Dr. Ernesto Schiffrin named JGH Physician-in-Chief Emeritus

Dr. Ernesto Schiffrin, one of the world’s leading experts in hypertension, has been named Physician-in-Chief Emeritus of the JGH, the latest in a long list of honours and awards for the celebrated doctor.

On June 22, Dr. Schiffrin received a certificate commemorating his new designation, resulting from a resolution by the CIUSSS’s Board of Directors to honour him as he steps down after more than 17 years as Chief of the JGH Department of Medicine.

The certificate was presented by Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg, President and CEO of the CIUSSS, and by Dr. Vicky Tagalakis, who succeeds Dr. Schiffrin as Chief of the Department of Medicine.

“Since Dr. Schiffrin has contributed immensely to the success of the hospital, we felt something special needed to be done,” Dr. Rosenberg said. “This honour recognizes the fact that he has played a major role in the history of the hospital.”

Describing his term as Physician-in-Chief as “an honour and a privilege,” Dr. Schiffrin said he enjoyed his leadership role in a department that is active not only in patient care, but in teaching across the McGill University system, and in research in many fields.

“As I always say, it’s not the walls, but the people who make a place what it is,” he added. “It’s been really wonderful for me over these 17½  years to be able to contribute as Physician-in-Chief of the hospital and as Associate Chair of the Department of Medicine at McGill.”

Dr. Schiffrin noted that he will remain Director of the JGH’s Cardiovascular Prevention Centre, which he founded in 2007. He will also continue his research, having had his grants renewed by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. “It’ll be a pleasure to stick around and rub shoulders with all of my colleagues,” he said.

Dr. Schiffrin’s many honours include an appointment to the Order of Canada; election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada; the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal; the Prix Galien Canada – Research; the Excellence Award for Hypertension Research from the American Heart Association; being named a Distinguished Scientist by the American Heart Association; the Bjorn Folkow Award of the European Society of Hypertension; and the Irvine Page-Alva Bradley Lifetime Achievement Award from the High Blood Pressure Council of the American Heart Association.

In addition, Dr. Schiffrin has served in many national and international capacities, including President of the International Society of Hypertension; President of Hypertension Canada; Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Hypertension; and Canada Research Chair in Hypertension and Vascular Research in the Lady Davis Institute at the JGH.