Bernie Chodirker

Bernie Chodirker, MD, is a full Professor at the University of Manitoba, holding dual appointments in the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health and the Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics. He works half-time, focusing on clinical practice in cancer genetics and prenatal diagnosis. His academic leadership includes roles as Prenatal Genetics Discipline Leader for Shared Health and Clinical Director of Manitoba's Maternal Serum Screening Program. He previously directed the Royal College Medical Genetics training program for 17 years and became Medical Director of Shared Health's Genetics and Metabolism program in 2015.

Educational Background:

• MD (1980), University of Manitoba
• MSc in Human Genetics (1988), University of Manitoba
• Fellowships: Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (Pediatrics, Medical Genetics) and Canadian College of Medical Genetics (Clinical Genetics)

Research & Teaching: Specializes in genetic education, particularly in genetic mathematics, pedigree analysis, and syndrome identification. Authored/co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed papers, with recent work on ciliopathies, X-linked intellectual disability, and Lynch syndrome screening.

Awards:

• 2020 F. Clarke Fraser Award for Mentorship
• Multiple medical student nominations for mentorship and inspiration

Grants/Advising: Extensive contributions to clinical genetics programs and provincial screening initiatives. Active in education policy and genetic testing protocols.

Labs/Teams: Leads Manitoba's maternal serum screening and Shared Health genetics programs, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams across pediatrics and biochemistry.