Family medicine professor wins national researcher of the year award

Dee Mangin, a professor in the Department of Family Medicine, has been honoured with the Researcher of the Year Award from the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC).

This award recognizes a member of the CFPC who is a family medicine researcher who has made original contributions to building research and knowledge for family medicine in Canada.

Mangin joined the department in 2013 as the David Braley and Nancy Gordon Chair in Family Medicine. In 2016, she became the Associate Chair, Research where she offered her leadership to develop a thriving research unit.

“Dee has been an exemplar of excellence in leadership, innovation, inclusion, community support and volunteering, and impact in primary care,” said Lehana Thabane, professor in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, and vice-president research at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.

Mangin’s research has focused on multimorbidity, rational prescribing, and innovative models of primary care. Over the last five years, Mangin has been involved in over $28 million in research funding, including more than $4 million as principal investigator for polypharmacy and multimorbidity research in Canada. She has authored or co-authored 118 journal articles, 8 book chapters, edited 1 textbook, and has been cited 4111 times. One of her key accomplishments has been the development of the Team Approach to Polypharmacy Evaluation and Reduction (TAPER) clinical pathway to support rational prescribing for seniors as part of routine preventive care in older adults. This pathway is being implemented and evaluated in health care settings in Canada and Australia.

During the pandemic, Mangin was instrumental in supporting local and global responses to COVID-19. She developed the website HFAM.ca which provided the latest information and evidence to primary care practitioners and has been accessed by more than 45,000 individuals worldwide. Mangin also led the development of the COVID@home clinical pathway which was adopted by the Ministry of Health as the standard of care and was rolled out across Ontario.

Alongside her research accomplishments, Mangin is deeply committed to mentorship, building capacity for research, and the essential role of primary care in the health care system. It was Mangin’s vision that led to the launch of the David Braley Primary Care Research Collaborative in 2020. The collaborative engages networks of researchers, clinicians, learners, and communities in strengthening primary care through proactive research programs relevant to the issues of today.

“Dee’s leadership has been instrumental in establishing a culture of collaboration and professional development, which has elevated the work of all participants in our shared enterprise,” said Lawrence Grierson, associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine and assistant dean of the health science education MSc program.