Dr. Elaine Biddiss has appointed as the Associate Chief of Faculty and IDEAA Advancement (inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility, and anti-racism) at the Bloorview Research Institute (BRI), effective immediately.

Dr. Biddiss will lead the research institute’s key strategic priority in advancing research practices through an inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility and anti-racism lens. This means co-creating inclusive, diverse, equitable and anti-racist research practices that confront inequities across all stages of the research lifecycle, from training, hiring and promotions to study design, recruitment and dissemination. In her new role, Dr. Biddiss will also work in close collaboration with the hospital’s shared mission in building an inclusive, diverse, equitable, accessible and anti-racist environment where all individuals are treated with respect and fairness.

In addition, she will also lead the development of structures to support diverse learners in their research endeavours at the BRI and across the hospital.

Dr. Biddiss is looking forward to collaborating closely with the hospital’s IDEAA office and the Teaching and Learning Institute in her new role.

Dr. Biddiss is a senior scientist and associate professor at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering and associate member of the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto. She holds the Bloorview Childrens Hospital Foundation Chair in Pediatric Rehabilitation and is director of the PEARL lab (Possibility Engineering And Research Lab).

With her team, Dr. Biddiss is dedicated to improving equitable and inclusive access to therapy, education, and leisure opportunities for kids and families across Canada and around the world through low-cost technologies.  She is very well funded by a variety of Canadian agencies and beyond.  In addition, Dr. Biddiss co-founded and is a director of Pearl Interactives, a startup housed in the BRI, to promote wellness through play for kids of all abilities.