Momentum Drivers
From revolutionizing medical science with nanotechnology to spearheading community-engaged research to better address the needs of the communities we serve, from making bionic breakthroughs with artificial intelligence to advocating for graduate student mental health and wellness: here are the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry's Momentum Drivers of the year.
It is a diverse group of disruptors, connectors, healers and inventors, all working to advance health sciences education, research and patient care.
1) Lisa Purdy
'93 BScMLS, '97 MSc
Enhancing and expanding resources and supports for graduate students in the Learner Advocacy and Wellness office
2) Michelle Graham
Lead author of international study finding aspirin can help prevent heart attacks in non-cardiac surgery patients who previously had a coronary stent
3) Robert Burrell
Leading UAlberta team using nanotechnology to develop a handheld device that differentiates between viral and bacterial infections in minutes
4) Minn Yoon
'98 BSc, '01 BCom
Dentistry professor collaborating with artists and patients to raise awareness of often-hidden experiences of head and neck cancer patients
5) Arya Sharma
Making headlines worldwide as a medical expert on evidence-based prevention and management of obesity
6) Jacqueline Hebert
Part of international team making bionic breakthroughs to create sense of movement in prostheses
7) Vincent Agyapong
Psychiatrist tending to emotional aftermath of Fort McMurray fire. Advocating to expand mental-health services in a city that needs them more than ever
8) John Mackey
'90 MD
Director of Clinical Research Unit at the Cross Cancer Institute Alberta, where UAlberta's academic physicians are leading pivotal trials to benefit cancer patients worldwide
9) Kathryn Dong
'99 MD, '07 MSc
ER physician helping change the culture of acute care to better address substance-use disorders
10) Lynora Saxinger
UAlberta infectious-disease expert putting the lie to Lyme disease "alternative facts," addressing vaccination misinformation and reducing unnecessary antibiotic use
11) Michael Overduin
Leading international consortia using superconducting magnets at NANUC to find protein signals that mark the difference between cancer and non-cancer cells
12) Louanne Keenan
'75 Dip(DentHyg), '81 BA, '95 MEd, '02 PhD
UAlberta Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Award winner for her commitment to social accountability in community-engaged health-care research
13) Patrick Pilarski
'09 PhD
University of Alberta researcher revolutionizing AI in medical science. Leader on the DeepMind Alberta team fostering Canadian artificial intelligence excellence
14) Verna Yiu
'84 BMedSc, '86 MD
President and CEO of Alberta Health Services. Harnessing the power of storytelling to transform culture
Samina Ali
Samina Ali's research team is investigating how a robot named MEDi can improve a child's experience in the emergency department.
Paul Armstrong
Paul Armstrong has also won the Prix Galien Canada Research Award and been awarded the U of A's University Cup.
Michiko Maruyama
Combining her education in surgery and industrial design, Michiko Maruyama's dream is to be a clinician-artist.
Haili Wang
Haili Wang and David Chang, CEO of Metabolomics Technologies Inc., are improving cancer detection and prevention with the commercialization of a metabolomic urine test for colorectal cancer.
