Dr. Richard Leigh appointed senior associate dean, Faculty Affairs

The Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Richard Leigh, MD, PhD, as senior associate dean, Faculty Affairs. The appointment is effective Jan. 1, 2020.

Richard takes over for Dr. Todd Anderson, MD, who was named vice dean last month. Richard is an accomplished physician-scientist who is highly respected for achievements in research, teaching and leadership in medicine. He has been clinical head, Calgary Zone, Alberta Health Services, and academic head, Department of Medicine, CSM, since 2016.

Richard joined the Faculty of Medicine at UCalgary (now CSM) in 2004.  Richard’s areas of research interest include understanding the basic mechanisms underlying airway remodeling in asthma, the assessment of airway inflammation and early phase clinical trials in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. His research studying the role of rhinovirus infections in the pathogenesis of airway remodeling in asthma is funded through a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. He is also a principal investigator in the AllerGen Clinical Investigator Collaborative, a national group of leading researchers conducting clinical trials to evaluate new treatments for allergic asthma.

Richard’s clinical practice focuses on severe asthma and other airway diseases. He is a professor in the departments of Medicine and Physiology and Pharmacology. He is also a member of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases. Richard served as the division chief, Respiratory Medicine, prior to being appointed to head the Department of Medicine in 2016.

He earned a Master’s degree in Health Research Methodology and PhD in Medical Sciences from McMaster University. Originally from South Africa, Richard obtained his medical degree from the University of Cape Town with distinction in pre-clinical and clinical examinations.

Please join me in congratulating Richard on his new role within senior leadership at the CSM.

Sincerely,

 

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