Dr. Marilou Gagnon, RN, PhD is an Associate Professor at the School of Nursing of the University of Ottawa, soon transferring to UVic. Her program of research seeks to address gaps in knowledge that have the potential to inform public debate and policies, while also advancing the rights and the health of marginalized communities. She served on the board of directors of the Canadian Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (CANAC) (2009–2013), Bureau Régional d’Action Sida (BRAS) in Gatineau (2012-2014) and the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (2013-2018). She was Expert Advisor Research, Policy and Advocacy for CANAC between 2013 and 2016, a position for which she won the 2015 Outstanding Advocate Award. She was the founder of the Coalition of Nurses for Supervised Injection Services. The Coalition played a key role in advocating for supervised injection services between 2015-2017. She is the creator and manager of the Facebook campaign Harm Reduction = Nursing Care, founder and editor of the blog The Radical Nurse, and co-president of the Nursing Observatory. She is a founding member and current President of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association.
