Awards & Accolades - March 2019

Celebrating the achievements of our faculty, staff and students.

Kirsten Bauer - 26 March 2019


Faculty Recognition


Karen Madsen, Department of Medicine, Women and Children's Research Health Institute Member (WCHRI) was honoured with the 2019 Research Excellence Award from the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology.


Richard Fedorak, past dean of the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, was named Fellow of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology.


Congratulations to Tibetha Kemble, Director of Indigenous Health and Jill Konkin, Associate Dean of Community Engagement, on the U of A's 2019 Equity, Diversity and inclusion Award.

Tibetha Kemble and Jill Konkin smiling next to a window


Vincent Agyapong, Department of Psychiatry, was recognized among the Royal College of Physicians of Alberta's Fellows in Practice.


Anne Halpin, Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology, was awarded the Young Innovator Award at the American Society of Transplantation's Cutting Edge of Transplantation meeting, held from February 21-23, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona.


Jason Plemel, Department of Medicine, Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute (NMHI), received an Azrieli Foundation - Brain Canada Early-Career Capacity Building Grant for his project Do the brain's own immune cells make multiple sclerosis worse?


Lori West, Department of Medicine, WCHRI, Alberta Transplant Institute (ATI) and Alberta Diabetes Institute (ADI) member, was selected to deliver the inaugural Janet Rossant Lectureship Seminar at the 2019 Massey Grand Rounds (MGR) Symposium on Healthy Ageing at the University of Toronto.


Greg Korbutt and Andrew Pepper, Department of Surgery, ADI, ATI and WCHRI members, received a Strategic Research Projects award from Alberta Innovates.


Andy Greenshaw and Serdar Dursun, Department of Psychiatry, NMHI and WCHRI members, were awarded an international research grant from CIHR-Neuron-Eranet along with collaborators from Germany, Spain and Finland.

Suresh Nayar, Department of Surgery, was awarded the Misericordia Community Hospital Recognition award in the Social Justice Category for his work in setting up the first patient led support group in head and neck cancer in Canada. Read more.


(Above: Suresh Nayar accepts his Misericordia Community Hospital Recognition award via video chat)


Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association (EZMSA)

Congratulations to the following winners of the 2019 EZMSA awards:

  • Sean Bagshaw, Department of Critical Care, WCHRI member - EZMSA Researcher of the Year

  • Brian Buchanan, Department of Critical Care - EZMSA Champion Award for Young Leaders

  • Lil Miedzinski, Professor Emeritus, Department of Medicine - EZMSA Life Achievements - Medal of Service

  • Richard Johnston, Department of Critical Care - EZMSA Life Achievements - Medal of Service

  • Sheny Khera and Marjan Abbasi, Department of Family Medicine - EZMSA Family Physician Innovators of the Year

  • Dilini Vethanayagam, Department of Medicine - EZMSA Physician of the Year


Alberta College of Family Physicians (ACFP)

The ACFP recognized the following people for their outstanding work:

  • Michael Allan, Department of Family Medicine - Family Physician of the Year

  • Chris Koo, Department of Family Medicine - Family Medicine Resident Leadership Award

  • Lucy Wang, MD student - Rising Star Student Leadership Award

  • Dinesh Witharana, Department of Family Medicine - Outstanding New Professional

  • ACFP Opioid Crisis Response Task Force - ACFP Champion Award


Students, Residents and Trainees

Congratulations to the following winners of the Alberta Respiratory Centre Travel Award

  • Sarah Almas (Supervisor Paige Lacy) - Undergraduate Award

  • Bryan Ross (Supervisor Michael Stickland) - Pulmonary Resident Award

  • Angela Lau - (Supervisor Richard Long) - Pulmonary resident Award

  • Kelsea Drall - (Supervisor Anita Kozyrskyj) - Graduate Student Award


Shweta Pipalaya (Supervisor Joel Dacks), Department of Medicine, received an NSERC Canadian Graduate Scholarships/Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement.


Saeideh Davoodi, Medical Microbiology and Immunology, received a 2019 Graduate Student Teaching Award from the Graduate Students' Association.


Danielle Clark, School of Dentistry (Supervisors Liran Levin and Maria Febbraio) is the winner of the 5th SUNSTAR World Dental Hygienist Award sponsored by SUNSTAR Foundation for her project on The Role of Loricrin in Severe (Formerly Aggressive) Periodontal Disease. Clark and Levin will chair the KOL Advisory Network Consensus Working Session this April in Mason, Ohio.


Joren Manz, MD student, is the recipient of the Steps to the Greater Alumni Award, in recognition of the achievements of Grande Prairie Regional College alumni early in their careers.

Vineet Rathod, Department of Biochemistry, is competing in the 2019 UAlberta 3MT Finals. Cheer him on in person or via livestream on March 26.