Congratulations, Dr. Bruce Ritchie and Dr. Deena Hinshaw, on receiving the U of A's 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award!

The 2023 recipients of the Alumni Association’s highest honour, the Distinguished Alumni Award, broke free of the status quo to create far-reaching transformation. With a little more bold thinking and risk-taking, these University of Alberta graduates have gone all-in — and shaped our world in the process.

Bruce Ritchie, ’76 BMedSc, ’78 MD

Hematologist, researcher, patient advocate and academic

For three decades, Bruce Ritchie has helped hundreds of Canadians grappling with rare blood disorders. His research and clinical trials uncovered treatments where none previously existed, including Canada’s largest program for angioedema (swelling of deeper skin layers) and immunodeficiency — allowing patients to treat themselves at home rather than in hospitals. This alone saves Alberta’s health system $3 million every year!

Ritchie also developed Canada’s largest red-cell exchange program and supervised the first Canadian adult stem cell transplant for sickle cell disease in 2017. Patient care is a special focus for Ritchie, and he has played a pivotal national role in safeguarding blood supplies, co-founding the Network of Rare Blood Disorder Organizations and establishing the Canadian BioSample Repository. Supervising over 80 research students, Ritchie continues to advance knowledge, improve patient care and change lives.

Deena Hinshaw, ’97 BSc, ’04 MD, ’08 MPH

Public health doctor and leader

Like so many who go into medicine, Hinshaw always hoped to make a difference — and that she did. In the bleakness of the COVID-19 storm, Deena Hinshaw emerged as a calming force. For 245 days, Albertans tuned into her every word from their living rooms and phones. Collected and steady, Hinshaw delivered reassurance and critical information as she urged us to do the right thing. Her evidence-based wisdom helped thousands navigate everything from masking and handwashing to closures and vaccinations.

As chief medical officer of health, Hinshaw led the team credited with saving lives and avoiding a collapse of overtaxed hospitals and the workers within. Criticism and threats endured, but she stood strong. Hinshaw balanced public health and politics, tackling other crises like opioid deaths and rising syphilis cases. With clinical professorship roles at Alberta’s two largest universities, her leadership continues, inspiring composure, empathy and decisiveness in healthcare.

Watch their inspiring 5-minute videos  |  See all the Awardees