Durhane Wong-Reiger

Dr. Durhane Wong-Rieger is the president and CEO of the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders and a leading global advocate for rare disease patients. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology from McGill University and previously served as a professor at the University of Windsor. Internationally, she is president of the Asia Pacific Alliance of Rare Disease Organisations, treasurer of the United Nations Nongovernmental Committee for Rare Diseases, patient advisor to the APEC Rare Disease Network, member of the International Research Consortium on Rare Diseases and RDI-Lancet Commission on Rare Diseases as well as board member of Testing to Targeted Treatments (FT3), a global, multi-stakeholder initiative dedicated to making precision medicine accessible to all appropriate patients. As Co-Founder and Immediate Past Chair of Rare Diseases International, she led the adoption of the United Nations Resolution on Rare Diseases and recognition of rare diseases as part of underserved populations in the UN Political Declaration on Universal Health Coverage. In Canada, she is chair of the Consumer Advocare Network, president and CEO of the Institute for Optimizing Health Outcomes, and chair of the Canadian Heart Patient Alliance. She is currently Co-Chair of the Implementation Advisory Group of Canada’s National Strategy on Drugs for Rare Diseases has contributed to numerous health policy advisory committees including Ontario’s Rare Diseases Working Group and the Genome Canada Steering Committee for the Rare Diseases Precision Health Initiative. A certified health coach, trainer, and frequent lecturer, Dr. Wong-Rieger has authored three books and multiple articles.