Sitting back on a leather couch with a hot coffee at Acadia University, Peter McLeod, PhD, recalls his first experience with the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation (NSHRF) as a researcher more than 10 years ago when he was seeking an answer regarding his application for funding. Accustomed to the layers of bureaucracy of national research funding organizations, Peter was pleasantly surprised to hear Krista Connell, NSHRF CEO, at the other end of the line to answer his questions.      

“It was refreshing to hear an actual CEO answer the phone,” chuckles Peter, Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology. “Krista has always been very encouraging and it was quite an impressive introduction. I was convinced the team at the NSHRF wasn’t just ‘talking the talk’ - they really were interested in broader aspects of health research, as they’ve continued to be.”

“Peter was more than a little skeptical about NSHRF and whether we would truly be able to make a difference to the health research community,” recalls Krista regarding that initial phone call. “I invited him to join us so he could help ensure that we would. He stepped up in a major way and we have been able to accomplish a great deal collaboratively with the health research community. Thank you, Peter!” 

Over the years, Peter has been involved with the NSHRF in a number of capacities: as a funded researcher; as a member of the student award committee; and as a Decade Club inductee, just to name three. Perhaps his most significant role was as a member of the NSHRF’s Board of Directors – a role he held for more than nine years.

Peter is happy to see the strides the NSHRF has made from the beginning to the end of his time on the Board, specifically regarding policy governance. “I’m very proud of what the NSHRF has accomplished and the activities they’ve facilitated to coordinate health research efforts provincially. The NSHRF has always played a key role in supporting local research, specifically social and psychological aspects of health, which is becoming more crucial with the elimination of other sources of funding,” he says. “They continue to bring together different institutions, universities, researchers and government representatives for conferences to discuss what should be done to increase the health research resources in Nova Scotia. I think these are the right priorities to focus on and I see the NSHRF being a leader in these initiatives.”

With his recent departure from the NSHRF’s Board of Directors and his retirement after 25 years of employment at Acadia, Peter is embracing this period of transition and is looking for his next endeavor.

“After surviving two heart attacks, I certainly have a new perspective into the health care system, and I’ve seen first-hand that the real flaws are in policy and management,” Peter says. “We have wonderful health care workers working in a very flawed system. Although I know it’s challenging, I’d like to work somewhere in policy, where I can make a bigger difference.”