Dr. Eve Tsai: Ottawa’s best-kept secret!

Dr. Eve Tsai, assistant professor at the Faculty of Medicine, has been named one of Canada’s top 25 Women of Influence in the health category by Women of Influence Magazine. In addition to this major recognition, Dr. Tsai is featured on the cover of the magazine.

Dr. Tsai, whom the magazine calls “Ottawa’s best-kept secret and the most influential woman you’ve yet to meet,” is commended for the contributions she and her team have made in the field of spinal-cord injury, such as the MRI imaging technique they developed, allowing surgeons to view spinal-cord nerve fibers.

Dr. Tsai also formed a research group that focuses on stem cells and tissue engineering in hopes of finding a way to repair the spinal cord and brain after injury. The group has worked on developing biomaterials and stem cells to stabilize and regenerate damaged areas of the spinal cord and brain.

“I would like to emphasize that this award is really recognition of what the team has accomplished,” said Dr. Tsai. “This award recognizes the excellent work of the team here at The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and the University of Ottawa. Our team is planning to continue to build Ottawa into a world class institution for neural regeneration and repair research.”

Dr. Tsai is a neurosurgeon at The Ottawa Hospital and an associate scientist at The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. She teaches at the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery. She has a number of publications in neurosurgery and is the recipient of numerous awards, including Canada’s Top 40 under 40 and the Young Clinician Investigator Award from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

Take a look at the latest issue of Women of Influence Magazine featuring Dr. Tsai [external site, in English only].

Text: Susan Maroun, Communications office, Faculty of medicine
Photo: Christopher Pike
Published: January 2012