2022 Doug Hallett Graduate Scholarship in Medicine
Doug Hallett Graduate Scholarship in Medicine
Doug Hallett loved working with his hands.
“He was very invested in…fun solutions and problem solving. I found that inspiring,” Doug’s son, Tyler, shares. “That's just the person he was. He was always around if you needed help, and he loved solving problems, no matter what it was.”
Doug passed away in December of 2019. Seven years earlier, Doug had received a double lung transplant at the U of A Hospital, made possible by the Ex-Vivo Organ Support System. The treatment he received extended his life and inspired his family to create the Doug Hallett Graduate Scholarship in Medicine which allows students to pursue lung transplant research.
Congratulations to David Li, the 2022 recipient of Doug Hallett Graduate Scholarship in Medicine
I am a 4th year medical student here at the U of A. Lung transplant was my bridge into both research and medicine. I first began working with Dr. Kieran Halloran and the lung transplant program on a one-off project while still in undergrad and managed to stick around, 6 years later! He and the rest of the group’s mentorship is probably the biggest reason I wanted to and now have the opportunity to pursue medicine. I hope to pursue a residency in internal medicine and continue with transplant research into my clinical career.
Our research is on studying risk factors for early mortality as well as long-term organ rejection after lung transplant. It has been immensely gratifying to see some of the results of our studies reflected in patient care, such as the use of prophylactic azithromycin to reduce chronic rejection risk, and we hope to continue producing research which can improve the lives of lung transplant recipients. I’m so grateful for this award and its namesake is remembered fondly by all who knew him in the program.