The Queen’s community is remembering Jagdeep Singh Walia, professor in the Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics at the Queen’s School of Medicine and Staff Physician, Kingston Health Sciences Centre. Dr. Walia graduated from the Guru Nanak Dev University School of Medicine in India and came to Canada in 2003 to train in genetics. He joined Queen’s in 2012 and has been a friend, colleague, and mentor to many members of the Queen’s University community since then.

Dr. Walia was an internationally known expert on gene therapy and was driven by his passion to help patients and their families by developing novel therapeutic approaches for genetic diseases. Dr. Walia recognized that therapeutic agents for rare diseases represent a large unmet need and led a research team focusing on preclinical developments for many of them, including creatine deficiency disorders, X-linked intellectual developmental disorder 98, various gangliosidoses like Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff Disease, galactosemia, atherosclerosis, and chronic kidney disease, to name a few. His prolific research, his uplifting spirit, and his ambition to help those in need helped him secure many grants as well as collaborations around the globe.

In the Department of Pediatrics, Dr. Walia had served as the director of research, in which role he helped the department to increase its research capacity, and chair of the Division of Genetics. He was also cross-appointed to many departments, including the Centre for Neuroscience Studies and the Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences. His students and colleagues remember him as humble, optimistic, and collegial, and as someone who always took the time to help others. Dr. Walia had a way of bringing people together and making them feel like they were “part of the group.” Other than his commitment to his patients and his research team, Dr. Walia also touched the lives of many through his involvement in many foundations, in the Sikh community, and in the creation of initiatives to improve research and access to gene and cell therapies.

A visitation will be held at Wartman Funeral Home in Kingston on Monday, Nov. 2, 1 – 4 pm and 6 – 9 pm. A funeral service will be held there Tuesday, Nov. 3, 1 – 3:30 pm.

The flag on campus will be lowered on Nov. 3 in honour of Dr. Walia.

An obituary is available online.