Research Leadership Award

CCFC’s Research Leadership Award honours a researcher who has made an exceptional contribution to the Foundation’s research program. CCFC is pleased to announce that the recipient of this year’s Research Leadership Award is Dr. Derek McKay. Dr.  McKay received his PhD from The Queens University of Belfast in 1990 and moved to McMaster University to conduct post-doctoral studies under the supervision of Dr. Mary Perdue.  In 1995 he was appointed to faculty at McMaster as an Assistant Professor and subsequently promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure.

In 2006 he moved to the University of Calgary as a full Professor, recruited as a Canada Research Chair (tier 1) and also received an Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Scientist Award.

Dr. McKay has contributed significantly to CCFC and the IBD community in a number of ways. His research has been funded by CCFC on numerous occasions over the past 15 years, and he has used this funding to leverage additional research funding from national granting agencies. His research spans many facets of gut function and the understanding of inflammation.

Dr. McKay’s significant research contributions have been published in more than 100 top-flight medical journals. He has also held leadership roles in the IBD Research Institute and on CCFC’s Grant Review Panel.  In addition to his contributions as a researcher, he has also supported CCFC’s fundraising activities. Dr. McKay has been a Top Pledge Earner (raising $1,000 or more) during CCFC’s fundraising walk for 11 years. He has also assisted with awareness and education by speaking at various education symposia and local chapter events.

In recent years Dr. McKay has received funding from CCFC to support ground-breaking studies on the impact of infection with helminths (otherwise known as parasitic worms), on intestinal form and function, and inflammatory disease.