IWH’s Dr. Monique Gignac retires

The scientific director at Institute for Work & Health (IWH) is stepping down. Dr. Monique Gignac, also a senior scientist and privacy officer at the Institute, has announced that she’ll retire at the end of 2026. 

“It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work at IWH, and it’s with mixed emotions that I am retiring,” says Gignac. “I am immensely grateful for the opportunities I have had at IWH and all the people I’ve been fortunate to work with.”

Gignac’s research over two decades has focused on the work disability of people living with a variety of physical and mental health chronic and episodic conditions. Most recently, she led a large, multi-year partnership project to develop evidence-based tools to help workers with episodic conditions get the support and accommodation they need for their intermittent and dynamic symptoms. 

That project, called Accommodating and Communicating about Episodic Disabilities (ACED), has led to the creation of the Job Demands and Accommodation Planning Tool (JDAPT) and the Decision-support for Communicating about Invisible Disabilities that are Episodic (DCIDE). Since their release in 2023 and 2025, respectively, the two tools have been highly received and widely shared—not just by managers and other employer representatives but also by people with health conditions, their advocates and service providers. 

“I have benefited so much from working with colleagues at IWH—from their creativity, professionalism, camaraderie and support,” says Gignac. “The research and KTE we do at IWH is important. I would not have been able to be a part of these endeavours without the encouragement, efforts, and skills of so many others.”

Gignac’s work on the ACED partnership project has led to an inclusive design award from MaRS-CIBC in 2022 and the Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation’s Dr. Michael Feuerstein Best Paper Award in 2023. Among her earlier accolades are an award for outstanding leadership and research from the Canadian Networks of Centres of Excellence (2011); the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2013); distinguished scholar (2013), lecturer (2014) and service awards (2019, 2021) from the international Association of Rheumatology Professionals (ARP); and recognition for mentorship (2015) from the Health Care, Technology and Place (HCTP) Strategic Research Training Program funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Care (CIHR).

“With Monique’s decision to retire, the Institute for Work & Health loses both a recognized international research expert and a scientific leader and mentor,” says Dr. Peter Smith, IWH president and senior scientist. “We will greatly miss her.” 

The Institute is now seeking a qualified individual to fill the position of Scientific Director. Learn more about the role and how to apply, here: https://www.iwh.on.ca/opportunities/jobs/scientific-director