Dean's Office

Biography

Dr. Peter Nickerson, a prominent physician and researcher in the field of organ transplantation, was appointed vice-provost (health sciences), dean of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences and dean of the Max Rady College of Medicine at the University of Manitoba for a five-year term effective September 1, 2022.

Dr. Nickerson, a distinguished professor of internal medicine and immunology, served from 2015 – 2022 as vice-dean (research) of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. He was previously associate dean (research) of the Max Rady College of Medicine.

He is a clinical nephrologist at Health Sciences Centre and a medical consultant at the Transplant Immunology Laboratory at Shared Health.

His current roles also include medical director of Transplant Manitoba, Flynn Family Chair in Renal Transplantation at UM and medical advisor (organ transplantation) at Canadian Blood Services.

Dr. Nickerson, a 1986 UM alumnus in medicine, completed his postgraduate training in internal medicine and nephrology at UM, as well as a postdoctoral fellowship in transplant research at Harvard Medical School. He joined the UM faculty in 1995 and immediately established a clinical research program in transplant medicine.

Internationally renowned in his field, he directs a research program focused on mechanisms underlying transplant rejection, non-invasive techniques for diagnosing kidney transplant rejection, and health system design to improve access to transplants and outcomes for patients.

He has published more than 190 research papers, reports, reviews and book chapters and has received millions of dollars in research grants and industry-sponsored clinical trials. His work has significantly enhanced patients’ access to transplants, reduced their risk of organ rejection and improved their quality of life.

Dr. Nickerson’s numerous awards include fellowship in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, the Clinical Science Established Investigator Award from the American Society of Transplantation, the Medal for Research Excellence from the Kidney Foundation of Canada and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Society of Transplantation.

In 2021, he was honoured with the Dr. John M. Bowman Memorial Winnipeg Rh Institute Foundation Award in recognition of his outstanding research accomplishments.

As dean of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, Dr. Nickerson will oversee five colleges with more than 3,500 students combined: the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry, Max Rady College of Medicine and the Colleges of Pharmacy, Nursing and Rehabilitation Sciences.

He intends to build on the outstanding collaborative environment in the Rady Faculty and to promote a strong connection between the health sciences colleges and the broader university, and continue to advance, among many priorities, the Rady Faculty’s commitment to social accountability, EDI and anti-racism, Indigenous health equity, interdisciplinary research and interprofessional health education.