McGill’s capacity for training and delivering clinical epidemiology across the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. The Department of Medicine seeks to be the “Most Research Intensive DOM in Canada”. To achieve this aspiration, DOM requires strong methodologists working alongside our clinician scientists/investigators and a robust dual path (“residency plus”) program to grow excellent clinician scientists that stay at McGill. With the emergence of exciting methods in areas such as clinical trials, digital health, artificial intelligence, life course epidemiology and translational science, the Division of Clinical Epidemiology is poised to become a nexus of applied clinical research and training that bridges the diverse and complementary strengths of our hospital-based research institutes and main campus to improve human health in Quebec and beyond.