James A Dosman, OC, SOM, MD, FRCPC, FRSC, FCAHS, ABIM is considered the “Father of Agricultural Medicine” in Canada.

Dr. Dosman grew up on a farm and attended school in Annaheim and at St. Peter’s College in Muenster, Saskatchewan, graduating in Medicine from the University of Saskatchewan in 1963. He was a family doctor in Saskatoon before specializing in Respiratory Medicine at McGill University in Montreal. His work has encompassed 301 scientific publications and 7 books, with his early work resulting in the Canadian Grain Dust Medical Surveillance Program, a historic federal program protecting workers highly exposed in grain elevators. In 1975 Dr. Dosman became founding Head of the Division of Respiratory Medicine, in 1986 founding Director of the Centre for Agricultural Medicine, in 2006 founding Director of the Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture, and in 2011 established the National Agricultural Industrial Hygiene Laboratory, all at the University of Saskatchewan. He was the founding Chair of the Canadian Coalition for Agricultural Safety and Rural Health, now the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association, and the driving force behind the establishment of the Canadian Agriculture Safety Program supported by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. He was the founding Co-chair of the Canadian Rural Health Research Society. He established the Agricultural Health and Safety Network in Saskatchewan, a farm safety program involving 30,000 families. He worked with the International Labour Organization of the United Nations in establishing an International Code of Safe Practice in Agriculture, now translated into numerous languages. From 2005 to 2009 he served on the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. In 2007 he was instrumental in founding and is currently President and CEO of Agrivita Canada Inc., a not-for-profit company that has established the Canadian AgriSafety Applied Science Program supported by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. In 2013 he completed the American Board of Internal Medicine examinations to become Certified in Sleep Medicine. He continues an active medical practice in sleep medicine and research in health and safety of rural and indigenous populations, CIHR (2021).

James is married to Susan McKay Dosman. They have 5 children; Audrey, Jill, Jane, Cara and John; and 6 grandchildren.

Degrees and Designations

  • Board Certified in Sleep Medicine, (ABIM) 
  • Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (Canada) [FRCP(C)]
  • Doctor of Medicine (MD)
  • Master of Arts (Political Economy) (MA)
  • Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Awards and Recognitions

  • Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal - Saskatchewan (2022)
  • Canadian Medical Hall of Fame (2019)
  • Horizon School Division Wall of Fame (2016)
  • Distinguished Service Award, Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America (2013)
  • Inductee, Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame (2011)
  • Officer of the Order of Canada (OC) (2010)
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC) (2010)
  • Lifetime Achievement Award, Saskatchewan Lung Association (2008)
  • Dean Stueland Award, National Farm Medicine Center, Marshfield, WI (2007)
  • Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (FCAHS) (2005)
  • Saskatchewan Order of Merit (SOM) (2005)
  • Award for Public Service and Extension, University of Saskatchewan (2003)
  • Award  for Meritorious Service to the People of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (2001)

Areas of Interest

  • Sleep medicine
  • Epidemiology of sleep related disorders
  • Respiratory and Injury Epidemiology
  • Public Health of Rural Populations
  • Agricultural and Rural Environmental Exposures
  • Knowledge Translation
  • Community Development
  • Mentorship

Positions Held

1975 – 1985 Head, Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan
1986 – 2001 Director, Centre for Agricultural Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan
2001 – 2006 Director, Institute of Agricultural Rural and Environmental Health, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan
2002 – 2003 Acting Head, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan
2006 – 2007 Director, Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture, University of Saskatchewan
2008 – President and CEO, Agrivita Canada Inc.
2010 – Distinguished Research Chair, University of Saskatchewan

Research Grants Since 2000: $ 24,282,641

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Private Sector Funding Since 1990: $ 5,000,000

