In Memory of Dr. Robert Mann

It is with deep sadness, we announce that Dr. Robert Mann passed away on May 3, 2022. An irreplaceable loss to CAMH and many of us, Dr. Mann will be greatly missed for his diplomacy, authentic leadership and positive attitude. Dr. Mann was treasured by those who had the pleasure of working with him. He was known for being exceptionally kind, fair, and generous with his time.

Dr. Robert Mann joined the Addiction Research Foundation (ARF) in 1980 as a postdoctoral fellow after completing his PhD in Psychology at the University of Waterloo. He was appointed as Scientist in 1985 and has served as Senior Scientist since 1994 at ARF, which later became the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) upon its amalgamation with other institutions in 1998. Dr. Mann’s world renowned and impactful research on impaired driving began over forty years ago with laboratory studies of the development of behavioural tolerance to alcohol on psychomotor tasks and impaired memory in young male social drinkers. His contributions to the field of impaired driving, traffic safety, and affective states impacting collision risk and injury, are vast and numerous, including sought-after evidence and expertise informing the legal limits for alcohol- and cannabis-impaired driving; the evaluation of impaired driving policies; the development and evaluation of educational and rehabilitative programs including Back on Track, which is Ontario’s remedial measures program for impaired drivers; the establishment of Canada’s leading driving simulation laboratory at CAMH; and co-lead of one of Canada’s first clinical trials examining the effects of cannabis on simulated driver behaviour. Dr. Mann’s research has resulted in over 325 publications in peer-reviewed journals. He worked closely with government and community groups on impaired driving issues for many years, including the American Medical Association and the World Health Organization, and served as Chair of MADD Canada’s National Board of Directors (2011-2013). He was the recipient of several prestigious awards for his contributions to impaired driving research, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), MADD Canada’s Citizen of Distinction Award (2016), and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals (2021).

In addition to his work on impaired driving, Dr. Mann was involved in interdisciplinary work covering a wide range of topics. He also served for several years as program head for population health research within CAMH’s Institute for Mental Health Policy Research. He also led or co-led the CAMH Monitor Survey and the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS) for 10 years, Ontario’s longest running population surveys on substance use and mental health. He contributed to various drug-related working groups at CAMH and testified on drug-related harms before various governmental committees. Dr. Mann also provided expert commentary for various types of media on numerous occasions.

Dr. Mann held academic appointments at several institutions including the University of Waterloo (1981-1992) and the University of Toronto (1989-2022). At U of T, he served as Director of the Collaborative Specialization in Addiction Studies (2005-2010) as well as Inaugural Field Director of the Addiction and Mental Health Specialization in the Masters of Science in Community Health program (2009-2016) at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Dr. Mann taught numerous courses on addictions and mental health, and served as supervisor to many trainees. As many of his trainees and colleagues can attest, Dr. Mann was an extraordinary mentor, providing valuable support and guidance. A humble and kind person, he always put others before himself. He leaves behind numerous trainees and scholars who benefited from his generous encouragement and support.

Our hearts go out to Dr. Mann’s family and friends at this difficult time. Dr. Mann’s funeral will be held this Tuesday May 10th at the Humphrey funeral home on 1403 Bayview Ave, visitation at 11 am, service at 1 pm. His obituary will be in the Globe and Mail tomorrow (Saturday), and may also have information regarding any donation or commemoration.

Sincerely,

Drs. Samantha Wells and Aristotle Voineskos

To highlight Dr. Mann’s world renowned and impactful research on impaired driving, here are some words from, from Dawn Regan, Chief Operating Officer and Acting CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada:

We at MADD Canada are so saddened by the loss of Bob. Bob was a tremendous friend to MADD Canada and a longtime advisor and supporter to us. Bob served as a Director on our National Board from 2003-2014. He was the Chair of the Board in 2011 and 2012.

Bob worked tirelessly in partnership with MADD Canada beyond his legacy on the MADD Canada National Board and was instrumental in supporting key measures such as mandatory alcohol screening and drug impaired driving laws.

We were the grateful beneficiaries of his knowledge, research and guidance in so many areas of our policy and educational work, including: cannabis and impaired driving; the privatization of alcohol retail sales; estimating the costs of impaired driving in Canada; alcohol and cannabis use among students and so many other areas.

Bob had been involved in the anti-impaired driving movement for over 30 years and wrote countless research papers and delivered hundreds of presentations on the impaired driving including the impact of prevention and remedial activities.

MADD Canada has always said that our policy positions and recommendations policy are built upon – first and foremost – the leading research in the field and evidence-based best practices. So much of our work and our achievements have incorporated Bob’s work on alcohol and drugs among drivers, and identifying those factors which cause and prevent impaired driving.

For his work with MADD Canada, we were honoured to nominate Bob to receive the Commemorative Medal for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 in recognition of his contributions to Canada and we presented Bob in 2016 with our Citizen of Distinction award…an award that is presented to individuals or groups or organizations that have made a major contribution to the anti-impaired driving movement in Canada.

We are forever grateful for his leadership, his work, his commitment to MADD Canada and his work to prevent impaired driving.

Bob was a thoughtful, caring, kind and quiet man. We are all better because we knew him and certainly our anti-impaired driving efforts would not be as far along as we are without his tremendous efforts.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to MADD Canada.