OTTAWA, April 10, 2024 — Following a rigorous international recruitment process, the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) has named Dr. Katey Rayner as its next chief scientific officer and vice-president of research. Dr. Rayner will succeed Dr. Peter Liu, effective July 4, 2024, becoming the first woman ever to lead the research enterprise of the Heart Institute.
“Dr. Katey Rayner’s appointment is a landmark moment for the University of Ottawa Heart Institute,” said Dr. Rob Beanlands, president and chief executive officer of the UOHI. “Dr. Rayner is a talented and accomplished scientist whose expertise is sought worldwide. She is a passionate advocate who believes science and research are integral to enable world-class patient care. I congratulate and thank Dr. Peter Liu for his leadership over the past 12 years. Over his tenure, the Heart Institute has flourished into an internationally recognized leader in cardiovascular research.”
Dr. Katey Rayner is globally recognized for her exceptional contributions to understanding the roles of inflammation in driving atherosclerosis and cholesterol metabolism. She is the director of the Cardiometabolic microRNA Laboratory at the UOHI and the assistant dean of research and special projects in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, where she is also a full professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology. Dr. Rayner is a skilled leader of interdisciplinary research teams. She has guided biomedical scientists, chemists and clinician investigators, and is committed to translating basic discoveries to clinical application.
Dr. Rayner is an active member of the cardiovascular research community. She has published several high-impact studies, including papers in Science; Nature and Nature Metabolism; The Journal of Clinical Investigation; Circulation and Circulation Research; and Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (ATVB). She serves on peer-review and leadership committees of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Heart & Stroke, and the American Heart Association. She is an editorial board member of Circulation Research and ATVB (where she is also the social media editor).
Dr. Rayner has been recognized with several prestigious honours, including both the American Heart Association’s Joseph A. Vita Award and the Daniel Steinberg Award for Early Career Researcher, and as a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars. She has been recognized as a UOHI Investigator of the Year, the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine’s Biomedical Researcher of the Year, and as the recipient of the Jean Himms-Hagen Research Award for her international leadership, innovation, and contributions to research.
“It’s a terrific time for research in Ottawa right now—there’s a lot of momentum, a lot to build on in our region,” said Dr. Katey Rayner, incoming chief scientific officer and vice-president of research at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. “The University of Ottawa Heart Institute will remain a leader and a source of expertise in Ottawa's research ecosystem, in Canada and abroad. To continue to have a strong and meaningful impact, we must share our findings broadly with everyone, including with our patients, our community and with researchers around the world.” Watch the video.
About the University of Ottawa Heart Institute
The University of Ottawa Heart Institute stands as one of Canada’s most distinguished heart health centres for the unparalleled care it provides to its patients, a world-renowned research institute that brings science from bench to bedside, and the country’s main influencer when it comes to preventing heart disease. Its promise remains the very pillar on which it was built: Always putting patients first.
Media contact
To schedule an interview with Dr. Katey Rayner, please contact the media liaison below.
Leigh B. Morris
Communications Officer
University of Ottawa Heart Institute
613-316-6409 (cell)
lmorris@ottawaheart.ca