Dr. David W.L. Ma
Professor and Director, Guelph Family Health Study
University of Guelph

Dr. David Ma is a professor in the department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences and Director of the Guelph Family Health Study (GFHS) at the University of Guelph. His research has produced nutrition papers on a wide range of topics from cells and experimental models of cancer to family nutrition. His experimental research has helped to increase our understanding of the role of omega-3 fatty acids at multiple levels of the gene, cell, whole body and disease with a focus on breast cancer prevention. As the Director of the GFHS, a longitudinal cohort study of families with young children, he leads a team of investigators and trainees to better understand determinants of health. The goal is to develop tools and approaches to support healthy behaviours for the prevention of chronic diseases. Beyond the lab, he is a member of the City of Guelph-Smart Cities team, which was awarded an Infrastructure Canada grant to develop, Our Food Future, Canada’s first circular economy. As a member he participates in the nutritious food workstream. Building on the work of Our Food Future, he is a co-lead of the SMART Training Platform, the first CIHR-NSERC-SSHRC tri-council training grant. This is a 6-year endeavour connecting 10 academic institutions across Canada and nearly 50 co-investigators and collaborators to build capacity in implementation science to advance healthy cities research and train the next generation of leaders. Professionally, he has been a long-standing member of CNS serving on committees, board of directors and had the honour to serve as its President (2017-2018). With much gratitude, these successes in academic, scholarly and professional activities are also due to the contributions of many talented trainees, exceptional collaborators and colleagues, and supportive funders.