Vanessa Gruben
Board Chair
B.Sc.H, LL.B., LL.M.
Vanessa Gruben is a Full Professor in the Common Law Section of the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law and Director of the Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics. One of Canada’s leading scholars in health law and policy, she also co-chairs HALO (Health AI & Law in Ottawa), and her research takes on some of the most difficult legal and ethical questions in health care today — from the governance of health AI and assisted reproduction to harm reduction, organ donation and transplantation, and the self-regulation of health professionals.
Her scholarship is distinctively interdisciplinary, bridging law, medicine, ethics, and policy and appearing in both legal and health sciences venues. She is co-editor of the 5th edition of Canada’s leading health law text, Canadian Health Law and Policy, and co-author of Families and the Law in Canada: Cases and Commentary, with research funded by CIHR, SSHRC, Canadian Blood Services, and the Foundation for Legal Research. Beyond her publications, she has a sustained record of shaping law and policy with the federal and provincial governments.
Professor Gruben brings deep governance experience to her new role. Alongside chairing the AMS Healthcare Board, she serves as a trustee of the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Care Centre and sits on the Board of the Canadian Health Coalition.
