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Trailblazing sports medicine leader steps into a new role

After holding leadership roles in some of the world鈥檚 biggest sports arenas 鈥 including the Olympics and FIFA World Cup matches 鈥 Dr. Cathy Campbell's (BPE鈥75, MSc鈥77) latest challenge is the presidency of the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine (CASEM).
Dr. Cathy Campbell portrait

Posted:聽June 8, 2022

By: Lola Augustine Brown

With an impactful career that spans more than four decades, it鈥檚 hard to know how to catalogue聽Dr. Cathy (CJ) Campbell鈥檚 (BPE鈥75, MSc鈥77)聽list of achievements.

Most recently, Campbell was elected president of the聽聽(CASEM). In 2014, Campbell was inducted into the聽. She has held several roles supporting Canada鈥檚 Olympic athletes, and with FIFA, where she has worked at 15 World Cups as a FIFA medical officer and doping control officer or as the Canadian women鈥檚 team physician. She has also held the position of CMO or FIFA Chief Medical Officer and doping control officer at several tournaments. No other North American woman has held the CMO position for FIFA.

An unexpected career trajectory

Campbell graduated from Dal with a聽Bachelor of Physical Education聽in 1975, followed by a Master of Science in exercise physiology in 1977.

鈥淭o be honest, I had kind of a dysfunctional childhood. I went into phys ed because I鈥檇 won the 200 m track provincials so it made sense to me,鈥 Campbell says. 鈥淚鈥檇 always been an average student until then, my sister and I lived in many different places and my studies were not my priority, but the phys ed program was so incredible鈥攖hat鈥檚 why I give donations to Dal and have started a scholarship [the Dr. Cathy J. Campbell Track and Field Scholarships]鈥攁nd I had incredible professors. It was the perfect situation for a misguided kid who needed a little direction.鈥 She was also grateful for 鈥淎unt Bee and Aunt Mary鈥 who were senior citizens and distantly connected, who always helped out providing sage advice through large chunks of her life. And she says that her sister, who was four years older, was her guardian and her hero.

Having mentors segued into her becoming a mentor to others, and while at Dal, Campbell coached many kids and adults and became the head and volunteer coach for the Atlantic Track Club. One of the kids, Cecilia Branch, eventually made the 1980 Olympics but unfortunately it was the boycott year. Because of her coaching successes in Nova Scotia, Campbell received several scholarships related to coaching, enabling her to study and work with the 1976 Olympic coaching team under head coach Gerrard Mach. After graduating, Campbell took a job as a Sport Consultant with the Coaching Association of Canada in Ottawa.

Then, Campbell decided to follow in the footsteps of her sister and go into medicine, starting at McMaster University in 1980. Her career in sports and family medicine took her first to British Columbia, Connecticut, Texas, and ultimately back to Canada, but her willingness to seize any opportunity that excited her has taken her all over the world.

Of her new role as president of CASEM, Campbell says, 鈥淚t is an incredible opportunity to be a leader in a professional career I鈥檝e spent my life working for, and putting my own little slant on it.鈥 This slant includes increasing membership engagement through introducing town halls and newsletters, and making the organization representative of Canada and its membership.

鈥淥ne of the recent town hall guests was Dr. Tina Atkinson from Dartmouth (MD鈥95), the team physician for the Olympic Canadian women鈥檚 hockey team, and I bring guests from B.C. and from across Canada onto the Town Hall to try and raise the profile of members across the country,鈥 Campbell says, 鈥淚 live in Ontario now, but as a Nova Scotian I know how important that representation is.鈥