Biography

Dr. Gaynor Watson-Creed is a passionate advocate for the role of public health in advancing health equity.

As the Assistant Dean of Serving and Engaging Society for Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine, she has worked to create new opportunities for the medical school to bring about positive change in the healthcare system and partner with communities to improve health outcomes. She is also Chair of the Board of Engage Nova Scotia, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving Nova Scotia’s quality of life.

A public-health specialist physician, Dr. Watson-Creed was the Medical Officer of Health for the Halifax area for 12 years. In November 2017, she became Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health for Nova Scotia.

When the Assistant Dean position was expanded from one day a week to full-time in March 2021, Dr. Watson-Creed stepped down as Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health to focus on her work at Dalhousie. Also in March, she was appointed to the federal Task Force on Women in the Economy. She sits on several national population health councils and boards.

Dr. Watson-Creed’s many awards include the Nova Scotia Public Health Champion Award in 2013, the William Grigor award for achievement in medicine from Doctors Nova Scotia in 2017, and the President’s Award from Public Health Physicians of Canada in 2018. In 2019, she was named one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network.

Dr. Watson-Creed grew up in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. She has an MD from Dalhousie University (’99), an MSc from the University of Guelph (’97) and a BSc from UPEI (’93).