Jayna Holroyd-Leduc appointed department head, Medicine

Alberta Health Services’ (AHS) Calgary Zone and the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Jayna Holroyd-Leduc, MD, as head of the Department of Medicine, effective Jul. 1, 2020.

Jayna is a clinician researcher who has been with AHS and the CSM for more than 13 years. She is a professor in the departments of Medicine and Community Health Sciences, the deputy head (academic) for the Department of Medicine, the division/section head of geriatric medicine and the current holder of the Brenda Strafford Foundation Chair in Geriatric Medicine. Jayna is also a member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and the O’Brien Institute for Public Health.

Since joining AHS and the CSM, Jayna has held several leadership roles, including medical director of Specialized Geriatric Services within AHS’ Calgary Zone, scientific director of the AHS Seniors Health Strategic Clinical Network and program director of UCalgary’s Geriatric Medicine Training Program. She is a graduate of the CSM Leadership Program that is offered through UCalgary’s Haskayne School of Business, and recently attended the Harvard School of Medicine Leadership Skills for Women in Healthcare course.

In 2016, UCalgary named Jayna as a peak scholar for outstanding excellence in entrepreneurship, innovation and knowledge engagement. This achievement recognized Jayna for her impact in the area of health-care improvement, which has earned her, along with her colleagues, additional acknowledgement with the receipt of two Department of Medicine Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Awards (one in 2010, and one in 2013), and the 2018 AHS President’s Excellence Award for Outstanding Achievements in Innovation and Research.

Jayna’s research focuses on knowledge translation (KT) aimed at improving the quality of care provided to older adults. She is the KT Committee Chair of the Canadian Frailty Network, and a member of the Translating Research in Elder Care research group and of KT Canada. She has held several Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Alberta Innovates grants, has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal publications and is the co-author of the book, Evidence-Based Geriatric Medicine, which provides a practical clinical guide to geriatric medicine. Jayna is also an associate editor for the Canadian Medical Association Journal, a role she has held for the past 10 years.

Jayna has contributed to the education and clinical training of undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students, and is a previous member of the Royal College of Physician and Surgeons of Canada’s internal medicine and geriatric medicine examination boards. Her role as a mentor has been recognized with the 2010 Department of Medicine Research Preceptor Award and the 2016 Clinician Investigator Telemachus Distinguished Mentorship Award.

Jayna’s passion for KT, mentorship and patient care make her an excellent fit for this new role. She looks forward to contributing to the department’s continued success and supporting the career paths of her colleagues.

Jayna is the successor to former department head, Dr. Richard Leigh, MD, PhD, and interim chairs, Drs. Jeff Schaefer, MD, and Kelly Zarnke, MD. Thank you to Richard for his remarkable leadership over the years, and to Jeff and Kelly for stepping in to help the department during this unprecedented transition period.

Please join us in congratulating Jayna on her new appointment.

Sincerely,

Jon Meddings, MD
Dean, Cumming School of Medicine
University of Calgary

Sid Viner, MD
Medical Director, Calgary Zone
Alberta Health Services