Dr. Chris Mody, 2003–2013
Chris Mody may have been born in Ontario, but his heart has always been out west. Mody grew up in
the Thousand Islands, landing at Queen’s University for medical school. In his last year there, he was pretty certain that the newly developed Royal College emergency medicine program was where he was headed. A four-week elective in Calgary with a bit of skiing on weekends sealed his future.
For Mody, the balance of scientific and technical explorations with the youthful vibrancy of the Foothills Hospital made the decision to move to Calgary an easy one. In 1981, he started as a resident in internal medicine, a requirement for the emergency medicine program. But he had such a good time he decided to do a second year of internal medicine.
There, he met the likes of Bill Whitelaw and Clarence Guenter, and shared some cases with infectious diseases specialist Harvey Rabin.
One particular patient troubled Mody and had him stumped. The patient came into hospital and
eventually died from an overwhelming aspergillus infection. When the patient’s brother came in a few months later with the same problem, it prompted many investigations looking for genetic causes of this apparent immunodeficiency. Eventually the diagnosis of chronic granulomatous disease was made, which sparked Mody’s life-long interest in cell-mediated immunity.
These experiences also stimulated an ongoing quest to find answers to problems that his patients presented with. Not surprisingly, Mody found he had an affinity for respirology, infectious diseases and a growing interest in research. He naturally turned to Whitelaw and Guenter for mentorship. Much to Mody’s surprise, Guenter suggested he leave Calgary to hone his skills under the influence of leading experts in his chosen field of microbial host defence and microbial immunology of the lung.
After interviewing at several places in the U.S., he ended up at UT Southwestern in Dallas where he crossed paths with ‘The Canadian’—Jon Meddings of Edmonton, who was doing innovative GI research. Mody secured the opportunity to do research with Galen Toews, a rising star in immunology and respiratory disease. He followed Toews to the University of Michigan for three more years of research after one year in Dallas. He returned to the Foothills and the University of Calgary in 1991.
Mody spent 12 years as a respirologist and clinician scientist in various roles within the Respiratory Division until taking over as Division Head in 2003. In the 10 years he held the role, Mody used his early career experience to create the Advanced Pulmonary Fellowship, a program designed to give young trainees the same kind of opportunity that Guenter had created for him.
The program encourages people who are already training at the University of Calgary to study under the best doctors in their field, regardless of geography. Mody says, if they return, which many do, not only have they been trained by world experts but they know their employer has a vested interest in feeding their passion and helping their career.
Mody stepped down as Division Head in 2013 to become the Department Head for Medical Microbiology and Immunology. In 2018, in honour of Dr. Mody’s vision, the Division officially named the fellowship the Mody Advanced Training Award.