2022 – 2027 Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Assess, Redress, Re-assess: Addressing Disparities in House, Home and Mental Health among First Nations People. $1.39M (Co-principal Investigator).
2019-2024 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada under the Canadian Agricultural Strategic Priorities Program. Awarded for Agrivita Canada Inc. - The Canadian AgriSafety Applied Science Program. $2.85M. Dr. Dosman is the Scientific Director of the AgriSafety Program, and President/CEO of Agrivita.
2018 - 2023 Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Assess, Redress, Re-assess: Addressing Disparities in Sleep Health among First Nations People. $1.25M (Co-principal Investigator).
2018 - 2023 College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan Supplemental Award. $50,000 (Principal Investigator).
2011 – 2017 Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Assess, Redress, Re-assess: Addressing Disparities in Respiratory Health among First Nations People. Est. $2.3M (Co-principal Investigator).
2011 – 2016 Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Saskatchewan Farm Injury Cohort Study. $1.3M. (Co-principal Investigator).
2010 – 2016 Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Saskatchewan Rural Health Study. $1.7M. (Principal Investigator).
2008 – 2009 Canadian Institutes of Health Research: Knowledge Translation. Rural Health in Changing Environments. $8,550. (Principal Investigator, for the Canadian Rural Health Research Society)
2007 – 2009 SHRF. Surveillance of work-related injuries and evaluation for effective prevention (SWEEP) in health care. $79,479. (Co-Investigator).
2007 – 2008 Agriculture and AgriFood Canada.  A National Consultation on Health and Safety Research and its Effective Translation to the Agricultural Sector.  $75,000 (Principal Investigator)
2007 – 2012 Canada Foundation for Innovation.  National Agricultural Industrial Hygiene Laboratory.  $5.8M. (Principal Investigator)
2005 – 2011 Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Saskatchewan Farm Injury Cohort Study. $1.08M. (Co-principal Investigator).
2003 – 2012 Canadian Institutes of Health Research.  Public Health: Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture. $1.86M  (Principal Investigator).
2002 – 2011 Canadian Institutes of Health Research.  Exposure to Endotoxin and Lung Function, $2.1M (Principal Investigator).
2002 – 2009 Canadian Institutes of Health Research: Strategic Training Initiative in Health Research.  Public Health and the Agricultural Rural Ecosystem. $1.55M. (Principal Investigator).
2003 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Fifth International Symposium, Future of Rural Peoples: Rural Economy, Healthy People, Environment, Rural Communities. Rural Community Capacity Building Program Networking Initiative, $5,000. (Principal Investigator).
2003 Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Fifth International Symposium, Future of Rural Peoples: Rural Economy, Healthy People, Environment, Rural Communities. $50,000 USD.  (Principal Investigator).
2003 Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Fifth International Symposium, Future of Rural Peoples: Rural Economy, Healthy People, Environment, Rural Communities. $10,000.  (Principal Investigator).
2002 – 2003 Canadian Institutes of Health Research.  The Canada Rural and Remote Health Study: Progress Towards Project Building and Area Identification, $81,087.00 (Principal Investigator).
2001 – 2002 Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Proposed Strategy for the Development of Rural Health Research.  $41,000.  (Principal Investigator).
2000 – 2001 Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Effect of indoor air quality and production practice on respiratory health in exposed poultry workers in Canada. $188,930. (Principal Investigator).
2001 – 2003 Canadian Institutes of Health Research.  Effect of indoor air quality and production practice on respiratory health in exposed poultry workers in Canada. $297,820. (Principal Investigator).
2000 – 2002 Canadian Institutes of Health Research.  Bedside tests for aspiration in acute stroke. $87,000.  (Co-Investigator with Dr. J. Biem as Principal Investigator).
2000 – 2002 Canadian Institutes of Health Research Opportunity Award:  Consortium for Rural Health Research.  $48,000.00.

International Symposia Spearheaded

2008 Sixth International Symposium: Public Health and the Agricultural Rural Ecosystem. Saskatoon, SK, Canada, October 19-23, 2008.
2003 Fifth International Symposium The Future of Rural Peoples: Rural Economy, Healthy People, Environment, Rural Communities. Saskatoon, SK, Canada, October 19-23, 2003.
1998 Fourth International Symposium: Rural Health and Safety in a Changing World. Saskatoon, SK, Canada, October 18-22, 1998.
1992 Third International Symposium: Issues in Health, Safety and Agriculture. Saskatoon, SK, Canada, May 10-15, 1992
1985 International Symposium on Health and Safety in Agriculture Saskatoon, SK, Canada, October 8-11, 1985
1977 International Symposium on Grain Dust and Health. Saskatoon, SK, Canada, October 20-23, 1977.

All Publications