Canadian Cardiovascular Society bestows Heart Institute doctors with Recognition Awards

August 22, 2024

OTTAWA, August 22, 2024 —The Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) has awarded Dr. Jennifer Reed, Dr. Kwan-Leung Chan, and Dr. Christopher Johnson of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) with prestigious awards in recognition of their research impact, career achievement and exemplary leadership.

Dr. Jennifer Reed, a scientist and program chair of cardiac rehabilitation, is the first recipient from Ottawa to receive the Dr. Robert E. Beamish Award in the program’s 26-year history.

The award, given in honour of Dr. Robert E. Beamish, the founding editor in chief of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology (CJC), is presented to an author of an original research article published during the preceding three years in the CJC and judged to have the greatest potential impact on cardiovascular medicine.

Dr. Jennifer Reed, who directs the Exercise Physiology and Cardiovascular Health Laboratory at the UOHI, was selected for her article “Sustained Effects of Different Exercise Modalities on Physical and Mental Health in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease: A Randomized Clinical Trial.”

Published June 12, 2022, the article has been covered by more than one hundred news outlets worldwide and downloaded more than 12,000 times in the last year alone. The trial represented the first time three different exercise modalities – high-intensity interval training, moderate-to-vigorous intensity continuous training, and Nordic walking – were evaluated and compared against one another for their overall health benefits in patients participating in a cardiovascular rehabilitation program.

Dr. Kwan-Leung Chan, a cardiologist, will receive the CCS Achievement Award. Created in 1992, the accolade recognizes Canadians who have made outstanding contributions in their career within the cardiovascular field.

Dr. Chan’s research interests include valvular heart disease, infective endocarditis and aortic diseases. He has a special interest in the application of ultrasound in the study of cardiac structure and function and has been actively involved in continuing medical education in this area.

Cardiologist Dr. Christopher Johnson is also being recognized for his exemplary leadership in clinical cardiovascular medicine and surgery. The award recognizes and celebrates an outstanding contribution by a clinical cardiovascular specialist. Dr. Johnson primarily works at The Ottawa Hospital (general site) and also works in the cardiac catheterization lab at the UOHI.

The CCS will present Dr. Reed, Dr. Chan and Dr. Johnson with their awards during the CCS 2024 Recognition Awards ceremony held during the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, October 24-27 in Vancouver, B.C. 

For more information

To learn more about CCS Recognition Awards, visit the award page on the CCS website or read the CCS news release.

To coordinate an interview with the recipients from the UOHI, please liaise with the media contact named below.

Media contact

Leigh B. Morris
Communications Officer
University of Ottawa Heart Institute
613-316-6409 (cell)
@email