Dr RE Bell Memorial Lecture
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Dr. R. Edward Bell Chairman Department of Clinical Pathology 1949 - 1973 |
The Dr. R.E. Bell Memorial Lecture is a tribute to Dr. Bell who founded Alberta's first Department of Laboratory Medicine at the University of Alberta Hospital and established academic training programs in laboratory medicine and medical technology.
Dr. Bell was born in Edmonton in 1918. He graduated from Medical School at the University of Alberta in 1942 and promptly joined the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, reaching the rank of Captain. After the war, he did a year of postgraduate medical training in England, a residency in pathology at the University Hospital in Edmonton, and a fellowship in pathology at the University of Minnesota. In 1949 he returned to the University Hospital as Director of Clinical Laboratory Services. He became Chairman of the Department of Laboratory Medicine in 1970.
Dr. Bell's father was a physician, and Dr. & Mrs. Bell have three sons, all of whom are practicing medicine. Two grandchildren are carrying on the tradition and becoming fourth generation health care providers.
2026 RE Bell Memorial Lecture
Dr. Louis Hugo Francescutti, CD, MSM, MD, PhD, MPH, FRCPC, FACP, FACPM, CCFP(PC), FRCPI, FRCPE, FRCP, FRCPG, ICD-D, CCPE
Professor, School of Public Health
University of Alberta
Lecture title: BRIDGE HEALING: A Bold Initiative to End ER Homelessness
Dr. Francescutti is currently an emergency physician at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and the Northeast Community Health Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. As a professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta, he teaches graduate courses in transformational leadership, advocacy and public health.
Dr. Francescutti was selected as one of Alberta’s Top 100 Physicians of the Century by the Alberta Medical Association/College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta and he was also awarded the Alberta Centennial Medal from the Government of Alberta in 2005. In 2011, he was selected by Alberta Venture as one of Alberta’s 50 most influential people. In 2012, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal. In 2022, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee medal. In 2023, Louis was honored with the Order of Canada.
From 2010 - 2013 he served as the President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and in 2014 - 2015 he then became the President of the Canadian Medical Association.
He is the Honorary Colonel for 1 Health Services Group of the Royal Canadian Medical Services based in Edmonton. In 2017, he was awarded a Military Meritorious Service Medal from the Governor General of Canada at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.
Currently, he is developing Bridge Healing, a program to address the immediate needs of our society’s most vulnerable individuals – patients in our emergency departments experiencing homelessness.
A recognized storyteller Dr. Francescutti has delivered well over 1,500 presentations worldwide to a variety of diverse audiences – from industry to governments and to the public.
He was recently appointed Chair of the Board of the Canadian Centre for Substance Use and Addiction.