David Conn
David Conn M.B., B.Ch., B.A.O., FRCPC
(Canada), Board of Directors
Dr. Conn is the Vice-President of Medical Services and Academic Education and Psychiatrist-in-Chief at Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto. Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, Dr. Conn completed his medical degree at Trinity College there and then continued his training in North America (University of Toronto and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston). In 1983, he joined the Department of Psychiatry at Baycrest, and in 1992, was appointed Department Head. He also is the Medical Director of Telehealth Services as well as Medical Director of the Mood and Related Disorders Clinic at Baycrest.
Dr. Conn is the Co-Chair of the Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health and Chair of the Coalition’s National Guidelines Project. He is a past president of the Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry (CAGP), an IPA Affiliate organization. His academic interests include nursing home psychiatry, guideline development / knowledge translation and late-life mood disorders. He is the co-editor of three textbooks including Practical Psychiatry in the Long-Term Care Home: A Handbook for Staff, which is widely used in many countries and is now in its third edition.
His work and his contribution to the field have been recognized numerous times as the recipient of the following awards: the 2005 Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry Award for Outstanding Contributions to Geriatric Psychiatry; the 2007 Henry Durost Award for Excellence in Creative Professional Activity, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto; the 2006 Ivan Silver Award for Excellence in Continuing Mental Health Education, Dept. of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto (for the IPA live interactive broadcast); and the 2007 Baycrest Excellence in Leadership Award (awarded for leadership of the Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health and development of Telehealth Services at Baycrest). At the IPA International Congress in Montréal, Dr. Conn was presented with the 2009 IPA Distinguished Service Award – Host Country (Canada) for his body of work, leadership and service in Canada.
