School of Public Health Alumni Awards

Our alumni achieve great things long after they have graduated from our programs. The School of Public Health alumni awards have been created to recognize and honour outstanding achievements of our alumni.
 

Alumni Anniversary Award

The Alumni Anniversary Award was established as a legacy initiative to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the School of Public Health. This award, to be given out every five years, recognizes an alumnus(a) for outstanding contributions to the community, the field of public health and to a post-secondary institution.

  • Kenneth J Fyke (MHSA '71); awarded 2016

    During a career that has spanned more than four decades, Ken Fyke has been committed to social justice, equity and health for all people, and provided innovative leadership to many of Canada's health reforms.

    He has served as deputy minister of health in two Canadian provinces and held several senior roles in health care administration, including president and CEO of the Greater Victoria Hospital Society, and CEO of the Capital Health Region of Victoria.

    Ken is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Silver Medal for Excellence in the Public Service from the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (2000), the Award for Distinguished Service from the Canadian Healthcare Association (2003), the Order of Canada (2004), the Alumni Honour Award from the University of Alberta (2007) and the Centennial Alumni of Influence Award from the University of Saskatchewan (2014).

 

Early Career Award

The Early Career Award recognizes the outstanding contributions of a School of Public Health alumnus(a) within 10 years of receiving their graduate degree.

  • Bach Xuan Tran (PhD '11); awarded in 2017
    Just five years after earning his PhD, Bach Tran was appointed associate professor at the Hanoi Medical University in 2016, becoming the youngest person in the history of the institution to hold the title.

    Tran has an international reputation, having been published in several highly regarded journals, such as the Lancet and Bulletin of the World Health Organization, and receiving numerous national and international awards, including being named Vietnam's Outstanding Young Physician in 2016.

    In addition to his academic work, Tran is active in promoting bilateral ties between Vietnam and Canada, serving as executive board member of the Vietnam-Canada Friendship Association.

  • Keren Tang (MSc '14); awarded in 2020
    Working with Indigenous communities, youth, and newcomers, Keren has been a teacher, a community organizer, and a health promoter. She moved from Montreal to Edmonton in 2012 to pursue studies in public health. Five years after convocation, she began managing Participatory City, a large social research and development project, co-invested by the McConnell Foundation and the Government of Canada, partnering with three Canadian cities testing new models of culture change and citizen participation. Previously, she led Recover, a social innovation initiative at the City of Edmonton to improve urban wellness in the downtown core. She’s active in the community (serving on boards including the Edmonton Community Foundation) and in local politics (running again as a city council candidate for election 2021), and sees public health and equity in everything she does.

This is Public Health™ Award

The This is Public Health™ Award recognizes an alumnus(a) who has demonstrated the spirit of humanity in a local, national or international capacity through leadership, volunteerism and / or advocacy.

  • Esmé Lanktree (MSc '08); awarded 2018
    Since graduating in 2008, Esme Lanktree has worked in public health in Montreal, in Ottawa with the Canadian government, as well as with the World Health Organization in Barbados. She is currently a program officer working in public health in emergencies and training with the Canadian Red Cross in Ottawa. This role, she says, allows her to put into practice what she learned during her graduate program.

    Lanktree has been an active community volunteer since she was a teenager. Since 2011, she has volunteered with the Canadian Red Cross, helping out in emergency situations, such as the wildfires in British Columbia, and in major response operations, including the Syrian refugee response.


Distinguished Alumni Award (sunsetted)

The Distinguished Alumni Award was established to recognize the outstanding career achievements and contributions made over a number of years by a School of Public Health alumnus(a). This award was sunsetted in 2021. Alumni are encouraged to apply to other School of Public Health alumni awards or University of Alberta's alumni awards.

  • Anderson Chuck (MSc '04, PhD '08); awarded 2019

    He has earned three degrees from our university, including two from the School of Public Health: an MPH (health policy and management) degree in 2004 and a PhD (public health) in 2008.
    Dr. Chuck is the Senior Program Officer in Financial Planning at Alberta Health Services and is responsible for budgeting, forecasting, funding, and applied health economics.

    He has extensive experience in leading evaluation initiatives for provincial ministries, health authorities, health technology assessment agencies, and private industry to inform and guide health policy as well as to inform strategies for optimizing implementation of innovations into the health system.

    He has produced and collaborated on a wide range of evidence-based products in various clinical areas and across the spectrum of interventions, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, programs, services, and policy.

    Dr. Chuck previously served on the Pan-Canadian Health Technology Assessment Collaborative for the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) and the board of the International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment.

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