An inspiring mentor and leader, Dr. Janet (“Jan”) Hux is a retired clinician-scientist who dedicated her career to the global fight against diabetes mellitus.
Dr. Hux is a trained physician and qualified epidemiologist, receiving an MD and MSc in Epidemiology from the University of Toronto and the Harvard School of Public Health respectively. In the early 2000s, Hux became closely affiliated with the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) in Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, where she developed and managed a diabetes health services portfolio to inform better treatment and prevention. Throughout her two-decade tenure at ICES, she held a variety of executive positions, notably serving as the corporation’s Chief Operating Officer in the 2000s and Deputy CEO in the 2010s.
Dr. Hux possesses an invaluable ability to leverage interdisciplinary tools to advance health research. In a 2002 study, she and several colleagues analyzed Canada’s database of hospital administrative data (including patient discharge abstracts and physician service claims) to conclude that such information can be used to accurately determine the prevalence of diabetes in the Canadian population. The study strikingly showed that cases of diabetes were increasing in Ontario and at a remarkably higher prevalence than self-reported statistics suggested. By implementing such a valuable tool, population-based prevention efforts could be dispatched in effective and efficient ways to battle the epidemic.
Dr. Hux joined Diabetes Canada in 2012 as the charity’s Chief Science Advisor. Throughout her time spent at the nation’s “most trusted provider of diabetes education, research, resources, and services,” she implemented bold new strategies to address and combat diabetes in Canada. One such endeavour was advocating for Diabetes 360°, a theoretical nation-wide framework that focuses on the key needs of people living with type 2 diabetes or those at high risk of developing the condition. An instrumental member to the success of the organization, Dr. Hux was promoted as its President and CEO in 2018.
Dr. Hux’s contributions to scientific research has earned her various prestigious awards and honours. Notably, in 2019 she joined the community of the nation’s most remarkable female leaders, receiving the Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award.
She continues to advocate for a national strategy for the treatment and management of diabetes in Canada. In a 2019 interview with The Globe and Mail, Dr. Hux proclaimed: “By 2021, it would be great if the world can also look at Canada as a world leader in the management of diabetes and a stronger supporter of research that will lead to a cure for diabetes […] The eyes of the diabetes world will be turned to Canada in 2021, and we will be celebrating what insulin represents in terms of progress for people with diabetes.”
Jan Hux retired from Diabetes Canada in 2020, after an illustrious forty-year career in the health sciences. She continues to be an inspiration for aspiring young female scientists and role models in the global community.
— Written by Nathaniel Goldstein