The McGill Department of Medicine is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Gustavo Duque as the new McGill Division Director of Geriatric Medicine, effective July 1, 2025.
An internationally recognized leader in geriatric medicine, Dr. Duque brings with him a bold and forward-thinking vision. “My vision for the Division of Geriatric Medicine has several priorities,” said Dr. Duque. “These include the integration of strategies outlined in the WHO Decade of Healthy Ageing 2021–2030, the optimization of clinical services, knowledge mobilization, and building closer links with our hospitals and communities.”
Dr. Duque also aims to position the division as the most research-intensive geriatric medicine unit in Canada, recognized both nationally and internationally. “We will integrate and promote new concepts guiding geriatric medicine worldwide, such as translational geroscience, integrated care for older people (ICOPE), and intrinsic capacity. This will be done through our research and teaching activities, including our geriatric residents and students rotating with us,” he added.
We extend our sincere thanks to Dr. José Morais, whom Dr. Duque succeeds, for his dedicated and impactful leadership of the McGill Division of Geriatric Medicine for more than 15 years. He will continue to serve as MUHC Division Director, where his expertise remains a valued asset.
More about Dr. Gustavo Duque
Dr. Gustavo Duque, MD, Ph.D., FRACP, FGSA is a geriatrician and biomedical scientist with a research interest in the mechanisms, potential therapies, and biomarkers for age-related bone loss, osteoporosis, sarcopenia, osteosarcopenia, and frailty in older persons. He is also studying the effect of vitamin D, exercise, protein and nutraceuticals on bone and muscle mass.
His initial training included Internal Medicine at Javeriana University (Colombia) and Geriatric Medicine, which he completed at McGill University in Montreal (Canada). Subsequently, he obtained his Ph.D. at McGill University in 2003 with a thesis entitled ‘Molecular Changes of the Aging Osteoblast’ under the supervision of Dr. Richard Kremer. Between 2003 and November 2007, he joined the McGill University Medical School faculty as a member of the Division of Geriatric Medicine and as a Researcher at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research. In November 2007, he moved to Australia to join the Faculty as Associate Professor and Head of the Division of Geriatric Medicine and Director of the Musculoskeletal Ageing Research Program at Sydney Medical School Nepean -University of Sydney. In 2012, he was promoted to Professor of Medicine at the University of Sydney. Between 2015 and 2022, Dr. Duque was Chair of Medicine and Director of the Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science at the University of Melbourne.
In 2022, Dr. Duque assumed the roles of Full Professor, Dr. Joseph Kaufmann Chair in Geriatric Medicine, Director - RUISSS McGill Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health of Seniors/ Simone & Edouard Shouela (CEDurable), and Principal Investigator at the Bone, Muscle & Geroscience Group of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences, one of the official journals of the Gerontological Society of America. He is also the Chair of the recently created Canadian Translational Geroscience Network.
As a Geriatrician and Clinician-Investigator, Dr. Duque has implemented several Falls and Fractures clinics (the most recent ones at the MUHC and the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal) where patients are comprehensively assessed for falls and fracture risk. His clinical trials unit conducts several trials testing the effect of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for age-related musculoskeletal diseases. He is the author of more than 300 peer-reviewed articles and multiple book chapters and has edited five books in the aging and musculoskeletal fields.