A local scientist at the Ottawa Heart Institute has been named as one of Canada’s most inspiring immigrants. Born and raised in Santiago, Chile, Dr. Emilio Alarcón was among 25 other recipients recognized from around the country as part of a national awards program celebrating immigrant success stories. “We live in times where immigration is being vilified. Certainly, this is not only an award for me, but for anyone who comes to this country as an immigrant. It’s a big responsibility, but at the same time, it was very rewarding and exciting. It was a memento in my life to be honest with you,” he told CTV Morning Live on Monday. Alarcón works as a scientist in the division of cardiac surgery at the Ottawa Heart Institute and is an associate professor at the University of Ottawa. He has published more than 80 articles in peer-reviewed journals, several book chapters, and edited two books on regenerative medicine and nanomaterials. He moved to the nation’s capital with his family in 2009 for a postdoctoral position at the University of Ottawa. He says getting to where he got to didn’t come easily, as he faced many of the issues new immigrants do when arriving in a new country. “When I first came to Canada, I had to learn the language. I wasn’t able to speak or understand or even write it. it took me awhile. It was very difficult,” he said. “It was a long road, but looking back it was supposed to be. Immigration is not something easy, but you take it the way it goes.” Alarcón’s research focuses on developing novel and biocompatible materials to repair heart tissue after heart attacks and restore damaged organs. “In my lab, we work in tissue engineering, so we are fabricating artificial tissues and organs to repair, of course the heart, but we also do the skin and the cornea, so we do any type of soft tissues,” he said. “We’re using new tools and strategies to reveal that, so it’s highly needed. You will be surprised by the number of people who need that every single day.” Alarcón also started a training program to bring students with disabilities into the biomedical and medical research space. “Just to give you a number, around 30 per cent of the Canadian population have a disability and people like myself, I have autism, we are underrepresented in biomedical and medical research, so we’re working together with 14 colleagues across Canada to really bring that talent into the picture,” he said. While Alarcón has been highly recognized for his work, he says the biggest reward Canada gave him is his son. “He is the gift that Canada gave to me. He is the gift that I work everyday to pass along,” he said. He said gets the pride in his work at the Heart Institute from being able to change people’s lives everyday. “I’m reminded and humbled that we’re doing science, not for our benefit, but to help someone else in the spirit that one day people will get that extra one minute,” he said. “When you understand how precious time is on this planet, and how precious you being with your family is and the ones you love, you change forever. What I do is not for my own benefit, it’s for my community. To build communities and to help others.”
