Professor Mark Loeb receives Canadian Medical Association’s highest honour

“Mark Loeb , a professor in McMaster University’s Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine and a world-renowned infectious disease researcher, has received the F.N.G. Starr Award , the highest honour conferred by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA). The award recognizes outstanding and inspiring lifetime achievement and is reserved for CMA members whose work has profoundly influenced medicine, science and humanity. Loeb is being honoured for nearly three decades of leadership in infectious disease research, landmark clinical trials, and public health advocacy that has collectively shaped medical practice and policy in Canada and around the world. Over his career, Loeb has published more than 450 peer-reviewed papers, delivered over 300 invited lectures, secured more than $30 million in international research funding as principal investigator, and had his work cited in hundreds of health policy documents and clinical guidelines across six continents. “I am very honoured to receive this award. It has been a great privilege to conduct research to prevent and treat infectious diseases and I am extremely grateful to my McMaster research team and my colleagues in contributing to findings that have had an important impact, not only in Canada, but globally,” said Loeb, who has a joint appointment with the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact. Loeb also holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Infectious Disease, is a member of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research (IIDR) and an executive member of NexusHealth at McMaster . A global authority on influenza, respiratory viruses, and antimicrobial stewardship, Loeb has led pioneering research demonstrating the power of vaccination not only to protect individuals but entire communities. His seminal clinical trial in Canadian Hutterite colonies provided the strongest evidence to date that vaccinating children against influenza creates herd immunity that protects all age groups — findings that influenced immunization policies in multiple countries and were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Loeb has also conducted groundbreaking trials that showed influenza vaccination can significantly reduce cardiovascular events and deaths in patients with heart failure. Spanning more than 5,000 participants across 10 countries, this work revealed a 23 per cent reduction in cardiovascular deaths during influenza season and expanded the global understanding of the vaccine’s life-saving potential beyond infection prevention alone. In similar work, Loeb recently co-led a large systematic review and meta-analysis proving that flu shots can prevent death and hospitalization, even when they fail to prevent infection. The study, one of the largest of its kind, examined data from hundreds of studies conducted at sites all over the world, which collectively involved more than 670,000 patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Loeb once again advanced evidence-based practice, leading international randomized controlled trials comparing surgical masks with N95 respirators . Despite intense public scrutiny, he persisted in delivering high-quality science that informed guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His influence reaches far beyond influenza and COVID-19, though. Loeb has led major investigations into SARS, West Nile virus , dengue, and mpox , and played a critical role in global antibiotic stewardship. His work with the WHO helped shape the internationally adopted AWaRe classification of antibiotics , while the “Loeb Minimum Criteria” for antibiotic use in long-term care homes are now used worldwide to combat antimicrobial resistance. Loeb recently leveraged this work to support Canada-specific antimicrobial prescribing recommendations , work that was commissioned by the Public Health Agency of Canada. “For almost three decades, Dr. Mark Loeb has been at the forefront of research on infectious disease, championing public health interventions which have saved the lives of countless individuals worldwide,” said Paul O’Byrne, vice-president of the Faculty of Health Sciences and dean of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. “Congratulations to Mark, an exceptional and fully deserving candidate for this prominent distinction.” The post Professor Mark Loeb receives Canadian Medical Association’s highest honour appeared first on McMaster News .

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