Dr. Ronald Cohn appointed Chief of Paediatrics at The Hospital for Sick Children

Following an extensive international search, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) Board of Trustees and The University of Toronto’s Governing Council are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Ronald Cohn to the position of Chief of Paediatrics, SickKids and Chair of Paediatrics at The University of Toronto. Dr. Cohn will assume his responsibilities on July 1, 2016 following Dr. Denis Daneman’s completion of his ten-year term.

Dr. Cohn is an outstanding clinician, scientist, and educator recruited to SickKids in 2012 to be the Chief of the Division of Clinical and Metabolic Genetics, Co-Director of the Centre for Genetic Medicine and Senior Scientist. He also became the Inaugural Women’s Auxiliary Chair in Clinical and Metabolic Genetics in April of 2013, and is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Paediatrics and Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto (U of T).

“I am excited to have Dr. Cohn join the SickKids executive team as Chief of Paediatrics. I am certain that he will be an exceptional leader within the hospital and across the university’s paediatric community,” says Dr. Michael Apkon, SickKids President and CEO.  “His excellent clinical, scientific and people leadership skills and strong commitment to innovation will continue to inspire our Department of Paediatrics in world-class care and integration with our research enterprise, resulting in greater health outcomes for our children and families.”

Dr. Cohn has combined his clinical and research interests working to develop programs and influence policies that will bring the power of genomics to individualized approaches to care. In July of 2013, under his leadership, the Centre for Genetic Medicine launched the first paediatric focused Genome clinic at SickKids, which is devoted to discovering new diagnostic and treatment options for paediatric disease. Dr. Cohn is also an accomplished scientist, focusing on the genetics of muscular dystrophies. Most recently, his laboratory has started to investigate the application of a new genome editing technology, CRISPR/Cas9 that holds the promise of correcting genetic abnormalities that lead to disease.

“Dr. Cohn has helped establish Toronto as a centre the emerging field of Genetic Medicine since joining the University of Toronto and SickKids in 2012. He is a talented physician and a sterling researcher. We look forward to the energy and vision he’ll bring to supporting children’s health in his new roles,” says Professor Trevor Young, U of T’s Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Vice Provost, Relations with Health-Care Institutions.

Dr. Cohn holds a medical degree from the University of Essen, Germany, and did his postdoctoral fellowship at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.  Before joining SickKids he was at the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins where he became the Director of the worlds' first multidisciplinary centre for Hypotonia.  Dr. Cohn has received numerous awards including the David M. Kamsler Award for outstanding compassionate and expert care of paediatric patients, 2004; the First Annual Harvard-Partners Center for Genetics and Genomics Award in Medical, 2006; and, the NIH Young Innovator Award, 2008.

Dr. Michael Apkon
President and CEO
The Hospital for Sick Children

Trevor Young, MD, PhD, FRCPC, FCAHS
Dean, Faculty of Medicine and Vice Provost,
Relations with Health-Care Institutions
University of Toronto