Karen Benzies

Currently a professor in the Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, Dr. Karen Benzies champions multi-disciplinary approaches to solving large, complex healthcare challenges for children and families. Research integrity, credibility, and community engagement are hallmarks of her approach, resulting in a highly productive research program with over $130 million (lifetime) funding as principal or co-investigator. With her trainees and research teams, Dr. Benzies has published 170 peer-reviewed articles and given over 250 presentations. She has a reputation across the university and in the community as one who “builds others up” and “brings out the best in us.” During her tenure as Associate Dean (Research), the Faculty of Nursing moved from 7th to 5th place among the 19 research-intensive schools of nursing in Canada. With clinicians and parents, Dr. Benzies co-designed Alberta Family Integrated Care (FICare) to better integrate parents into the care of their critically ill newborns in neonatal intensive care units in Canada and China.