Sonia Anand

2023-09-25T06:50:03Z

27.34.13.92:

{{short description|Canadian medical scientist|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Infobox academic
| name = Sonia Anand
| image =
| image_size = 230px
| caption =
| birth_date ={{birth year and age|1968}}
| birth_place = [[Kentville]], [[Nova Scotia]], Canada
| occupation =
| education =MD, 1992, PhD, 2005, [[McMaster University]]
| thesis_title =Ethnicity and the determinants of cardiovascular disease among South Asians, Chinese, and European Canadians
| thesis_year =2005
| spouse =
| relatives = [[Anita Anand]] (sister) Gita Anand (sister)
| awards =
| parents = Saroj D. Ram and S.V. Anand
| workplaces = McMaster University
}}
'''Sonia Savitri Anand''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|FCAHS}} (born 1968) is a Canadian vascular medicine specialist. She previously held the Eli Lilly Canada- [[May Cohen]] Chair in Women's Health and currently holds the [[Michael DeGroote]] Heart and Stroke Chair in Population Health and Epidemiology at [[McMaster University]].

==Early life and education==
Anand was born in 1968<ref>{{cite web |title=Anand, Sonia S., 1968- |url=http://viaf.org/viaf/85786749/#Anand,_Sonia_S.,_1968- |publisher=VIAF |access-date=January 7, 2022}}</ref> to Indian immigrant parents in [[Kentville]], [[Nova Scotia]], Canada.<ref name="DNA">{{cite web |title=Renowned cardiovascular researcher has medicine in her DNA |url=https://healthsci.mcmaster.ca/metabolism-research/news-events/news/news-article/2018/03/08/renowned-cardiovascular-researcher-has-medicine-in-her-dna |publisher=McMaster University |access-date=January 7, 2022 |date=March 8, 2018}}</ref> Her parents were both physicians; her mother Saroj D. Ram (now deceased) was an anesthesiologist, and her father S.V. (Andy) Anand (passed away on October 3, 2022) was a general surgeon. Her father was from [[Tamil Nadu]] and her mother was from Punjab. She has two older sisters, Gita Anand who is an employment lawyer in Toronto, and [[Anita Anand|Anita]], who is a lawyer and politician.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Easwar |first1=Shagorika |title="THINK BIG, PURSUE YOUR DREAMS, WORK HARD" |url=https://www.e-desinews.com/july-2020/grants-desi-achiever |publisher=Desi News |access-date=January 7, 2022 |date=July 2020}}</ref> Anand received her [[medical degree]] from [[McMaster University]] in 1992 and completed her training and [[fellowship (medicine)|fellowship]] in internal medicine at the same institution.<ref name="bio">{{cite web |title=Sonia Anand, MD, PhD, FRCPC |url=https://cwhhc.ottawaheart.ca/sites/default/files/summit/speakers/2018/2018_cwhhs_speaker_biography_dr._sonia_anand_0.pdf |publisher=Canadian Women's Heart Health Centre |access-date=January 7, 2022 |date=2018}}</ref>

==Career==
Following her fellowship, Anand joined the faculty at McMaster University in 1996.<ref name="bio"/> Shortly thereafter, she was promoted to the rank of [[associate professor]] in the [[McMaster University Medical School]] and named the Eli Lilly Canada - May Cohen Chair in Women's Health. While serving in these roles, she also directed the vascular medicine clinic at Hamilton Health Sciences. As a result of her research, Anand established the Gender Research and Cardiovascular Evaluation Network (GRACE) Network. The aim of the GRACE network was to perform gender-based research in cardiovascular disease, train new researchers, and ensure transparency and accessibility.<ref>{{cite web |title=Scientists turn on the 'gender lens' on cardiovascular disease research |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/711525 |publisher=Eurekalert |access-date=January 7, 2022 |date=December 10, 2004}}</ref> In 2011, Anand was the recipient of a Tier 1 [[Canada Research Chair]] in Ethnic Diversity and Cardiovascular Disease to fund her research on high risk populations such as South Asians and Indigenous peoples in Canada.<ref>{{cite web |last1=D'Alvise |first1=Danelle |title=Government of Canada invests $6.7M in Canada Research Chairs at McMaster |url=https://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/articles/government-of-canada-invests-6-7m-in-canada-research-chairs-at-mcmaster/ |publisher=McMaster University |access-date=January 7, 2022 |date=October 20, 2011}}</ref>

