Mona Nemer


Mona Nemer, is a Lebanese-Canadian scientist specializing in molecular genetics and cardiac regeneration. She was formerly a professor of pharmacology at the University of Montreal and the Director of the Cardiac Development Research Unit at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal where she held a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Cardiovascular Cell Differentiation. She is a professor of biochemistry at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Medicine, and also served as vice-president of research at the University of Ottawa from 2006 to 2017.
On September 26, 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that after a selection process, Nemer was chosen as Canada's new Chief Science Advisor – the first national science advisor since 2008.

Early life

Nemer was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1957 where she found her passion for chemistry. At the age of 17, she and her classmates successfully advocated to create a science stream at her all-girls school.
She left Lebanon during the civil war and moved to Kansas where she obtained a bachelor's degree in 1977, majoring in chemistry with minors in French and mathematics at Wichita State University. In the summer of 1977, Nemer visited Montreal with friends. The visit convinced her to attend graduate school in the city. She went on to complete a PhD in bio-organic chemistry from McGill University in 1982.

Career

Nemer's research focuses on cardiac formation and function – specifically the understanding of the molecular mechanisms that register the genetic expression of cardiac cells. She is best known for isolating genes that regulate ventricular hypertrophy which manifests itself in an increase volume of the heart and a thickening of the myocardial wall. Her work has contributed to the development of diagnostic tests for heart failure and the genetics of cardiac birth defects. Nemer has published over 150 scientific research articles to date, with over 10,000 citations and an h-index of 63. She has also trained over 100 students from Canada and other countries. In recognition of her research and achievements, Nemer has received numerous honours and awards, where notably she became a Royal Society of Canada fellow in 2001, and a member of the Order of Canada in 2014.
Nemer served as Vice-President of Research at the University of Ottawa from 2006 to 2017, and also served as the Director of the Cardiac Development Research Unit at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal. She founded the University of Ottawa's annual greeting card design competition.
On Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017, following a selection process, Nemer was appointed as Canada's new Chief Science Advisor for a three-year appointment. This role was previously eliminated in 2008 by the previous government, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. As Chief Science Advisor, Nemer heads a $2 million budget, where she is responsible for providing impartial scientific advice to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Science, ensuring government science is publicly accessible, that scientists can speak freely and promoting Canadian science both nationally and internationally. In addition, Nemer will report annually the state of federal government science in Canada.
Following 100 days as the Chief Science Advisor, Nemer released a letter outlining her office's plans for 2018, which included developing scientific integrity policies and guidelines, recommending guidelines to ensure government scientists can speak freely about their research and preparing a framework to allow for open public access to federal government science.
On July 30, 2018, Nemer's office published the Model Policy on Scientific Integrity in order to safeguard through collective agreements government scientists' right to speak. This was developed in partnership with the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, officials at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the federal research community. Her office has also established an Independent Expert Panel on Aquaculture Science, chaired by Nemer, to provide appropriate scientific evidence in policy decisions related to aquaculture and impacts on the marine environment.

Controversies

On 27 March 2020, Nemer told the host of CBC Radio's Quirks and Quarks that the country needs randomly to test at least one per cent of the population to determine whether COVID-19 is as lethal as the population is led to believe. Nemer's "observations are right at the centre of a global clash of scientists over COVID-19 data and estimates of the seriousness of the pandemic," says Terence Corcoran, a writer at the National Post. Corcoran observed that the grim warnings of Neil Ferguson's team at Imperial College have been contradicted by Oxford University epidemiologists led by Sunetra Gupta. On 3 April, Corcoran pointed out that only proper sampling such as that advocated by Nemer will reveal the truth, and that in the omnishambles caused by reaction to the coronavirus pandemic, governments already have "adopted massive and unprecedented interventions into the economic and daily lives of every individual".

Honours and awards