Catherine Anita Hankins (born 1949) is a Canadian epidemiologist. Hankins was the Deputy Medical Officer of Health at Calgary Health Services before accepting a faculty position at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

Early life and education

Hankins was born in 1949. She earned her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in French and medical degree from the

University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...

. In recognition of her contributions to AIDS research, the institution recognized Hankins as a Distinguished Graduate in 1993. Hankins subsequently earned her Master's of Science degree from the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public university, public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London that specialises in public hea ...

and her PhD from the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

Career

In 1983, Hankins was appointed Deputy Medical Officer of Health at Calgary Health Services as the country dealt with the

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

epidemic. While serving in this role, she found meat linked to E. coli which caused kidney failure in three children and she sent 49 raw hamburger samples to a laboratory in Edmonton. Hankins was also appointed chairwoman of the National Task Force on HIV-AIDS and Injection Drug Use where she encouraged the use of safe injection sites and legalization of drugs. She urged the country to move quickly in response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and said that if Ottawa doesn't respond to her group's call then "there will be the continuation of the HIV epidemic, and expansion of that epidemic into the heterosexual population who do not inject drugs." Hankins was soon called by the Quebec government to oversee a public health campaign on the importance of safe sex practices and condom use. However, days, before that campaign was set to launch,

Thérèse Lavoie-Roux Thérèse Lavoie-Roux (March 12, 1928 – January 31, 2009) was a Canadian politician and social worker who served in the National Assembly of Quebec and the Senate of Canada. She was the Minister of Health and Social Services from 1985 to 1 ...

, caved to pressure from a Catholic lobby group and pulled the campaign. By 2002, Hankins was recruited by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

to serve as their Chief Scientific Adviser to UNAIDS in Geneva where she led the scientific knowledge translation team focusing on "ensuring ethical and participatory HIV prevention trial conduct, convening mathematical modelling teams, and supporting country implementation of proven biomedical HIV prevention modalities." A decade later, in 2012, the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development appointed Hankins as Deputy Director of Science where she would "oversee a range of HIV prevention research, including intervention and demonstration projects, as well as scientific knowledge translation." The following year, she was elected a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

for "her contributions to combatting the spread of HIV/AIDS in Canada and abroad" and was hired to teach at

. During the

COVID-19 pandemic in North America The first cases of the COVID-19 pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in North America were reported in the United States on 23 January 2020. Cases were reported in all North American countries after Saint Kitts and Nevis confirmed a case on 2 ...

, Hankins was named to the leadership team of the national

COVID-19 Immunity Task Force The COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) is one of the Government of Canada's early efforts to track the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, coronavirus pandemic. An external, dedicated secretariat was established in order to maximize the efficiency ...

. In this role, she aimed to get an antibody test approved and standardized across the country and define how the virus was spread. In order to complete this objective, the Task Force funded a survey carried out by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

to find out how many Canadians were infected by COVID by November.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hankins, Catherine Living people 1949 births Academic staff of McGill University University of Calgary alumni Canadian women epidemiologists Canadian epidemiologists University of Amsterdam alumni Alumni of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Members of the Order of Canada