Awards & Accolades - June/July 2021

International acclaim

Congratulations to Sir Michael Houghton, director of the Li Ka Shing Applied Virology Institute and 2020 Nobel Laureate, on being knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to medicine. Learn more.

Dr. Suresh Nayar was elected as the next president of the British Society of Prosthodontics (BSSPD).

Dr. Adetola Adesida, Department of Surgery, was named fellow of the Royal Society of Biology.

Outstanding in their field

Congratulations to Dr. Ruth Collins-Nakai, ’72 MD, ’98 MBA who received an honorary doctor of science degree from the University of Alberta. Read more. 

Dr. Anthony (Tony) Fields, professor emeritus of oncology, became the first chancellor of MacEwan University. Read more. 

Dr. Gordon Searles, Department of Medicine, was awarded the Canadian Dermatology Association Award of Merit.

Dr. Carlos Cevera, Department of Medicine, was recognized as an Alberta Health Services Patient and Family Centred Care Champion. 

Dr. David Olson, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and member of the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI) received an honorary Doctor of science (honoris causa) from the University of Lethbridge. 

Dr. Gino Fallone, Department of Oncology and member of the Cancer Research Institute of Northern Alberta (CRINA) was named 2021 recipient of the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP) Gold Medal, the highest award that COMP bestows.

University of Alberta Alumni Awards

Dr. Cheryl Cable, ’92 BSc, ’97 DDS, ’04 MBA - Alumni Honour Award

Recognized for her work as the first tenured female dentist at the U of A, where she has developed dental implant education and inspired female dentists to pursue specialty programs traditionally considered only for men.

Dr. Albert Murtha, ’85 BMedSci, ’87 MD - Alumni Honour Award

Recognized for his early recognition of the possibilities of fusing two distinct disciplines— oncology and machine learning—which has led to nearly two decades of collaborations and countless advancements.

Dr. Sumantra (Monty) Ghosh, ’16 PostGrad(MedEduc) - Alumni Horizon Award

Recognized for his long-standing advocacy for the most vulnerable Albertans, including the creation of Canada's first National Overdose Response Service (NORS) and his leadership in creating a coordinated response to support unhoused populations during the pandemic.

Dr. Terri Aldred, ’10 BMEdSci, ’11 MD - Alumni Horizon Award

Recognized for her service to and advocacy for support for rural health care in British Columbia and her activism against systemic racism experienced by Indigenous patients.

Dr. Victor Do, ’19 BMedSci, ’20 MD - Alumni Horizon Award

Recognized for his commitment to physician and medical student wellness, which has been recognized as starting a national culture shift toward health-promoting learning environments.

Dr. Shelley Spaner, ’86 BPE, ’84 BMedSc, ’96 MD - Alumni Honour Award

Recognized for her efforts to improve the health outcomes for men, particularly in the case of prostate cancer, which led to the creation of a unique space in southern Alberta that integrates research and clinical services and also provides the MAN VAN outreach program.

Dr. Richard Sherbaniuk, ’48 BSc, ’52 MD, ’56 MSc - Distinguished Alumni Award

Recognized for co-establishing the Division of Gastroenterology at the U of A in 1964 and pioneering the science of endoscopy in Alberta.

Teaching excellence

Dr. Vesta Michelle Warren, Department of Family Medicine, Moose & Squirrel Medical Clinic, Sundre, received the 2020-21 Professional Association of Resident Physicians of Alberta's Clinical Teaching Award.

Division of Gastroenterology 

The Department of Medicine’s Division of Gastroenterology is pleased to congratulate the following faculty members who were selected for recognition by the residents of the program:

• Teacher of the Year - Dr. Rahima Bhanji
• Endoscopy Teacher of the Year - Dr. Amy Morse
• Educator of the Year - Dr. RJ Bailey

Research recognition

The McCullough Innovative Breast Cancer Research Seed Grant competition, a new funding initiative linked to the Lilian McCullough Chair in Breast Cancer Research, has recently awarded seed grants to three projects led by CRINA researchers. 

Congratulations to Dr. Denise Hemmings (associate professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology), Dr. Azadeh Rajaee (clinical assistant professor, Department of Surgery) and Dr. Michael Overduin (professor, Department of Biochemistry). 

Dr. Holger Wille, Department of Biochemistry, and his team were awarded a Phase 1 prize by the United States Department of Agriculture for their entry into the Detect to Protect Challenge - A Live Animal Test for CWD.

Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine

The department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine is pleased to announce the winners of the inaugural Dr. Jean Hugill Research Award, awarded to support clinical research, educational inquiry and quality improvement in the areas of anesthesiology, pain management and perioperative care. Congratulations to the following project leads:

• Dr. Yuqi Gu & Dr. Allyson Farran – Immersive video to teach cannot intubate cannot ventilatescenarios: a simulation based randomized control trial
• Dr. Angela Neufeld and Dr. Wing Lam – Large volume autologous whole blood therapy for reversing cardiopulmonary bypass induced coagulopathy in high risk patients: a randomized control trial
• Dr. Surita Sidhu and Dr. Wing Lam – Three dimensional assessment of right ventricular function in patients undergoing left ventricular assist device implantation
• Dr. Montana Johnson and Dr. Ariane Fielding – Variation of phenylephrine concentration in clinical settings

Learners as leaders

FoMD graduate students had a strong showing in the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Scholarships. Congratulations to the following winners:

Joseph Kamtchum Tatuene, Department of Medicine

Joshua Hefler, Department of Surgery 

Kim Nguyen, Department of Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging

Dr. Alanna Supersad, Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging, is the winner of the Dr. Marnie Hinton Resident Award for Physician Wellness.

Congratulations to Bryce Nelson (Department of Oncology), Qi Feng Lin (Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology), Richard Yuen (Department of Chemistry), Won-Shik (Daniel) Choi (Department of Oncology), and Quinn Storozynsky (Department of Oncology) for their success in the latest Marathon of Hope Graduate Studentships in Breast Cancer or Glioblastoma Research.

Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) 

Congratulations go to the following residents, who are 2020-21 award recipients.

 Alberta Jenkinson and Stephen Buhl Award:

• Dr. Elizabeth Clement, General Surgery Residency Program
• Dr. Ekua Amponsah Agyemang, Public Health & Preventive Medicine Residency Program
• Dr. Amanda "Amy" Wagner, Neurology (Adult) Residency Program

Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry Gordon Denchfield Thompson Scholarship: Dr. Christina Maslo, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Program.

Department of Pediatrics

MSc trainee Carly O’Sullivan (supervisor Dr. Vivian Mushahwar), secured an NSERC graduate scholarship and post-doctoral fellow, Trevor Barss, secured a highly competitive Craig H. Neilsen post-doctoral fellowship. 

After winning the Pediatric Research Day resident competition, PhD student and medical resident Nicholas Conradi (supervisor Dr. Michael Hawkes) went on to win the Western Canadian finals and got the bronze medal in the National Pediatric Residency Research Competition.

Congratulations to Dr. Matthew Hicks and the Alberta Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Mother-Baby Care ImprovEmeNT (NASCENT) Program team for receiving $1.26 million in funding over three years from Alberta Innovates’ Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Health System (PRIHS). The universities of Alberta and Calgary, Alberta Innovates, Alberta Health Services, Covenant Health and the Maternal Newborn Child & Youth Health Strategic Clinical Network are partners in this project, which will reach all zones in Alberta.

The Canadian Geriatrics Society selected John Christy Johnson, MD/MSc candidate at the U of A for the 2021 J.L. Student Leadership Award. 

Dr. Jennifer Conway and Dr. Andrew Mackie (Pediatric Cardiology) received the Evans Family Research Team Grant in Pediatric Cardiovascular Research for their project “Development and evaluation of virtual care programs for vulnerable children with heart disease.” 

Dr. Ashlee Yang is the recipient of a 2021-22 Canadian Pediatric Endocrine Fellow Project Grant conferred by the Canadian Pediatric Endocrine Group.

The following faculty members received a Developmental Pediatrics Teaching Award:

• Dr. Sabrina Eliason - Dr. Keith J. Goulden Award for Teaching Excellence
• Dr. Karen Niederhoffer - Dr. Joe Watt Award for Teaching Excellence 
• Dr. Kate Randall - Sandy Litman Award for Teaching Excellence  

Dr. Qutuba Karwi received the Canadian Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics (CSPT) 2020 Postdoctoral Award. 

Dr. Samina Ali received the 2021 Ian Steill Researcher of the Year Award from the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians.  

Graduate student Shubham Soni (supervisor Jason Dyck) participated in the National Poster Presentation and was awarded a Gairdner Award and a gold award for his presentation. He has also won the CIHR Doctoral Award: Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships (value: $105,000 over three years), and the Andrew Stewart Memorial Graduate Prize from the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. 

