Awards & Accolades - March/April 2021

Faculty and staff successes 

Congratulations to Dr. Janis Miyasaki, Department of Medicine, for being named vice-president of the American Academy of Neurology. She is the first Canadian to take on this leadership role. 

Mikhaila Skehor, Department of Pediatrics, won one of two University of AlbertaOccupational Health and Safety Healthy Workplaces Awards. 

Dr. Basil Hubbard, Department of Pharmacology, was recently named a delegate for the Canadian Science Policy Center (CSPC) Science Meets Parliament Program. 

Congratulations to the Office of Advocacy and Wellbeing, whose team was recognized on World Health Day as a 2021 Wellness Champion by the University’s Healthy Campus Unit and Human Resources Services. Watch a video celebrating all the 2021 Wellness Champions.

Top teachers

Dr. Shereen Hamza, Department of Physiology, received the University of Alberta 2020 COVID-19 Remote Teaching Award.

Dr. Alan McMahon, Department of Medicine, received the 2021 Canadian Society of Nephrology Clinical Nephrology Teaching Award.

Research excellence

Dr. Jason Plemel, Department of Medicine and Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute (NMHI) member, received a Hypothesis Development Award - Established Investigator category from the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), Department of Defense. 

Dr. Carlos Flores-Mir and Dr. Daniel Graf, School of Dentistry, are joint recipients of the 2021 B.F. Dewel Memorial Biomedical Research Award. Learn more. 

Department of Family Medicine

Congratulations to the following recipients of the 2021 Alberta College of Family Physicians awards:

Dr. Andrew Cave was twice recognized as Alberta’s Family Physician of the Year, and winner of the Reg L. Perkins Award for exemplifying the guiding principles of family medicine: being a skilled physician, being community-based, being a resource to the public and recognizing the central importance of the doctor-patient relationship.

Dr. Allan Ausford received the ACFP Award of Excellence for his outstanding contribution to patient care, community service, hospital or health-care institutions, College activities, teaching, research and other elements of the academic discipline of family medicine.

Dr. Donna Manca received the ACFP Long-term Service Award in recognition of her long-standing commitment to excellence in family practice.

Dr. Kiran Dhillon received the Outstanding Champion Award in recognition of her contributions as a board member and volunteer efforts at ACFP events. 

Learners as leaders

Congratulations to Dr. Warren Sun, resident in the Department of Surgery, and Dr. Rachel Wang, resident in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, on receiving the Alberta Medical Association Emerging Leaders in Health Promotion grant for 2020/21. 

Catherine Palme, third-year medical student, was awarded the Alberta College of Family Physicians Student Leadership Rising Star Award. 

Dr. Richelle Waldner, clinical fellow in the Department of Pediatrics, received the Dr. John D. Bailey Award for best oral poster presentation at the 2021 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Pediatric Endocrine Group.

Dr. Justine Greer and Dr. Olivia Guerra (Supervisor: Dr. Melanie Marsh), Department of Psychiatry, received an Alberta Psychiatric Association award for their recent poster presentation on “Mental Health and the Residency Training Experience: A Photovoice Project.”

Clinician Investigator Program (CIP)

Dr. Ryan Chrenek, Department of Surgery, has been awarded the 2021/22 Northern Alberta Clinical Trials & Research Centre (NACTRC) Salary Grant. This award honours the 2021 CIP trainee who best exemplifies the goals, values and mission of NACTRC while doing Tier 2, 3 or 4 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) research. 

Dr. Nicole Anderson, Department of Pediatrics, has been awarded the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI) Resident Trainee Grant and the Medical Science Graduate Program Scholarship (MSGPS) award.

Dr. Kieran Purich, Department of Surgery, has been awarded the Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship and the University of Alberta Master’s Entrance Scholarship.

Dr. Zoya Zaeem, Department of Medicine, has been awarded the Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s program Scholarship and the PARA Resident of the Month Award.

Dr. Josh Hefler, Department of Surgery, has been awarded the Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship.

The Department of Pediatrics is pleased to congratulate the following learners on their recent awards.

Graduate Student Association Recognition Awards: 

• Shubham Soni (PhD, supervisor Dr. Jason Dyck) - Martha Piper Award $500
• Dr. Justine Turner (Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition) - CIHR Supervisor Award

Medical Science Graduate Program Scholarship

• MSc student Mostafa Khairy (supervisors Dr. Sujata Persad and Dr. Roseline Godbout)
• MSc student Rukhmani Narayanamurthy (supervisor Dr. Jerome Yager)
• MSc student Mirielle Pauline (supervisor Dr. Justine Turner) 

2020/21 Dr. Gary McPherson Leadership Scholarship 

• MSc student Amber Ali (supervisor Dr. Mandi Newton)
• MSc student Reshma Sirajee (supervisor Dr. Michael Hawkes)