Faculty profile

James Downar

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Full ProfessorMedicineUniversity of Ottawa

James Downar

Full Professor

Medicine

Faculty of Medicine

University of Ottawa

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

ORCID

Supervision signals

Professors usually supervise graduate students in their department's programs.
82 publications in the last five years, latest in 2026.
Senior (last) author on 15 recent papers, a sign of leading a research group.
Principal investigator on 7 research grants (7 CIHR), most recently in 2025.

These signals come from public records, including CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions. Ask the professor or the graduate program whether they are taking new students.

Academic metrics

114

Publications

534

Citations

127

Collaborators

Grants

Publications by year

Counts cover the publications linked to this profile. Citations and the h-index appear when the source records them.

Profiles and links

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Signals and details

Research

Read how they describe their research on their University of Ottawa profile.

Palliative Care Clinical Trial End-Of-Life Existential Distress Open-Label Extension Psilocybin Psychedelics Psychological Distress

Latest papers

Ethical Implementation of Organ Donation Following Medical Assistance in Dying: Recommendations of the Ethics Committee of the Transplantation Society
Transplantation · 2026
Palliative care, socioeconomic position, and end-of-life cancer quality outcomes: a mediation analysis
EClinicalMedicine · 2026
Demographic and clinical characteristics, practices, and outcomes of continuous palliative sedation: A multi-setting, province-wide retrospective cohort study.
Palliative medicine · 2026

All 114 publications

Latest funding

Describing Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) recipients with coexisting mental and physical disorders and exploring how MAiD assessors determine their eligibility: A mixed methods parallel convergent study in Ontario
CIHR · 2026 · Co-investigator
$726,750
PSilocybin microdose for psYCHological and Existential Distress in PALliative care (PSYCHED-PAL): An open-label extension of a multi-site phase 3 double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm clinical trial
CIHR · 2025 · Nominated PI
$100,000
Canadian Critical Care Trials Group COVID-19 Response: defining critical care capacity in Canada; testing treatments through large-scale adaptive clinical trials; & establishing the evidence base to inform clinical and health system management decisions
CIHR · 2022 · Co-investigator
$1,000,000

All 34 grants and awards

114 publications.

Ethical Implementation of Organ Donation Following Medical Assistance in Dying: Recommendations of the Ethics Committee of the Transplantation Society

Van Assche K, Mulder J, Ahn C, Allen RDM, Bollen J, Bramstedt KA, Burra P, Cras P, Dhital K, Dittmer I

Transplantation2026

DOI: 10.1097/tp.0000000000005812

Palliative care, socioeconomic position, and end-of-life cancer quality outcomes: a mediation analysis

Iqbal J, Moineddin R, Fowler RA, Krzyzanowska MK, Booth CM, Earle CC, Lau J, Le LW, Carpen T, Downar J

EClinicalMedicine2026

DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2026.103759

Demographic and clinical characteristics, practices, and outcomes of continuous palliative sedation: A multi-setting, province-wide retrospective cohort study.

Gagnon B, Downar J, Nguyen O, Marcoux I, Guay D, Marquis MA, Tshibangu RM, Boivin J, Labeau-Caouette M, Savin A, Parsons HA

Palliative medicine2026

DOI: 10.1177/02692163251403417 PMID: 41582822

Canada Cancer Clinicians' Perceptions of Palliative Care in Pancreatic Cancer: A National Survey.

Valoo K, Durieux BN, Subramaniam K, Du T, Perez S, Downar J, Fink K, Sanders JJ

Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.)2026

DOI: 10.3390/curroncol33020113 PMID: 41744877

Palliative and End-of-Life Care Knowledge, Attitudes, and Representations Among Caregivers of Individuals With Major Neurocognitive Disorders and the General Population: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Pellerin R, Castonguay-Paradis S, Bravo G, Plaisance A, Couture V, Downar J, Dupéré S, Gagnon MP, Roos P, Dumont I, Tapp D

Journal of palliative care2026

DOI: 10.1177/08258597261463917 PMID: 42731045

Physicians' preferences for their own end of life: a comparison across North America, Europe, and Australia.

