Laurie J. Morrison

Dr. Laurie Morrison is an international leader in Resuscitation science and emergency medicine. She has identified priority research areas in life-threatening diseases or injury that respond to time sensitive interventions and has contributed significantly to methodological design and implementation of complex clinical trials in out-of-hospital setting. In 2008, Dr Morrison established a population-based registry called Rescu Epistry, which included data for all cardiac arrests and serious trauma and acute stroke for southern Ontario and measured the performance of the prehospital system based on patient outcomes. She led a team of 12 investigators that demonstrated a six-fold increase in survival from cardiac arrest in participating regions—a direct consequence of monitoring performance and translating research findings to drive change in practice. Rescu Epistry investigators generated >45 publications in high profile journals from the registry data. Dr Morrison and the Rescu investigators were awarded a combined 12–year CIHR NIH infrastructure grant to conduct clinical trials in cardiac arrest and trauma. Together with colleagues from the US, they enrolled more than 100,000 patients in a North American Registry and conducted 9 registry based large randomized controlled trials. The grant also included funds that Dr. Morrison used to develop a collaborative specialization in resuscitation sciences for graduate students in 14 disciplines at the University of Toronto. More than 80 graduate students completed the specialization and nearly 50 faculty members were actively engaged. Dr Morrison contributed to developing and validating a rule that defines futility in cardiac arrest. This rule is currently in use across the world and endorsed by the American Heart Association (AHA) Guidelines and included in the Consensus on Science Statement from the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR). She contributed to the ILCOR consensus science statements in 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020 and currently provides scientific oversight as a member ILCOR’s Scientific Advisory Committee. This role ensures the consensus on science and treatment recommendations are systematically reviewed to produce high quality guidelines that are implementable at the bedside internationally. Dr Morrison is a founding member and active researcher in the Canadian COVID-19 Emergency Department Rapid Response Network (CCEDRRN)— A pan-Canadian network which accrued a large high-quality clinical dataset of over 200,000 COVID tested patients and published 17 manuscripts including 4 clinical decision rules to guide clinical care over 3 years of the pandemic. She is founding member and current chair of the Network of Canadian Emergency Medicine Researchers. This network provides peer review and mentorship of emerging researchers and support for multicenter trials. A prolific author, with more than 300 peer-reviewed publications, among Dr Morrison’s landmark contributions are the Termination of Resuscitation rule, the epidemiology / outcomes of maternal OHCA, gender-based differences in OHCA outcomes, and 5 randomized control trials published in NEJM. She has made more than 350 presentations nationally and internationally. During the course of her distinguished career, Dr Morrison has received numerous awards for excellence in mentorship, faculty development, leadership, and scholarship. These include the Canadian Medical Association May Cohen Award (2005); the University of Toronto Department of Medicine Robert Hyland Award (2010); the University of Toronto Department of Medicine William Goldie Award (2004); and the University of Toronto Helen P. Batty Award for Excellence and Achievement in Faculty Development. She received a Fellowship in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2016 and two distinctions in 2017; honorary membership of the European Resuscitation Council for lifetime achievement in resuscitation sciences, and Dickinson W. Richards Memorial Lecture by the American Heart Association. In 2021 Dr Morrison was named a Giant in Resuscitation by ILCOR. In 2022 she gave the Negovsky honorary lecture for the European Resuscitation Council. In 2023 she received the American Heart Association award for lifetime achievement in resuscitation sciences; Dr Morrison was the second female scientist and first Canadian to be chosen. In 2025 she was nominated by Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal for her contribution to resuscitation sciences. The North American Citizen's CPR Foundation has awarded her the prestigious Hans Dahll Honorary Lecture for 2025. This is the first time a Canadian has received this attribution.