Dr. Sonia Anand
McMaster University’s Dr. Sonia Anand was only 33 years old when she landed the Eli Lilly Canada-May Cohen Chair in Women’s Health.
Although her present research involves the environmental and genetic determinants of vascular and peripheral vascular disease in populations of varying ancestral origin, she is most recognized for her research on women’s health issues, particularly in the area of cardiovascular disease.
The care and treatment of women’s cardiovascular disease, unique in its latent and non-specific symptoms, must differ from the standard employed for men to be successful, and Dr. Anand’s research is innovative in making this a priority.
As a Professor with the Department of Medicine and a member of the Leadership Council of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada’s Heart Truth campaign, Dr. Anand has helped give women the tools they need to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease.
Studying the differences associated with each gender’s symptomatic experience of heart disease, Dr. Anand aims to clarify the way in which social factors interact with biological factors to impact cardiovascular health.
Dr. Anand is also the Principal Investigator of two large genetic association studies, including the CIHR/HSFO funded EPiDREAM study of 22,000 people from 21 countries.
Complementing this research, Dr. Anand teaches clinical epidemiology courses in methodology and cardiovascular disease at McMaster University with the hope of influencing future generations of doctors to be mindful of women’s health matters.
Current Positions
- Associate Director – Population Health Research Institute
- Director – Population Genomics Program, Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics
- Professor – Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine
- Associate Member – Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics
Research Interests
Environmental and genetic determinants of vascular disease in populations of varying ancestral origin, women and cardiovascular disease
- SAHARA (South Asian HeArt Risk Assessment)
- START (SouTh Asian biRth cohort)
- CVCD Alliance
- Alliance (Canadian Alliance for Health Hearts and Minds; Scientific title Cardiac Vascular and Cognitive Dysfunction Alliance)