Mroz S, Dierickx S, Chambaere K, Mortier F, De Panfilis L, Downar J, Lapenskie J, Anderson K, Skold A, Campbell C, Campbell TC, Feeney R, Willmott L, White BP, Deliens L

Journal of medical ethics2026

DOI: 10.1136/jme-2024-110192 PMID: 40494645

PSilocybin for psYCHological and existential distress in PALliative care (PSYCHED-PAL): A single arm unblinded clinical trial.

Downar J, Lapenskie J, Anderson K, Parsons G, Polskaia N, Lalumiere G, Lawlor P

Palliative medicine2026First author

DOI: 10.1177/02692163261416269 PMID: 41617652

From Polypharmacy to Plasticity: The Case for Neuromodulation in Palliative Care.

Cohen L, Polskaia N, Lapenskie J, Downar J

Journal of palliative medicine2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1177/10966218251406605 PMID: 41466552

Patient, Family, and Caregiver Engagement in the Development of Palliative Care Quality Indicators: A Scoping Review.

Patel K, Konikoff L, Fremont D, Tiukuvaara S, Downar J, Hedges P, Webber C

Journal of palliative care2026

DOI: 10.1177/08258597261466512 PMID: 42701333

Treating cancer-related symptoms in patients exhibiting nonmedical opioid use behaviours: a retrospective chart review study.

Abbasi A, Otter-Moore ID, Downar J, Goldie C, Isenberg SR, Johnson H, Kain D, Lau J, Sinnarajah A, Zimmermann C, Mathews J

Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2026

DOI: 10.1007/s00520-026-11120-z PMID: 42613547

Describing Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) recipients with coexisting mental and physical disorders and exploring how MAiD assessors determine their eligibility: A mixed methods parallel convergent study in Ontario

Co-investigatorCIHR2026Project Grant

Principal investigators: Isenberg, Sarina R; Gupta, Mona

Keywords: Arts-Based Knowledge Translation; Coroner Data; End-Of-Life Outcomes; Health Administrative Data; Health Care Access; Healthcare Provider Decision Making; Medical Assistance In Dying; Mixed Methods; Phenomenology; Psychiatric Comorbidity

$726,750

PSilocybin microdose for psYCHological and Existential Distress in PALliative care (PSYCHED-PAL): An open-label extension of a multi-site phase 3 double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm clinical trial

Nominated PICIHR2025Project Grant - Priority Announcement: Patient-Oriented Research

Principal investigators: Downar, James

Keywords: Clinical Trial; End-Of-Life; Existential Distress; Open-Label Extension; Palliative Care; Psilocybin; Psychedelics; Psychological Distress

$100,000

Canadian Critical Care Trials Group COVID-19 Response: defining critical care capacity in Canada; testing treatments through large-scale adaptive clinical trials; & establishing the evidence base to inform clinical and health system management decisions

Co-investigatorCIHR2022Operating Grant: CNCCTN Extension - Indirect Costs

Principal investigators: Fowler, Robert A; Adhikari, Neill K; Archambault, Patrick; Bagshaw, Sean M; Binnie, Alexandra; Chasse, Michael; Cook, Deborah J; Daneman, Nick; Fiest, Kirsten M; Fox-Robichaud, Alison E; Goligher, Ewan C; Herridge, Margaret S; Kho, Michelle E; Lamontagne, Francois; Lawler, Patrick R; Lee, Todd C; Marshall, John C; McDonald, Emily G; McNally, James D; Meade, Maureen O; Mehta, Sangeeta; Menon, Kusum; Murthy, Srinivas; O'Hearn, Katharine J; Piquette, Dominique; Rochwerg, Bram N; Russell, James A; Tsang, Jennifer L; Turgeon, Alexis F; Wollny, Krista; Yada, Nicole; Zarychanski, Ryan

Keywords: Clinical Trials; Covid-19; Network

$1,000,000

Advancing the Care Experience in PAlliative care patient Transitions from hospital to Home (ACE-PATH): Co-designing an intervention to address the needs of patients and family caregivers and testing the intervention's acceptability and feasibility using an implementation study

