Janet E. McElhaney

Janet E. McElhaney

Janet E. McElhaney, MD, FRCPC, FACP, is HSN Volunteer Association Chair in Healthy Aging, VP Research and Scientific Director, Health Sciences North Research Institute, and Professor, Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

Her “Vaccine Initiative to Add Life to Years” (VITALiTY), is an interdisciplinary approach using measures of frailty to reflect overall health status and risk factors for catastrophic disability; developing biomarkers of protection against influenza and herpes zoster and exploring the contribution of “inflammaging” in designing new vaccines for improved protection in older adults.

The overall goal is to promote healthy aging through vaccination and to address the challenges of multiple chronic conditions particularly in rural and remote communities in Canada, including Indigenous people and their communities.

Institution: Health Sciences North Research Institute

Contact: jmcelhaney@hsnri.ca