Carol Herbert is Professor Emerita of Family Medicine at Western University (London, Canada), and Professor Emerita of Family Practice at UBC (Vancouver, Canada). She is currently Chair of the University Board of Trustees for AUC (American University of the Caribbean), an accredited international medical school. She served as Dean, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at The University of Western Ontario (1999-2010) and was Royal Canadian Legion Professor and Head of the UBC Department of Family Practice (1988-98). At UBC, she was founding Head of the Division of Behavioural Medicine and a co-founder of the UBC Institute of Health Promotion Research. She is former Editor of the international journal, Patient Education and Counseling. Dr. Herbert is a UBC graduate in Honours Biochemistry and in Medicine. She was a full-service community-based family physician and clinical instructor at the REACH community health centre, a UBC teaching facility in Vancouver, from 1971 until 1982 when she joined the full-time faculty in the UBC Department of Family Practice.
Dr. Herbert has been committed to social justice and access to health care throughout her career. She spearheaded development of the Southwestern Ontario Medical Education Network which includes a regional campus in Windsor as well as partner communities across southwestern Ontario. She was a pioneer in developing services for sexually assaulted adults and children in B.C. and was co-founder and co-director of the Sexual Assault Service for Vancouver (1982-88). She is a recognized leader in inter-professional education and collaborative practice, women’s health and mentorship of academic women. She has chaired or served on multiple task forces on health policy and health professional education.
She is internationally known for her leadership in primary care research and participatory research.
Her research has included family violence and sexual assault; clinical health promotion and patient-physician decision-making; ecosystem health issues in aboriginal communities, particularly diabetes; and health care and health professional education as complex adaptive systems.
She has received many awards including Member of the Order of Canada (2020), Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal (2002), Doctor of Science from Western (2018). She is a founding Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and International Member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine. She is a former president of the North American Primary Care Research group (NAPCRG), the premier international primary care research organization. She is a 2023 inductee in the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.