Geoffrey C. Robinson Award

The Geoffrey C. Robinson Award recognizes outstanding contributions to child and youth health through research in the field of population health or health services research within the last five years.

Established in 2001, this award is funded by an endowment established by the Children’s and Women’s Health Centre of British Columbia and British Columbia’s Children’s Hospital Foundation, in recognition of Dr. Geoffrey C. Robinson’s outstanding contribution to improving the health of children and youth.

The award is presented during the CPS Annual Conference. The recipient is awarded a commemorative plaque, a gift of $1,000 and a complimentary CPS membership for one year.

Awarded every other year, the next award will be presented in 2023.

Current recipient(s): Dr. Astrid Guttmann

Dr. Astrid Guttmann is a general paediatrician and senior scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children, and a professor of paediatrics, health policy, and public health.  She is also co-director of the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children at the University of Toronto, as well as senior scientist and chief science officer at ICES, Canada’s largest health services and policy research institute. 

Dr. Guttmann’s research has focused on the use of population-based administrative data to improve outcomes for children and youth living with a variety of complex disorders, at select points within the health care system, at different times in their lives. Her work has informed the development of guidelines for observational studies that are now endorsed by many major medical journals.

Dr. Guttmann’s research uses population-based studies to inform or evaluate health system programs and policies, with focus on health equity. Her current research areas include the interplay between Canadian refugee re-settlement models and the long-term health and social outcomes of refugee children and families, the impacts of COVID-19 on immigrant and refugee communities in Ontario, and the effects of COVID-19 restrictions on children’s physical and mental health. She is also working with First Nations communities in Southern Ontario on the impact of prenatal opioid use.

Since 2010, Dr. Guttmann has written or co-written more than 150 peer-reviewed research articles. Her work has appeared in major journals such as JAMA, Pediatrics, the Journal of Pediatrics, PLoS Medicine, Cancer, CMAJ, the British Medical Journal, and the Journal of Epidemiology, among others.

Dr. Guttmann co-leads a large government funded data and research initiative at ICES that builds capacity to report on and evaluate the Ontario Mental Health and Addictions Strategy and related programs. She serves on a number of scientific and policy advisory committees.

About Dr. Geoffrey C. Robinson

Vancouver paediatrician Dr. Geoffrey C. Robinson, whose distinguished career has spanned five decades, developed innovative programs such as care-by-parent wards, community outreach programs, province-wide developmental disabilities centres, and comprehensive paediatric care.

Nominations

Nominees should be researchers active in population health and/or health services research (research that informs policy and decision makers at a population rather than individual level) involving the health of children or youth. The recipient must be a Canadian citizen but need not be a CPS member and must hold an appointment at a Canadian university, hospital or institute. 

The Awards Committee will judge candidates based on:

• The research must contribute to the field of population health and/or health services research related to children and youth.
• The research must fit into the overall contribution made by the nominee.
• The research must fit into the overall contribution made by the nominee.
• The body of work must meet national and international standards of excellence.
• The body of work must have contributed to changes in policy or practice that have improved the health or have the potential to improve the health of children and/or youth.

Nominations must be formally resubmitted each year to be reconsidered. Current CPS board and Awards Committee members are not eligible for nomination and cannot nominate candidates while serving their terms.

Submissions

Submissions must include:

• A letter from the nominator clearly describing the nominee’s research contribution. The letter should address the criteria listed above. Maximum three pages.
• The candidate’s CV and a list of publications.
• Nominator must be a CPS member.

Submit your nominations using the Submit Nomination button.

Past recipients