Gillian Hawker

University of Toronto

Gillian Hawker MD MSc is a Professor of Medicine and Rheumatology in the Department of Medicine, and a Clinician Scientist and Staff Rheumatologist at Women’s College Hospital, at the University of Toronto, where she completed undergraduate medicine (1984), post-graduate residency training in internal medicine and rheumatology (1989), and an MSc in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research (1992). She previously directed the university’s Clinical Epidemiology Program, was Chief of Medicine at Women’s College Hospital, and served from 2014-2024 as the Sir John and Lady Eaton Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Her research program is focused on identifying, understanding and addressing disparities in access to and outcomes of care for people living with osteoarthritis (OA). This research has helped redefine OA as a serious disease with multifaceted impacts, advanced understanding of how OA pain affects sleep, mood, comorbidities, and health care costs, documented sex- and gender-based disparities in OA care and demonstrated the importance of patient preferences and values in surgical outcomes. She has over 500 co-authored publications as original research, reviews, white papers, and book chapters. Her impact on the field has been recognized through numerous honours, including The Canadian Rheumatology Association Distinguished Investigator Award (2011), the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), Fellowship in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (2014), and the OARSI Clinical Research Award (2022). Dr. Hawker has held many leadership positions within the national and international rheumatology/OA communities. Nationally, she previously co-led the Arthritis Alliance of Canada and national standards of care for OA. Internationally, she has served as Chair of the ACR Quality of Care Subcommittee on Classification & Response Criteria, Board Member of OARSI, and co-leader of international efforts to develop classification criteria for RA (the first ever ACR/EULAR collaboration) and early-stage OA for OARSI. Dr. Hawker has also been recognized for her leadership in advancing inclusive excellence in academic medicine. She has supervised and mentored numerous trainees and received honours for exceptional mentorship.