Co-investigatorCIHR2022Team Grant: Transitions in Care

Principal investigators: Isenberg, Sarina R; Fitzgibbon, Edward J; Gilbert, Nathalie; Kornberg, Mona N; Rice, Jill L

Keywords: Care Transitions; Co-Design; Implementation Science; Interdisciplinary; Mixed Methods; Palliative And End-Of-Life Care; Patient- And Caregiver-Centered; Qualitative Methods

$655,157

Supporting long term care residents through transitions to acute care hospital and end-of-life care with personalized prognoses and electronic decision support tools

Co-investigatorCIHR2022Team Gr.: Trans. in Care - Care Trans. for Older Ad. Fac. by Digital Health Tech

Principal investigators: Kobewka, Daniel M; Diedrich, Karine; Fung, Celeste; Gaudreau-Simard, Mathilde; Hsu, Amy T; Kaasalainen, Sharon J; Kierulf, Jacqueline C; Robert, Benoît; Tanuseputro, Peter

Keywords: Communication; Decision Support Tool; Goals Of Care; Long Term Care; Prediction; Web-Based

$959,987

Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada: A Multidisciplinary Pan-Canadian Knowledge Translation Initiative to Improve Practice Guidelines and Plan A Research Agenda

Co-investigatorCIHR2022Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Principal investigators: Henry, Melissa

Keywords: Clinical Practice; Distress; Evaluation; Intervention; Knowledge Dissemination; Medical Assistance In Dying; Mental Health; Palliative Care; Quality Of Life; Research Priorities

$10,000

Accelerating Clinical Trials (ACT) - Canada

Principal investigatorCIHR2022Team Grant: Pan Canadian Clinical Trials Consortium

Principal investigators: Devereaux, Philip J; Blake, Peter G; Abrahamyan, Lusine; Akl, Elie; Anvari, Mehran; Berman, Jason N; Bhandari, Mohit; Bourbeau, Jean; Brouwers, Melissa C; Buckley, David N; Butcher, Nancy J; Campbell, David J; Clark, Wayne; Cote, Adrien; Cox, Jennifer; Dhanani, Sonny; Dixon, Stephanie N; Downar, James; Duceppe, Emmanuelle; Dukelow, Sean P; Edwards, Jodi D; Eng, Janice J; Ezekowitz, Justin A; Fergusson, Dean A; Gagnon, Bruno; Garg, Amit; Gerstein, Hertzel C; Gilron, Ian; Glanfield, Florence; Grimshaw, Jeremy M; Halperin, Scott A; Hawkins, Nathaniel M; Healey, Jeff S; Hohl, Corinne M; Hutchison, James S; Jolly, Sanjit S; Kelly, Lauren; Lalu, Manoj M; Langley, Joanne M; Lauzier, François; Lee, Todd C; Li, Patricia T; Majnemer, Annette; Marlin, Susan; McDonald, Emily G; McGillion, Michael H; McGrail, Kimberlyn M; McNeil, Shelly A; Meade, Maureen O; Menon, Kusum; Moayyedi, Paul; Moore, Lynne; Murdoch, Alicia; Murphy, Tim; O'BYRNE, Paul M; Pamidi, Sushmita; Parkash, Ratika; Perera, Kanjana S; Petch, Jeremy; Phillips-Beck, Wanda; Pibarot, Philippe J; Pilote, Louise; Poirier, Paul; Potter, Elizabeth K; Presseau, Justin; Richer, Lawrence P; Rodes Cabau, Josep; Rouleau, Guy A; Rouleau, Jean-Lucien; Sadarangani, Manish; Saleh, Ramy R; Stewart, Breanne; Suri, Rita; Taljaard, Monica; Tang, Anthony S; Tennankore, Karthik K; Thiel, Alexander; Thompson, Wade; Turgeon, Alexis F; Verma, Atul; Wijeysundera, Harindra C; Wood, DAVID A; WRIGHT, JAMES; Yusuf, Salim; Zarychanski, Ryan

Keywords: Canadian Biotechnology Knowledge Companies; Cross-Cutting Enablers; Equity Diversity Inclusion; Indigenous Health; Pan-Canadian Clinical Trials Consortium; Patient Engagement; Randomized Controlled Trials; Sex And Gender; Trial Network; Trial Unit

$38,996,933

Developing evidence-informed, regionally contextualized policy options to increase access and use of palliative care for people with heart failure in Ontario

Co-investigatorCIHR2022Cat Gr.: Policy Research for HST - IHSPR - Health Care Policy Res./Systems Res.

