Mark Walker

Mark Walker

MD, FRCPC, MSc, MScHCM

Senior Scientist, Acute Care Research

Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist

The Ottawa Hospital

Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology

University of Ottawa

Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health

University of Ottawa

Scientific Director

BORN Ontario

Co-Founder & Director, OMNI Research Group

Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

Vice Dean, Internationalization and Global Health

University of Ottawa

Contact

613-737-8899 ext. 71246

613-737-8899 ext. 71246 Department Head Office http://omni.ohri.ca/ http://bornontario.ca

Bio

Dr. Walker earned his Medical Degree from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario in 1993. He completed his residency training in OB/GYN at the University of Ottawa, Ontario in1998 followed by his Fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of Toronto in 2000. Dr. Walker then pursued a Master's degree in Epidemiology from the University of Toronto before graduating from Harvard University with a Master’s in Health Care Management. He is currently a Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist at TOH, a Senior Scientist at the OHRI, and serves as a Professor in the Departments of Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Epidemiology & Public Health at the University of Ottawa.

Since joining TOH in 2000, Dr. Walker has held several positions, including Program Director for the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Newborn Care. He has integrated research into health system improvement, collaborating with several departments to raise awareness of medical disorders in prenatal care and develop tools such as the Maternal Newborn Dashboard, which provides valuable audit and feedback on performance indicators for hospitals across Ontario.

Dr. Walker is the co-Founder of the OMNI Research Group and scientific Director of BORN Ontario (Better Outcomes Registry and Network). His work has helped the OMNI Research Group develop into a globally respected maternal health research program. He has held over $19 million in research funding as a PI, authored over 450 peer-reviewed publications, and served in lead roles for various CIHR funded studies and international perinatal research collaborations. Through his roles with the Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System, Society of Obstetrician and Gynaecology Investigators of Canada, and the Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health, Dr. Walker’s leadership has helped guide and improve maternal health policy.

Research Goals and Interests

Dr. Mark Walker’s main research interests lay in perinatal epidemiology, with expertise in health services research, population health, artificial intelligence in healthcare and clinical trials aimed at improving health outcomes for pregnant individuals and newborns. His work covers a broad range of maternal-child health topics, including pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, and health care utilization. His program is incorporating artificial intelligence and decision analysis into perinatal research, enabling advancements in maternal-newborn care. He is also a proponent of knowledge translation, ensuring that clinical findings properly inform health policy and care delivery.

1. Artificial Intelligence
Dr. Walker’s interest in AI has led him to using machine learning to predict varying health conditions including risk of autism spectrum disorder, renal anomalies, and preeclampsia. Dr. Walker and his teams’ investigations are demonstrating the possibilities of using AI as an invaluable tool for early screening strategies.

2. Gestational Diabetes
As a co-lead of the EAGER Pilot Trial, Dr. Walker is evaluating whether early induction of labour at 38 weeks improves outcomes for individuals with gestational diabetes mellitus to address ongoing debate about optimal delivery timing in this high-risk group. The pilot study aims to assess feasibility for a larger Canadian RCT.

3. Folic Acid Clinical Trial (FACT) Network
Serving as Co-PI, Dr. Walker helped launch the global Folic Acid Clinical Trial (FACT) Network collaboration of over 200 leading obstetricians, neonatologists, epidemiologists, and trialists testing high-dose folic acid (4 mg vs. 1 mg) for preventing preeclampsia and recurring hypertensive disorders.


News


Publications

Bridging the Implementation Gap in Medical AI Education: A Three-Lever Framework for Concurrent Reform (Preprint)

2025-12-02 Go to publication

A comparison of patient information sheets for Gestational Diabetes created by large language models and health professionals

2025-11-01 Go to publication

Pregnancy Outcomes of Maternal Periconceptional Exposure to Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists: A Scoping Review of Evidence and Reporting Trends

2025-11-01 Go to publication

Identifying Fraudulent Responses in a Study Exploring Delivery Options for Pregnancies Impacted by Gestational Diabetes: Lessons Learned From a Web-Based Survey

2025-01-20 Go to publication

Changes associated with the COVID‐19 pandemic on postpartum screening results in Ontario, Canada: The healthy babies healthy children screening tool

2024-12-01 Go to publication

Related Research at The Ottawa Hospital