John Lavis (he | him)
Chair of the HQ Toronto Board
John is committed to supporting government policymakers and organizational leaders in strengthening health and social systems and in getting the right programs, services, and products to the people who need them. He is the Founder and Director of McMaster Health Forum, and Co-Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Evidence-Informed Policy.
John is also the Chair of the Steering group and Communities council for the Evidence Synthesis Infrastructure Collaborative (ESIC) and Co-lead of Rapid-Improvement Support and Exchange (RISE). He holds the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Evidence-Support Systems and is a professor in the departments of Health Evidence and Impact at McMaster University.
As a physician he worked in many of Toronto’s large HIV primary-care practices and in one of Canada’s largest prisons. He has co-chaired the board of directors for the AIDS Committee of Toronto, Fife House, and the Ontario HIV Treatment Network. John holds an MD from Queen's University, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and a PhD (in Health Policy) from Harvard University. He brings local health-system experience, academic excellence, and domestic and global policy expertise to his position as Chair of HQ’s board of directors.
