Gregory W. Taylor is a Canadian physician and public servant who served as the 2nd chief public health officer of Canada from September 24, 2014, until his retirement on December 16, 2016.

Biography

Taylor obtained his qualifications as a medical doctor and family medicine resident at Dalhousie University. Taylor began his medical career in 1985 at a

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

practice as a family doctor. In 1992 he moved to the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

in order to complete a fellowship in community medicine, after which he was employed by the federal government and began his career as a civil servant. Taylor joined Health Canada’s Laboratory Centre for Disease Control in 1995. As CPHO between 2014 and 2016, Taylor needed to advise Canadians on the Ebola outbreak and the

Zika virus ''Zika virus'' (ZIKV; pronounced or ) is a member of the virus family ''Flaviviridae''. It is spread by daytime-active '' Aedes'' mosquitoes, such as '' A. aegypti'' and '' A. albopictus''. Its name comes from the Ziika Forest of Uganda, w ...

. Taylor was very concerned about the development of superbugs, and he advised Canadians to ease up on alcohol. Taylor is now listed as an adjunct professor of

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evide ...

at the University of Ottawa. Taylor has served on the board of directors of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research since March 2018.

References

{{authority control Health Canada Canadian health officials Canadian public health doctors