Cameco Chair in Indigenous Health and Wellness
University of Saskatchewan
University of Saskatchewan
Dr. Alexandra King, MD, FRCPC, a member and citizen of Nipissing First Nation (Ontario), is the Cameco Chair in Indigenous Health and Wellness at the University of Saskatchewan (USask). She co-founded and oversees the world-class Pewaseskwan (the Indigenous Wellness Research Group). She and her team are cartographers of ethical space, pioneering research that privileges First Nations, Inuit and Métis ways of knowing, being and doing that improves Indigenous health and wellness.
She is co-visionary of Mitewekan (Cree, meaning ‘the spirit behind the heartbeat’), which is the lead Indigenous partner of the Cardiovascular Network of Canada, the Canadian Heart Function Alliance and the Brain-Heart Interconnectome. Mitewekan is structured such that Indigenous people with lived and living experience who are also Knowledge Holders – people we consider doubly wise – are at its core, determining research, education and advocacy priorities. Current projects include Indigenous Journey Mapping and the 7 Directions Summit.
Dr. King serves on many local, national and international initiatives, including the Indigenous and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Platform for the Canadian Network on Hepatitis C (CanHepC). She is a member of the CIHR Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health Advisory Board and is the Treasurer of the Canadian Association for HIV Research (CAHR).
She provides Indigenous leadership and mentorship to several national networks and initiatives to create culturally safe and responsive research and care while increasing Indigenous research capacity and ownership. Dr. King’s work is grounded in reconciliation, etuaptmumk (Two-eyed Seeing), which brings together Indigenous and appropriate Western worldviews or knowledge, and champions Ethical Space, which is a critical need when people with disparate worldviews engage with each other.
As more health researchers recognize the need to include Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing in their research and healthcare, Dr. King is continually sought out for her expertise.
Disclosure(s): CIHR: Research Grant (includes principal investigator, collaborator or consultant and pending grants as well as grants already received) (Ongoing); NSERC: Research Grant (includes principal investigator, collaborator or consultant and pending grants as well as grants already received) (Ongoing); SHRF: Research Grant (includes principal investigator, collaborator or consultant and pending grants as well as grants already received) (Ongoing); SSHRC: Research Grant (includes principal investigator, collaborator or consultant and pending grants as well as grants already received) (Ongoing); TIPS: Research Grant (includes principal investigator, collaborator or consultant and pending grants as well as grants already received) (Ongoing)
Friday, October 25, 2024
9:45 AM – 10:45 AM PT