The Faculty and Staff Celebration marked the following awards and recognition:

Annual Award for Mentoring of Faculty

• Dr. John Andersen (Developmental Pediatrics)
• Dr. Aisha Bruce (iHOPE)

Annual Innovation Award

• Pediatric Eating and Swallowing (PEAS) Project

Annual Excellence in Teaching Award in Community Pediatrics for Undergraduate Medical

Education

• Dr. Jagdeep Brar
• Kan Wong

Annual Best Teacher Award in Community Pediatrics for Undergraduate Medical Education

• Dr. Gordana Djordjevic

Annual Best Teaching Division Award in Undergraduate Medical Education

• Division of Pediatric Endocrinology

Annual Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Division

• Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology

Top 10 Teachers Award

• Dr. Samina Ali (Pediatric Emergency Medicine)
• Dr. Karen Forbes (Hospital Medicine)
• Dr. Jessica Foulds (Hospital Medicine)
• Dr. Michelle Harvey-Blankenship (General and Community Pediatrics)
• Dr. Bonnie Islam (General and Community Pediatrics)
• Dr. Alicja Janicka (General and Community Pediatrics)
• Dr. Manu Kundra (Pediatric Emergency Medicine)
• Dr. Melanie Lewis (General and Community Pediatrics)
• Dr. Elizabeth Rosolowsky (Pediatric Endocrinology/Metabolism)
• Dr. Mona Zhang (General and Community Pediatrics)

Cooperation Collaboration Teamwork Recognition Award

• Stollery Pediatric Heart Function Team
• Pediatric Rapid Response Team, Division of Critical Care
• Solutions for Kids in Pain (SKIP) Team, Division of Emergency Medicine

Pediatric Grand Rounds Award

• Dr. Janet Ellsworth, When you look back - everything is different
• Dr. Joan Robinson, How do journals and publishing and all that stuff work?

Teaching Award by Subspecialty Pediatric Residents

• Dr. Jagmeet Bhogal and Dr. Eytan Wine

Support Staff Recognition Award

• Samantha Davies, academic administrative assistant
• Cassie Rivait and Jodi Gartner, program administrators, General Pediatrics Residency Program

The Trainee Celebration marked the following awards:

Sarah Lopaschuk Memorial Award - Dr. Lynn Jacoby and Simran Ghoman

Azza M. Darwish Memorial Scholarship - Scott Bennett

Mario I. and Elizabeth Tedeschini Scholarship - Alyssa Archibald

Quinlan Patric Baxter Langen Award - Quynh Nguyen and Vikhashni (Winnie) Nagesh

The E.W. Gauk Award in Pediatric Neurology Research - Amanda Yaworski and Andy Ng

 William C. Taylor Award - Angela Farnell

Pediatric Education Awards

Teacher of the Year Award for a General Pediatrician - Dr. Erin Boschee

Teacher of the Year Award for a Subspecialty Pediatrician - Dr. Catherine Corriveau-Bourque 

The Promotion of Resident Well-Being Award - Dr. Jessica Foulds

Pediatrics Grand Rounds Award - Angela Farnell and Dr. Aran Yukseloglu

Graduate Student Awards

Amber Ali

• Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship

Nicole Anderson

• Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship

Grant Bruno 

• University of Alberta Doctoral Recruitment Scholarship
• Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship Indigenous

Simran Ghoman

• WCHRI Graduate Studentship Award
• Walter H. Johns Graduate Fellowship
• Sir Frederick Banting and Dr. Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship - Master's (CIHR)

Tierah Hinchliffe

• FGSR Graduate Student Online Conference Award

Claudia Holody 

• WCHRI Graduate Studentship Award
• Medical Sciences Graduate Program Scholarship

Kim Ho

• Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Scholarship
• Sir Frederick Banting and Dr. Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship - Doctoral (CIHR)
• President's Doctoral Prize of Distinction 

Mostafa Khairy

• Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship
• Medical Sciences Graduate Program Scholarship

Ezra Ketema

• Medical Sciences Graduate Program Scholarship

Zeenat Ladak

• Medical Sciences Graduate Program Scholarship

Takaaki Landry

• Medical Sciences Graduate Program Scholarship

Rukhmani Narayanamurthy

• Medical Sciences Graduate Program Scholarship
• Alberta Innovates Graduate Student Scholarship
• Medical Sciences Graduate Program Scholarship

Mirielle Pauline

• Friends of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research Scholarship
• Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship Indigenous
• Medical Sciences Graduate Program Scholarship

Simran Pherwani

• Walter H Johns Graduate Fellowship
• Sir Frederick Banting and Dr. Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship - Master's (CIHR)
• Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship

Megan Pohl

• Alberta Innovates SPOR Graduate Studentships Program

Sarah Raza

• Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Scholarship
• Reshma Sirajee
• Dr. Gary McPherson Leadership Scholarship
• Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship
• WCHRI Graduate Studentship Award

Shubham Soni

• WCHRI Graduate Studentship Award
• University of Alberta Doctoral Recruitment Scholarship Winter 2020/21 Alberta Innovates
• Graduate Student Scholarship

Ricardo Suarez Suarez

• University of Alberta Doctoral Recruitment Scholarship

Carmen Tessier

• Walter H Johns Graduate Fellowship
• Sir Frederick Banting and Dr. Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship - Master's (CIHR)
• FGSR Graduate Student Online Conference Award
• WCHRI Graduate Studentship Award