Vivek Goel is a Canadian physician and academic who is the current President and Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...

. As a physician and public health researcher, he was also a university administrator, and served as a special advisor to the president and provost of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, and as a professor for the

Dalla Lana School of Public Health Dalla Lana School of Public Health is the school of public health at the University of Toronto, located at the St. George campus in Downtown Toronto. It was founded in 1927, and was home for 50 years to Connaught Laboratories, a manufacturer of ...

. He is recognized in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and internationally as a public health researcher and expert in health-services evaluation. He has been an advocate for the use of research evidence in health policy-making.

Education

Goel obtained his medical degree from

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, ...

. He then completed post-graduate medical training in

Community Medicine Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

at the

. Goel went on to do a Master of Science (MSc) in Community Health from the University of Toronto and a Master of Science (MS) in

Biostatistics Biostatistics (also known as biometry) is a branch of statistics that applies statistical methods to a wide range of topics in biology. It encompasses the design of biological experiments, the collection and analysis of data from those experimen ...

from the

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school at Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. It was named after Hong Kong entrepreneur Chan Tseng-hsi in 2014 following a US$350 ...

Career

Goel began his career as an assistant professor with the University of Toronto's Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, and was later named the chair of the Department of Health Administration. From 1999 to 2001, he served as the Vice-Provost of the

Faculty of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

, before becoming the Vice-President and Provost of the university from 2004 to 2008. Goel left the University of Toronto, in 2008, to serve as the first president and CEO of

Public Health Ontario The Public Health Ontario, (), incorporated under the name Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion () is the Ontario Government agency responsible for providing scientific and technical advice to those working to promote and protect the ...

until 2014. Goel returned to the university in 2015 to serve as its Vice-President of Research and Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives, holding the office until 2020. In June 2020, Goel stepped down from his position at the University of Toronto in order to support the Canadian government's COVID-19 Immunity Task Force and the CanCOVID Research Network, national research platform for COVID-19 research. He was also the Chief Academic Strategist of

Coursera Coursera Inc. () is an American global massive open online course provider. It was founded in 2012 by Stanford University computer science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller. Coursera works with universities and other organizations to offe ...

. Goel serves on numerous boards and committees including the Canadian Institute for Health Information, Grand River Hospital, and the Business + Higher Education Roundtable. He also serves on the board of the Vector Institute, Canada Health Labs (Vice-Chair), the

Canadian Institute for Health Information The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) is an independent, not-for-profit organization that provides essential information on Canada's health systems and the health of Canadians. CIHI provides comparable and actionable data and in ...

(Vice-Chair) and the POST Promise. He is a Fellow of the

Canadian Academy of Health Sciences The Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) is one of three national academies that comprise the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), the highest honour granted to scholars in Canada. The two other CCA academies are the Royal Society of Cana ...

and a fellow of the

Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences The Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences, commonly known simply as the Fields Institute, is an international centre for scientific research in mathematical sciences. It is an independent non-profit with strong ties to 20 Ontar ...

. He is 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 ...

. On 2 December 2020, Goel was appointed as a Member of the "

" for his contributions as an academic and administrator who is committed to the advancement of public health services,

evidence-based health care Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. It means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available exte ...

and research innovation. It was announced in November 2020 that Goel would be the seventh President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Waterloo. He was officially installed on November 8, 2021. In 2023, he was recognized for his contributions to the Canadian health system through the Canadian Health Leadership Network’s McNaught-Taillon Leadership Award. Goel is set to conclude his tenure as President and Vice-Chancellor of the

in June 2026.

Honours

References

Presidents of the University of Waterloo Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of Toronto alumni McGill University Faculty of Medicine alumni Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health alumni Physicians from Toronto {{Canada-med-bio-stub

Education

Career

Honours

See also

References