After a pandemic-induced delay, Dr. Hai Nguyen is set to take up the opportunity of a lifetime.
The associate professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Health Policy Evaluation and Health Care Sustainability, School of Pharmacy, has been named Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.
Next year, Dr. Nguyen will spend four months conducting research at the Bloomberg School of Public Health in Maryland. He was initially supposed to travel to the U.S. last year, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed his start date.
“My research will focus on evaluating the effects of Canada’s recreational cannabis legalization,” Dr. Nguyen told the Gazette during a recent conversation.
“Doing this research in the U.S. offers a unique advantage of using both Canada and U.S. data, enabling me to assess and compare the effects of this important policy between the two countries.”
Prestigious program
The Fulbright Scholars program is among the most prestigious academic exchange programs in the world.
In particular, the Fulbright Canada Research Chairs program provides unique opportunities for exceptional Canadian scholars to travel to select universities in the U.S. to undertake leading-edge research, lecture and engage with the broader community.
“I am excited about the opportunities to collaborate with my American colleagues who are leading scholars in this research area and to join a vibrant network of Fulbright alumni to promote mutual understanding at home and abroad, a core mission of the Fulbright program,” Dr. Nguyen noted.
“Memorial has had many leading researchers whose works have been recognized nationally and internationally.”
A health economist, Dr. Nguyen joined the School of Pharmacy in September 2016 and was named a Canada Research Chair in 2018.
He has published in leading health economics, public health and medical journals and is actively involved in policy consultancy. He is also on the editorial board of Respirology, the official journal of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology.
Highly relevant research
Dr. Nguyen says he’s looking forward to travelling south of the border and promoting Memorial’s health-related research strengths.
“Over the years, Memorial has had many leading researchers whose works have been recognized nationally and internationally,” he said.
“I think this award is not only an honour for me, but also reflects Memorial’s longstanding tradition of engaging in and promoting highly relevant, cutting-edge research to address challenging issues facing the society.”
