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CADTH » Events » CADTH Symposium Archives » 2009 CADTH Symposium » Speakers » Dinner Keynote Speaker

Dinner Keynote Speaker

Dr. Christian Otto is an emergency physician at the Ottawa Hospital, a regional medical director for the Ontario Telemedicine Network, and one of the world’s leading experts in remote operational medicine. Dr. Otto is experienced in high altitude medicine, and polar medicine, having worked in the Canadian High Arctic and as a high altitude medical researcher on Mount Everest, Mount McKinley and Mount Logan. He completed two one-year tours with the US Antarctic Program, most recently as the 2004-2005 Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station physician, the first foreign citizen to hold this post in the 52-year history of the US Antarctic Program.

Dr. Otto has significant field experience in aeromedical evacuation, disaster medicine, and expedition medicine. He is a NASA-funded Life Scientist, a consultant to the Canadian Space Agency, and a member of the International Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, Expert Group on Human Biology and Medicine. He is active in two fields of space-related research: human performance in remote environments and operational space medicine.

Recently, Dr. Otto presented a NASA white paper on his concept of long duration neurostructural change; in February 2007, this concept was adopted by NASA’s Human Research Program as a major behavioral medicine risk for human space exploration. In 2008, working with the Canadian Space Agency, he conducted experiments in remote surgery through telemedicine from the Canadian Arctic and in providing virtual medical care to climbers on Mount Everest.

Dr. Otto completed his undergraduate degree and his medical degree at the University of Ottawa, and residency in Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine at Queen’s University.

He is the recipient of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Presidential Citation, the International Achievement Award from the Government of Ontario, and the US Congressional Polar Medal. He has been a frequent speaker at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, and has addressed the US Astronaut Corps on remote human operations. On May 23, 2008, Dr. Otto summitted Mount Everest.