As a Canada Research Chair, Anand was also appointed director of the Chanchlani Research Centre which aimed to "understand the causes and consequences of common diseases that afflict ethnic populations, women and the socially disadvantaged."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Morrison |first1=Suzanne |title=New centre to focus on health of diverse populations |url=https://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/articles/new-centre-to-focus-on-health-of-diverse-populations/ |publisher=McMaster University |access-date=January 7, 2022 |date=March 28, 2012}}</ref> Anand was re-appointed as a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=Meet the 22 women who hold Canada Research Chairs at McMaster |url=https://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/articles/meet-the-22-women-who-hold-canada-research-chairs-at-mcmaster/ |publisher=McMaster University |access-date=January 7, 2022 |date=March 8, 2017}}</ref> Following her re-appointment, Anand was also named the inaugural Associate Chair, Equity, and Diversity for McMaster's Department of Medicine.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dr. Anand Appointed Associate Chair, Equity & Diversity |url=https://www.phri.ca/dr-anand-appointed-associate-chair-equity-diversity/ |publisher=Population Health Research Institute|access-date=January 7, 2022 |date=July 23, 2018}}</ref> In 2019, Anand was elected a Fellow of the [[Canadian Academy of Health Sciences]].<ref>{{cite web |title=CAHS inductees Drs. Gerstein and Anand |url=https://www.phri.ca/cahs-inductees-drs-gerstein-and-anand/ |publisher=Population Health Research Institute |access-date=January 7, 2022 |date=September 19, 2019}}</ref> In 2022, Anand was named a Fellow in the Royal Society of Canada's Academy of Science (FRSC).<ref>'''Fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada''' ('''FRSC''') is an award granted to individuals that the [[Royal Society of Canada]] judges to have "made remarkable contributions in the [[art]]s, the [[humanities]] and the [[sciences]], as well as in [[Canada|Canadian]] public life". As of 2020, there are more than 2,000 living Canadian [[fellow]]s, including [[scholar]]s, artists, and scientists such as [[Margaret Atwood]], [[Philip J. Currie]], [[David Suzuki]], [[Stephen Waddams]], and [[Demetri Terzopoulos]].</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Royal Society of Canada {{!}} Class of 2022 |url=https://rsc-src.ca/sites/default/files/2022%20New%20Member%20List_EN_0.pdf |website=The Royal Society of Canada}}</ref> Fellowship in the RSC represents the highest academic honour in Canada.

During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], Anand became the principal investigator of the COVID CommUNITY-South Asian and COVID CommUNITY-First Nations study which collected, analyzed, and reported data relating to COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness and safety.<ref>{{cite web |title=Immune response and vaccine hesitancy in First Nations investigated |url=https://brighterworld.mcmaster.ca/articles/sonia-anand-covid-community-study/ |publisher=McMaster University |access-date=January 7, 2022 |date=December 7, 2021}}</ref> She was also the recipient of the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award from the South Asian Health Foundation.<ref>{{cite web |title=South Asian Health Foundation lifetime award: Sonia Anand |url=https://www.phri.ca/south-asian-health-foundation-lifetime-award/ |publisher=Population Health Research Institute |access-date=January 7, 2022 |date=October 15, 2020}}</ref>

As of July 2023, Dr. Anand has taken the role of Associate Vice-President, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Global Health.

==Personal life==
Anand and her husband, a family physician, have three children together.<ref name ="DNA"/>

==Awards and Honours==
{{BLP unreferenced section|date=August 2023}}
Anand held an endowed Women’s Health Chair from 2001-2013, and holds the Heart and Stroke Chair in Population Health and Canada Research Chair in Ethnicity and CVD-Tier 1. She was appointed Associate Chair of Equity and Diversity within the Department of Medicine, McMaster in 2018, and is the Canadian Cardiovascular Society EDI Committee Chair. Anand was named in 2010 Canada’s top 100 women and received the 2016 Canadian Women’s Heart Health Advocacy Award. In 2019 she was inducted as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences; in 2020 she received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Diabetes from the South Asian Health Foundation, UK. In 2021, Anand joined the National Heart and Stroke Foundation as a Board member. In 2022, Anand received the Margolese National Heart Disorders Prize, and was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2023, Anand was named as one of the YWCA Women of Distinction for Hamilton, Ontario.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Google Scholar id | UHlRrBcAAAAJ}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anand, Sonia}}
[[Category:1968 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Academic staff of McMaster University]]
[[Category:Canadian cardiologists]]
[[Category:Women cardiologists]]
[[Category:People from Kentville, Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:Canada Research Chairs]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Indian descent]]

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Sonia Anand