Dr. Mahavir Agarwal Named the 2026 Rising Star Awardee
Dr. Mahavir Agarwal, MBBS, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and holds a Canada Research Chair in Metabolic and Cognitive Health in Mental Illness. He is a Clinician-Scientist in the Schizophrenia Division at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), where he also serves as the Medical Head for Clinical Research. In addition, he co-leads both the Metabolic Clinic and the Clozapine Clinic at CAMH.
Dr. Agarwal’s research focuses on uncovering the mechanisms that drive metabolic and cognitive dysfunction in severe mental illness and on developing new treatments targeting these abnormalities. His work is supported by major national funding agencies, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Brain Canada, and Diabetes Canada.
A Message from Dr. Mahavir Agarwal, MBBS, MD, PhD
Receiving the SIRS Rising Star Award is a deeply meaningful honour because it not only acknowledges the progress of my own research program in metabolic and cognitive health in schizophrenia, but also reflects a growing recognition within the field that these intersecting areas are critical to understanding and improving outcomes in severe mental illness. The award strengthens my ability to advocate for broadening the scope of schizophrenia research to include biological mechanisms that link physical and cognitive health, and helps highlight the value of interdisciplinary science in addressing the complex challenges faced by people living with schizophrenia.
I am profoundly grateful to my family for their love and forbearance, members of my research group, past and present, for their dedication, curiosity, and hard work, and all my mentors over the years whose guidance, generosity, and support have shaped my development as a clinician-scientist.
Ultimately, this recognition reinforces my commitment to advancing research at the intersection of metabolic and cognitive health in schizophrenia, with the goal of developing targeted, mechanism-based interventions that address both the psychiatric and physical burden of the illness, and moving the field forward toward more integrated, brain-body approaches to care.
