Strategic Research Advisor

Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research

Dr. David Pedlar is a professor in the School of Rehabilitation Therapy at Queen's University. He has dedicated his career to advancing the care and well being of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Veterans.

After working as a clinician, he spent fifteen years as the national director of research for Veterans Affairs Canada. He has held the positions of adjunct professor at the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Prince Edward Island and the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University. In 2015, he received his second Fulbright Scholar Award as the visiting research chair in military social work at the University of Southern California where he continues as an international affiliated faculty at the Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families. For his work in military and Veteran health, Dr. Pedlar has received a number of honours and awards. His research interests include improving military to civilian transition and enhancing Veteran well-being in the life after military service.

Advisory Roles

1. CIMVHR Lead for Five Eyes Mental Health Research and Innovation Collaborative and to support the handover of those responsibilities to the new Scientific Director in the second half of 2025.
2. CIMVHR Lead for communications with the Dalla Lana School of Public Health in relation to the recently completed Tabletop Exercise and any future events, including a national-level Tabletop Exercise.
3. Support CIMVHR with the Invictus Games 2025 Research Project.
4. Thought leadership for future research projects.