Internationally recognized paediatric rheumatologist and clinician-scientist Dr. Susa Benseler joins Children’s Health Research Institute as its incoming Scientific Director
Children’s Health Foundation is proud to welcome Dr. Susa Benseler as the incoming Scientific Director of Children’s Health Research Institute (CHRI), a program of London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute (LHSCRI) and one of Canada’s largest hospital-based child health research institutes.
Dr. Benseler is an internationally recognized paediatrician, paediatric rheumatologist and clinician-scientist. Her work has helped improve care for children with inflammatory diseases, including neuroinflammation, vasculitis, and arthritis. She brings decades of experience leading research programs, building partnerships and connecting care teams, researchers, families, and communities around a shared goal: helping children live healthier lives.
For Dr. Benseler, the opportunity to come to London is rooted in the strength of CHRI’s people and partnerships.
“The size of the institution, the people that work there, the partnership between health care and university, and the opportunity for a transformative approach are some of the many reasons I chose to come to Children’s Health Research Institute at Children’s Hospital,” says Dr. Benseler.
That partnership is especially important because child health research is not only about what happens in a lab. It is about finding answers that can change care, support families, and improve health across a child’s life.
That partnership is especially important because child health research is not only about what happens in a lab. It is about finding answers that can change care, support families, and improve health across a child’s life.
"My personal mantra is that research is care and care is research."
“You want to be in a place where the opportunity of bringing people together is highly impactful, and that is what I think London is.”
Throughout her career, Dr. Benseler has focused on inflammatory and rare diseases in children. Inflammation happens when the immune system responds to injury, infection, or irritation. But when inflammation continues or happens in the wrong way, it can contribute to chronic disease. Dr. Benseler’s work looks at how researchers and care teams can better understand these immune system “fingerprints” so children can be diagnosed and treated earlier.
Dr. Benseler trained in Germany before moving to Canada in 2001. She spent more than a decade at SickKids in Toronto, where she established leading research and clinical programs in neuroinflammation and systemic vasculitis and helped build global partnerships that advanced care for children with rare inflammatory diseases. She later held senior leadership roles at Alberta Children’s Hospital and the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine, including Director of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute. Most recently, she served as Chief Academic Officer for Children’s Health Ireland.
As she steps into this new role, Dr. Benseler hopes to strengthen the connection between research, clinical care, and community. She believes everyone has a role to play in advancing children’s health, from scientists and care providers to families, donors, and community partners.
“Health research is a task that involves all of us,” says Dr. Benseler.
“No matter who you are, you can actually make a difference, and I want to empower our community beyond the health care walls.”
Dr. Benseler succeeds Dr. Victor Han, who is stepping down from his CHRI leadership position after more than 27 years. Since 1999, Dr. Han has helped build CHRI into a nationally recognized centre for paediatric research and innovation, strengthening London’s position as a leader in child health research and supporting generations of scientists, clinicians, and innovators.
With Dr. Benseler’s arrival, CHRI enters an exciting new chapter – one focused on collaboration, discovery, and research that can make a meaningful difference for children and families across our hospital region.
