Bob Bortolussi, MD, FRCPC, Professor of Pediatrics, Pediatric Infectious Disease consultant at the IWK Health Centre at Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS
Bob Bortolussi is a Pediatric Infectious Disease consultant at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax where he also directs the AIDS treatment program for children across the Maritimes. Through the years he has worked within several health-care systems, from single payer ones in Canada and the Netherlands, to a patchwork of systems in the United States and the impoverished health care system in Uganda. Bob believes that the single payer, universal health care system of Canada should be guarded as a model for others.
Bob is also a researcher (host immunity in newborns) who has published over 100 original articles and book chapters on this subject. He was awarded the Research Award of the Canadian Paediatric Society in 2005 for contributions to research on newborn immunity. Bob's major interests also focus on mentoring physicians and clinician scientists. In 2008, he published a book, "The Handbook for Clinician Scientists" as a reference for clinician scientists on ethics, integrity, and research management and communication skills. The book is used in 17 Universities in Canada, and in the Netherlands, Uganda and China.
Bob is a first generation Canadian originally from Toronto. He is now a professor of Pediatrics at Dalhousie University in Halifax. Bob moved there after completing Medical School at the U of T in 1970 and clinical and research training in Montreal, Toronto and Minnesota. These years and sabbatical experiences in the Netherlands and Uganda have broadened his understanding of diverse health delivery systems and health care needs.