Principal investigators: Quinn, Kieran L; Razak, Fahad; Isenberg, Sarina R

Keywords: Care Needs; Health Services Research; Heart Failure; Palliative Care; Quality Of Life

$149,742

Guiding prospective policy development to increase end-of-life home visits with economic evaluations using real-world data

Co-investigatorCIHR2022Cat Gr.: Policy Research for HST - IHSPR - Health Care Policy Res./Systems Res.

Principal investigators: Isenberg, Sarina R; Cargill, Darren C; Hsu, Amy T

Keywords: End Of Life; Health Economics; Home Care; Home Visits; Palliative Care; Physicians And Nurse Practitioners; Primary Care

$149,981

Examining the Physician Workforce in Long-term Care Homes

Co-investigatorCIHR2022Cat Gr:Policy Res. for Health Sys. Transf.- Canadian Healthcare Workforce

Principal investigators: Tanuseputro, Peter; Simkin, Sarah; Hsu, Amy T; Kendall, Claire; Maskerine, Courtney; Myran, Daniel; Sood, Manish M

Keywords: Health Human Resource Planning; Long-Term Care; Physicians

$149,594

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their CIHR grant from 2025

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Palliative Care Dear Professor Downar, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Ethical Implementation of Organ Donation Following Medical Assistance in Dying: Recommendations of the Ethics Committee of the Transplantation Society" (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your CIHR-funded project "PSilocybin microdose for psYCHological and Existential Distress in PALliative care (PSYCHED-PAL): An open-label extension of a multi-site phase 3 double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm clinical trial" (2025), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]

Profile data last refreshed on September 25, 2026 from the university directory, publication records and CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding.

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James Downar

Research

Latest papers

Latest funding

Ethical Implementation of Organ Donation Following Medical Assistance in Dying: Recommendations of the Ethics Committee of the Transplantation Society

Palliative care, socioeconomic position, and end-of-life cancer quality outcomes: a mediation analysis

Demographic and clinical characteristics, practices, and outcomes of continuous palliative sedation: A multi-setting, province-wide retrospective cohort study.

Canada Cancer Clinicians' Perceptions of Palliative Care in Pancreatic Cancer: A National Survey.

Palliative and End-of-Life Care Knowledge, Attitudes, and Representations Among Caregivers of Individuals With Major Neurocognitive Disorders and the General Population: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Physicians' preferences for their own end of life: a comparison across North America, Europe, and Australia.

PSilocybin for psYCHological and existential distress in PALliative care (PSYCHED-PAL): A single arm unblinded clinical trial.

From Polypharmacy to Plasticity: The Case for Neuromodulation in Palliative Care.

Patient, Family, and Caregiver Engagement in the Development of Palliative Care Quality Indicators: A Scoping Review.

Treating cancer-related symptoms in patients exhibiting nonmedical opioid use behaviours: a retrospective chart review study.

Frequent collaborators

Peter Tanuseputro

Colleen Webber

Michelle Howard

Grace Warmels

Peter Lawlor

Jenny Lau

Daniel Kobewka

Pete Wegier

Salmaan Kanji

Peter Tanuseputro

Aaron Jones

Hsien Seow

Aynharan Sinnarajah

Henrique Parsons

Khadija Bhimji

Krista Wooller

Paula Enright

Deborah Cook

Nathan Stall

Camilla Zimmermann

Andrea Frolic

Alison Fox-Robichaud

Andrew Healey

Katrin Conen

Sarina Isenberg

Jill Rice

Kwadwo Kyeremanteng

Csilla Kalocsai

Rahim Moineddin

Benoît Robert

Breffni Hannon

Allen Huang

Carl van Walraven

Gary Rodin

Stephanie Saunders

Robyn Tamblyn

Louise Pilote

Lisa Burry

Mike Kekewich

Kimberley Lewis