Dr. Vidhya Nair

Dr. Vidhya Nair is an Anatomical Pathologist with a specialized focus in Cardiovascular Pathology at The Ottawa Hospital, affiliated with the University of Ottawa since 2018. She currently serves as the Department Chair of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and is a Full Professor at the University of Ottawa. Additionally, she holds the roles of Department Head of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at both The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), and is the Chief Medical Officer at the Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratory Association (EORLA).

Dr. Nair began her medical career in India, where she completed her medical training and residency in Anatomical Pathology. In 2002, she moved to Canada and completed a second residency in Anatomical Pathology at the University of Toronto, earning her FRCPC designation from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. She further specialized with a Fellowship in Cardiovascular Pathology at the University of Toronto.

Before relocating to Ottawa, Dr. Nair was a staff pathologist at Hamilton Health Sciences and an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University. From 2011 to 2018, she served as the Director of the Residency Training Program for General Pathology at McMaster University, under the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. She played a pivotal role in developing the Competence-By-Design curriculum for General Pathology and co-authored the Competency Model in Cardiovascular Pathology for the College of American Pathologists. She also contributed as a content developer for the Kuwait Institute for Medical Specialization–Royal College Histopathology & Cytology Examinations, an academic outreach initiative supported by Royal College Canada International.

Dr. Nair is a Clinical Investigator at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. Her research interests include cardiac transplant rejection, temporal artery biopsies, and the molecular underpinnings of sudden cardiac death. She has served as Co-Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator on grants funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Diabetic Association. Her scholarly contributions include eight book chapters and over sixty peer-reviewed publications.

She has held leadership roles in professional societies, including serving on the Executive Committee of the International Society for Cardiovascular Pathology. She is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Cardiovascular Pathology and the Section Editor for Human Pathology Case Reports.

Dr. Nair’s excellence has been recognized through numerous awards, including:

• Young Investigators’ Award (2010) – Society for Cardiovascular Pathology
• Excellence in Teaching Award (2017) – Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine
• Outstanding Contribution Award – General Pathology Program, McMaster University
• Margaret Billingham Award (2020) – Society for Cardiovascular Pathology, for the most impactful review in Cardiovascular Pathology

Last updated on: August 28th, 2025