Stephen Scherer, PhD, DSc, FRSC

Dr. Stephen Scherer is the chief of research and holds the Northbridge Chair in Pediatric Research at The Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto. He also serves as the scientific lead for CGEn, Canada’s national network for genome sequencing and data analysis.

Stephen and his research team helped discover that large sections of human DNA can vary in copy number from person to person. As part of this work, he created the Database of Genomic Variants. The database now lists more than 2 million gene variations, helping doctors make hundreds of thousands of medical diagnoses around the world each year. His group also discovered that variations in specific brain development genes contribute to autism spectrum disorder.

Stephen has received major honors for his research, including the Steacie Prize, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Scholarship, the Killam Prize, the Debrecen Award for Molecular Medicine, and several honorary degrees. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Royal Society of Canada. In 2014, Thomson Reuters named him a Citation Laureate in Physiology and Medicine for his discoveries in gene variations and human disease.