Ivar Mendez

Timeline

1. 1994

   Neurosurgery training at Western Ontario

   Born in La Paz, Bolivia, he moves to Canada with his family as a teenager, earns a BSc at the University of Toronto, and receives an MD and a PhD in anatomy at the University of Western Ontario, where he also trains in neurosurgery. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada certifies him in neurosurgery in 1994.

2. 2000–2012

   The Halifax Brain Repair Centre

   After a postdoctoral fellowship with Anders Björklund at the University of Lund in Sweden, he serves from 2000 to 2012 as chairman and a founding member of the Halifax Brain Repair Centre, and he heads the Division of Neurosurgery at Dalhousie University and the QEII Health Sciences Centre for more than a decade. In 2008, he and colleagues report in Nature Medicine that dopamine neurons implanted into people with Parkinson's disease survive without pathology for 14 years.

3. 2002

   Robotic telementoring across 400 km

   In 2002, he and his team perform the first long-distance robotic telementoring of brain surgery, using a robotic arm to mentor neurosurgeons 400 km away.

4. 2007–2013

   Remote-presence robots from Halifax

   In April 2007, he becomes the face and voice of a remote-presence robot tested at a Halifax hospital, an InTouch Health system that is the first of its kind in Canada. His team also deploys the first virtual care robotic system in Nain, Labrador, and in January 2013 reports in Neurosurgery that his group's RP-7 robot lets experts safely guide nurses in programming brain and spine stimulators.

5. 2013–2022

   Provincial head of surgery in Saskatchewan

   He moves to Saskatchewan in 2013 as Fred H. Wigmore Professor and Provincial Head of Surgery at the University of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Health Authority, a post he holds until December 2022. He becomes a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2014, and in 2016 he receives the Government of Canada Public Service Award of Excellence for using remote presence robots to improve health care in the North and in Indigenous communities.

6. 2020

   Telerobotic ultrasound for remote communities

   In 2020, he and his remote presence team begin using telerobotic ultrasonography for abdominal and obstetric scans. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the robotic ultrasound system provides prenatal scans to several Indigenous communities locked down by outbreaks.

7. December 2022

   Officer of the Order of Canada

   In December 2022, he is appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada for his work using remote telemedicine and robotics to deliver health and patient care in Canada and worldwide. He also receives the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2022.

8. As of October 2026

   CEO of the Virtual Health Hub

   In October 2023, the Virtual Health Hub's Remote Presence Lab begins trials of an AI-enabled robotic ultrasound arm, and in May 2024, as the hub's director, he breaks ground on its $27-million building at Whitecap Dakota First Nation. He is chief executive officer of the First Nations-led hub; in August 2026, Indigenous Services Canada announces $5.4 million in new funding for it, and its Whitecap facility, which will use telehealth, artificial intelligence and robotics from a command centre, is expected to open in early 2027.