McMaster professor and researcher Sonia Anand has been awarded the Health Research Foundation’s (HRF) Diversity & Equity in Research Award in recognition of her contributions to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in health research.

Anand received the award from the Health Research Foundation of Innovative Medicines this week.

“I am honoured and humbled to receive this award. I want to thank McMaster University for nominating me, and for their continued support of my research,” says Anand, a professor in the departments of Medicine and Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact.

“Continued efforts are needed to ensure participants recruited into research studies in Canada, be they observational studies or clinical trials, represent our country’s incredible ethnic diversity. By doing so we will decrease the health equity gaps, improve quality and quantity of life, and reduce the health care system burden and costs we face today.”

Anand is the associate vice-president of Global Health at McMaster, director of the Chanchlani Research Centre, and a senior scientist at the Population Health Research Institute.

She holds a Canada Research Chair in Ethnic Diversity and Cardiovascular Disease, as well as thre Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario/Michael G. DeGroote Chair in Population Health Research.

Anand’s work has significantly advanced equitable access to research and care across Canada and beyond, removing economic, social and other barriers.

Her research prioritizes women’s cardiovascular health, identifies health risk factors in diverse ethnic groups and develops therapies that benefit high-risk vascular patients globally.

“Throughout her career, Dr. Anand has advocated for equity, diversity and inclusion through her research and leadership roles, breaking new ground and old barriers,” says Paul O’Byrne, dean and vice-president of the Faculty of Health Sciences.

“Dr. Anand has gained a global reputation for her work and is exceedingly deserving of this important recognition.”

Anand has worked extensively in collaboration with First Nations communities over her career. She has conducted several epidemiologic studies and randomized trials, culminating in a First Nations cohort comprising eight communities and 1,300 participants.

She is also active in the South Asian community: In 2012, she received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Award, in 2020 she received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Diabetes from the U.K.-based South Asian Health Foundation, and in June 2022 she received the Hindu Federation OverAchiever Award, recognizing her work in the South Asian community to improve heart health.

Anand’s work on health equity and cardiovascular disease earned her an appointment in 2019 as a Fellow to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, in 2022 as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and a YWCA Women of Distinction Award in 2023.